He had another thing to tell.
Old Field Marshal von Müllendorf, being lifted on the left side of his charger, had straightway fallen down on the right.
At this the red-faced soldier looked impatient.
It was certainly stupid in that big-nosed forester to be telling such things to the soldiers.
"The Queen has been in camp with us," he announced to change the subject.
Then Bettina pricked up her ears.
Oh, if only they would tell more of the Queen of Prussia! Who in Europe did not know of her beauty, her goodness, her love for her people? To Bettina she was like a fairy princess, for her grandfather had told her, over and over again, of how he had seen her ride into Berlin in a splendid gold coach to marry the Crown Prince.
But the soldiers had their thoughts just then on war and they were soon talking again of the Emperor.
"The Devil," announced the forester, "is the only being who can conquer the Emperor."
"Or the English," said Hans quietly; "remember Nelson and his victory of Trafalgar."