and although in seeming disappointment at not finding an old
friend, continued to walk beside me as I went.

The grounds appeared of great extent: paths led off in every direction;
and while, in some places, I could perceive the glittering roof and
sides of a conservatory, in others the humble culture of a vegetable
garden was to be seen. There was a wondrous fascination in the calm and
tranquil solitude around; and coming, as it did, so immediately after
the busy bustle of the 'soldiering,' I soon not only forgot that I was
an intruder there, but suffered myself to wander 'fancy free,' following
out the thoughts each object suggested. I believe at that moment, if the
choice were given me, I would rather have been the 'Adam of that Eden'
than the proudest of those generals that ever led a column to victory!
Fortunately, or unfortunately--it would not be easy to decide which--the
alternative was not open to me. It was while I was still musing, I found
myself at the foot of a little eminence, on which stood a tower whose
height and position showed it had been built for the view it afforded
over a vast tract of country. Even from where I stood, at its base, I
could see over miles and miles of a great plain, with the main roads
leading towards the north and eastward. This spot was also the boundary
of the grounds, and a portion of the old boulevard of the town formed
the defence against the open country beyond. It was a deep ditch, with
sides of sloping sward, cropped neatly, and kept in trimmest order, but,
from its depth and width, forming a fence of a formidable kind. I was
peering cautiously down into the abyss, when I heard a voice so close to
my ear that I started with surprise. I listened, and perceived that the
speaker was directly above me, and leaning over the battlements at the
top of the tower.

'You're quite right,' cried he, as he adjusted a telescope to his eye,
and directed his view towards the plain. 'He has gone wrong! He has
taken the Strasbourg road, instead of the northern one.'

An exclamation of anger followed these words; and now I saw the
telescope passed to another hand, and, to my astonishment, that of a
lady.

'Was there ever stupidity like that? He saw the map like the others, and
yet---- _Parbleu!_ it's too bad!'

I could perceive that a female voice made some rejoinder, but did not
distinguish the words; when the man again spoke--

'No, no; it's all a blunder of that old major; and here