From the doctor I got the full information.  He had received a shot in the abdomen and a rifle bullet had grazed his cheek.  His last words had been a fervent expression of joy over the relief brought by his father and the knowledge that the position would not be taken by the Russians.  He had died as simply as a child, without regret, and utterly happy.  I took the orderly with me, asking him to carry all the belongings of the young officer with him in order to transmit them to his father.

When I returned with the orderly, the brigadier was issuing orders to his officers and conferring with them about the military situation.  He saw me come, yet not a muscle moved in his face, nor did he interrupt his conversation.  I was overwhelmed by the power this man showed at that minute, and admit I had not the courage to break the news to him, but it was unnecessary, for he understood.  The faithful orderly stepped forward, as I had bidden him, presenting to the old man the pocketbook and small articles that belonged to his son.  While he did so he broke forth into sobs, lamenting aloud the loss of his beloved lieutenant, yet not a muscle moved in the face of the father.  He took my report, nodded curtly, dismissed me without a word, and turned back to his ordnance officers, resuming the conversation.

I assumed the command of my platoon which in the mean time had been assigned to do some outpost duty under the command of the sergeant.  I inquired about their position and went out to join them.  About midnight we were relieved, and when marching back, passed the place where the tent of the brigadier had been erected.  I saw a dark figure lying on the floor, seemingly in deep sleep, and ordering my men to march on I crept silently forward.  Then I saw that his shoulders were convulsively shaking and I knew that the mask of iron had fallen at last.  The night was chilly so I entered his tent in search of his overcoat and laid it around his shoulders.  He never noticed it.  The next morning when I saw him his face was as immovable as it had been the night before, but he seemed to have aged by many years.

The next day was a comparatively restful one.  We fortified the entrenchments which we had taken, and as our battle lines were extended to the right, from being the extreme right we became almost the center of the new position which extended for perhaps ten miles from northwest to southeast about eighteen miles south of Lemberg.

The next few days were given to repairs, provisioning, and resting, with occasional small skirmishes and shifting of positions.  Then one night a scouting aeroplane brought news of a forward movement of about five Russian army corps, which seemed to push in the direction of our center.  Against this force we could muster only about two army corps, but our strategical position seemed a very good one, both the extreme flanks of our army being protected by large and impassable