“‘The Emperor Joseph to the Prince de Ligne.
“‘Kilenack, 25th April 1788.
“‘We have just taken Sabacz:[62] our loss was small. The feldzeugmeister, Rouvroy,[63] a brave man, as you know, received a slight wound in the chest, which does not prevent him from dressing himself or going out. Prince Poniatowski was shot in the thigh, and though the bone is not injured the wound is somewhat serious. But I must, my dear Prince, inform you of something else, which will please you all the more that in it you will recognise the spirit of your race; it is that your son Charles contributed for the most part to the success of this enterprise, by the infinite pains that he took in marking out the trenches for the batteries, and he was the first to scale the parapet and help up the rest. So I have named him Lieutenant-Colonel, and have conferred on him the order of Marie-Thérèse. It is a real pleasure to me to send you this intelligence, as I am aware of the satisfaction it will give you, knowing, as I do, your patriotism and your affection for your son.
“‘I leave to-morrow for Semlin.
“‘Joseph.’
“What modesty! The Emperor does not mention himself, though he was in the midst of the firing. And how graciously and kindly expressed is the account he sends me. On reading it over again I burst into tears.”
8th May (continued from the above).
“The messenger saw the Emperor himself firing musket shots with hearty goodwill into the suburbs of Sabacz; and Marshal de Lascy tear up some palings to point a cannon, which should protect my Charles by attacking a turret from which a continual fire was being directed against him. The Marshal would, I believe, have done it for any other, but it had the appearance of personal and almost paternal kindness.
“The Marshal being rather exhausted, the Emperor fetched a barrel and made him sit down, while he himself stood surrounded by his generals, thus paying him a kind of homage.
“Here is a letter from Charles himself:—