By the most extraordinary exertions, which must have almost depopulated his realms of all the young men and those of middle age, Frederick succeeded in so filling up his depleted5 ranks as to have in the opening spring of 1759 two hundred thousand men in field and garrison6. Indeed, regardless of all the laws of nations, he often compelled the soldiers and other men of conquered provinces to enlist7 in his armies. How he, in his poverty, obtained the pecuniary8 resources requisite9 to the carrying on of such a war, is to the present day a matter of amazement10.
England furnished him with a subsidy11 of about four million dollars. He immediately melted this coin, gold and silver, and adulterated it with about half copper13, thus converting his four476 millions into nominally14 eight millions. But a few weeks of such operations as he was engaged in would swallow up all this. The merciless conscription, grasping nearly every able-bodied man, destroyed nearly all the arts of industry. The Prussian realms, thus impoverished15 by war’s ravages16 and taxation17, could furnish the king with very meagre supplies. When the king invaded any portion of the territory of the allies, he wrenched19 from the beggared people every piece of money which violence or terror could extort20. Wealthy merchants were thrown into prison, and fed upon bread and water until they yielded. The most terrible severities were practiced to extort contributions from towns which had been stripped and stripped again. Still violence could wrench18 but little from the skinny hand of beggary. These provinces, swept by war’s surges year after year, were in the most deplorable state of destitution21 and misery22.
From the schedule which Frederick has given of his resources, it seems impossible that he could have raised more than about fifteen million dollars annually23, even counting his adulterated coin at the full value. How, with this sum, he could have successfully confronted all combined Europe, is a mystery which has never yet been solved. It was the great object of both parties in this terrible conflict to destroy every thing in the enemy’s country which could by any possibility add to military power. All the claims of humanity were ignored. The starvation of hundreds of thousands of peasants—men, women, and children—was a matter not to be taken into consideration. The French minister, in Paris, wrote to Marshal De Contades on the 5th of October, 1758,
“You must make a desert of Westphalia. With regard to the countries of Lippe and Padeborn, as these are very fertile provinces, you must take great care to destroy every thing in them without exception.”
Early in the spring of 1759 the Prussian king had gathered the main body of his troops in fortresses25 and strong positions in the vicinity of Landshut, on the southwestern frontier of Silesia. The enemy, under General Daun, faced him, in longer and denser28 lines, equally well intrenched. At the same time, powerful bands of the allies were in various parts of Europe, menacing the domains29 of Frederick at every vulnerable point. The allies dreaded477 the prowess of their foe32. Frederick was compelled to caution by the exhaustless numbers of his opponents. Thus for many weeks neither party entered upon any decisive action. There was, however, an almost incessant33 series of fierce and bloody34 skirmishes.
The ability which Frederick displayed in striking his enemies where they would most keenly feel the infliction36, and in warding37 off the blows they attempted in return, excited then the surprise of Europe, and has continued to elicit38 the astonishment39 of posterity40. It would but weary the reader to attempt a description of these conflicts at the outposts, terrible as they often were.
During this time, in May, the king wrote a very bitter and satirical ode against Louis XV.—“the plaything of the Pompadour,” “polluted with his amours,” “and disgracefully surrendering the government of his realms to chance.” The ode he sent to Voltaire. The unprincipled poet, apprehending41 that the ode might come to light, and that he might be implicated42, treacherously43 sent it to the prime minister, the Duke De Choiseul, to be shown to the king. At the same time, he wrote to Frederick that he had burned the ode. In the account which Voltaire himself gives of this disgraceful transaction, he writes:
“The packet had been opened. The king would think I was guilty of high treason, and I should be in disgrace with Madame De Pompadour. I was obliged, in order to prevent my ruin, to make known to the court the character and conduct of their enemy.
“I knew that the Duke De Choiseul would content himself with persuading the King of France that the King of Prussia was an irreconcilable44 enemy, whom it was therefore necessary, if possible, to annihilate45.
“I wrote to Frederick that his ode was beautiful, but that he had better not make it public, lest it should close all the avenues to a reconciliation46 with the King of France, incense47 him irremediably, and thus force him to strain every nerve in vengeance48.
“I added that my niece had burned his ode from fear that it should be imputed49 to me. He believed me and thanked me; not, however, without some reproaches for having burned the best verses he had ever made.”128
478 The latter part of June, an army of a hundred thousand Russians, having crossed the Vistula, was concentrated, under General Soltikof, at Posen, on the River Warta, in Poland. They were marching from the northeast to attack the Prussian forces near Landshut in their rear. General Daun, with a still larger force of Austrians, was confronting Frederick on the southwest. The plan of the allies was to crush their foe between these two armies. Frederick had lost the ablest of his generals. The young men who were filling their places were untried.
The Russians, triumphantly51 advancing, entered Silesia, and reached Crossen, on the Oder, within a hundred miles of Frederick’s encampment.
Some trifling52 unavailing efforts had been made for peace. In reply to a letter from Voltaire, alluding53 to this subject, Frederick wrote, under date of 2d July, 1759:
“Asking me for peace is indeed a bitter joke. It is to Louis XV. you must address yourself, or to his Amboise in petticoats.129 But these people have their heads filled with ambitious projects. They wish to be the sovereign arbiters54 of sovereigns. That is what persons of my way of thinking will by no means put up with. I like peace as much as you could wish, but I want it good, solid, and honorable. Socrates or Plato would have thought as I do on this subject had they found themselves in the accursed position which is mine in the world.
“Think you there is any pleasure in living this dog’s life, in seeing and causing the butchery of people you know nothing of, in losing daily those you do know and love, in seeing perpetually your reputation exposed to the caprices of chance, passing year after year in disquietudes and apprehensions56, in risking without end your life and your fortune?
“I know right well the value of tranquillity57, the sweets of society, the charms of life. I love to be happy as much as any one whatever. But, much as I desire these blessings58, I will not purchase them by baseness and infamies59. Philosophy enjoins60 us to do our duty faithfully, to serve our country at the price of our blood, of our repose61, and of every sacrifice which can be required of us.”130
Soon after this Frederick dispatched a young and impetuous479 officer, General Wedell, invested with dictatorial62 powers, at the head of twenty-six thousand men, to attack the Russian army, at every hazard, and arrest its march. The heroic little band of Prussians met the Russians at Züllichau. One of General Wedell’s officers remonstrated63 against the attack.
“The risk is too great,” said he; “Soltikof has seventy thousand men, and no end of artillery64. We have but twenty-six thousand, and know not that we can bring a single gun to where Soltikof is.”
Still the order was given for the assault. The Prussians plunged65 into the dense27 ranks of their foes66, regardless of being outnumbered nearly three to one. A terrible battle was fought. General Wedell was overpowered and beaten. He retreated across the Oder, having lost six thousand men in killed, wounded, and prisoners. The victorious67 Russians did not pursue him. They marched down the river to Frankfort, where they effected a junction68 with other troops, giving them an effective force of ninety-six thousand fighting men.
Frederick received the disastrous news on the 24th of July, the day after the calamity69. In the exercise of an unusual spirit of forbearance, he sent word to the defeated general, “It is not your fault; I dreaded30 something of the kind.” The king’s brother Henry was in command of a few thousand men near Bautzen, in Saxony. Frederick wrote to him to forward his troops immediately, so as to form a union with the retreating army under Wedell. Henry himself was to repair to the vicinity of Landshut, and take command of the army which was to be left in that vicinity confronting General Daun. The king took about thirty thousand picked troops, and hurried to the north to gather up by the way the troops of Henry and of Wedell, and with that combined force of forty-eight thousand men make a new attack upon the ninety-six thousand Russians.131
It was an act of desperation. The king fully24 appreciated its peril70. But the time had long since passed when he could rely upon the ordinary measures of prudence71. In despair was his only hope.
On the 29th of July the king joined his brother Henry at Sagan, on the Bober, about sixty miles above or south of Frankfort.480 The marches which had been effected by the king and his brother were the most rapid which had then ever been heard of. Greatly perplexed72 by the inexplicable73 movements of the Russians, the king pressed on till he effected a junction with the remnant of Wedell’s defeated army, near Müllrose, within twelve miles of Frankfort. He reached this place on the 3d of August. To Count Finckenstein he wrote:
“I am just arrived here after cruel and frightful74 marchings. There is nothing desperate in all that. I believe the noise and disquietude this hurly-burly has caused will be the worst of it. Show this letter to every body, that it may be known that the state is not undefended. I have made about one thousand prisoners from Haddick.132 All his meal-wagons have been taken. Finck,133 I believe, will keep an eye on him. This is all I can say. To-morrow I march to within two leagues of Frankfort. Katte must instantly send me two hundred tons of meal and one hundred bakers75. I am very tired. For six nights I have not closed an eye. Farewell.
F.”
The Russians, with empty meal-wagons and starving soldiers, had taken possession of Frankfort-on-the-Oder on the 29th of July. The city contained twelve thousand inhabitants. The ransom76 which the Russian general demanded to save the city from pillage77 by the Cossacks was four hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Pillage by the Cossacks! No imagination can conceive the horrors of such an event. Nearly one hundred thousand men, frenzied78 with intoxication79, brutal80 in their habits, restrained by no law, would inflict35 every outrage81 which fiends could conceive of. Well might fathers and mothers, sons and daughters, turn pale and feel the blood curdle82 in their veins83 at the thought. Four hundred and fifty thousand dollars ransom! That was nearly forty dollars for each individual, man, woman, and child! Compliance84 with the demand was impossible. Frankfort, in its impoverishment85, could by no possibility raise a tenth part of the sum. Dreadful was the consternation. There was no relenting; the money or the pillage!
481 With the utmost exertions, inspired by terror, thirty thousand dollars were at length raised. The Russian general, Soltikof, naturally a humane86 man, seeing, at the close of a week of frantic87 exertions on the part of the magistrates88 of Frankfort, the impossibility of extorting89 the required sum, took the thirty thousand dollars, and kept his barbarian90 hordes91 encamped outside the gates.
FREDERICK CROSSING THE ODER.
Frankfort is on the west side of the Oder. The Russian army was encamped on the eastern side of the river. The force collected there consisted of about seventy-eight thousand Russians and eighteen thousand Austrians. Frederick had, by great exertions, gathered fifty thousand troops to attack them. He was approaching Frankfort from the southwest. In a secret midnight march he crossed the river by bridges of boats some miles north of the city, near Cüstrin. At four o’clock in the morning of the 11th of August his troops had all accomplished93 the passage482 of the stream, and, to the surprise of the Russians, were marching down upon them from the north.
Vastly superior as was the Russian army in numbers, General Soltikof did not venture to advance to attack his terrible foe. He had selected a very strong position on a range of eminences94 about one hundred feet high, running for several miles in an easterly direction from the river. Upon this ridge92, which was called “the Heights of Kunersdorf,” the Russian general had intrenched himself with the utmost care. The surrounding country was full of bogs95, and sluggish96 streams, and a scraggy growth of tough and thorny97 bushes, almost impenetrable.
Had the Prussian troops been placed on those heights, behind that formidable array of ramparts, and palisades, and abatis, they could with ease have repelled98 the assaults of three or four times their number. But now they were to undertake the desperate enterprise of advancing to the assault under the greatest disadvantages, with one to attack where there were two to defend. Frederick rapidly advanced from crossing the stream, and the same evening, Saturday, August 11th, encamped at Bischofsee, at the distance of about two miles to the northeast of the intrenched camp of his foes. The king, accompanied by a small escort, rode forward to the knolls99 of Trettin, and anxiously surveyed with his glass the fearful array of his foes in their long, compact, well-defended lines, arranged in an elongated100 irregular parallelogram.
About three o’clock the next morning, Sunday, August 12th, Frederick’s army, in two columns, was again in motion. By a slightly circuitous101 march through the dense forest the king placed his troops in position to approach from the southeast, so as to attack the left flank of the enemy, being the northern extremity102 of the parallelogram.
I shall not attempt to describe the battle which ensued—so bloody, so disastrous to the Prussians. It was, like all other desperate battles, a scene of inconceivable confusion, tumult103, and horror. At eight o’clock in the morning, General Finck (who was in command of the right wing of the Prussians) was in position to move upon the extreme northern point of attack. It was not until half past eleven that Frederick, in command of the main body of the army, was ready to make a co-operative assault from the east. At the point of attack the Russians had seventy-483two cannons104 in battery. The Prussians opened upon them with sixty guns. Templeton describes the cannonade as the loudest which he had yet ever heard.
After half an hour of rapid and terrific fire, the Prussian troops were ordered to advance and storm the works of the foe on the Mühlberg Hill. Like wolves in the chase, these men of iron nerves rushed forward through torrents105 of grape-shot and musket-shot, which covered their path with the dead. In ten minutes they were in possession of the hill-top, with all its batteries. The left wing of the Russian army was thrown into a maelstrom106 whirl of disorder107 and destruction. One hundred and eighty of the artillery pieces of the enemy fell into the hands of the victors.
Frederick was overjoyed. He regarded the day as his own, and the Russian army as at his mercy. He sent a dispatch to anxious Berlin, but sixty miles distant: “The Russians are beaten. Rejoice with me.” It was one of the hottest of August days, without a breath of wind. Nearly every soldier of the Prussian army had been brought into action against the left wing only of the foe. After a long march and an exhausting fight, they were perishing with thirst. For twelve hours many of them had been without water. Panting with heat, thirst, and exhaustion108, they were scarcely capable of any farther efforts.
Just then eighteen thousand fresh Russian troops advanced upon them in solid phalanx from their centre and their right wing. It was nearly three o’clock in the afternoon. The fugitive109 Russians were rallied. With new impetuosity the re-enforced band hurled111 itself upon the Prussians. They speedily regained112 their hundred and eighty guns, and opened upon the ranks of Frederick such torrents of grape-shot as no flesh and blood could endure. Huge gaps were torn through his lines. His men recoiled113, whirled round, and were driven pell-mell from the hill.
Thrice Frederick in person led the charge against the advancing foe. He had three horses shot under him. A gold snuffbox in his pocket was flattened114 by a bullet. His friends entreated115 him not thus to peril a life upon which every thing depended. He was deaf to all remonstrances116. It is manifest that, in his despair, he sought a soldier’s grave.
On came the Russians in ever-increasing numbers. Frederick’s484 heavy artillery, each piece drawn117 by twelve horses, could not be brought forward through the bogs, and the entangling118 woods, and over the rugged119 heights. Though the Prussians fought with all the energies mortal valor120 could inspire, and though the king flew from post to post of peril and of death, animating121 his troops by voice and gesture, and by his own reckless courage, it was all in vain. Hope soon died in all hearts. The king was heard despairingly to exclaim, “Is there not one bullet which can reach me, then?”
Frederick had seen many dark days before, but never one so dark as this. In the frenzy122 of his exertions to retrieve123 the lost battle, he cried out to his soldiers, his eyes being flooded with tears, “Children, do not forsake124 me, your king, your father, in this pinch!” The retreat became a flight. In endeavoring to cross the little stream called the Hen-Floss, there was such crowding and jamming at the bridges that the Prussians were compelled to leave one hundred and sixty-five guns of various calibre behind them. Had the Russians pursued with any vigor125, scarcely a man of the Prussian army could have escaped. But General Soltikof stood in such fear of his opponent, who had often wrested126 victory out of defeat, that he attempted no pursuit.
In broken bands the Prussians retreated down by the way of Oetscher to the bridges at G?ritz, where they had crossed the Oder, and where their heavy baggage was stationed. Frederick was among the last to quit the fatal field. As a swarm127 of Cossacks approached the spot where he stood, a party of his friends charged them fiercely, cutting to the right and left, and held them for a moment at bay. One of Frederick’s adjutants seized the bridle128 of his horse, and galloped129 off with the unresisting monarch130.
At the bridges Frederick found but three thousand men of his late army. The huts around were filled with the wounded and the dying, presenting an aspect of misery which, in these hours of terrible defeat, appalled131 his majesty132. In one of these huts, surrounded by mutilated bodies, groans133, and death, Frederick wrote the following dispatch to his minister (Finckenstein) at Berlin. It was dated Oetscher, August 12, 1759:
“I attacked the enemy this morning about eleven. We beat 485him back to the Jews’ Church-yard, near Frankfort.134 All my troops came into action, and have done wonders. I reassembled them three times. At length I was myself nearly taken prisoner, and we had to quit the field. My coat is riddled134 with bullets. Two horses were killed under me.135 My misfortune is that I am still alive. Our loss is very considerable. Of an army of forty-eight thousand men, I have at this moment, while I write, not more than three thousand together. I am no longer master of my forces.
In Berlin you will do well to think of your safety. It is a great calamity. I will not survive it. The consequences of this battle will be worse than the battle itself. I have no resources more; and, to confess the truth, I hold all for lost. I will not survive the destruction of my country. Farewell forever.
F.”
BATTLE OF KUNERSDORF, AUGUST 12, 1759.
a a a. Russian Army. b b. Austrians, under Loudon. c c. Russian Abatis. d. Russian Wagenburg. e e. Position of Prussian Army Evening of 11th. f f. Vanguard, under Finck. g. Prussian Heavy Baggage. h. Attack of Prussian Grenadiers. i i. Prussian main Army. k k. Finck’s Line of Attack.
486 Probably the reader will infer from the above letter that the king felt that the hour had come for him to die, and that he intended to resort to that most consummate135 act of folly136 and cowardice—suicide. He had always avowed137 this to be his intention in the last resort. He had urged his sister Wilhelmina to imitate his example in this respect, and not to survive the destruction of their house. Ruin now seemed inevitable138. In the battle of Kunersdorf Frederick had lost, in killed and wounded, nineteen thousand men, including nearly all the officers of distinction, and also one hundred and sixty pieces of artillery. The remainder of his army was so dispersed139 that it could not be rallied to present any opposition140 to the foe.
Though General Soltikof had lost an equal number of men, he was still at the head of nearly eighty thousand troops flushed with victory. He could summon to his standard any desirable re-enforcements. An unobstructed march of but sixty miles would lead his army into the streets of Berlin. The affairs of Frederick were indeed desperate. There was not a gleam of hope to cheer him. In preparation for his retirement141 from the army, from the throne, and from life, he that evening drew up the following paper, placing the fragments of the army which he was about to abandon in the hands of General Finck. By the death of the king, the orphan142 and infant child of his brother Augustus William (who had died but a few months before) would succeed to the throne. Frederick appointed his brother Henry generalissimo of the Prussian army.
This notable paper, which reflects but little credit upon the character of Frederick, was as follows:
“General Finck gets a difficult commission. The unlucky army which I give up to him is no longer in a condition to make head against the Russians. Haddick will now start for Berlin, perhaps Loudon too.136 If General Finck go after these, the Russians487 will fall on his rear. If he continue on the Oder, he gets Haddick on his flank. However, I believe, should Loudon go for Berlin, he might attack Loudon and beat him. This, if it succeeded, would be a stand against misfortune, and hold matters up. Time gained is much in these desperate circumstances. C?per, my secretary, will send him the news from Torgau and Dresden. You must inform my brother137 of every thing, whom I have declared generalissimo of the army. To repair this bad luck altogether is not possible. But what my brother shall command must be done. The army swears to my nephew. This is all the advice in these unhappy circumstances I am in a condition to give. If I had still had resources, I would have staid by them.
Frederick.”
It will be perceived that this paper is slightly less despairing than the preceding letter which he had written to Count Finckenstein. Frederick, having written the order to General Finck, threw himself, in utter exhaustion, upon some straw in a corner of the hut, and fell soundly asleep. The Prussian officers, passing by, gazed sadly through the open door upon the sleeping monarch. A single sentinel guarded the entrance.
The next morning Frederick crossed the river to Reitwein, on the western bank. Here, during the day, broken bands of his army came in to the number of twenty-three thousand. It would seem that a night of refreshing143 sleep had so far recruited the exhausted144 energies of the king that he was enabled to look a little more calmly upon the ruin which enveloped145 him. He that day wrote as follows from Reitwein to General Schmettau, who was in command of the Prussian garrison at Dresden:
“You will, perhaps, have heard of the check I have met with from the Russian army on the 13th138 of this month. Though at bottom our affairs in regard to the enemy here are not desperate, I find I shall not be able to make any detachment for your assistance. Should the Austrians attempt any thing against Dresden, therefore, you will see if there are means of maintaining yourself; failing which, it will behoove146 you to try and obtain a favorable capitulation—to wit, liberty to withdraw, with the488 whole garrison, moneys, magazines, hospital, and all that we have at Dresden, either to Berlin or elsewhere, so as to join some corps147 of my troops.
“As a fit of illness has come on me, which I do not think will have dangerous results, I have, for the present, left the command of my troops to Lieutenant148 General Von Finck, whose orders you are to execute as if coming directly from myself. On this I pray God139 to have you in his holy and worthy149 keeping.
F.”
FREDERICK ASLEEP IN THE HUT AT OETSCHER.
The consternation at Berlin, as contradictory150 reports of victory and defeat reached the city, was indescribable. M. Sulzer, an eye-witness of the scene, writes under date of Berlin, August 13th, 1759:
489 “Above fifty thousand human beings were on the palace esplanade and the streets around, swaying hither and thither151 in an agony of expectation, in alternate paroxysms of joy, of terror, and of woe152. Often enough the opposite paroxysms were simultaneous in the different groups. Men crushed down by despair were met by men leaping into the air for very gladness.”
As we have mentioned, the Russian general had such a dread31 of Frederick that he did not dare to pursue him. In his report of the victory to the Czarina Charlotte, speaking of his own heavy loss of over eighteen thousand men, he writes, “Your majesty is aware that the King of Prussia sells his victories at a dear rate.” To some who urged him to pursue Frederick, he replied, “Let me gain but another such victory, and I may go to Petersburg with the news of it myself alone, with my staff in my hand.”
Frederick remained at Reitwein four days. He was very unjust to his army, and angrily reproached his soldiers for their defeat. It is true that, had every soldier possessed153 his own spirit, his army would have conquered, or not a man would have left the field alive. The Russians, with almost inconceivable inactivity, retired154 to Lossow, ten miles south of Frankfort-on-the-Oder. The king, having by great exertions collected thirty-two thousand men, marched up the valley of the Spree, and placed himself on the road between the Russians and Berlin.
While on this march he wrote from Madlitz, under date of August 16th, to Marquis D’Argens, at Berlin:
“We have been unfortunate, my dear marquis, but not by my fault. The victory was ours, and would even have been a complete one, when our infantry155 lost patience, and at the wrong moment abandoned the field of battle. The Russian infantry is almost totally destroyed. Of my own wrecks, all that I have been able to assemble amounts to thirty-two thousand men. With these I am pushing on to throw myself across the enemy’s road, and either perish or save the capital. This is not what you will call a deficiency of resolution.
“For the event I can not answer. If I had more lives than one, I would sacrifice them all to my country. But, if this stroke fail, I think I am clear scores with her, and that it will be permissible156 to look a little to myself. There are limits to every490 thing. I support my misfortune. My courage is not abated157 by it. But I am well resolved, after this stroke, if it fail, to open an outgate to myself, and no longer be the sport of any chance.”140
Four days after, in anticipation158 of an immediate12 attack from the Russians, he again wrote to the same address, “Remain at Berlin, or retire to Potsdam. In a little while there will come some catastrophe159. It is not fit that you suffer by it. If things take a good turn, you can be back to Berlin. If ill luck still pursue us, go to Hanover, or to Zelle, where you can provide for your safety.”
The next day, the 21st of August, he wrote to D’Argens to come and visit him, and bring his bed with him. “I will have you a little chamber160 ready.” But the next day he wrote,
“Yesterday I wrote to you to come; to-day I forbid it. Daun is marching upon Berlin. Fly these unhappy countries. This news obliges me again to attack the Russians between here and Frankfort. You may imagine if this is a desperate resolution. It is the sole hope that remains161 to me of not being cut off from Berlin on the one side or the other. I will give these discouraged troops brandy, but I promise myself nothing of success. My one consolation162 is that I shall die sword in hand.”
Just after dispatching this letter he received one from D’Argens, to which he immediately, on the same day, returned the following reply:
“Certainly I will fight. But do not flatter yourself about the result. A happy chance alone can help us. Go, in God’s name to Tangermünde. Wait there how destiny shall have disposed of us. I will reconnoitre the enemy to-morrow. Next day, if there is any thing to do, we will try it. If the enemy still holds to the Wine Hills of Frankfort, I shall not dare to attack him.
“The torments163 of Tantalus, the pains of Prometheus, the doom164 of Sisyphus, were nothing to the torments I have suffered for the last ten days. Death is sweet in comparison with such a life. Pity me, and believe that I still keep to myself a great many evil things, not wishing to afflict165 or disquiet55 any body with them. Believe me that I would not counsel you to fly these unlucky countries if I had any ray of hope. Adieu, mon cher.”
491 The rumor166 that Daun was marching upon Berlin proved a false alarm. On the 4th of September the king again wrote D’Argens from his encampment at Waldau, a few leagues south of his last position, just over the border in Saxony:
“I think Berlin is now in safety. You may return thither. The barbarians167 are in the Lausitz. I keep by the side of them, between them and Berlin, so that there is nothing to fear for the capital. The imminency of danger is passed. But there will be still many bad moments to get through before reaching the end of the campaign. These, however, only regard myself. Never mind these. My martyrdom will last two months yet. Then the snows and the ices will end it.”
General Schmettau had in Dresden a garrison of but three thousand seven hundred men. It will be remembered that he would doubtless be compelled to capitulate, and to do so on the best terms he could. But his Prussian majesty, being now a little more hopeful, wrote to him again, urging him to hold out to the last extremity, and informing him that he had dispatched to his aid General Wunsch, with a re-enforcement of eight thousand men, and General Finck with six thousand. The courier was cut off. General Schmettau, entirely168 unconscious that relief was coming, closely besieged169, and threatened with the massacre170 of his whole garrison should the place be taken by storm, on Tuesday evening, the 4th of September, surrendered the city.
It was a sore calamity to Frederick. Had General Schmettau held out only until the next day, which he could easily have done, relief would have arrived, and the city would have been saved. Frederick was in a great rage, and was not at all in the mood to be merciful, or even just. He dismissed the unfortunate general from his service, degraded him, and left him to die in poverty.
Frederick had now under his command twenty-four thousand men. They were mostly on the road between Frankfort and Berlin, for the protection of the capital. His brother Henry, in the vicinity of Landshut, with his head-quarters at Schm?ttseifen, was in command of thirty-eight thousand. The Russians and Austrians numbered one hundred and twenty thousand. There was, however, but little cordial co-operation among the allies. Each was accused of endeavoring to crowd the other to the front of the battle against the terrible Frederick.
492 The Russians did not attempt to march upon Berlin. About the middle of September General Soltikof gathered all his forces in hand, and commenced a march into Silesia to effect a junction with General Daun. Frederick followed, and, by a very rapid march, took possession of Sagan, on the Bober, where he was in direct communication with Henry. On the 24th of September the king wrote to his younger brother Ferdinand, in Berlin:
“You may well suppose that, in the present posture171 of affairs, I am not without cares, inquietudes, and anxieties. It is the most frightful crisis I have had in my life. This is the moment for dying, unless one conquer. Daun and my brother Henry are marching side by side. It is possible enough all these armies may assemble hereabouts, and that a general battle may decide our fortune and the peace. Take care of your health, dear brother.
F.”
There was much man?uvring, in which Frederick displayed his usual skill, quite circumventing172 his foes. Daily he became less despairing. On the 25th of October he wrote to Fouquet:
“With twenty-one thousand your beaten and maltreated servant has hindered an army of fifty thousand from attacking him, and has compelled them to retire to Neusatz.”
On the 10th of October Frederick was attacked by the gout, and for three weeks was confined to his room. This extraordinary man, struggling, as it were, in the jaws173 of destruction, beguiled174 the weary hours of sickness and pain by writing a treatise175 upon Charles XII. and his Military Character. On the 24th of October, the Russian commander, quarreling with General Daun, set out, with his whole force, for home. On the 1st of November the king was carried in a litter to Glogau. Cold weather having now set in, General Daun commenced a march for Bohemia, to seek winter quarters nearer his supplies. Frederick, his health being restored, rejoined his troops under Henry, which were near Dresden. The withdrawal176 of both the Russians and Austrians from Silesia greatly elated him. On the 15th of November he wrote to D’Argens from Maxen, a village a little south of Dresden:
“Yesterday I joined the army, and Daun decamped. I have493 followed him thus far, and will continue it to the frontiers of Bohemia. Our measures are so taken that he will not get out of Saxony without considerable loss.”
General Finck was stationed at Maxen, with about fifteen thousand men, to cut the communications of Daun with Bohemia. Frederick, in his undue177 elation178, was quite sure of inflicting179 terrible blows upon Daun. He issued imperative180 commands to General Finck to fight the allies regardless of their numbers. The Prussian general did not dare to disobey this command and withdraw from his commanding position, even when he saw himself being surrounded with such superior forces as would almost certainly crush him.
In a very triumphant50 mood, the king, on the 19th of November, wrote a boastful and irreverent “Ode to Fortune,” in that easy rhyme which he called poetry. The substance of this ode, translated into prose, was as follows:
“I am a poor heretic. I have never been blessed by the holy father. I never attend church. I worship neither God nor the devil. Often have those shaven scoundrels, the priests, declared that I had become extinct.
“But behold181 the caprice of Fortune. After a hundred preferences of my rivals, she smiles upon me, and packs off the hero of the hat and sword, whom the pope had blessed, and who had gone on pilgrimages. He skulks182 out of Saxony, panting like a dog whom the cook has flogged out of the kitchen.”
This ode, “an irrepressible extempore effusion,” as he termed it, the royal poet forwarded to D’Argens. The day but one after writing this, General Daun, having effectually surrounded General Finck with nearly fifty thousand men of the allied110 troops—nearly four to one—after a severe conflict, compelled the surrender of his whole army. The following plan of the battle of Maxen will show how completely Finck was encircled. General Daun claimed that he marched back into Dresden, as prisoners of war, eight generals, five hundred and twenty-nine officers, and fifteen thousand privates, with all their equipments and appurtenances.141 The next day, the 22d, Frederick wrote to D’Argens:
“I am so stupefied with the misfortune which has befallen494 General Finck that I can not recover from my astonishment. It deranges183 all my measures. It cuts me to the quick. Ill luck, which persecutes184 my old age, has followed me from Kunersdorf to Saxony. I will still strive what I can. The little ode I sent you, addressed to Fortune, was written too soon. One should not shout victory until the battle is over. I am so crushed by these reverses and disasters that I wish a thousand times I were dead.
BATTLE OF MAXEN, NOVEMBER 20, 1759.
a a. Prussian Army. b. Prussian Detachment, under Wunsch. c c. Austrian Attack, under Daun. d d. Attack of Brentano and Sincere. e e e. Reich’s Army.
“From day to day I grow more weary of dwelling185 in a body worn out and condemned186 to suffer. I am writing to you in the first moment of my grief. Astonishment, sorrow, indignation, and scorn, all blended together, lacerate my soul. Let us get to the end, then, of this execrable campaign. I will then write to you what is to become of me, and we will arrange the rest. Pity me, and make no noise about me. Bad news goes fast enough of itself. Adieu, dear marquis.”
The king, as usual, was merciless to General Finck. As soon as he returned from Austrian captivity187 he was tried by court-martial, and condemned to a year’s imprisonment188 in the fortress26 of Spandau, and was expelled from the army. He afterward189 retired to Denmark, where he was kindly190 received.
General Daun, elated by this victory, relinquished191 the plan of retiring to Bohemia, and decided192 to remain in Saxony for the winter. Frederick had but thirty-six thousand men in Saxony. Daun commanded seventy-two thousand.
The Elbe was now frozen. The storms of winter covered the icy fields with snow. Daun retired to Dresden. Frederick established himself in the little town of Freiberg, about thirty miles southwest from Dresden. His troops were in cantonments in the adjoining villages. Here he took up his abode193 in a humble194 cottage. Thus terminated the fourth campaign of the Seven Years’ War.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
exertions
|
|
| n.努力( exertion的名词复数 )；费力；（能力、权力等的）运用；行使 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
disastrous
|
|
| adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
wrecks
|
|
| n.沉船( wreck的名词复数 )；（事故中）遭严重毁坏的汽车（或飞机等）；（身体或精神上）受到严重损伤的人；状况非常糟糕的车辆（或建筑物等）v.毁坏[毁灭]某物( wreck的第三人称单数 )；使（船舶）失事，使遇难，使下沉 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
consternation
|
|
| n.大为吃惊，惊骇 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
depleted
|
|
| adj. 枯竭的, 废弃的 动词deplete的过去式和过去分词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
garrison
|
|
| n.卫戍部队；驻地，卫戍区；vt.派(兵)驻防 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
enlist
|
|
| vt.谋取(支持等)，赢得；征募；vi.入伍 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
pecuniary
|
|
| adj.金钱的；金钱上的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
requisite
|
|
| adj.需要的，必不可少的；n.必需品 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
amazement
|
|
| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
subsidy
|
|
| n.补助金，津贴 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
immediate
|
|
| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
copper
|
|
| n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
nominally
|
|
| 在名义上，表面地； 应名儿 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
impoverished
|
|
| adj.穷困的，无力的，用尽了的v.使（某人）贫穷( impoverish的过去式和过去分词 )；使（某物）贫瘠或恶化 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
ravages
|
|
| 劫掠后的残迹，破坏的结果，毁坏后的残迹 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
taxation
|
|
| n.征税，税收，税金 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
wrench
|
|
| v.猛拧；挣脱；使扭伤；n.扳手；痛苦，难受 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
wrenched
|
|
| v.（猛力地）扭( wrench的过去式和过去分词 )；扭伤；使感到痛苦；使悲痛 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
extort
|
|
| v.勒索，敲诈，强要 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
destitution
|
|
| n.穷困，缺乏，贫穷 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
misery
|
|
| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
annually
|
|
| adv.一年一次，每年 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
fully
|
|
| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
fortresses
|
|
| 堡垒，要塞( fortress的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
fortress
|
|
| n.堡垒，防御工事 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
dense
|
|
| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
denser
|
|
| adj. 不易看透的, 密集的, 浓厚的, 愚钝的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
domains
|
|
| n.范围( domain的名词复数 )；领域；版图；地产 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
dreaded
|
|
| adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
dread
|
|
| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
foe
|
|
| n.敌人，仇敌 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
incessant
|
|
| adj.不停的，连续的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
bloody
|
|
| adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
inflict
|
|
| vt.(on)把…强加给，使遭受，使承担 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
infliction
|
|
| n.（强加于人身的）痛苦，刑罚 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
warding
|
|
| 监护，守护（ward的现在分词形式） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
elicit
|
|
| v.引出,抽出,引起 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
astonishment
|
|
| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
posterity
|
|
| n.后裔，子孙，后代 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
apprehending
|
|
| 逮捕，拘押( apprehend的现在分词 )； 理解 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
implicated
|
|
| adj.密切关联的；牵涉其中的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
treacherously
|
|
| 背信弃义地； 背叛地； 靠不住地； 危险地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
irreconcilable
|
|
| adj.（指人）难和解的，势不两立的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
annihilate
|
|
| v.使无效；毁灭；取消 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
reconciliation
|
|
| n.和解，和谐，一致 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
incense
|
|
| v.激怒；n.香，焚香时的烟，香气 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
vengeance
|
|
| n.报复，报仇，复仇 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
imputed
|
|
| v.把（错误等）归咎于( impute的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
triumphant
|
|
| adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
triumphantly
|
|
| ad.得意洋洋地；得胜地；成功地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
trifling
|
|
| adj.微不足道的；没什么价值的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
alluding
|
|
| 提及，暗指( allude的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
arbiters
|
|
| 仲裁人，裁决者( arbiter的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
disquiet
|
|
| n.担心，焦虑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
apprehensions
|
|
| 疑惧 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
tranquillity
|
|
| n. 平静, 安静 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
blessings
|
|
| n.（上帝的）祝福( blessing的名词复数 )；好事；福分；因祸得福 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
infamies
|
|
| n.声名狼藉( infamy的名词复数 )；臭名；丑恶；恶行 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
enjoins
|
|
| v.命令( enjoin的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
repose
|
|
| v.(使)休息；n.安息 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
dictatorial
|
|
| adj. 独裁的，专断的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
remonstrated
|
|
| v.抗议( remonstrate的过去式和过去分词 )；告诫 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
64
artillery
|
|
| n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
65
plunged
|
|
| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
66
foes
|
|
| 敌人，仇敌( foe的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
67
victorious
|
|
| adj.胜利的，得胜的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
68
junction
|
|
| n.连接，接合；交叉点，接合处，枢纽站 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
69
calamity
|
|
| n.灾害，祸患，不幸事件 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
70
peril
|
|
| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
71
prudence
|
|
| n.谨慎，精明，节俭 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
72
perplexed
|
|
| adj.不知所措的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
73
inexplicable
|
|
| adj.无法解释的，难理解的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
74
frightful
|
|
| adj.可怕的；讨厌的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
75
bakers
|
|
| n.面包师( baker的名词复数 )；面包店；面包店店主；十三 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
76
ransom
|
|
| n.赎金，赎身；v.赎回，解救 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
77
pillage
|
|
| v.抢劫；掠夺；n.抢劫，掠夺；掠夺物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
78
frenzied
|
|
| a.激怒的；疯狂的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
79
intoxication
|
|
| n.wild excitement;drunkenness；poisoning | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
80
brutal
|
|
| adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
81
outrage
|
|
| n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
82
curdle
|
|
| v.使凝结，变稠 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
83
veins
|
|
| n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
84
compliance
|
|
| n.顺从；服从；附和；屈从 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
85
impoverishment
|
|
| n.贫穷，穷困；贫化 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
86
humane
|
|
| adj.人道的，富有同情心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
87
frantic
|
|
| adj.狂乱的，错乱的，激昂的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
88
magistrates
|
|
| 地方法官，治安官( magistrate的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
89
extorting
|
|
| v.敲诈( extort的现在分词 )；曲解 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
90
barbarian
|
|
| n.野蛮人；adj.野蛮(人)的；未开化的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
91
hordes
|
|
| n.移动着的一大群( horde的名词复数 )；部落 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
92
ridge
|
|
| n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
93
accomplished
|
|
| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
94
eminences
|
|
| 卓越( eminence的名词复数 )； 著名； 高地； 山丘 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
95
bogs
|
|
| n.沼泽，泥塘( bog的名词复数 )；厕所v.（使）陷入泥沼， （使）陷入困境( bog的第三人称单数 )；妨碍，阻碍 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
96
sluggish
|
|
| adj.懒惰的，迟钝的，无精打采的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
97
thorny
|
|
| adj.多刺的，棘手的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
98
repelled
|
|
| v.击退( repel的过去式和过去分词 )；使厌恶；排斥；推开 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
99
knolls
|
|
| n.小圆丘，小土墩( knoll的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
100
elongated
|
|
| v.延长，加长( elongate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
101
circuitous
|
|
| adj.迂回的路的，迂曲的，绕行的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
102
extremity
|
|
| n.末端，尽头；尽力；终极；极度 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
103
tumult
|
|
| n.喧哗；激动，混乱；吵闹 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
104
cannons
|
|
| n.加农炮，大炮，火炮( cannon的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
105
torrents
|
|
| n.倾注；奔流( torrent的名词复数 )；急流；爆发；连续不断 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
106
maelstrom
|
|
| n.大乱动；大漩涡 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
107
disorder
|
|
| n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
108
exhaustion
|
|
| n.耗尽枯竭，疲惫，筋疲力尽，竭尽，详尽无遗的论述 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
109
fugitive
|
|
| adj.逃亡的，易逝的；n.逃犯，逃亡者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
110
allied
|
|
| adj.协约国的；同盟国的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
111
hurled
|
|
| v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
112
regained
|
|
| 复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
113
recoiled
|
|
| v.畏缩( recoil的过去式和过去分词 )；退缩；报应；返回 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
114
flattened
|
|
| [医]（水）平扁的，弄平的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
115
entreated
|
|
| 恳求，乞求( entreat的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
116
remonstrances
|
|
| n.抱怨，抗议( remonstrance的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
117
drawn
|
|
| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
118
entangling
|
|
| v.使某人（某物/自己）缠绕，纠缠于（某物中），使某人（自己）陷入（困难或复杂的环境中）( entangle的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
119
rugged
|
|
| adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
120
valor
|
|
| n.勇气，英勇 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
121
animating
|
|
| v.使有生气( animate的现在分词 )；驱动；使栩栩如生地动作；赋予…以生命 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
122
frenzy
|
|
| n.疯狂，狂热，极度的激动 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
123
retrieve
|
|
| vt.重新得到，收回；挽回，补救；检索 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
124
forsake
|
|
| vt.遗弃，抛弃；舍弃，放弃 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
125
vigor
|
|
| n.活力，精力，元气 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
126
wrested
|
|
| （用力）拧( wrest的过去式和过去分词 )； 费力取得； （从…）攫取； （ 从… ） 强行取去… | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
127
swarm
|
|
| n.(昆虫)等一大群；vi.成群飞舞；蜂拥而入 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
128
bridle
|
|
| n.笼头，束缚；vt.抑制，约束；动怒 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
129
galloped
|
|
| （使马）飞奔，奔驰( gallop的过去式和过去分词 )； 快速做[说]某事 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
130
monarch
|
|
| n.帝王，君主，最高统治者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
131
appalled
|
|
| v.使惊骇，使充满恐惧( appall的过去式和过去分词)adj.惊骇的；丧胆的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
132
majesty
|
|
| n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
133
groans
|
|
| n.呻吟，叹息( groan的名词复数 )；呻吟般的声音v.呻吟( groan的第三人称单数 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
134
riddled
|
|
| adj.布满的；充斥的；泛滥的v.解谜，出谜题(riddle的过去分词形式) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
135
consummate
|
|
| adj.完美的；v.成婚；使完美 [反]baffle | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
136
folly
|
|
| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
137
avowed
|
|
| adj.公开声明的，承认的v.公开声明，承认( avow的过去式和过去分词) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
138
inevitable
|
|
| adj.不可避免的，必然发生的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
139
dispersed
|
|
| adj. 被驱散的, 被分散的, 散布的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
140
opposition
|
|
| n.反对，敌对 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
141
retirement
|
|
| n.退休，退职 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
142
orphan
|
|
| n.孤儿；adj.无父母的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
143
refreshing
|
|
| adj.使精神振作的，使人清爽的，使人喜欢的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
144
exhausted
|
|
| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
145
enveloped
|
|
| v.包围，笼罩，包住( envelop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
146
behoove
|
|
| v.理应；有益于 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
147
corps
|
|
| n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
148
lieutenant
|
|
| n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
149
worthy
|
|
| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
150
contradictory
|
|
| adj.反驳的，反对的，抗辩的；n.正反对，矛盾对立 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
151
thither
|
|
| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
152
woe
|
|
| n.悲哀，苦痛，不幸，困难；int.用来表达悲伤或惊慌 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
153
possessed
|
|
| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
154
retired
|
|
| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
155
infantry
|
|
| n.[总称]步兵(部队) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
156
permissible
|
|
| adj.可允许的，许可的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
157
abated
|
|
| 减少( abate的过去式和过去分词 )； 减去； 降价； 撤消（诉讼） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
158
anticipation
|
|
| n.预期，预料，期望 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
159
catastrophe
|
|
| n.大灾难，大祸 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
160
chamber
|
|
| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
161
remains
|
|
| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
162
consolation
|
|
| n.安慰，慰问 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
163
torments
|
|
| （肉体或精神上的）折磨，痛苦( torment的名词复数 )； 造成痛苦的事物[人] | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
164
doom
|
|
| n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
165
afflict
|
|
| vt.使身体或精神受痛苦，折磨 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
166
rumor
|
|
| n.谣言，谣传，传说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
167
barbarians
|
|
| n.野蛮人( barbarian的名词复数 )；外国人；粗野的人；无教养的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
168
entirely
|
|
| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
169
besieged
|
|
| 包围，围困，围攻( besiege的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
170
massacre
|
|
| n.残杀，大屠杀；v.残杀，集体屠杀 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
171
posture
|
|
| n.姿势，姿态，心态，态度；v.作出某种姿势 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
172
circumventing
|
|
| v.设法克服或避免（某事物），回避( circumvent的现在分词 )；绕过，绕行，绕道旅行 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
173
jaws
|
|
| n.口部；嘴 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
174
beguiled
|
|
| v.欺骗( beguile的过去式和过去分词 )；使陶醉；使高兴；消磨（时间等） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
175
treatise
|
|
| n.专著；(专题)论文 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
176
withdrawal
|
|
| n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
177
undue
|
|
| adj.过分的；不适当的；未到期的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
178
elation
|
|
| n.兴高采烈，洋洋得意 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
179
inflicting
|
|
| 把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
180
imperative
|
|
| n.命令，需要；规则；祈使语气；adj.强制的；紧急的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
181
behold
|
|
| v.看，注视，看到 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
182
skulks
|
|
| v.潜伏，偷偷摸摸地走动，鬼鬼祟祟地活动( skulk的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
183
deranges
|
|
| v.疯狂的，神经错乱的( deranged的现在分词 )；混乱的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
|
184
persecutes
|
|
| （尤指宗教或政治信仰的）迫害(~sb. for sth.)( persecute的第三人称单数 )； 烦扰，困扰或骚扰某人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
|
185
dwelling
|
|
| n.住宅，住所，寓所 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
186
condemned
|
|
| adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
187
captivity
|
|
| n.囚禁；被俘；束缚 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
188
imprisonment
|
|
| n.关押，监禁，坐牢 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
189
afterward
|
|
| adv.后来；以后 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
190
kindly
|
|
| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
191
relinquished
|
|
| 交出，让给( relinquish的过去式和过去分词 )； 放弃 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
192
decided
|
|
| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
193
abode
|
|
| n.住处，住所 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
194
humble
|
|
| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |