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The Governor, General Borck, born the enemy of man, replied, when I entreated, at least, to have my fill of bread, "You have feasted often enough out of the service of plate taken from the King, by Trenck, at the battle of Sorau; you must now eat ammunition bread in your dirty kennel.
He returned to his estate, raised eight hundred recruits that he might aid in the next campaign, and gather new laurels. He rejoined the army. At the battle of Sorau he fell upon the Prussian camp, and seized upon the tent of the King, but he came too late to attack the rear, as had been preconcerted.
A few days after the battle of Sorau, the usual camp postman brought me a letter from my cousin Trenck, the colonel of pandours, antedated at Effek four months, of which the following is a copy: "Your letter, of the 12th of February, from Berlin, informs me you desire to have some Hungarian horses. On these you would come and attack me and my pandours.
In Sorau, westward, Daun-ward, of Sagan a short day's march: there sat Ziethen, conscious of nothing particular, with Daun secretly marching on him; Daun in person, from the west, and two others from the north and from the south, who are to be simultaneous on Sorau and the Zietheners. A well-laid scheme; likely to have finished Ziethen satisfactorily, who sat there aware of nothing.
I have mentioned this circumstance here, because that, in the year 1740, my cousin Trenck, having fallen into the power of his enemies, who had instituted a legal, process against him, was accused, by some villanous wretches, of having surprised the King in bed at the battle of Sorau, and of having afterwards released him for a bribe.
A courtesan, a mistress of Baron Rippenda, who was a member of the court-martial, was bribed, and made oath she was the daughter of Count Schwerin, Field-marshal in the Prussian service, and that she was in bed with the King of Prussia, when Trenck surprised the camp at Sorau, made her and the King prisoners, and restored them their freedom.
And would have done it, they say, had not he been too cunctatory. September 2d, Ziethen, who is posted in the little town of Sorau, had very nearly been cut off.
Agreeable to this wise decision was I made an Austrian invalid, and an invalid have always remained; a judgment like this would have been laughed at, most certainly, at Berlin. If I mistake not, the famous battle of Soor, or Sorau, was fought on the 14th day of September.
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