Were my whole army collected
here he would outnumber us by two to one, but many columns are
away, and the position is well nigh desperate.
"I have resolved to hold Ochsenfurt. The place is not strong, but
it lies in a sharp bend of the river and may be defended for a
time. If any can do so it is surely you and your Scots. Tilly is
already close to the town; indeed the man who brought me the news
said that when he left it his advanced pickets were just entering,
hence the need for this haste.
"You must hold it to the last, Hepburn, and then, if you can, fall
back to Wurtzburg; even a day's delay will enable me to call in
some of the detachments and to prepare to receive Tilly."
Without halting, the little column marched sixteen miles, and then,
crossing the bridge over the Maine, entered Ochsenfurt.
It was occupied by a party of fifty Imperialist arquebusiers, but
these were driven headlong from it. The night was extremely dark,
all were ignorant of the locality, and the troops were formed up
in the marketplace to await either morning or the attack of Tilly.
Fifty troopers were sent half a mile in advance to give warning
of the approach of the enemy. They had scarcely taken their place
when they were attacked by the Imperialists, who had been roused by
the firing in the town. The incessant flash of fire and the heavy
rattle of musketry told Gustavus that they were in force, and
a lieutenant of Lumsden's regiment with fifty musketeers was sent
off to reinforce the cavalry.
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