had contributed greatly to Heubner’s peace of mind during the last three days in Dresden by taking over the chief command.  His simplicity of manner made a very encouraging impression on us, particularly when we heard his report.  When, however, Heubner asked whether he would undertake to defend Freiberg against the troops which might be expected to attack at any moment, he declared that this was an experienced officer’s job, and that he himself was no soldier and knew nothing of strategy.  Under these circumstances it seemed better, if only to gain time, to fall back on the more thickly populated town of Chemnitz.  The first thing to be done, however, was to see that the revolutionaries, who were assembled in large numbers at Freiberg, were properly cared for, and Born went off immediately to make preliminary arrangements.  Heubner also took leave of us, and went to refresh his tired brain by an hour’s sleep.  I was left alone on the sofa with Bakunin, who soon fell towards me, overcome by irresistible drowsiness, and dropped the terrific weight of his head on to my shoulder.  As I saw that he would not wake if I shook off this burden, I pushed him aside with some difficulty, and took leave both of the sleeper and of Heubner’s house; for I wished to see for myself, as I had done for many days past, what course these extraordinary events were taking.  I therefore went to the Town Hall, where I found the townspeople entertaining to the best of their ability a blustering horde of excited revolutionaries both within and without the walls.  To my surprise, I found Heubner there in the full swing of work.  I thought he was asleep at home, but the idea of leaving the people even for an hour without a counsellor had driven away all thought of rest.  He had lost no time in superintending the organisation of a sort of commandant’s office, and was again occupied with drafting and signing documents in the midst of the uproar that raged on all sides.  It was not long before Bakunin too put in an appearance, principally in search of a good officer—­who was not, however, forthcoming.  The commandant of a large contingent from the Vogtland, an oldish man, raised Bakunin’s hopes by the impassioned energy of his speeches, and he would have had him appointed commandant-general on the spot.  But it seemed as if any real decision were impossible in that frenzy and confusion, and as the only hope of mastering it seemed to be in reaching Chemnitz, Heubner gave the order to march on towards that town as soon as every one had had food.  Once this was settled, I told my friends I should go on in advance of their column to Chemnitz, where I should find them again next day; for I longed to be quit of this chaos.  I actually caught the coach, the departure of which was fixed for that time, and obtained a seat in it.  But the revolutionaries were just marching off on the same road, and we were told that we must wait until they had passed to avoid being caught in the whirlpool.  This meant considerable delay, and