It was time to return to the carriage, and besides I had seen quite enough of the battle-field. I took another way back, but I was again obliged to pass further masses of the dead, this time all French. Near some of the bodies lay packets of letters that had been carried in their knapsacks. I brought some of these with me as a memento, amongst them being two letters in German from one Anastasia Stampf, of Scherrweiler, near Schlettstadt. These I found lying by a French soldier who had been stationed at Caen shortly before the outbreak of the war. One of them, in indifferent spelling, was dated “The 25th of the Hay Month, 1870,” and concluded with the words, “We constantly commend thee to the protection of the Blessed Virgin!” It was 4 o’clock when I got back, and as the Minister had not arrived, we returned to Gorze. Here we met Keudell, who, with Abeken and Count Hatzfeldt had called upon the Chief at Rezonville. During the battle of the 18th instant, which was decided at Gravelotte, the Minister had, together with the King, ventured a considerable distance towards the front, so that for a time both of them were in some danger. Bismarck had afterwards with his own hands taken water to the wounded. At 9 P.M. I saw him again safe and sound at Pont à Mousson, where we all took supper with him. Naturally, the conversation turned for the most part on the last two battles and the resulting gains and losses. The French had fallen in huge masses. The Minister had seen our artillery mow down whole lines of their guards near Gravelotte. We had also suffered severely. Only the losses of the 16th of August were known up to the present. “A great many noble Prussian families will go into mourning,” the Chief said. “Wesdehlen and Reuss lie in their graves, Wedell and Finkenstein are dead, Rahden (Lucca’s husband) is shot through both cheeks, and a crowd of officers commanding regiments or battalions have either fallen or are severely wounded. The whole field near Mars la Tour was yesterday still white and blue with the bodies of cuirassiers and dragoons.” In explanation of this statement, we were informed that near the village referred to there had been a great cavalry charge upon the French, who were pressing forward in the direction of Verdun. This charge was repelled by the enemy’s infantry in Balaclava fashion, but had so far served its purpose that the French were kept in check until reinforcements arrived. The Chancellor’s two sons had also gallantly ridden into that leaden hailstorm, the elder receiving no less than three bullets, one passing through the breast of his tunic, another hitting his watch, and the third lodging in his thigh. The younger appears to have escaped unhurt. The Chief related, evidently with some pride, how Count Bill rescued two comrades who had lost their horses, dragging them out of the _mêlée_ in his powerful grasp and riding off with them. Still more German blood was shed on the 18th, but we secured