The Young Captives / A Narrative of the Shipwreck and Suffering of John and William Doyley

served its name. Both before and after the commencement of the siege, the magistrates had enough to do in de

both of those who were defending the city and their families; while not neglecting, on the other hand, to guard against a

ant, but took care quietly to make out their several opinions, and he did not find one man among the

icked King Antiochus and his soldiers troubled them, and each one had to take refuge in the caverns and rocky clefts of the mountains. My hearers, Antiochus and his fierce soldiery did not torture the Jews of old one whit more unmercifully than these Swedes have tortured our Saxon brothers and sisters. And it is vain for you to think that you, at least, will escape torture and death by resigning yourselves into their hands; for their hearts are like the nether mill-stone, and they find an evil pleasure in hearkening to the groans of those who perish under their torments. Therefore defend yourselves, as did the Jews in the days of the

without the clergyman's knowledge. As the glances of those around turned naturally towards h

o himself, 'sees it his duty on this special occasion to encourage the weak, that they may make a valorous deface, surely I

t ease to stay longer in the church. On reaching the open air, he found that the enemy had never yet poured in so heavy a fire as that of to-day.

ay against the walls and gates, especially the Peter Gate, but used his mortars t

n almost put his newly-formed resolutions to

nce from the town hall, and immediately detachments of the auxiliaries drawn up there started at the double to strengthen th

brave captain, George Frederick von Schomberg, and the master miner, Andreas Baumann. Whenever a column of smoke rose, or shells fell on a house, or the fearful cry of 'fire' was heard, their aid was speedily at hand. Beneath a continuous shower of stones and bullets they climbed upon roofs, handed buckets of w

into the earth, and disappeared. At the same moment, two young people came out of a neighbouring house and ran across the street to

killed? This is no child's plaything.' So saying, he carefully poured into the hole a large b

ut a lumbering old iron hundred-weight, that the Swedes must have stolen out of some good Saxon's shop to batter our heads in Freiberg with.' While the worthy miller was still expressing his astonishment over this new kind of missil

who was near enough to hear Roller's salutati

d Herr Burgomaster, and my poor head would have been shattered by this same anvil. But it tells a welcome story too; for

pleasantly, indicating the tremendous noise of

urgomaster,' shouted the miller joyfully the next minute

lood-red flag now floated in the air. In a moment, from all the hi

d the Burgomaster; then concealing his own agita

house by the miller, who followed her himself as soon as he had put the iron weight and the anvil away in a place of safety. Roller, although not on duty, hast

y the church door, such a frightful and furious shout arose at the Peter Gate as almost to curdle the Burgomaster's blood in his veins. This terrible shout was uttered by the Swedes, who, two brigades strong, with flying colours and rolling drums, were now advancing with their storming-ladders towards

'Do you expect to frighten us with your noise, or do you think th

osses did not in the least deter them from pursuing their object with the most supreme indifference to death. Fresh men continually took the place of those that fell, and the forces of the besieged being thus either divided or broken, the Erbis and Meissen Gates were both assaulted at once. The

aintained against gates, walls, and towers, occasionally even against the breach itself, where it inflicted some loss on besiegers as well as besieged. The former, under the command of Generals Wrangel and Mortainne, were led by these officers in person to storm the breach. Field-Marshal Torstenson, a martyr to gout, could only sit at the window of his quarters in the hospital, directing the attack, a

here, turned his uneasy steps towards the Peter Gate, the most threatened point of all. It must be remembered that to a brave man like Sch?nleben it was a far harder task to stand by, a mere spectator of this important battle, than it would have been to take an ac

last succeeded in ascending the narrow stone stairs and reaching the vaulted guard-room, he was able to make out indistinctly, through the smoke and dust that filled the roo

he lighted one hand-grenade after another, and hurled them with all his force through the loop-hole. 'Now, here with the double arquebuses

Sch?nleben knew the voice at once for that of the brave Commandant von Schweinitz, wh

Burgomaster's face, the soldier frankly stepped up to the new-

the vagabonds showing us their heels. They'll not carry more than a third of their storming-ladders back with them. So

m the ranks of the besieged a

like veteran and brave soldiers. I must give the palm to your City Guard, who have held the most dangerous post, the one at the breach by the Kreuz Gate, with

I trust you will pardon the speech I made to you not long since; it might well annoy

h to blame as you were. I'm a rough soldier that doesn't stop to pick his words.

r quarrel, Sch?nleben noticed that the skirt

,' cried the Bur

h of blood on his coat. 'Possibly a chip of masonry or some ball that has glanced

g in the firelocks, pikes, and scaling-ladders the enemy had left behind. At the same time, men were set busily to work to repair and rebuild the walls and other defensive works that had suffered injury. The bells were silent, and the glori

' was a heavy war-club thickly