"Ah! my young friend," he exclaimed, "I am glad indeed to see you
so far recovered. I came to Leipzig with the countess and my daughter;
for Leipzig at present is the centre where all sorts of political
combinations are seething as in a cooking pot. It is enough to make
one sick of humanity and ashamed of one's country when one sees
the greed which is displayed by every one, from the highest of the
princes down to petty nobles who can scarce set twenty men in the
field.
"Each and all are struggling to make terms by which he may better
himself, and may add a province or an acre, as the case may be,
to his patrimony at the expense of his neighbours. Truly I wonder
that the noble Oxenstiern, who represents Sweden, does not call
together the generals and troops of that country from all parts
and march away northward, leaving these greedy princes and nobles
to fight their own battles, and make the best terms they may with
their Imperial master.
"But there, all that does not interest you at present; but I am so
full of spleen and disgust that I could not help letting it out. We
arrived there a week since, and of course one of our first inquiries
was for you, and we heard to our grief that the Imperialists had
shot one of their bullets through your body and another through your
arm. This, of course, would have been sufficient for any ordinary
carcass; but I knew my Scotchman, and was not surprised when they
told me you were mending fast.
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