Lobositz to Leuthen

In 1751, at the age of 22 and then a law student, Horace St Paul had, as he described it, “a difference” with an older man over the favour of a lady. This “difference” resulted in the death of the older man in an impromptu duel to which there were no witnesses. The investigating coroner directed that St Paul should stand trial for willful murder. With no confidence in the outcome, St Paul fled to France where such affairs of were looked on in a different light. He declined to return home to England to stand trial and was outlawed.
St Paul was a handsome young man who was possessed of considerable social graces and received a liberal allowance from his father. From France, he moved to Brussels, where he was accepted at the Court of Prince Charles of Lorraine, Governor-General of the Austrian Netherlands and brother-in-law of Maria Theresa, the Empress Queen. In 1756 Frederic II of Prussia invaded Saxony thereby precipitating a general war in Europe.