not be long, I resolved to do what I could to render my
quarters more comfortable.

My first care was my horse, which I picketed in the kitchen, where I was
happy to find an abundant supply of firewood; my next, was to explore
the remainder of the concern, in which I discovered traces of its having
been already occupied by the allied troops,--rude caricatures of the
French army in full _deroute_, before terrible-looking dragoons in
Austrian and Russian uniforms, ornamented the walls in many parts; whole
columns of French prisoners were depicted begging their lives from a
single Austrian grenadier; and one figure, which it could be easily
discovered was intended for Napoleon himself, was about to be hanged
upon a tree, to the very marked satisfaction, as it would seem, of a
group of Russian officers, who stood by, laughing. It is easy to smile
at the ridicule of which fortune has thwarted the application and so I
amused myself a good while by contemplating these grotesque frescos.

But a more welcome sight still awaited me, in a small chamber at the
top of the building, where, in large letters, written with chalk on
the door, I read, "Rittmeister von Oxenhausen's quarters." Here, to my
exceeding delight, I discovered a neatly-furnished chamber, with a
bed, sofa, and, better still, a table, on which the remains of the
Rittmeister's sapper yet stood,--a goodly ham, the greater part of a
capon, a loaf of wheaten bread, and an earthenware crock, with a lid
of brass, containing about two bottles of Austrian red wine. This was a
most agreeable surprise to me,--a pleasant exchange from the meagre
meal of bread and cheese I had but time to procure from a sergeant of
my troop at parting. It need not be supposed that I hesitated long about
becoming the Rittmeister's successor; and so I drew the chair to the
table, and the table nearer to the fire,--for, singularly enough, the
embers of a wood fire still slumbered on the hearth. Having taken the
keen edge off an appetite the cold air had whetted to the sharpest, I
began an inspection of my quarters, first having replenished the fire
with some logs of wood.

The chamber was an octagon, with five windows in as many of the faces,
a fireplace and two doors occupying the other three. One of the
doors--that by which I entered,--opened from the stairs; the other
led into a granary, or something of that nature,--at least, so I
conjectured, from a heap of sacks which littered the floor, a