With Frederick the Great | Page 7

badly when I try my native tongue, for from a child I
have spoken nothing but French. Still, it is well that he should know the
language. In my case it matters but little, seeing that all my court and
all my generals speak French. But one who has to give orders to
soldiers should be understood by them.
"'Well, what do you want me to do for the lad?'
"'I propose to make him one of my own aides-de-camp,' I replied, 'and
therefore I care not so much to what regiment he is appointed; though I
own that I would far rather see him in the uniform of the guards, than
any other.'
"'You are modest, marshal; but I observe that it is a common fault
among your countrymen. Well, which shall it be--infantry or cavalry?'
"'Cavalry, since you are good enough to give me the choice, sire. The
uniform looks better, for an aide-de-camp, than that of the infantry.'
"'Very well, then, you may consider him gazetted as a cornet, in my
third regiment of Guards. You have no more kinsmen coming at
present, Keith?'
"'No, sire; not at present.'
"'If many more come, I shall form them into a separate regiment.'
"'Your majesty might do worse,' I said.
"The king nodded. 'I wish I had half a dozen Scotch regiments; aye, a

score or two. They were the cream of the army of Gustavus Adolphus,
and if matters turn out as I fear they will, it would be a welcome
reinforcement.'
"I will give you a note presently," continued the marshal, "to a man
who makes my uniforms, so that I may present you to the king, as soon
as you are enrolled. You must remember that your favour, or otherwise,
with him will depend very largely upon the fit of your uniform, and the
manner in which you carry yourself. There is nothing so unpardonable,
in his eyes, as a slovenly and ill-fitting dress. Everything must be
correct, to a nicety, under all circumstances. Even during hot
campaigns, you must turn out in the morning as if you came from a
band box.
"I will get Colonel Grunow, who commands your regiment, to tell off
an old trooper, one who is thoroughly up to his work, as your servant. I
doubt not that he may be even able to find you a Scotchman, for there
are many in the ranks--gentlemen who came over after Culloden, and
hundreds of brave fellows who escaped Cumberland's harryings by
taking ship and coming over here, where, as they supposed, they would
fight under a Protestant king."
"But the king is a Protestant, is he not, sir?"
"He is nominally a Protestant, Fergus. Absolutely, his majesty has so
many things to see about that he does not trouble himself greatly about
religion. I should say that he was a disciple of Voltaire, until Voltaire
came here; when, upon acquaintance, he saw through the vanity of the
little Frenchman, and has been much less enthusiastic about him since.
"By the way, how did you come here?"
"We heard of a ship sailing for Stettin, and that hurried my departure by
some days. I made a good voyage there, and on landing bought a horse
and rode here."
"Well, I am afraid your horse won't do to carry one of my
aides-de-camp, so you had best dispose of it, for what it will fetch. I

will mount you myself. His majesty was pleased to give me two horses,
the other day, and my stable is therefore over full.
"Now, Fergus, we will drink a goblet of wine to your new appointment,
and success to your career."
"From what you said in your letter to my mother, sir, you think it likely
that we shall see service, before long?"
"Aye, lad, and desperate service, too. We have--but mind, this must go
no further--sure news that Russia, Austria, France, and Saxony have
formed a secret league against Prussia, and that they intend to crush us
first, and then partition the kingdom among themselves. The Empress
of Austria has shamelessly denied that any such treaty exists, but
tomorrow morning a messenger will start, with a demand from the king
that the treaty shall be publicly acknowledged and then broken off, or
that he will at once proclaim war. If we say nine days for the journey
there, nine days to return, and three days waiting for the answer, you
see that in three weeks from the present we may be on the move, for
our only chance depends upon striking a heavy blow before they are
ready. We have not wasted our time. The king has already made an
alliance with England."
"But England has no troops, or scarcely any," Fergus said.
"No, lad, but she has what