III

The de Ligne family—Prince Charles—War in Bavaria—Engagement at Pösig—The Prince de Ligne’s letter to his son—The Treaty of Teschen.

The De Ligne family was one of the most illustrious in Flanders. Its head, Charles-Joseph, Prince de Ligne, Prince of the Holy Empire, Lord Paramount of Fagnolles, and Lord of the Manors of Beaudour, Bel Œil, Valincourt and other territories, Marquis of Roubaix and Dormans, Baron of Fauquenberghe, Baron of Wershin, Knight of the Golden Fleece, Grandee of Spain of the first class, firstberof Flanders, Peer, Seneschal and Marshal of Hainault, was General in the Austrian army, Captain of the Trabans, Colonel and owner of a regiment of Wallooninfantry, and chamberlain to their Imperial Majesties.[112]

These honours were certainly sufficient to satisfy the highest ambition, but they were not all. In addition to all these titles we must add the position enjoyed by the Prince de Ligne at Versailles, Vienna, and Brussels—a position acquired by his brilliant personal qualities. Handsome, brave, generous, chivalrous, gifted with a dazzling imagination, lively wit, and a mind full of impulsive brilliancy, he was, notwithstanding all these advantages, the most unaffected of men. He is mentioned in all contemporary memoirs, even by those of most diverse opinions. Mesdames de Staël, de Genlis, the Comte de Ségur, the adventurer Casanova, the Emperor Joseph, Voltaire, the Empress Catherine, and others, all unite in a concert of praise, and not a discordant note jars upon the general harmony. Madame de Staël winds up her portrait of him bysaying, like Eschine: “If you are astonished at what I say of him, how much more so would you be if you knew him!” Such was the future father-in-law of Hélène.

Prince Charles-Joseph had been brought up by his father in the strictest manner. “My father did not care for me,” he says: “I know not why, for we hardly knew each other. He never spoke to me; it was not the fashion at that time to be either a good father or a good husband. My mother feared him extremely. She gave birth to me dressed in her farthingale, and died in the same dress, a few weeks later, so strict was he as to appearances and stately formalities.”

His military career was most brilliant, and his promotion rapid. At the age of twenty he was named colonel of his father’s regiment of dragoons. He immediately wrote to inform him of the fact, and the following is the answer he received:—

“It was already unfortunate enough for me, sir, to have you as a son without theadditional misfortune of having you as my colonel.”

His son replied: “My lord, neither the one nor the other are my fault, and it is the Emperor your Highness must make responsible for the second misfortune.”

The Prince married in 1755 the Princesse de Lichtenstein,[113]and in September 1759, while he was busy fighting the Prussians before Meissen, he received the news of the birth of a son.

“I have a son,” he writes joyfully. “Ah! how I shall love him; I already wish I could write and tell him so.... If I come back from this war I shall say to him: ‘Be welcome: I am sure I am going to love you with all my heart!’”

The Prince had suffered too severely from the harshness of his father to be willing to imitate it. All his children were broughtup with the greatest affection, but he was never able to refrain from showing a marked preference to the eldest, Prince Charles, suitor to our young Princess. He taught him what he knew so well himself—“to fight like a gentleman.” The little Prince, while still a child, was led to battle by his father.

“I had a slight skirmish at the outposts with the Prussians,” he says, “and, jumping into the saddle with him as we galloped along, I took his little hand in mine. At the first shot I ordered I said to him: ‘It would be charming, my Charles, if we had a little wound together.’ And he laughed, and swore, and became excited, and spoke quite judiciously!”

After having been at Strasburg[114]for four years, Prince Charles entered the Austrianservice, at the age of sixteen, as second lieutenant of engineers. He would have preferred the artillery, but chose the engineers to please his father.

At the moment when the negotiations for Hélène’s marriage were begun war had just broken out between Austria and Prussia, on the question of the succession in Bavaria, and the two Princes de Ligne were with the Austrian army.

The Elector of Bavaria, Maximilian-Joseph, had died on the 30th of December 1777 without male issue. Notwithstanding the indisputable rights of the Elector-Palatine, several other princes raised pretensions to the succession. The most formidable of these pretenders was the Emperor Joseph II. Barely had the Elector closed his eyes when the Austrian troops marched on the Bavarian frontier.

This caused great uneasiness in Prussia, and the young Duc des Deux-Ponts, urged on and supported by Frederick the Great,protested before the Germanic Diet against Austria’s designs. The Elector of Saxony followed his example, and while this serious discussion was going on Joseph and Frederick went, the one into Silesia, the other into Bohemia, to take command of the large armies they had raised. They remained thus in presence of each other for several months. Marie-Thérèse, who feared war, carried on secret negotiations to stop it. Joseph, on the contrary, anxious for a contest with the great Frederick, urged it on with all his might.[115]

The Austrian army was divided into two corps, the one officially commanded by the Emperor, but in reality by Marshal de Lascy, and the other by Marshal Laudon; it included the Lycanians or Croats, and picked grenadier regiments under the Prince de Ligne.His headquarters were at Bezesnow, in Bohemia. His son was in Marshal de Lascy’s corps, occupying a strong position behind the steep banks of the Elbe; three lines of forts defended the passage of the river. Prince Charles was in fact principally occupied with the construction of these forts, and his father constantly wrote to him. The following letters will show the affectionate terms that existed between them. It would appear that Prince Charles was dissatisfied at the manner in which the fortifications were being made,

From my Headquarters atBezesnow,26th June 1778.“Well, my engineer, so you are still fortifying your position, but you are not fortifying your esteem for the genius of our engineers? I have much trouble, on my side, to fortify myself againstennui.“The Emperor came here to make what we may well call a fuss. He said he wished for war, but did not believe in it. ‘Who willtake a bet?’ he said to us the other day. ‘Everybody,’ replied Marshal Laudon, who is always in a bad temper. ‘Everybody means nobody!’—‘But I for one will bet,’ said Marshal Lascy. ‘How much?’ said the Emperor, who expected him to propose about twenty ducats. ‘Two hundred thousand florins,’ said the Marshal. The Emperor pulled a long face, and felt he had received a public reprimand.“He has been very gracious to me. He is in constant fear lest one should play the pedant by him. He was satisfied with my troops, and said many nice things about you, my dear Charles, for he had seen you work marvellously well. He has just left; I can still see him from my windows.“I laugh at myself and the others when I think that, unappreciated though I be, I value myself so much more than they suppose. I personally superintend every platoon. I make myself hoarse with giving the word of command to six battalions at the same time.“I personally inspect even the very smallest huts, called in Bohemiakaloups, each containing only four soldiers, and taste their soup, their bread, weigh their meat, in order to see that they are not cheated. There is not one whom I do not talk to, whom I do not supply with something; not an officer I do not feed, and whom I do not rouse to the war. My comrades do nothing of this kind, and they are very wise, as no one cares. Not one of them cares for the war; they utter the most pacific speeches before the young men, whom they expect in the future to be zealous and good generals. This is also very well. They will be made generals before I shall, and that also will be very well.“It is six weeks since I have spoken a word of French; but, on the other hand, to repay me for a tiresome dinner, I have the pleasure, on leaving the table, of receiving thirty bows at a time.”“If an infantry officer may salute an engineer in the exercise of his genius, I embraceyou, my dear boy. I am delighted that you should get praised for doing bad work. Good-bye, my excellent work; good-bye, my master-piece, almost as much so as Christine.”[116]

From my Headquarters atBezesnow,26th June 1778.

“Well, my engineer, so you are still fortifying your position, but you are not fortifying your esteem for the genius of our engineers? I have much trouble, on my side, to fortify myself againstennui.

“The Emperor came here to make what we may well call a fuss. He said he wished for war, but did not believe in it. ‘Who willtake a bet?’ he said to us the other day. ‘Everybody,’ replied Marshal Laudon, who is always in a bad temper. ‘Everybody means nobody!’—‘But I for one will bet,’ said Marshal Lascy. ‘How much?’ said the Emperor, who expected him to propose about twenty ducats. ‘Two hundred thousand florins,’ said the Marshal. The Emperor pulled a long face, and felt he had received a public reprimand.

“He has been very gracious to me. He is in constant fear lest one should play the pedant by him. He was satisfied with my troops, and said many nice things about you, my dear Charles, for he had seen you work marvellously well. He has just left; I can still see him from my windows.

“I laugh at myself and the others when I think that, unappreciated though I be, I value myself so much more than they suppose. I personally superintend every platoon. I make myself hoarse with giving the word of command to six battalions at the same time.

“I personally inspect even the very smallest huts, called in Bohemiakaloups, each containing only four soldiers, and taste their soup, their bread, weigh their meat, in order to see that they are not cheated. There is not one whom I do not talk to, whom I do not supply with something; not an officer I do not feed, and whom I do not rouse to the war. My comrades do nothing of this kind, and they are very wise, as no one cares. Not one of them cares for the war; they utter the most pacific speeches before the young men, whom they expect in the future to be zealous and good generals. This is also very well. They will be made generals before I shall, and that also will be very well.

“It is six weeks since I have spoken a word of French; but, on the other hand, to repay me for a tiresome dinner, I have the pleasure, on leaving the table, of receiving thirty bows at a time.”

“If an infantry officer may salute an engineer in the exercise of his genius, I embraceyou, my dear boy. I am delighted that you should get praised for doing bad work. Good-bye, my excellent work; good-bye, my master-piece, almost as much so as Christine.”[116]

In the meantime the Emperor and the King of Prussia remained stationary, constantly exchanging letters. The Prince de Ligne, who was well posted up, kept his son informed of what was going on.

Bezesnow,5th July.“I have this moment heard that the Marshal asked the Emperor, on Saint John’s Day, how he had answered the letter he had received that day from the King of Prussia. ‘I have nonplussed him,’ he answered; ‘I represented that the season was advancing, and that I wished to receive some lessons from so great a master. When do you think, my dear Marshal, that I shall get his answer?’ The Marshal counted on his fingers, andreplied: ‘In eight days; but he will bring it himself to your Majesty.’“I have just heard that he has entered Bohemia; to-day is the 5th July, the calculation is exact; so much the better; I have received orders to march with all my corps.”

Bezesnow,5th July.

“I have this moment heard that the Marshal asked the Emperor, on Saint John’s Day, how he had answered the letter he had received that day from the King of Prussia. ‘I have nonplussed him,’ he answered; ‘I represented that the season was advancing, and that I wished to receive some lessons from so great a master. When do you think, my dear Marshal, that I shall get his answer?’ The Marshal counted on his fingers, andreplied: ‘In eight days; but he will bring it himself to your Majesty.’

“I have just heard that he has entered Bohemia; to-day is the 5th July, the calculation is exact; so much the better; I have received orders to march with all my corps.”

The King of Prussia had suddenly made his appearance at Nachod, at the head of his advanced guard. “We hoped it,” says the Prince de Ligne, “but did not expect it.” He writes to his son:—

July.“As I do not suppose you have already left Pardubitz for the army, I must write and give you some news of it. The Emperor was informed that the King was advancing at the head of I do not know how many columns. He went at full gallop to the redoubt number 7, and asked about twenty times: ‘Where is the Marshal?’ The latter came up slowly for the first time in his life: ‘Well, Field-Marshal, I have had you looked for everywhere.’—‘Well, Sire, there is the King.—Giveme your spy-glass.... Ah! there he is himself, I bet! on a large English horse ... perhaps his Anhalt, look.’—‘That is possible; but they have not come alone to beat us; look at the strength of the columns, Oh! there is one that certainly numbers ten thousand men. They are coming to attack us?’—‘Perhaps, what o’clock is it?’—‘Eleven o’clock.’—‘They will only be in battle line in two hours’ time, then they will cook their dinner, so shall we; they will certainly not attack your Majesty to-day.’—‘No, but to-morrow?’—‘To-morrow! I think not, nor the day after, nor even at all during this campaign.’“You will recognise the phlegmatic and bitter style of our excellent Marshal, annoyed at the constant interference and anxiety of the Emperor, who on these occasions feels that he is not master of the situation.”

July.

“As I do not suppose you have already left Pardubitz for the army, I must write and give you some news of it. The Emperor was informed that the King was advancing at the head of I do not know how many columns. He went at full gallop to the redoubt number 7, and asked about twenty times: ‘Where is the Marshal?’ The latter came up slowly for the first time in his life: ‘Well, Field-Marshal, I have had you looked for everywhere.’—‘Well, Sire, there is the King.—Giveme your spy-glass.... Ah! there he is himself, I bet! on a large English horse ... perhaps his Anhalt, look.’—‘That is possible; but they have not come alone to beat us; look at the strength of the columns, Oh! there is one that certainly numbers ten thousand men. They are coming to attack us?’—‘Perhaps, what o’clock is it?’—‘Eleven o’clock.’—‘They will only be in battle line in two hours’ time, then they will cook their dinner, so shall we; they will certainly not attack your Majesty to-day.’—‘No, but to-morrow?’—‘To-morrow! I think not, nor the day after, nor even at all during this campaign.’

“You will recognise the phlegmatic and bitter style of our excellent Marshal, annoyed at the constant interference and anxiety of the Emperor, who on these occasions feels that he is not master of the situation.”

At last the war began, but the opposing parties contented themselves with observing each other’s movements. Prince Charles rejoinedhis father at Mickenhau on the 30th of July, and he became one of his aides-de-camp; he was always to be found at the outposts, and in the midst of danger was remarkably cool and courageous. His father constantly speaks of him with a pride that he cannot conceal: “Charles is splendid under fire; I cannot restrain his ardour, he has such presence of mind, such spirits and animation, that he encourages every one. I must also add that the Emperor is very much pleased with him.” It is thus that the Prince expresses himself in the picturesque and delightful description he has given of this Bavarian war; a war presenting this peculiarity, that not a shot was fired in Bavaria, and that two armies of more than a hundred thousand men, one commanded by the King of Prussia, the other by the Emperor of Austria, remained during nine months in sight of each other without fighting a single battle, contenting themselves with slight skirmishes or small outpost attacks.

The Prince, in despair at this state of inaction,[117]seized every opportunity of attacking the enemy. We will quote the account he gives of the fight of Pösig; it was the first action in which Prince Charles took part, and had a great influence on his military career.

“Prince Henry’s[118]hussars had taken up a strong position on the heights of Hühnerwasser. In order to dislodge them it was necessary first to take the Convent of Pösig, where there was a small garrison of about forty men, who spent their days watching all that took place in our camp. This perpetual spying irritated M. de Laudon a great deal. I told him that Colonel d’Aspremont had already proposed to attack them, but thateven if the position were carried it would be difficult to retain it, being situated nearer to Prince Henry than to us. He told me to try if I could.... But the garrison was on the watch. A sentinel had been placed at the door of the monk who gave me information, the main entrance to the Convent had been barricaded, and they had raised trestles. The brave Lycanians began the attack an hour before daybreak, at the very moment that I was drawing up my men on the small plain. Fifty were chosen to form the scaling party. All wanted to go, but there were only five ladders, and if I had sent for more the news would have spread in the country. Although the ladders were short, one of the brave Croatians was killed on the wall. On arriving they were greeted by a shower of stones, and Colonel d’Aspremont could no longer restrain them. The excellent and worthy Lieutenant Wolf went up first; he was shot through the arm. All of a sudden they heard, without knowing where the news came from, that thegates had been burst open, and every one rushed thither. Wolf was shot through the body, and died two days after, telling me that if he had a thousand lives he would be glad to sacrifice them all in my service. A sergeant and five sappers who burst open the gates were killed on the spot, and twenty-five men were wounded.

“Nothing has ever grieved me so much as seeing these fine, excellent fellows, stretched side by side with their lieutenant uttering these touching things. Formerly when I sacrificed the lives of my men, sometimes needlessly, we shared the same dangers, and it had not the same effect on me. But I had sent these poor fellows forward, and unable to be everywhere at once, thinking moreover to be of more use where I was, I remained behind, and perceived that it is often a hard thing to be a general officer, as one is obliged to expose one’s men to dangers which one cannot share.”

Prince Charles was so struck with theconfidence and devotion his father inspired in his men, and with the praises bestowed on him by Lieutenant Wolf on his deathbed, that he remembered it all his life, as we shall see later on. A few days after Marshal Laudon[119]came to the Prince, and ordered him to advance all his troops, and dislodge the Hühnerwasser huzzars.

“We had scarcely got to Jezoway when the rattle of the carbines was heard; the Marshal in consequence began to get excited, and I saw, on a reduced scale, the conqueror of Frankfort and of Landshut; it was the first and last time he smiled through the whole of the campaign.

“Charles is so brave that it is a pleasure to see him. I was galloping by his side, and holding his hand, saying as formerly: ‘It would be a joke if we were struck by the same shot!’ After that, he carried an order to retreat to an officer, who was wounded on receiving it. Charles was delighted at having exchanged pistol shots with the enemy. M. de Laudon and I were also under fire; the first time he sees the enemy after a long period of peace he gets as excited as if he were still a mere lieutenant of Lycanians, and went himself to order Klégawiez and Pallackzi to retire from their positions, which had been turned.

“I said to him: ‘Marshal, let us rather send our orderly officers and our aides-de-camp.’ When I looked round there were none left; they had all gone off like giddy fellows with Charles. Pösig was taken at about twelve o’clock.

“Such is the simple story of a very pretty and amusing little affair—similar, however, tomany others that our generals make a fuss about, and the newspapers describe as serious battles, for the edification of the coffee-rooms and society of the capital.”

Meanwhile Marie-Thérèse, in her ceaseless efforts to bring the war to a close, won over the Czarina to her cause, and at length succeeded in spite of the Emperor Joseph, who was ignorant of his mother’s negotiations.

A Congress met at Teschen on the 10th of April 1779, and peace was signed on the 13th of May 1779. This war was peculiar in many respects. The Palatine dynasty, in whose interest the war had been undertaken, took no part in it. Bavaria, the subject of dispute, was not involved in the hostilities; and the Elector-Palatine, who had refused the King of Prussia’s assistance, owed the chief advantages of the peace to his influence. The termination of this war without a single battle left everybody in a bad humour, especially the Prince de Ligne: “I was not the only one displeased,” he says;“the Empress was dissatisfied because peace had not been made soon enough; the Emperor because it was concluded without his knowledge; Marshal Lascy because his plans had been interrupted, which, if they had been carried out, would have proved far more advantageous; Marshal Laudon because he had only played the part of observer and observed; the King of Prussia because he had spent twenty-five millions of écus[120]and twenty-five thousand men, and had not once done what he intended; Prince Henry because he had been constantly crossed by the King.”

FOOTNOTES:[112]At a latter period he became field-marshal, like his father and grandfather.[113]Françoise-Marie-Xavière de Lichtenstein, born 25th November 1740, daughter of Emanuel, Prince de Lichtenstein, and of Marie-Antoine de Dietrichstein-Weichseltadt.[114]At that time there was a famous school of artillery at Strasburg, directed by de Marzy.By the treaty of Ryswick, signed in 1697, Alsace at that time belonged to France. Strasburg had capitulated on the 30th September 1681, and made its submission to Louis XIV. Fortified by Vauban it had become a formidable fortress. The arsenal contained nine hundred cannon.[115]Rulhière, a passionate but keen observer, wrote of the Emperor Joseph: “Peace was pain and anxiety for him,invasionandconquestwas the result of all his meditations. These two words had made the celebrity of Frederick, and it was by them that Joseph wished to attain and even surpass his rival. This proud man was constantly tortured by a nervous and jealous anxiety.”[116]Princess Christine was the eldest daughter of the Prince de Ligne; she married in 1775 Comte Clary, eldest son of the prince of that name; she was adored by all who knew her.[117]War was a real delight to the Prince de Ligne; from his childhood he was passionately fond of it. When he speaks of a battle he says: “A battle is like an ode of Pindar: you must throw into it an enthusiasm bordering on madness! To describe it properly would, I think, require the sort of intoxication one feels at the moment of victory.”[118]Prince Henry of Prussia, brother of the King, born 8th January 1726, died 3d April 1802. He is said to have had great military talent; but his brother was jealous of him and did not like him.[119]Laudon (Gédéon-Ernest, Baron of), an Austrian field-marshal, born 16th October 1710 at Trolsen in Livonia. He first served in the Russian army from 1733 to 1739, and not finding his promotion rapid enough, he entered the Austrian service. As a reward for his brilliant services the Emperor Joseph made him, in 1769, Commander-General of Moravia, and Field-Marshal in 1778. The Empress Catherine used to say: “I cannot see Admiral Tchitchakoff without thinking of a saying of the Prince de Ligne about Marshal Laudon. Some one asked him how he could be recognised: ‘Go,’ he replied; ‘you will find him hid behind the door, ashamed of his merit and superiority.’ That quite describes my admiral.”[120]Equal to £6,250,000 sterling

[112]At a latter period he became field-marshal, like his father and grandfather.

[113]Françoise-Marie-Xavière de Lichtenstein, born 25th November 1740, daughter of Emanuel, Prince de Lichtenstein, and of Marie-Antoine de Dietrichstein-Weichseltadt.

[114]At that time there was a famous school of artillery at Strasburg, directed by de Marzy.By the treaty of Ryswick, signed in 1697, Alsace at that time belonged to France. Strasburg had capitulated on the 30th September 1681, and made its submission to Louis XIV. Fortified by Vauban it had become a formidable fortress. The arsenal contained nine hundred cannon.

[114]At that time there was a famous school of artillery at Strasburg, directed by de Marzy.

By the treaty of Ryswick, signed in 1697, Alsace at that time belonged to France. Strasburg had capitulated on the 30th September 1681, and made its submission to Louis XIV. Fortified by Vauban it had become a formidable fortress. The arsenal contained nine hundred cannon.

[115]Rulhière, a passionate but keen observer, wrote of the Emperor Joseph: “Peace was pain and anxiety for him,invasionandconquestwas the result of all his meditations. These two words had made the celebrity of Frederick, and it was by them that Joseph wished to attain and even surpass his rival. This proud man was constantly tortured by a nervous and jealous anxiety.”

[116]Princess Christine was the eldest daughter of the Prince de Ligne; she married in 1775 Comte Clary, eldest son of the prince of that name; she was adored by all who knew her.

[117]War was a real delight to the Prince de Ligne; from his childhood he was passionately fond of it. When he speaks of a battle he says: “A battle is like an ode of Pindar: you must throw into it an enthusiasm bordering on madness! To describe it properly would, I think, require the sort of intoxication one feels at the moment of victory.”

[118]Prince Henry of Prussia, brother of the King, born 8th January 1726, died 3d April 1802. He is said to have had great military talent; but his brother was jealous of him and did not like him.

[119]Laudon (Gédéon-Ernest, Baron of), an Austrian field-marshal, born 16th October 1710 at Trolsen in Livonia. He first served in the Russian army from 1733 to 1739, and not finding his promotion rapid enough, he entered the Austrian service. As a reward for his brilliant services the Emperor Joseph made him, in 1769, Commander-General of Moravia, and Field-Marshal in 1778. The Empress Catherine used to say: “I cannot see Admiral Tchitchakoff without thinking of a saying of the Prince de Ligne about Marshal Laudon. Some one asked him how he could be recognised: ‘Go,’ he replied; ‘you will find him hid behind the door, ashamed of his merit and superiority.’ That quite describes my admiral.”

[120]Equal to £6,250,000 sterling

END OF VOL. I

Printed byR. & R. Clark,Edinburgh

S. & H.

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