eded.

"I have remarked that there is no event too horrible or too sad to be
without a little of the ridiculous in it, and this was discernible here.

"One trumpeter, who appeared to have more humanity, or perhaps less
skill than his predecessors, and did not exert himself sufficiently, was
soundly beaten by the rattan of the trumpet-major, while the latter was
castigated by the Provost Mareschal, who, in turn for remissness of
duty, received sundry blows from the speaking-trumpet of the Baron; so
they were all laying soundly on each other for a time.

"'Morbleu!' said the Frenchmen, with a grim smile, ''twas quite in the
Dutch taste, that.'

"The Provost Mareschal continued to mark the time with the listless
apathy of an automaton; the smoke curled from his meerschaum, the drum
continued to tap-tap-tap, until it seemed to sound like thunder to my
strained ears, for every sense was painfully excited. All count had long
been lost, but when several hundred lashes had been given, Van
Wandenberg and half his Dutchman were asleep in their saddles.

"It was now snowing thick and fast, but still this hideous dream
continued, and still the scourging went on.

"At last the altered _sound_ of the lash and the terrible aspect of the
victim, who, after giving one or two convulsive shudders, threw back his
head with glazed eyes and jaw relaxed, caused the trumpeter to recede a
pace or two, and throw down his gory scourge, for some lingering
sentiment of humanity, which even the Dutch discipline of King William
had not extinguished, made him respect when dead the man whom he had
dishonored when alive.

"The young Frenchman was dead!

"An exclamation of disgust and indignation that escaped me woke up the
Baron, who after drinking deeply from a great pewter flask of skiedam
that hung at his saddlebow, muttered _schelms_ several times, rubbed his
eyes, and then bellowed through his trumpet to bind up the _other_
prisoner. Human endurance could stand this no more, and though I deemed
the offer vain, I proposed to give a hundred English guineas as a
ransom.

"'Ach Gott!' said the greedy Hollander immediately becoming interested;
'bot vere you get zo mosh guilder.'

"'Oh, readily, Mynheer Baron,' I replied, drawing forth my pocket-book,
'I have here bills on his Grace the Duke of Marlborough's paymaster and
on the Bank of Amsterdam for much more than that.'

"'Bot I cannot led off de brisoner for zo little--hunder pounds dat v