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common starvelings knew nothing whatever about the matters of greatest importance, so neither did we trouble ourselves much about them. My mind and that of many another man was continually fixed on one thought alone: Away, away, back to our homeland again!

From the 11th to the 22nd of September we sat quietly in camp, and for any man who liked soldiering the time must have passed very agreeably. For it was just like being in a town: there were sutlers and field-butchers by the score, nothing but boiling and roasting all down the long streets. Each man might have what he wished, or rather, what he could pay for: meat, butter, cheese, bread, all kinds of fruit and vegetables. Except for those on guard-duty everyone might do as he pleased: play skittles or cards, stroll about inside the camp or outside. Only a few hunkered idly in their tents. One might be occupied in cleaning his weapons, another washing his clothes, a third cooking a meal, another darning his stockings, another mending his shoes, another whittling something out of wood, to sell to the country people. Every tent had six men and one extra. Among the seven one there was always a corporal, he had to keep good order. Of the other six one would be on guard-duty, one would be cook, another out on forage, another going for wood, another for straw, and another would be quartermaster, but all together kept a single household, the same board and bed for all. On the march every man would cram into his knapsack whatever he could snatch (that is, in enemy territory, of course): flour, turnips, potatoes, hens, ducks and so forth, and he who was not able to hunt up something or other was cursed by the rest, this happened most often to myself. Going through a village, what a shrieking arose from women, children, geese and piglings! Off with whatever you can carry, whoosh, wring its neck and stow it away. Men would break into all the barns and orchards, beat every tree with sticks and pull off the branches with their fruit. Many hands made light work there; what one can't do, another will. Not a soul might say a word against it, so long as the officer gave permission or merely turned a blind eye. Everyone did his duty and more.

We three Swiss, Schärer, Bachmann and I - there were more of our countrymen in the regiment but we did not know them - were never in the same tent together, nor on guard-duty at the same time. We often, however, walked together out of the camp as far as the outposts, particularly to a certain hillock from which we had a wide and beautiful prospect over the Saxon camp and the whole of our own, and down the valley as far as Dresden. There we held council of war as to what we should do, where we should make our escape, what road we should take, and where we should meet up again. But concerning the most important question, we found that all the bolt-holes were stopped. Moreover Schärer and I would rather have slipped away some fine night on our own without Bachmann, for we did not entirely trust him; and every day besides we saw the hussars bring in deserters, heard the drum beat for them to be flogged, and had other encouragements of the like kind. And yet every day we looked for an engagement with the enemy.

54. Capture of the Saxon camp:

At last on the 22nd of September the alarm was sounded and we received the order to strike camp. In a moment all was in motion; in a few minutes a camp that took an hour to cross, like a great city, was torn down, packed up, and allons, quick march! Now we moved onward down the valley, built a bridge of boats near Pirna, and above the little town, opposite the Saxon camp, we formed a double line as we did for running the gauntlet, the end of it reaching down as far as the gates of Pirna. Through this the whole Saxon army now marched in fours, being first compelled to lay down their arms - and, as you may imagine - to hear plenty of cursing and jeering all along the road. Some came sadly with bowed heads, others were angry and defiant, yet others were smiling as if they wished to seem indifferent to the mocking Prussians. Like so many thousand others, I can tell no more than this of the circumstances of the actual surrender of this great army. On the same day we marched on for some distance and pitched camp near Lilienstein.

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