Page:A biographical dictionary of eminent Scotsmen, vol 5.djvu/243

Rh following morning, the marshal summoned the magistrates of the town together, told them of the communication which he had from the enemy, and advised them to wait upon the prince, and beg of him, for their own sakes and that of the inhabitants in general, to refrain from proceeding to extremities against the city; "for," said he, with a tact which showed the consummate soldier, "if he proceeds in this resolution, I will myself begin to set fire to the suburbs, and if that be not sufficient to oblige the enemy to desist from his enterprise, I will go further, and not spare even the city itself;" and with many expressions of reluctance to have recourse to such dreadful measures, to which he said necessity alone could compel him, he dismissed the terrified citizens, who instantly despatched a deputation to wait upon the prince. All, however, they could obtain from the latter was a modification of the terms of the original summons. Another was sent, in which the Prussians were offered the liberty of marching out of the town without molestation. This summons marshal Keith rejected with the same determination as the former, to the great provocation of the prince, who, in his resentment at the tone of defiance assumed by the Prussian commander, declared that if the latter carried his threat into execution regarding the burning of the town, he would lay Berlin or Potsdam in ashes. The extremities which were thus threatened on both sides were, however, prevented by the approach of the Prussian monarch, who Arrived in the neighbourhood of Leipsic with a large force, and averted the destruction of the city by bringing on the celebrated battle of Rosbach, in which he was completely victorious. Soon after this, marshal Keith marched into Bohemia with an army, and laid that kingdom under contribution, having previously dislodged the Austrians from the mountains of Saxony, where they had been strongly posted. The brilliant career, however, of this soldier of fortune was now about to close for ever; the death which became him awaited him, and was close at hand.

Frederick had taken up a position in the village of Hochkirchen, which he was particularly desirous of retaining, and which the enemy were equally desirous of possessing. The consequence was, that this point was attacked during the light following its first occupation. On the first alarm of the enemy's motions, marshal Keith mounted his horse, and hastily collecting what troops were in his immediate neighbourhood, marched towards the village. On arriving there he found it already in the hands of the enemy. Charging, however, at the head of his troops, he drove them from the position. Fresh bodies of the enemy came up, and the marshal was in turn forced to retire. Again he returned to the combat, leading on his men, and cheering them as he advanced; and again he cleared the village of the enemy. Determined on possession of the position, the latter once more returned with increased numbers, until latterly the whole flower of the Austrian army were concentrated on this sanguinary spot, defended by a handful of Prussians. At eight o'clock in the morning, and while the combat was yet at the hottest, although it had now lasted several hours, the marshal received a severe and dangerous wound. He refused, however, to quit the field, but continued to conduct the desperate encounter with unabated enthusiasm and gallantry. At nine o'clock, an hour after he had received his first wound, a second shot passed through his breast, and instantly stretched him lifeless on the ground. His body was stripped by the Austrians, who had now driven the Prussians from the field, and was thus left exposed until it was recognized by count Lasci, who had been one of his pupils in the art of war. That nobleman immediately gave orders for its interment ; but this having been done with little reverence, it was shortly afterwards taken up by the curate of Hochkirchen, and again committed to the earth, with every mark of decency and respect. The remains of the marshal were, by the special orders of the