AUSTRIAN OFFICERS. 487 



the Austrian officers. They are an honour to 

 any army. A more gentlemanly and finer set of 

 men are not to be met with. Their gallant and 

 unboastful bearing, their extreme courtesy, polished 

 manners, and unassuming mien, make them de- 

 servedly loved and appreciated by all classes of 

 society. With all this, they are good soldiers, 

 have great esprit de corps, and, if ably led, are 

 capable of great things. Ever ready to do their 

 duty, I found them cheerful under the most 

 adverse circumstances. They were not hopelessly 

 discouraged or cast down by the heavy disaster of 

 Koniggratz, and never for a moment, even in the 

 most trying times (during the retreat), did I expe- 

 rience anything but kindness combined with the 

 most generous hospitality. A Frenchman's polite- 

 ness, generally speaking, proceeds simply from 

 Vhahitude du pays; that of the Austrian is the 

 reflection of his innate good nature. I quite agree 

 with the sentiments of one of the special corre- 

 spondents of the "Times," when he says: "No 

 man can say there is not good stuff in the 

 Austrians, of which God in His own good time 



