There was the greatest enthusiasm as Frederick rode up and down the line, shaking hands with this and that old graybeard and addressing a kindly word to everyone. On this occasion the old grenadiers were smoking wretched tobacco in their stub pipes right under his nose. An officer, who knew his dislike of tobacco, said to them, “Step back a little. His Majesty cannot endure tobacco smoke.” “No, children, stay where you are,” replied the King, with a kindly smile. “I don’t mind the smell.” He was thus gracious to his soldiers—for it was well known that he was averse to tobacco all his life—and in this and other ways was constantly manifesting his regard for them. The loss of life at Torgau was very great on both sides. The Austrians lost twenty thousand men beside fifty-five cannon and twenty-seven standards, and the Prussians suffered almost as severely. Frederick, writing about it to a friend, said: “We have just defeated the Austrians. They have lost an extraordinary number as well as we. This victory will perhaps allow us a little rest this Winter and that is about all. Next year we must begin anew. I have been hit by a shot, which grazed my breast, but it is only a bruise,—little pain, but no danger,—therefore I shall be as busy as ever.” Large as was the number killed in this battle, it was compensated for by its important results, for Prussia was saved and Saxony was once more freed from the Austrians. The Russians had retired again into Poland, and the Swedes had sought refuge in the farthest corners of Pomerania. The King decided to make his Winter quarters in Leipsic. On his way there, he reached a Saxon village near Wittenburg and took lodgings with a preacher. Delighted with the honor conferred upon him, he went to the door to meet the King, and said: “Come in, thou blessed of the Lord! Why dost thou stand outside?” The King regarded the preacher, a venerable old man, with a kindly smile, and said to him: “How many taxpayers are there in this village?” The preacher was so astonished at the question that he could hardly reply, although he knew the number very well. At last he collected his wits and said: “Twenty-two.” “And how much do they raise?” The preacher stated the amount of grain in bushels as nearly as he could. “Has the village suffered much during the war?” “In the last eight weeks, Your Majesty, your troops and the Austrians have alternately foraged here. We are about at the end, for we only have our lives and cabins left.” “Who represented the Austrians here?” “General Luzinsky.” “Where did he stop?” “I had the honor of entertaining him in my house as well as I could.” “So? Did you also call him ‘blessed of the Lord’ when he came?” “By no means, but I could not curse him.” “Oh, yes! You are a Saxon. Now I shall see whether I bring more blessings to this village than Luzinsky.”