His Majesty was still there when the soldier who had fired on him joined them, being just relieved at his post; he was a young grenadier of the line.  The Emperor ordered him to approach, and, pinching his cheeks hard, exclaimed, “What, you scamp, you took me for a Prussian!  This rascal does not throw away his powder on sparrows; he shoots only at emperors.”  The poor soldier was completely overcome with the idea that he might have killed the little corporal, whom he adored as much as did the rest of the army; and it was with great difficulty he could say, “Pardon, Sire, but I was obeying orders; and if you did not answer, it was not my fault.  I was compelled to have the countersign, and you would not give it.”  The Emperor reassured him with a smile, and said, as he left the post, “My brave boy, I do not reproach you.  That was pretty well aimed for a shot fired in the dark; but after awhile it will be daylight; take better aim, and I will remember you.”

The results of the Battle of Jena, fought on the 14th of October (1806), are well known.  Almost all the Prussian generals, at least the bravest among them, were there taken prisoners, or rendered unable to continue the campaign.

The king and queen took flight, and did not halt till they had reached Koenigsberg.

A few moments before the attack, the Queen of Prussia, mounted on a noble, graceful steed, had appeared in the midst of the soldiers; and, followed by the elite of the youth of Berlin, this royal Amazon had galloped down the front rank of the line of battle.  The numerous banners which her own hands had embroidered to encourage her troops, with those of the great Frederick, blackened by the smoke of many battles, were lowered at her approach, amid shouts of enthusiasm which rang through the entire ranks of the Prussian army.  The atmosphere was so clear, and the two armies so near each other, that the French could easily distinguish the costume of the queen.

This striking costume was, in fact, one great cause of the danger she encountered in her flight.  Her head was covered with a helmet of polished steel, above which waved a magnificent plume, her cuirass glittered with gold and silver, while a tunic of silver cloth completed her costume and fell to her feet, which were shod in red boots with gold spurs.  This dress heightened the charms of the beautiful queen.

When the Prussian army was put to flight, the queen was left alone with three or four young men of Berlin, who defended her until two hussars, who had covered themselves with glory during the battle, rushed at a gallop with drawn sabers on this little group, and they were instantly dispersed.  Frightened by this sudden onset, the horse which her Majesty rode fled with all the strength of his limbs; and well was it for the fugitive queen that he was swift as a stag, else the two hussars would infallibly have made her a prisoner, for more than once they pressed so close that she heard their rude speeches and coarse jests, which were of such a nature as to shock her ears.