IX

The Prince de Ligne’s departure for St. Petersburg—Journey through Tauris—Interview at Kherson—War declared against the Turks—Alliance between Austria and Russia—The Prince de Ligne as Russian General—Potemkin and Romanzoff—The taking of Sabacz—Prince Charles at the storming of Sabacz—Letters from the Emperor Joseph to the Prince-father—Letters from the Prince de Ligne to his son—The Governor of Kaminiecz—The Prince’s return to Vienna—Siege of Belgrade.

In the autumn of the year 1786 the Prince de Ligne received an invitation from the Czarina, asking him to join her at St. Petersburg, and accompany her in a journey she was about to undertake in the Crimea. This invitation was secretly intended to prepare an interview that was to take place at Kherson between Catherine and Joseph II. Turkey had ceded the Crimea and Kouban to Russia in January 1784. These acquisitions had only aggravated Catherine’s thirst for further conquest. She already betrayed her ambitionin the smallest details: one of her grandsons had been named Alexander, and the other Constantine; the Crimea was now again called Tauris; but her ambitious designs did not end there. The Empress received the Prince de Ligne as if he had only left her the day before, informed him of her plans, and at the end of December sent him back to Joseph with the itinerary of her journey and the result of his secret mission.

Under the pretext of visiting her new dominions the Czarina undertook on the 15th of January 1787 a journey through the southern provinces of her empire. She was accompanied by her favourite, Count Momonoff, and by the ambassadors of France, Austria, and England, and by the Prince de Ligne, who met her at Kief. “I occupied,” he says, “the position of a diplomatic jockey.”

She was also accompanied by a considerable number of princes and Russian lords. Her flotilla consisted of eighty-four ships, manned by three thousand seamen.

The King, Stanislaus-Augustus, awaited the Czarina at Kanew. She slowly descended the Borysthenes in a galley as magnificent as that of Cleopatra. The Prince de Ligne left the flotilla in a small Zaporavian canoe to announce Catherine’s arrival to the King. An hour later the great lords of the empire came to fetch him in a gunboat brilliantly decorated. Whilst stepping on board he said, with the inexpressible charm of manner and pleasant tone of voice so peculiar to him: “Gentlemen, the King of Poland has requested me to commend to you Comte Poniatowski.” The dinner was very gay, and while the King’s health was drunk, three salutes were fired by the artillery of the whole fleet. Afterwards the King gave a supper to all the nobles of his retinue. The fleet had cast anchor before the palace improvised for him; no sooner had night closed in than a general conflagration on the neighbouring shores of the Borysthenes simulated an eruption of Vesuvius, lighting up the valleys, the mountains, andthe river in a most glorious manner. The glare of the fires lit up the fantastic display of the brilliant squadrons of Polish cavalry. Stanislaus had spent three months and three millions in order to see the Czarina for three hours. She had loved him, but, long ago, this love had been replaced by others; and now she slowly and cruelly tore from him the shreds of the kingdom she had formerly bestowed. They separated with all the appearance of friendliness, but during their short meeting the King had had time to perceive that there was no hope of reviving the past.

This was the last interview that took place between Catherine and Stanislaus. Eight years later she dethroned him with her own hands.

The Emperor Joseph met the Czarina at Kherson, and they continued together on their travels, which resembled those of a fairy tale. “I still fancy I am dreaming,” says the Prince de Ligne, “when I recall thatjourney, in an enormous coach large enough for six people, quite a triumphal chariot in fact, studded all over with precious stones, and drawn by sixteen horses of the Tartar race. How, as I sat between two persons, on whose shoulders I would sink at times, overcome by the heat, I would be startled by such snatches of conversation as these:—

“‘I have thirty millions of subjects, I am told, counting only the males.’

“‘And I, twenty-two,’ replied the other, ‘counting all.’

“They made imaginary conquests of towns and provinces, as if that were nothing at all, whilst I kept on saying: ‘Your Majesties will reap nothing but worry and misery,’ to which the Emperor would reply, addressing himself to the Empress: ‘Madame, we treat him too well; he has no respect for us. Did you know, Madame, that he had been in love with one of my father’s mistresses, and at the time of my first successes in society he outwitted me in the affections of a marchioness whowas an object of adoration to both of us, and as beautiful as an angel?’”

During the journey the Empress had made a gift of the site of Iphigenia’s rock to the Prince de Ligne. All those who possessed land in the Crimea, such as the Mourzas, took the oath of fidelity to Catherine, and the Prince de Ligne followed suit. The Emperor came up to him, and taking hold of his order of the Golden Fleece, said: “You are the first one of this order who has sworn allegiance together with the long-bearded lords.”

“Sire,” said de Ligne, with a malicious air, “it is better both for your Majesty and myself that I should take it with the Tartar lords than with those of Flanders.”

The Emperor had just heard of the rebellion in that country, of which we shall speak later on.

After their return from this fairy-like journey the war against the Turks was decided, and the Austro-Russian alliance concluded.Preparations for war were being quietly carried on when, all at once, Turkey assumed the offensive by arresting the Russian ambassador, M. de Bulgakoff, and confining him in the Castle of the Sept Tours (Seven Towers). On the 18th of August 1787 Catherine declared war.

The Empress thoroughly relied on the alliance she had just concluded with Joseph II.; nevertheless she inquired of the Prince de Ligne:—

“What do you think the Emperor will do?”

“Have you any doubt, Madame? He will convey to you his good intentions, perhaps even his best wishes; and as neither will cost him anything, I am sure his first letter will be full of them.”

The Prince was mistaken; the Emperor was ready to appear on the field with a hundred thousand men,[58]and had just appointed the Prince General-Commander-in-chief(feldzeugmeister) of all the infantry. Unfortunately the letter bringing this news crossed one the Prince had written to the Emperor asking his permission to serve as a general in the Russian army, and at the same time offering to keep His Majesty well informed of the Russian plans of campaign and military operations. The Emperor granted this request.

The Prince began preparing for his departure in October 1787. “I received,” he says, “from the Emperor a letter concerning his ally that showed both his kindness and genius; I made a summary of it that served as a plan of campaign, for none had as yet been conceived at Saint Petersburg. They had no idea by what end to begin.”

Before starting to join Potemkin[59]thePrince wished to give a ball to the prettiest women at Court, according to their request, but was unable to do so, as the war operations were already far advanced. “The army,” he was told, “may perhaps be already under the walls of Oczakoff; five thousand Turks have been killed by Souvaroff at Kinburn. The Turkish fleet is retiring; start at once.”

He left on the 1st of November 1787. “Good heavens!” he writes, “what weather! what roads! what a winter! what headquarters! By nature I am confiding, and always believe I am loved. I thought the Prince, judging by his own words, wouldbe delighted to see me. I only observed six months later the embarrassed manner in which he received me on the day of my arrival. I threw myself into his arms and said:—

“‘When shall we take Oczakoff?’

“‘Who knows!’ he said; ‘the garrison numbers eighteen thousand men; I have not as many in the whole of my army. I am short of everything, and the most unhappy of mortals, unless God helps me.’

“‘What!’ I replied, ‘the story of Kinburn, the departure of the fleet, has all that been of no use? I have travelled day and night, for they told me you had already begun the siege!’

“‘Alas,’ he answered, ‘God grant that the Tartars do not get here, and lay waste the whole country with fire and sword. God has saved me (I shall never forget it). He allowed me to collect behind the banks of the Bog what remained of the troops. It is a miracle that I have retained till now as much of the country as I have.’

“‘Where are the Tartars?’ said I.

“‘Everywhere,’ he replied, ‘and among them is a séraskier,[60]with a large number of Turks, near Ackermann, twelve thousand men in Bender, the Dniester is guarded, and there are six thousand men in Choczim.’”

There was not a word of truth in all this. Five months were spent in a state of inactivity which would have been inexplicable had it not been intentional. The Prince de Ligne was not long in perceiving that this was the case, and punctually warned the Emperor of Austria.

During the long days offar nientethe Prince amused himself by scribbling down his thoughts on little squares of paper, which, though he appeared to attach no importance to them, he took care to preserve. They were well worth keeping, to judge by the following:—

“Europe is in such a perfect mess at thepresent moment that I think it a good time to reflect on the position of affairs. France writes, but, unfortunately, the Empire reads. The soldiers of the Bishop of Liege are at open war with the bankers of Spa. The Netherlands have risen against their sovereign without knowing why. Soon, no doubt, people will kill one another in the hope of gaining more freedom and happiness. Austria, exposed to dangers at home, timidly threatens both friend and foe, and is unable to distinguish one from the other. England, who is never entirely of the same opinion, has a majority in favour of Prussia, who has already fired a few shots in Holland! Proud Spain, who formerly owned the invincible fleet, gets anxious as soon as a single English vessel leaves port. Italy fears the lazzaroni and the free-thinkers. Denmark watches Sweden, and Sweden watches Russia. The Tartars, the Georgians, the Imarets, the Abyssinians, the Circassians, kill the Russians. The journey to the Crimeaalarms and irritates the Sultan. The Egyptian and Scutari bashaws are warring with the Turks, who, from two other sides, at a thousand leagues’ distance, are at the same time attacking the two most powerful and important empires that exist. We are called to arms, and I join the fray. Without ceasing to be a spectator, I become an actor in the play. In my opinion all that is taking place around me is nothing more than a kick in an anthill. Are we anything better ourselves, poor mortals that we are?”

During this time the corps under Marshal Lascy[61]had opened the campaign; the Emperor commanded in person, and Prince Charles, who had not accompanied his father to Russia, served as major in the engineers.

The Prince soon distinguished himself at the siege of Sabacz, where he superintended the opening of the trenches, and directed the batteries which attacked the fort.

On the day of the assault, by means of a plank, he crossed the wide deep moats which protected the approaches of the fortress; he was the first to dash forward and scale the wall, and once on the top of the ramparts, in spite of the efforts of the Turks, he held out his hand to the soldiers who had followed him, helped them up, and was the first to enter the town. The Emperor, who witnessed this brilliant exploit, conferred on the Prince the rank of Colonel, and decorated him with the order of Marie-Thérèse, without holding a chapter of the order—an honour which was entirely without precedent. It so happened that the garrison of Belgrade was carrying on such a heavy cannonading during the ceremony that the Emperor Joseph, addressing the Prince, said: “Even the Turks are taking part in your initiation,and celebrating your valour and my justice.”

The Emperor himself announced to the Prince de Ligne his son’s brilliant conduct: the pride and emotion of the father can only be described in his own words. He writes to the Comte de Ségur:—

8th May 1788.

“Ah! my friend, let me weep awhile; and read the following!

“‘The Emperor Joseph to the Prince de Ligne.“‘Kilenack,25th April 1788.“‘We have just taken Sabacz:[62]our loss was small. The feldzeugmeister, Rouvroy,[63]a brave man, as you know, received a slight wound in the chest, which does not preventhim from dressing himself or going out. Prince Poniatowski was shot in the thigh, and though the bone is not injured the wound is somewhat serious. But I must, my dear Prince, inform you of something else, which will please you all the more that in it you will recognise the spirit of your race; it is that your son Charles contributed for the most part to the success of this enterprise, by the infinite pains that he took in marking out the trenches for the batteries, and he wasthe firstto scale the parapet and help up the rest. So I have named him Lieutenant-Colonel, and have conferred on him the order of Marie-Thérèse. It is a real pleasure to me to send you this intelligence, as I am aware of the satisfaction it will give you, knowing, as I do, your patriotism and your affection for your son.“‘I leave to-morrow for Semlin.“‘Joseph.’“What modesty! The Emperor does notmention himself, though he was in the midst of the firing. And how graciously and kindly expressed is the account he sends me. On reading it over again I burst into tears.”8th May (continued from the above).“The messenger saw the Emperor himself firing musket shots with hearty goodwill into the suburbs of Sabacz; and Marshal de Lascy tear up some palings to point a cannon, which should protect my Charles by attacking a turret from which a continual fire was being directed against him. The Marshal would, I believe, have done it for any other, but it had the appearance of personal and almost paternal kindness.“The Marshal being rather exhausted, the Emperor fetched a barrel and made him sit down, while he himself stood surrounded by his generals, thus paying him a kind of homage.“Here is a letter from Charles himself:—“‘We have taken Sabacz. I have thecross. You may be sure, papa, that I thought of you on going up the first to the assault.—Your submissive and respectful son,“‘Charles.’“Could there be anything more touching! Would I had been there to give him a hand! I can see that I have his esteem by the words,I thought of you, but I should have deserved it still better. I feel too much affected to write more. I embrace you, my dear Count.”

“‘The Emperor Joseph to the Prince de Ligne.

“‘Kilenack,25th April 1788.

“‘We have just taken Sabacz:[62]our loss was small. The feldzeugmeister, Rouvroy,[63]a brave man, as you know, received a slight wound in the chest, which does not preventhim from dressing himself or going out. Prince Poniatowski was shot in the thigh, and though the bone is not injured the wound is somewhat serious. But I must, my dear Prince, inform you of something else, which will please you all the more that in it you will recognise the spirit of your race; it is that your son Charles contributed for the most part to the success of this enterprise, by the infinite pains that he took in marking out the trenches for the batteries, and he wasthe firstto scale the parapet and help up the rest. So I have named him Lieutenant-Colonel, and have conferred on him the order of Marie-Thérèse. It is a real pleasure to me to send you this intelligence, as I am aware of the satisfaction it will give you, knowing, as I do, your patriotism and your affection for your son.

“‘I leave to-morrow for Semlin.

“‘Joseph.’

“What modesty! The Emperor does notmention himself, though he was in the midst of the firing. And how graciously and kindly expressed is the account he sends me. On reading it over again I burst into tears.”

8th May (continued from the above).

“The messenger saw the Emperor himself firing musket shots with hearty goodwill into the suburbs of Sabacz; and Marshal de Lascy tear up some palings to point a cannon, which should protect my Charles by attacking a turret from which a continual fire was being directed against him. The Marshal would, I believe, have done it for any other, but it had the appearance of personal and almost paternal kindness.

“The Marshal being rather exhausted, the Emperor fetched a barrel and made him sit down, while he himself stood surrounded by his generals, thus paying him a kind of homage.

“Here is a letter from Charles himself:—

“‘We have taken Sabacz. I have thecross. You may be sure, papa, that I thought of you on going up the first to the assault.—Your submissive and respectful son,

“‘Charles.’

“Could there be anything more touching! Would I had been there to give him a hand! I can see that I have his esteem by the words,I thought of you, but I should have deserved it still better. I feel too much affected to write more. I embrace you, my dear Count.”

But it is with his son that the Prince gives himself up to all the intensity of his feelings.

From Potemkin’s Headquarters at Elisabethgorod.

12th May 1788.“What can I tell you, my dear Charles, that you do not already know of my feelings on receiving from His Majesty a letter so full of kindness and graciousness? This letter is worth more to you than any parchments containing titles, diplomas, or patents—merefood for rats. It contains such touching words for us both that, though I am getting rather old to cry, it is impossible for me to refrain from doing so whenever I read over that paragraph. All the Circassian generals and officers, the Zaporogues, Tartars, Cabardians,[64]Germans, Russians, Cossacks, etc.,—all came to me in crowds, to congratulate me with a warmth I can never forget.“The father and most tender friend of my Charles are assuredly deeply touched at the honour you have won, and which surpasses anything I have ever done in my life. But the General de Ligne has suffered abominably.“Imagine, my boy, what a delightful moment for both of us had I been the first to accept your aid in clambering up that parapet, where you arrived before any one else!“Good heavens, what a fool one is at a distance! I, who at Hühnerwasser wouldhave calmly seen you shot through the arm—I am as nervous as any woman,—a condition which is not far removed from that of minister.[65]However, I have agreed with some regiments of light horse to make a good slashing charge. I have never done anything of the kind, except at the head of ten Uhlans against five or six drunken Prussian hussars. You will admit that it was not the most memorable action of this century. I cannot shut myself up in those squares, as in a box, where one opens a door to come in or go out.“One can always manage to command if one chooses on the day of battle, so that I am perfectly certain, though I have not an army, that nothing will happen where I am but what I choose; I have already learnt all that is necessary, and am beginning to understand Russian. Do you think now, my Charles, that I was right in always wishing you to bean engineer? You have now shown genius,[66]as I knew you would. But are you sure you are not slightly wounded, though you do not say so?“Do not let any of His Majesty’s messengers come to me without sending me a letter. A thousand messages to my comrade Rouvroy, whose fate and wound I envy. Poor Poniatowski![67]I tremble lest he should follow in his father’s footsteps. He has already the same courage, the same military intelligence, personal devotion to His Majesty, generosity, etc., but I trust he will not have the same fate. Embrace him for me.”

12th May 1788.

“What can I tell you, my dear Charles, that you do not already know of my feelings on receiving from His Majesty a letter so full of kindness and graciousness? This letter is worth more to you than any parchments containing titles, diplomas, or patents—merefood for rats. It contains such touching words for us both that, though I am getting rather old to cry, it is impossible for me to refrain from doing so whenever I read over that paragraph. All the Circassian generals and officers, the Zaporogues, Tartars, Cabardians,[64]Germans, Russians, Cossacks, etc.,—all came to me in crowds, to congratulate me with a warmth I can never forget.

“The father and most tender friend of my Charles are assuredly deeply touched at the honour you have won, and which surpasses anything I have ever done in my life. But the General de Ligne has suffered abominably.

“Imagine, my boy, what a delightful moment for both of us had I been the first to accept your aid in clambering up that parapet, where you arrived before any one else!

“Good heavens, what a fool one is at a distance! I, who at Hühnerwasser wouldhave calmly seen you shot through the arm—I am as nervous as any woman,—a condition which is not far removed from that of minister.[65]However, I have agreed with some regiments of light horse to make a good slashing charge. I have never done anything of the kind, except at the head of ten Uhlans against five or six drunken Prussian hussars. You will admit that it was not the most memorable action of this century. I cannot shut myself up in those squares, as in a box, where one opens a door to come in or go out.

“One can always manage to command if one chooses on the day of battle, so that I am perfectly certain, though I have not an army, that nothing will happen where I am but what I choose; I have already learnt all that is necessary, and am beginning to understand Russian. Do you think now, my Charles, that I was right in always wishing you to bean engineer? You have now shown genius,[66]as I knew you would. But are you sure you are not slightly wounded, though you do not say so?

“Do not let any of His Majesty’s messengers come to me without sending me a letter. A thousand messages to my comrade Rouvroy, whose fate and wound I envy. Poor Poniatowski![67]I tremble lest he should follow in his father’s footsteps. He has already the same courage, the same military intelligence, personal devotion to His Majesty, generosity, etc., but I trust he will not have the same fate. Embrace him for me.”

The news of the taking of Sabacz hadmade a welcome break in the weary existence the Prince’s father was leading; but Potemkin’s apathy made him relapse into bad humour and impatience. He tried in vain to sting his pride by making constant allusions to the storming of Sabacz, but he had rightly guessed “that, either out of policy, ill-will, or incapacity, the marshals were resolved, even before the campaign was begun, on doing nothing.”

At last, wearied by this determined inaction, he wrote to Prince Potemkin that he should leave the next day for Marshal Romanzoff’s[68]camp in Ukrania.

“At last,” writes the Prince, “I have left those filthy entrenchments which, in virtueof a few projecting angles, are supposed to represent a fort; eight days more and I should have died of it. Potemkin nearly drove me mad. Sometimes on good terms, sometimes on bad, at daggers drawn or prime favourite, speaking or not speaking, but sitting up sometimes till six in the morning to induce him at least to say one word sensible enough to report,—I could no longer endure the whims of such a spoilt child.”

Wearied to death by this horrible inaction, the Prince went to see why Marshal Romanzoff was no better employed than Potemkin.

Romanzoff, as amiable as Potemkin was the reverse, loaded the Prince with promises and attentions, all equally, false. At the end of a few days Ligne was fully convinced that the two Commanders-in-Chief of the Russian army were agreed on one point—“to play a trick on the Emperor Joseph, and only begin the campaign in July, by which time the whole of the Turkish forces would have been directed against theAustrians.” The Prince de Ligne redoubled his efforts to stir up Potemkin. He wrote to the Austrian ambassador at St. Petersburg, and to the Comte de Ségur, urging them to inform the Empress of the situation; but though himself in such favour at Court he never once wrote to Catherine. She knew the motive of his silence, and was irritated at it; but she would not complain, in case that, in a fit of frankness, the Prince should say too much. “If I had chosen,” he says, “to write only once in praise of Prince Potemkin and his operations,[69]I should have received showers of presents in diamonds and serfs. Catherine would have been very well pleasedif I had deceived her; it would have been more convenient for her to believe that all was going on well.”

In spite of his anger against the Russian Marshals the Prince de Ligne, who was a connoisseur, sincerely admired the Muscovite nation and soldiery.

“I see that the Russians,” he writes to the Comte de Ségur, “learn the liberal arts in the same way thatle médecin malgré lui(the doctor in spite of himself) took his degree. They are foot-soldiers, sailors, sportsmen, priests, dragoons, musicians, engineers, actors, cuirassiers, painters and surgeons. I see the Russians sing and dance in the trenches, though they are never relieved, and remain in the midst of shot and shell, of snow or mud, clever, clean, attentive, respectful, obedient, trying to forestall their orders by divining them in the eyes of their officers.”

The greatest pleasure the General de Ligne had was to write and receive news ofabsent friends. His letters are so wonderfully graphic, the slightest detail is invested with so much charm, that one is never tired of reading them. Those he wrote to his son Charles are a perfect diary of his life.

From Marshal Romanzoff’s Headquarters in Poland.

8th June 1788.“If you inquire, my dear Charles, how I am, I shall reply: Always the same. I am continually with the armies and the marshals, trying to make them do something. But the devil is with them, in spite of all their Russian signs of the cross.“The best thing I have done is to have left that quiz, that maker of compliments, my admirer, as he calls himself, for Kaminiecz. Ah! if I still had a heart, how terribly in love I should be! The governor’s wife,[70]thatmagnificent Greek, known and admired all over the world, drove me in a berlin within half a cannon’s range of Choczim, from whence a few shots were fired over our heads.“I confess that I felt more inclined to find out her weak point of attack than to reconnoitre that of the fortress.“I stay at her house; but what an infernal row goes on! A rattle of chains all night; I thought there were ghosts. The fact is that her husband, who is commandant of Kaminiecz, has all his work done by convicts. What a contrast between their rascally countenances and the beauty of her whomthey serve, under the sway of the rod! Even the cook is a convict; it is economical, but dreadful.“I wish, my dear Charles, that Oczakoff (I must return to Potemkin, for I am still more incapable of moving this man) may procure me something glorious in your style. I shall be killed on your account, for you must have a father worthy of you.You thought of me, you say; you are sublime and touching. You have worked for me; I will work for you. I send you a tender farewell from these five or six hundred leagues distance.”

8th June 1788.

“If you inquire, my dear Charles, how I am, I shall reply: Always the same. I am continually with the armies and the marshals, trying to make them do something. But the devil is with them, in spite of all their Russian signs of the cross.

“The best thing I have done is to have left that quiz, that maker of compliments, my admirer, as he calls himself, for Kaminiecz. Ah! if I still had a heart, how terribly in love I should be! The governor’s wife,[70]thatmagnificent Greek, known and admired all over the world, drove me in a berlin within half a cannon’s range of Choczim, from whence a few shots were fired over our heads.

“I confess that I felt more inclined to find out her weak point of attack than to reconnoitre that of the fortress.

“I stay at her house; but what an infernal row goes on! A rattle of chains all night; I thought there were ghosts. The fact is that her husband, who is commandant of Kaminiecz, has all his work done by convicts. What a contrast between their rascally countenances and the beauty of her whomthey serve, under the sway of the rod! Even the cook is a convict; it is economical, but dreadful.

“I wish, my dear Charles, that Oczakoff (I must return to Potemkin, for I am still more incapable of moving this man) may procure me something glorious in your style. I shall be killed on your account, for you must have a father worthy of you.You thought of me, you say; you are sublime and touching. You have worked for me; I will work for you. I send you a tender farewell from these five or six hundred leagues distance.”

The Prince found Potemkin and his army just as he had left them, and he writes to his son, who had recommended a Prussian officer to him:——

From the Camp in the Deserts of Tartary.

BeforeOczakoff,30th July.“I will place your Prussian officer. I cannot make Prince Potemkin advance as far as the Liman, but I can advance officers.I have made generals, majors, etc.; but you have made your crop of laurels, and can laugh at me.“Always the same inaction, one-third through fear, one through spite, and one through ignorance. I would wish, at the end of the war, to have one-quarter of your glory in this campaign. Your letters are gay and brave, like yourself; they bear your image.“A fearful storm obliges me to go to bed. A cloud has burst over the camp, and inundated the two pretty little houses I have erected under my immense Turkish tent, so that I do not know where to put my foot. Oh, oh! I am this moment informed that a major has been killed by lightning in his tent; it falls nearly every day, catch it who may.“The other day the arms of an officer of light cavalry had to be amputated on account of the bite of a tarentula; as for lizards, no one is in a better position than I am to assert that they are the friend of man; for I livewith them, and can trust them better than my friends in this country. Sometimes I hear the wind rising, and have my tent opened, but I shut it up again quickly; for the wind seems to blow off a furnace. Oh! we do enjoy every sort of advantage here. Shall I give you a specimen of Prince Repnin’s good taste? You know the habits of the service here, the baseness of the inferiors, and the insolence of the superiors. When Prince Potemkin makes a sign or drops anything, twenty generals prostrate themselves to earth. The other day seven or eight of them tried to help Prince Repnin off with his cloak: ‘No, gentlemen,’ he said; ‘the Prince de Ligne will kindly do it.’ A good lesson! They have more refinement of mind than of heart, and they felt it.“Nevertheless, I rather play the victim; but Sarti[71]is here with an excellent orchestra,and he has brought that music you know so well, in which there are thirty C’s, thirty D’s, etc. Sometimes we have no bread, only biscuits and macaroons; no apples or pears, but pots of jam; no butter, but ices; no water, but every kind of wine; no wood for the kitchen fire sometimes, but logs of aloës to burn for perfume. We have here Madame Michel Potemkin, who is extremely beautiful; Madame Skawrowski, another niece of the vizier or patriarch Potemkin (for he arranges his religion also), very charming; and Madame Samoiloff, another niece, still more lovely. I played a proverb for her in this desert, and she seemed to like it, for she has since said: ‘Do play anotherriddlefor me.’“I presented the other day to the Prince a blockhead sent to me by a fool. One is called Marolles, the other is M. de X——,who recommends him as head of the engineers, and destined to take Oczakoff.“‘Good morning, General,’ he said, on entering, to the Prince, ‘I will take that place for you in a fortnight. Have you any books here? Do you know in Russia those of a M. Vauban and a certain Coëhorn?[72]I should like to look them over before beginning.’ You may fancy Potemkin’s astonishment. ‘What a man!’ he said to me, ‘I do not know if he is an engineer, but I know he is French. Ask him a few questions.’ I did so, and he admitted he was an engineer for roads and bridges.“Baron de Stad, who is here, delights me. He also is a thorough Frenchman; annoying the Prince, unpleasant to every one, writingcharming verses, hating the petulance of Roger,[73]with whom he is perpetually quarrelling, and going gallantly into action, though declaring all the time that he is dying of fright. ‘Behold,’ says he, ‘how nature suffers; my horse himself trembles, and cares no more for glory than I do.’ We have seen another personage, as ridiculous as his name, which is Gigandé, a lieutenant in the guards of the Abbé de Porentruy. Yesterday he was robbed. Furious, he exclaimed, with his Swiss accent: ‘Che me lèfe, che m’égorge les pieds pour aller tout te suite faire mes blaintes à un chéneral et il me tit: ‘Si c’est un soltat, chevous ferai rentre, mais, si c’est un officier, cela sera tifficile.’[74]“Another Frenchman, whose name is M. Second, came to consult me about an affair of honour. ‘For I see, sir,’ he said, ‘that I shall be forced to fight!’ I assured him that if he spoke in that way to everybody he would have no need of a man of his own name; that was a good piece of nonsense, was it not?“Shall I tell you one of my innocent amusements? I place my dromedaries in the way of the gilded staff, when by chance ‘Marlborough s’en va-t-en guerre’ (Marlborough goes off to the wars).[75]The other day two or three generals were thrown, half the escort upset, and the other half sent flying.“Ah, Charles, when shall we meet again, at Stamboul or at Bel Œil? If only the Emperor and my Russian General would notstand on such ceremony about crossing the Save and the Bog as they would do to go through a door, we should soon upset theSublime Porte, and should meet where I said.Then, my dear Cinéas, etc., etc. In the meanwhile let us love each other wherever we are.”

BeforeOczakoff,30th July.

“I will place your Prussian officer. I cannot make Prince Potemkin advance as far as the Liman, but I can advance officers.I have made generals, majors, etc.; but you have made your crop of laurels, and can laugh at me.

“Always the same inaction, one-third through fear, one through spite, and one through ignorance. I would wish, at the end of the war, to have one-quarter of your glory in this campaign. Your letters are gay and brave, like yourself; they bear your image.

“A fearful storm obliges me to go to bed. A cloud has burst over the camp, and inundated the two pretty little houses I have erected under my immense Turkish tent, so that I do not know where to put my foot. Oh, oh! I am this moment informed that a major has been killed by lightning in his tent; it falls nearly every day, catch it who may.

“The other day the arms of an officer of light cavalry had to be amputated on account of the bite of a tarentula; as for lizards, no one is in a better position than I am to assert that they are the friend of man; for I livewith them, and can trust them better than my friends in this country. Sometimes I hear the wind rising, and have my tent opened, but I shut it up again quickly; for the wind seems to blow off a furnace. Oh! we do enjoy every sort of advantage here. Shall I give you a specimen of Prince Repnin’s good taste? You know the habits of the service here, the baseness of the inferiors, and the insolence of the superiors. When Prince Potemkin makes a sign or drops anything, twenty generals prostrate themselves to earth. The other day seven or eight of them tried to help Prince Repnin off with his cloak: ‘No, gentlemen,’ he said; ‘the Prince de Ligne will kindly do it.’ A good lesson! They have more refinement of mind than of heart, and they felt it.

“Nevertheless, I rather play the victim; but Sarti[71]is here with an excellent orchestra,and he has brought that music you know so well, in which there are thirty C’s, thirty D’s, etc. Sometimes we have no bread, only biscuits and macaroons; no apples or pears, but pots of jam; no butter, but ices; no water, but every kind of wine; no wood for the kitchen fire sometimes, but logs of aloës to burn for perfume. We have here Madame Michel Potemkin, who is extremely beautiful; Madame Skawrowski, another niece of the vizier or patriarch Potemkin (for he arranges his religion also), very charming; and Madame Samoiloff, another niece, still more lovely. I played a proverb for her in this desert, and she seemed to like it, for she has since said: ‘Do play anotherriddlefor me.’

“I presented the other day to the Prince a blockhead sent to me by a fool. One is called Marolles, the other is M. de X——,who recommends him as head of the engineers, and destined to take Oczakoff.

“‘Good morning, General,’ he said, on entering, to the Prince, ‘I will take that place for you in a fortnight. Have you any books here? Do you know in Russia those of a M. Vauban and a certain Coëhorn?[72]I should like to look them over before beginning.’ You may fancy Potemkin’s astonishment. ‘What a man!’ he said to me, ‘I do not know if he is an engineer, but I know he is French. Ask him a few questions.’ I did so, and he admitted he was an engineer for roads and bridges.

“Baron de Stad, who is here, delights me. He also is a thorough Frenchman; annoying the Prince, unpleasant to every one, writingcharming verses, hating the petulance of Roger,[73]with whom he is perpetually quarrelling, and going gallantly into action, though declaring all the time that he is dying of fright. ‘Behold,’ says he, ‘how nature suffers; my horse himself trembles, and cares no more for glory than I do.’ We have seen another personage, as ridiculous as his name, which is Gigandé, a lieutenant in the guards of the Abbé de Porentruy. Yesterday he was robbed. Furious, he exclaimed, with his Swiss accent: ‘Che me lèfe, che m’égorge les pieds pour aller tout te suite faire mes blaintes à un chéneral et il me tit: ‘Si c’est un soltat, chevous ferai rentre, mais, si c’est un officier, cela sera tifficile.’[74]

“Another Frenchman, whose name is M. Second, came to consult me about an affair of honour. ‘For I see, sir,’ he said, ‘that I shall be forced to fight!’ I assured him that if he spoke in that way to everybody he would have no need of a man of his own name; that was a good piece of nonsense, was it not?

“Shall I tell you one of my innocent amusements? I place my dromedaries in the way of the gilded staff, when by chance ‘Marlborough s’en va-t-en guerre’ (Marlborough goes off to the wars).[75]The other day two or three generals were thrown, half the escort upset, and the other half sent flying.

“Ah, Charles, when shall we meet again, at Stamboul or at Bel Œil? If only the Emperor and my Russian General would notstand on such ceremony about crossing the Save and the Bog as they would do to go through a door, we should soon upset theSublime Porte, and should meet where I said.Then, my dear Cinéas, etc., etc. In the meanwhile let us love each other wherever we are.”

On the Russian side the situation remained the same till October, and during this time things went as badly as possible for Austria. This disastrous campaign cost her thirty thousand men, killed in various engagements, forty thousand carried off by the plague, the invasion of the Banate, and several defeats in Bosnia. Ill with fatigue, in despair at his want of success, alarmed at the complete rebellion in Flanders, Joseph returned to Vienna almost broken-hearted. He determined to call to his side the Prince de Ligne, and to give him, with Marshal Laudon, the command of his army during the ensuing campaign. He sent Prince Charles to carry the order to his father. We canimagine how welcome was the arrival of the conqueror of Sabacz, and with what transports of delight he was received. His father immediately prepared to depart, and they arrived in Vienna at the end of November. Potemkin took Oczakoff a fortnight later. It seemed as though he had waited Ligne’s departure before deciding on the attack, and his jealous character justifies the supposition. The winter was peacefully spent at Vienna, and Prince Charles, absorbed in his new passion, did not seem afflicted at his wife’s absence.

In the spring of 1789 the two Princes joined Marshal Laudon’s army. General de Ligne commanded the right wing, and played an important part at the siege of Belgrade, during which he displayed an indefatigable energy. “I was all on fire myself,” he writes, “urged on by that being,[76]who is more like a god than a man. Urged on by him, I urged on the others. Bolza watched, anddanced attendance. Funk fired, Maillard[77]advanced. I thanked, begged, thundered, threatened, commanded; all was done, and well done, in the twinkling of an eye.”

Prince Charles, who was Colonel, was in command, and energetically seconded his father, who caught a violent fever during the siege, and was confined to his bed for some days, at which he was very furious. He writes to Marshal Lascy: “The Turkish Caïques have been venturing too near Krieg-Insel (my headquarters). ‘We must give them a lesson,’ I said to my son, who at times engaged with my own, at others with Marshal Laudon’s column of attack; Charles, with his usual liveliness, immediately threw himself into a boat with my aides-de-camp, and, followed by about forty other small boats, went off to attack the Turkish Caïques.

“I directed the battle from my window, in spite of a diabolical attack of fever, andalmost killed myself screaming to an Italian, who commanded my frigate, theMarie-Thérèse: ‘Alla larga!’ and words which I dare not write. Out of patience I finally went myself to end this very peculiar naval engagement.”

Belgrade was taken on the 8th of October 1789; Prince Charles had again the honour of being first at the assault. Marshal Laudon, who was not lavish of praise or flattery, wrote to the Prince de Ligne the most complimentary letter, in which he said: “More than half the glory won by the taking of Belgrade by right belongs to your Highness.”

The Emperor sent the Prince the cross of Commander of the Order of Marie-Thérèse, accompanied by a dry and cold letter, whose purpose de Ligne could not unravel; but he was still so ill with fever that both cross and letter made but a slight impression. He solved the riddle later on: Joseph II. had unjustly suspected him of having encouraged the rebellion in Flanders.

FOOTNOTES:[58]On 9th February 1788 Austria, in fulfilment of her alliance with Russia, declared war with Turkey.[59]Potemkin (Grégoire Alexandrowitch), Russian Field-Marshal, and the most renowned favourite of Catherine II. He was born in September 1736, in the suburbs of Smolensk, and died on 16th October 1791.It is said that during the famous journey in Tauris he ordered theatrical scenery to be constructed at intervals on the road along which the Empress was expected to pass. This scenery represented in the distance villages, towns, and cities, and he organised troops of supernumerary actors, who simulated the rural population peacefully pursuing their avocations. Although he was invested with offices and dignities more profitable one than the other, he helped himself to the State monies, and accepted bribes from foreign powers. Joseph II. and Frederick the Great loaded him with presents and pensions, and in consequence of their rivalry with regard to the Russian alliance, the first created him Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, and the second offered to assist him in obtaining for himself the Duchy of Courland. He had no talent as a general in command, but was fortunate in having under him good officers, who were able to carry on the war operations against the Turks.[60]Seraskier, general-in-chief in the Turkish army.[61]Joseph-François-Maurice, Comte de Lascy, born at St. Petersburg on 21st October 1725, and educated at Vienna. He was colonel when the Seven Years War broke out. The services he rendered ensured him rapid promotion; he distinguished himself during the campaign of 1778, and in 1788, as field-marshal, conducted the war against the Turks. He died at Vienna on 4th November 1801.[62]A fortified town in Servia, situated on the Save; 4000 inhabitants.[63]Theodore, Baron de Rouvroy, born at Luxembourg in 1727. He entered the Austrian service in 1753, and in 1765 received the cross of commander of the order of Marie-Thérèse. He died 31st September 1789. He was one of the most distinguished artillery generals in the Austrian army.[64]Inhabitants of Cabardia, a country situated on the northern slopes of the Caucasus, and which, at that time, was not yet under Russian dominion.[65]The Prince was both General-in-Chief without an army corps and Minister-plenipotentiaryin partibus.[66]A play upon words; “genius” and “engineer” in French being expressed by the same word,génie.[67]Prince Joseph Poniatowski was at that time lieutenant-colonel and aide-de-camp to the Emperor of Austria. He entered the Polish army as general in 1789. He had command of the army at Warsaw in 1809. The Emperor Napoleon made him a Marshal of France.At Sabacz the Turks took him for the Emperor Joseph, as he wore the same uniform—a green coat with red facings, and a brilliant decoration. He was killed by a shot while crossing the Elster on 19th October 1813.[68]Romanzoff (Pierre Alexandrowitch), born in 1725, was one of the most celebrated Russian generals. He defeated Frederick the Second at the battle of Kunersdorf. Appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Russian army in 1770 during the war against the Turks, he obtained several brilliant successes, and was named field-marshal. He was so dissatisfied at sharing the command with Potemkin in 1787 that he did not continue the campaign, and resigned his post. This motive may also explain his inaction. He died on 17th December 1796.[69]The Prince de Ligne relates that Prince Potemkin had only one idea—that of forming a regiment of Jews, to be called Israelowsky. “We already had a squadron whom I delighted in; for their long beards, which reached to their knees, on account of their short stirrups, and the fear they were in on horseback, gave them the appearance of monkeys. The anxiety they felt could be read in their eyes, and the long pikes they carried in a most comical manner made them look as if they were trying to mimic the Cossacks. I do not know what cursedPope(Russian priest) persuaded our Marshal that a corps of Jews was contrary to the Holy Scriptures.”[70]The famous Sophie de Witt was a Greek slave, stolen from the Island of Chio. She attracted the notice of the French ambassador in a street of Constantinople, and he had her taken care of and educated. On his way to St. Petersburg the ambassador stopped at Kaminiecz; he had brought Sophie with him. General de Witt, Governor of Bessarabia, entertained the ambassador, and was so struck with the beauty of the Greek slave that he fell desperately in love with her.In order to deceive his guest, he arranged a hunting party, which was to meet at a great distance from the fortress, and, excusing himself on the ground of a sudden order, remained behind. Hardly had the ambassador left than de Witt closed the gates, and celebrated his marriage with Sophie. On returning in the evening, the ambassador was much surprised to find the gates closed; an envoy was sent, who informed him of what had taken place; he thought it useless to contend against an accomplished fact, and philosophically resigned himself to his ward’s marriage.[71]Sarti (Joseph), a celebrated Italian composer, born at Faënza in 1730. In 1785 he was called to St. Petersburg by Catherine II. Under the protection of Potemkin he was appointed in 1793 Director of the Conservatorium at Catherinoslaff, with an annual revenue of thirty-five thousand roubles; he was allowed free lodging and fifteen thousand roubles for travelling expenses. Admitted into the ranks of the Russian nobility, he died at Berlin in 1802.[72]Coëhorn (Menno, Baron de), celebrated engineer, contemporary and rival of Vauban. He defended Namur against Vauban, and for two days repulsed the attack on Fort Wilhelm, but at last succumbed to superior numbers. He directed, under the Prince de Nassau-Saarbruck’s orders, the sieges of Venloo and Ruremonde, which, owing to his skilful operations, were obliged to capitulate. He had a great reputation in Germany. Born in 1641 in Friesland, he died on 17th March 1704.[73]Comte Roger de Damas (born in 1765, died in 1823). At the age of fifteen he was already an officer in the French army; his bravery, his chivalrous character, his quick intellect, made him the observed of all. “François First, the great Condé, and the Marshal de Saxe, would have wished to have a son like him,” says the Prince de Ligne. “In the midst of the heaviest cannonade he is giddy as a cockchafer, noisy, the most relentless singer, shouting the finest opera airs, making the maddest quotations in the midst of the firing, and yet judging perfectly all that goes on. War does not intoxicate him, but he is full of a genial ardour, such as one feels after a supper ... amiable, beloved by all, what is called a nice Frenchman, good-looking, an excellent fellow, and a well-bred gentleman of the Court of France: such is Roger de Damas.”[74]“I get up, I become footsore with running about to complain to the general, and he says to me: ‘If it is a soldier, your things will be returned; but if it is an officer, it will be difficult.’”[75]Popular French song.[76]Marshal Laudon.[77]MM. Bolza, Funk, and Maillard were the Prince’s three aides-de-camp.

[58]On 9th February 1788 Austria, in fulfilment of her alliance with Russia, declared war with Turkey.

[59]Potemkin (Grégoire Alexandrowitch), Russian Field-Marshal, and the most renowned favourite of Catherine II. He was born in September 1736, in the suburbs of Smolensk, and died on 16th October 1791.It is said that during the famous journey in Tauris he ordered theatrical scenery to be constructed at intervals on the road along which the Empress was expected to pass. This scenery represented in the distance villages, towns, and cities, and he organised troops of supernumerary actors, who simulated the rural population peacefully pursuing their avocations. Although he was invested with offices and dignities more profitable one than the other, he helped himself to the State monies, and accepted bribes from foreign powers. Joseph II. and Frederick the Great loaded him with presents and pensions, and in consequence of their rivalry with regard to the Russian alliance, the first created him Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, and the second offered to assist him in obtaining for himself the Duchy of Courland. He had no talent as a general in command, but was fortunate in having under him good officers, who were able to carry on the war operations against the Turks.

It is said that during the famous journey in Tauris he ordered theatrical scenery to be constructed at intervals on the road along which the Empress was expected to pass. This scenery represented in the distance villages, towns, and cities, and he organised troops of supernumerary actors, who simulated the rural population peacefully pursuing their avocations. Although he was invested with offices and dignities more profitable one than the other, he helped himself to the State monies, and accepted bribes from foreign powers. Joseph II. and Frederick the Great loaded him with presents and pensions, and in consequence of their rivalry with regard to the Russian alliance, the first created him Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, and the second offered to assist him in obtaining for himself the Duchy of Courland. He had no talent as a general in command, but was fortunate in having under him good officers, who were able to carry on the war operations against the Turks.

[60]Seraskier, general-in-chief in the Turkish army.

[61]Joseph-François-Maurice, Comte de Lascy, born at St. Petersburg on 21st October 1725, and educated at Vienna. He was colonel when the Seven Years War broke out. The services he rendered ensured him rapid promotion; he distinguished himself during the campaign of 1778, and in 1788, as field-marshal, conducted the war against the Turks. He died at Vienna on 4th November 1801.

[62]A fortified town in Servia, situated on the Save; 4000 inhabitants.

[63]Theodore, Baron de Rouvroy, born at Luxembourg in 1727. He entered the Austrian service in 1753, and in 1765 received the cross of commander of the order of Marie-Thérèse. He died 31st September 1789. He was one of the most distinguished artillery generals in the Austrian army.

[64]Inhabitants of Cabardia, a country situated on the northern slopes of the Caucasus, and which, at that time, was not yet under Russian dominion.

[65]The Prince was both General-in-Chief without an army corps and Minister-plenipotentiaryin partibus.

[66]A play upon words; “genius” and “engineer” in French being expressed by the same word,génie.

[67]Prince Joseph Poniatowski was at that time lieutenant-colonel and aide-de-camp to the Emperor of Austria. He entered the Polish army as general in 1789. He had command of the army at Warsaw in 1809. The Emperor Napoleon made him a Marshal of France.At Sabacz the Turks took him for the Emperor Joseph, as he wore the same uniform—a green coat with red facings, and a brilliant decoration. He was killed by a shot while crossing the Elster on 19th October 1813.

At Sabacz the Turks took him for the Emperor Joseph, as he wore the same uniform—a green coat with red facings, and a brilliant decoration. He was killed by a shot while crossing the Elster on 19th October 1813.

[68]Romanzoff (Pierre Alexandrowitch), born in 1725, was one of the most celebrated Russian generals. He defeated Frederick the Second at the battle of Kunersdorf. Appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Russian army in 1770 during the war against the Turks, he obtained several brilliant successes, and was named field-marshal. He was so dissatisfied at sharing the command with Potemkin in 1787 that he did not continue the campaign, and resigned his post. This motive may also explain his inaction. He died on 17th December 1796.

[69]The Prince de Ligne relates that Prince Potemkin had only one idea—that of forming a regiment of Jews, to be called Israelowsky. “We already had a squadron whom I delighted in; for their long beards, which reached to their knees, on account of their short stirrups, and the fear they were in on horseback, gave them the appearance of monkeys. The anxiety they felt could be read in their eyes, and the long pikes they carried in a most comical manner made them look as if they were trying to mimic the Cossacks. I do not know what cursedPope(Russian priest) persuaded our Marshal that a corps of Jews was contrary to the Holy Scriptures.”

[70]The famous Sophie de Witt was a Greek slave, stolen from the Island of Chio. She attracted the notice of the French ambassador in a street of Constantinople, and he had her taken care of and educated. On his way to St. Petersburg the ambassador stopped at Kaminiecz; he had brought Sophie with him. General de Witt, Governor of Bessarabia, entertained the ambassador, and was so struck with the beauty of the Greek slave that he fell desperately in love with her.In order to deceive his guest, he arranged a hunting party, which was to meet at a great distance from the fortress, and, excusing himself on the ground of a sudden order, remained behind. Hardly had the ambassador left than de Witt closed the gates, and celebrated his marriage with Sophie. On returning in the evening, the ambassador was much surprised to find the gates closed; an envoy was sent, who informed him of what had taken place; he thought it useless to contend against an accomplished fact, and philosophically resigned himself to his ward’s marriage.

In order to deceive his guest, he arranged a hunting party, which was to meet at a great distance from the fortress, and, excusing himself on the ground of a sudden order, remained behind. Hardly had the ambassador left than de Witt closed the gates, and celebrated his marriage with Sophie. On returning in the evening, the ambassador was much surprised to find the gates closed; an envoy was sent, who informed him of what had taken place; he thought it useless to contend against an accomplished fact, and philosophically resigned himself to his ward’s marriage.

[71]Sarti (Joseph), a celebrated Italian composer, born at Faënza in 1730. In 1785 he was called to St. Petersburg by Catherine II. Under the protection of Potemkin he was appointed in 1793 Director of the Conservatorium at Catherinoslaff, with an annual revenue of thirty-five thousand roubles; he was allowed free lodging and fifteen thousand roubles for travelling expenses. Admitted into the ranks of the Russian nobility, he died at Berlin in 1802.

[72]Coëhorn (Menno, Baron de), celebrated engineer, contemporary and rival of Vauban. He defended Namur against Vauban, and for two days repulsed the attack on Fort Wilhelm, but at last succumbed to superior numbers. He directed, under the Prince de Nassau-Saarbruck’s orders, the sieges of Venloo and Ruremonde, which, owing to his skilful operations, were obliged to capitulate. He had a great reputation in Germany. Born in 1641 in Friesland, he died on 17th March 1704.

[73]Comte Roger de Damas (born in 1765, died in 1823). At the age of fifteen he was already an officer in the French army; his bravery, his chivalrous character, his quick intellect, made him the observed of all. “François First, the great Condé, and the Marshal de Saxe, would have wished to have a son like him,” says the Prince de Ligne. “In the midst of the heaviest cannonade he is giddy as a cockchafer, noisy, the most relentless singer, shouting the finest opera airs, making the maddest quotations in the midst of the firing, and yet judging perfectly all that goes on. War does not intoxicate him, but he is full of a genial ardour, such as one feels after a supper ... amiable, beloved by all, what is called a nice Frenchman, good-looking, an excellent fellow, and a well-bred gentleman of the Court of France: such is Roger de Damas.”

[74]“I get up, I become footsore with running about to complain to the general, and he says to me: ‘If it is a soldier, your things will be returned; but if it is an officer, it will be difficult.’”

[75]Popular French song.

[76]Marshal Laudon.

[77]MM. Bolza, Funk, and Maillard were the Prince’s three aides-de-camp.

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