Thirty thousand of his troops were occupied in besieging Muenster and Osnabrueck, and other places, and succeeded in capturing the latter, containing the duke's magazines of hay and cavalry forage.
The duke's position became very grave, and the French believed that, in a very short time, they would be masters of all Hanover.
Broglio's force of twenty thousand men was on the east side of the Weser, and Ferdinand was unable to move to strike a blow at the detached force of Contades; for had he done so, Broglio would have captured the city of Hanover, which lay perfectly open to him within a day's march.
Fergus had been specially employed in carrying despatches to the British division, and had made many acquaintances among the officers.

As the army gradually concentrated, when the French forces drew closer together, he often spent the evening in their tents when the day's work was done.
In the Scotch regiment he was soon quite at home.

The fact that he was related to Marshal Keith, of whom every Scotchman was proud, and had been one of his aides-de-camp, sufficed in itself to render him at once popular.

The officers followed with eager interest the accounts of the various battles he had witnessed, and little by little extracted from him some account of the manner in which he had won his steps so rapidly in the Prussian service.

He found that they, and the British troops in general, had a profound dislike for Lord Sackville; who commanded them, but who was especially in command of their cavalry.