A CRUISING VISIT TO SOME GERMAN BATTLE-FIELDS. 
449 
to tlie battle-field was almost in its anniversary in May of 1893, after 
80 years interval, and I ate my lunch on the same spot that Napoleon 
had used to spread his carpet and dinner service before the day’s 
engagement. 
Bautzen is one of that chain of battles, as you all recollect, which 
commenced near Leipzig at Gross Gorschen (it is sometimes called 
Liitzen) on May 2nd, 1813. There the new army of Prussia fought its 
first battle against Napoleon. Each claimed the victory; but from 
Liitzen they retired in good order to Bautzen where they fought on the 
20th and 21st May. The allies with only 24,000 checking Napoleon 
with 75,000. They kept fighting these drawn battles and retired in 
order, and it must have been in reference to these battles that some 
witty French soldier remarked : “ A few more such victories and we 
are lost.” It was at that battle of Liitzen that Scharnliorst was 
wounded in the leg, and it was from that wound that he died in Prague 
a month or two afterwards. 
When I was working in the German General Staff Archives at 
Berlin I was shown one of the last letters ever written by Scharnliorst, 
and I asked permission to have it photographed, thinking that possibly 
I could use it in the historical work I was engaged upon at the time. 
It was done for me and, as far as I know, this is the only fac-simile 
of that letter. It was my intention to present it to your Institution if 
you thought it worth while to take charge of it (cheers ). 
I have perhaps an exaggerated feeling about Scharnhorst on account 
of the amount of work that he had cut out for him in merely keeping 
in his position. The King disliked him as he disliked every man who 
was energetic. Frederick William III. was surrounded at that time 
by the old style of courtiers who advised always to do nothing, to leave 
things as they were; and Scharnhorst was a quiet patient reformer, who 
yielded to them at the moment, but always kept his purpose in view 
and finally produced the reform which to the King seemed a pestiferous 
revolution. Frederick William opposed universal service in the German 
army, because he said it would arm the people against their Sovereign. 
He said his Crown would be worth nothing if the people had arms 
and he wanted only a small select army of guards which might pro¬ 
tect him against the radicals at home. 
Liitzen first gave the “ Iron Cross ” its significance. It may be 
interesting just to note here the evolution of the “Iron Cross,” and I 
think you will see the connection at once. Here is the Cross of the 
old Religions Order of the German Knights. They were a sort of 
pious freebooting lot who got a license from the Pope to colonise and 
evangelise wherever they could without interfering with other people, 
mostly up along the Baltic. They built castles and kept the people in 
