Of this noble pride he gave new proof at one of the following reviews. His regiment having received orders to charge, acquitted themselves, in the judgment of the king, in so disorderly a manner, that the monarch, addressing himself to the general, cried out in a tone of the utmost displeasure, "I'll see no "more of this; away!" Scarcely had he uttered these words, when Zieten, who thought fit to take them in their literal sense, left the field at the head of his regiment, and marched directly, to Berlin. This movement which appeared a mere much ado about nothing to such as were not in the secret, puzzled and surprised the spectators. The enemy of Zieten who secretly exulted in his humiliation, did every thing in his power to stop him and bring him back, with a view, it may be presumed, of prolonging the illiberal delight this scene afforded him; but all his efforts were to no purpose. The general relying on the first order of the king, paid no attention to the subsequent ones, and even dismissed in a haughty manner the aide-de-camp of his enemy who had been dispatched to recal him.

After

After the review it was customary for people of distinction, whether military or civil, to assemble in the great hall of the palace to pay their devoirs to the king. Zieten went there with the rest, and in the presence of his sovereign, his enemy, and the whole court, appeared with dignified assurance, and with that serenity of mind which had nothing to reproach itself with respecting the past, and nothing to fear with regard to the future. The king saw him, and remained silent.

Seven years passed away in this manner, during which time the king and Zieten seemed irreconcilable towards each other. Frederick, however, secretly preserved some remains of esteem and good will for his general, whom he must have considered of no small importance to the service or he would not have continued him in it on such conditions. Moreover, prejudiced as he was against the regi ment, he still acted with proper justice towards it: the corps were never deprived of any of their rights and privileges, or of their rank in the army. One day a dispute arose be

tween

tween a captain of the gens-d'armes and an officer of the same rank in Zieten's regiment, on the subject of signing their names to a paper. Each claimed the precedence; the one alledging the honour of the regiment, the other his long service: the king decided in favour of the seniority of the commission, and, although irritated against the corps of hussars, gave their officer the preference.

In the year 1755, a great promotion took place, in which Zieten had no share. He had the mortification to see all the major-generals of his own standing, and, among the rest, his inveterate enemy, raised to the rank of lieutenant-general, while he alone remained unadvanced. Of this he ventured to complain to the king, and he received the following

answer.

"My dear major-general de Zieten.

I have received your letter of the 14th instant, containing representations and requests relative to your present rank and future advancement, which I am utterly at a loss to understand. You cannot be ignorant, that you

pre

preserve your rank above all the generals of hussars; nor can you either be ignorant that the hussars, having not the same rank as the rest of the army, the advancement of the other generals does no prejudice to you. I therefore hope, you will make yourself easy, and wait with patience for the moment in which I shall think fit to advance you in your turn; and I remain your affectionate king,

Potsdam, June 30th, 1755

Frederick."

It was in the course of the same year, that one of Zieten's officers rendered the king an essential service, and justified the choice of the monarch, whose prejudices against the regiment did not hinder him from honouring it with his particular confidence whenever his own interest was at stake. The business in question was to save the life of a Prussian officer arrested at Ulm, in the circle of Swabia, for having had recourse to coercive measures in raising recruits. A criminal process was instituted against him in that city, nor could either the repeated remonstrances or threats

of

of the court of Berlin procure his enlargement. To extricate him from his perilous situation, it was necessary to employ art and address on one hand, and on the other, force and violence. This delicate commission was given to captain de Seelen of the regiment of Zieten. Every thing was conducted with the greatest secresy, and scarcely did any of the slightest particulars transpire. The fact, equally interesting and unknown, is entitled to a place in these memoirs.

Lieutenant de Heyden of the garrison of Magdeburg, was employed to raise recruits in the imperial city of Ulm for the supply of his own regiment. He had privately enlisted a tall, well-built man to whom he had given thirty florins on account, with a promise of a further sum in the course of three weeks, to be paid at Leipheim upon the frontiers of the territory of Ulm, whither the recruit had engaged himself to repair. The three weeks being expired, the man passed by M. de Heyden's house and informed one of his servants,

I.

19

who