with pikes and clubbed muskets. Unable to act in the darkness,
and losing many men from the storm of bullets which swept over the
village, the Swedish cavalry who had accompanied the column turned
and fled; and being unable to resist so vast a superiority of
force, Kniphausen gave the word, and the Scotch fell slowly back
under cover of the heavy mist which rose with the first breath of
day, leaving 500 men, nearly half their force, dead behind them.

Nigel Graheme's company had suffered severely; he himself was badly
wounded. A lieutenant and one of the ensigns were killed, with
thirty of the men, and many others were wounded with pike or bullet.
Malcolm had had his share of the fighting. Several times he and
the men immediately round him had been charged by the Imperialists,
but their long pikes had each time repulsed the assaults.

Malcolm had before this come to the conclusion, from the anecdotes
he heard from the officers who had served through several campaigns,
that the first quality of an officer is coolness, and that this is
even more valuable than is reckless bravery. He had therefore set
before himself that his first duty in action was to be perfectly
calm, to speak without hurry or excitement in a quiet and natural
tone.

In his first fight at Schiefelbrune he had endeavoured to carry
this out, but although he gained much commendation from Nigel and
the other officers of the company for his coolness on that occasion,
he had by no means satisfied himself; but upon the present occasion
he succeeded much better in keeping his natural feelings in check,
forcing himself to speak in a quiet and deliberate way without
flurry or excitement, and in a tone of voice in no way raised above