Frederic Shoberl Narrative of the Most Remarkable Events Which Occurred In and Near Leipzig | Page 5

of the writer, were he not personally acquainted with the
character of this unfortunate and patriotic nobleman, who is held in the
highest veneration and respect for his benevolence to his numerous
tenantry, his liberality to strangers, and his general philanthropy. To
relieve the distresses which he has so pathetically described, the
publisher solicits the contributions of the benevolent. A distinct book
has been opened for that charitable-purpose at No. 101, Strand, in
which even the smallest sums, with the names of the donors, may be
entered, and to which, as well as to the original letter, reference may be
made by those who feel disposed to peruse, them.

NARRATIVE, &c.
You know, my dear friend, how often I have expressed the
inconsiderate wish to have some time or other an opportunity of
witnessing a general engagement. This wish has now been
accomplished, and in such a way as had well nigh proved fatal to
myself; for my life had like to have been forfeited to my curiosity. I
may boast, however, with perfect truth, that, during the four most
tremendous days, I was wholly unaffected by that alarm and terror
which had seized all around me. On those four days I was a near and
undisturbed observer of a conflict which can scarcely be paralleled In
the annals of the world: a conflict distinguished by a character which
raises it far above your ordinary every-day battles. Its consequences
will extend not to Europe only, but to regions separated from it by vast
oceans. You must not expect from me a narrative that will enter into
military details, but merely a faithful historical picture of what fell
under my own observation; of what my own eyes, assisted by an
excellent telescope, could discover from one of the highest buildings in
the city, in the centre of operations, in the midst of a circumference of
more than eighteen leagues; and what I saw and heard while venturing,
at the hazard of my life, out of the city, not indeed up to the mouths of
the infernal volcanoes, but close in the rear of the French lines, into the
horrible bustle and tumult of the baggage-waggons and bivouacs. We
were here exactly in the middle of the immense magic circle, where the
incantations thundered forth from upwards of fifteen hundred engines
of destruction annihilated many thousands, in order to produce a new
creation. It was the conflict of the Titans against Olympus. It is
unparalleled in regard to the commanders, great part of whom knew
nothing of defeat but from the discomfiture of their opponents, and
among whom were three emperors, a king, and the heir-apparent to a
throne;--it is unparalleled in regard to the form, for it was fought in a
circle which embraced more than fifteen miles;--it is unparalleled in
regard to the prodigious armies engaged, for almost half a million of
warriors out of every region of Europe and Asia, from the mouth of the
Tajo to the Caucasus, with near two thousand pieces of cannon, were
arrayed against one another;--it is unparalleled in regard to its duration,
for it lasted almost one hundred hours;--it is unparalleled in regard to

the plan so profoundly combined and so maturely digested by the allies,
and characterized by an unity, which, in a gigantic mass, composed of
such, multifarious parts, would have been previously deemed
impossible;--it is unparalleled also in regard to its consequences, the
full extent of which time alone can develop, and the first of which, the
dissolution of the confederation of the Rhine, the overthrow of the
Continental system, and the deliverance of Germany, are already before
our eyes:--finally, it is unparalleled in regard to single extraordinary
events, the most remarkable of which is, that the majority of the allies
of the grand army, who had fought under the banners of France in so
many engagements with exemplary valour and obstinacy, in the midst
of this conflict, as if wakened by an electric shock, went over in large
bodies, with their drums beating and with all their artillery, to the
hostile legions, and immediately turned their arms against their former
associates. The annals of modern warfare exhibit no examples of such a
phenomenon, except upon the most contracted scale. You may possibly
object, that in all this there is some exaggeration; and that, if I rate the
battle of Leipzig so highly, it is only because I happened to be an
eye-witness of it myself; that the French army is by no means
annihilated; that in the uncommon talents of its leader it possesses a
sure pledge that it will regain from its enemies those laurels which on
various occasions they have ravished from it for a moment. You may
employ other arguments of a similar kind; but to these I