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I hope they will create no delays at Harwich. You will be the sooner embarked if you leave your carriage at the inn there. I know it will be taken care of. The landlady, Betty White, will see to that. She was for many years my mother's cook, and is sister to Lenny of the "Blue Posts" at Witham.

F. J. J.

P.S. I think much might be done in Austria through Gentz, by playing upon his wants and his vanity.

Diaries.- Off Cuxhaven, April 17th.-The "Nympha," with Sir Charles Stewart on board, and the "Lord Nelson" packet, with Rumbold and myself, have just cast anchor here. The two vessels reached Heligoland together yesterday morning, but too late to proceed on till to-day. We were becalmed from Monday night, when we left Harwich, until Wednesday morning when we were abreast of Yarmouth; but the passage has been a pleasant one, and from land to land only forty-eight hours.

Count Joachim Bernstorff passed Heligoland on Thursday on his way to England, on an important mission. Jacobi also left Breslau for the same destination on the 6th, viâ Gothenburg. He must have indeed been in a desperate fright to have chosen that route. We have taken Sir Charles on board and are proceeding up the Elbe.

Major Kentzinger came to pay his respects to Sir Charles, and gave us a very animated account of the enthusiastic spirit of the people-" Arms! arms!"

selon lui, is the universal cry. But Dornberg has retreated across the Elbe, and Davoust is advancing against him in force. Beauharnais had marched out of Magdeburg, but had been driven back again with the loss of above a thousand men, killed and wounded. The French have again retired to Bremen, and the united Russian and Prussian forces, under Wittgenstein, were stationed at Zübst. This, as far as I can learn, is the way in which matters now stand.

Du Moulin told me correctly; in this quarter there is nothing to prevent the return of the enemy. A party came back some days ago to within a few miles of this place, and carried off one of the newly constituted authorities. As soon as they reached Bremen, they shot him, sans cérémonie. In the neighbourhood of Bremen, it appears they have committed the greatest excesses, and this Major Kentzinger says, he has applied to Tettenborn for permission to retaliate upon them.

King was waiting at Heligoland for a passage home. Some of his doings had been discovered, and Metternich had desired him to leave Vienna in consequence. I told him my brother was at Brighton, and that if he should be that way he would be glad to see him. He said he should like to run down for a day or two, so Francis may learn some of his secrets, though I doubt their being worth the trouble of extracting; he told me, however, that Schwarzenberg had just left Vienna for Paris, with an off to Bonaparte to treat for a general peace, on

er

the

basis of the Rhine, Alps, and Pyrenees, for the French frontier; accompanied by a declaration that if this proposition was not acceded to, His Imperial Majesty would side with the Allies. If this should really be acted up to, we may be sure of Austria; but I think it will require further success on our part to clench her, and that if there should be, on the contrary, anything like a check, she would give us the slip.

The army broke up on the 8th from Breslau for Dresden. The Emperor was about to follow and to establish there his head-quarters, His Prussian Majesty, according to King's account, was to remain for a week or two in Silesia; but they say here -that is Kentzinger, who affects to know much but in reality, I fancy, knows very little, says that he is again at Berlin. Berlin, at all events, will be our destination as soon as we land. Count Stadion, who was said to be expected at the Russian head-quarters, is, on the contrary, appointed president of a committee of finance, to provide for the expenses attendant on the formation of a new corps of observation in Bohemia. General Lebzeltern was the only Austrian, either already there or expected.

Hamburg, 18th.-We were obliged to anchor last night twenty-nine miles short of this place, but landed this morning and put up at the "König von England." After breakfast, I called on General Tettenborn, and met Ompteda, Walmoden, and Kielmannsegge. The latter gave me the particulars of

the

convention signed at Breslau, by Stein and

Scharnhorst, on the 19th of March. Scharnhorst had

gone to Hanover.

There were

I

I dined at the Russian General's. between thirty and forty persons at table, mostly officers. The band played during dinner, and a party of private soldiers sang Russian songs. suppose they are trained for this duty, for they sang with a good deal of skill and verve, and communicated to the company a little of their own enthusiasm, when the sentiment of the song was patriotic. The health of the Emperor of Russia, the Kings of Prussia and England, and the Royal families of the three nations, were drunk, each, with three times three; the national airs being played by the band and appropriate songs sung by the military. There was much noise and joviality, and if they could have marched to meet the French in the mood they were then in, I dare say they would have done some very gallant deeds.

Late in the evening, a messenger arrived from England; he told us nothing but that the arrival of Count Bernstorff was very anxiously looked for, as well as the news of the landing of the Crown Prince at Stralsund.

19th.-To-day at noon, I went to a breakfast à la fourchette with General Tettenborn. Sir Charles was there also, with General Kielmannsegge, and Cockburn. The two last were impressing on him the desirableness of writing to Colonel Lyon to recommend him to augment the supply of arms to General Tettenborn from three, to five thousand. He promised to do so.

After doing full justice to Tettenborn's liberally

spread table, we went with him to a review of his Cossacks, and of the Hanseatic Legion, which in less than a month has been brought into very excellent order. The Hamburghers are certainly as enthusiastic, as much in earnest, and willing to exert themselves in aid of the good cause as any people I ever saw in my life. I only hope there is not too much of this enthusiasm; for one would suppose that the French were exterminated and Bonaparte already sent to the lower regions, instead of this being yet to be done. However, the fixed determination that it shall be done, is an excellent feeling with which to set about it.

We afterwards dined with General Tettenborn, the party and the music and singing much the same as yesterday. In the evening we filled a box or two at the theatre, and were treated to a good deal of vociferous cheering. Rumbold and I got away to spend an hour at a private party, which ended with one of their abominably long suppers, from which we have just come in. He has already turned in, and I after this long weary day's work shall lose no time in following his example.

20th.-General Tettenborn has sent me a report he has received of an affair said to have taken place on the Saale on the 13th or 14th, in which the Allies, under Yorck, have taken twenty-five cannon; made eight hundred prisoners, and killed many more. I wish it may be true; but in all these statements, a large allowance must be made for Russian exaggeration.

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