advance to make arrangements for
the quarters of the men at Jena. Selecting a German soldier as my guide,
I dashed forwards, and soon left the squadron out of hearing. We had not
gone far, when I remarked, from the tramp of the horses, that we were
upon an earthen road, and not on the pavement. I questioned my orderly,
but he was positive there had been no turning since we started. I paid
no more attention to the circumstance, but rode on, hard as ever. At
last the clay became deeper and heavier, the sides of the way closer,
and all the appearance, as well as the gloom would allow us to guess,
rather those of a byroad than the regular _chaussee_. To return would
have been hopeless; the darkness gave no prospect of detecting at what
precise spot we had left the main road, and so I determined to make my
way straight onwards at all hazards.

After about an hour's fast trotting, the orderly, who rode some paces
in advance, called out, "A light!" and then, the moment after, he cried,
"There are several lights yonder!"

I reined in my horse at once, for the thought struck me that we had
come down upon the Prussian lines. Giving my horse to the soldier, with
orders to follow me noiselessly at a little distance, I walked on for
above a mile, my eyes steadily fixed upon the lights, which moved from
place to place, and showed, by their taper glare, that they were not
watchfires. At length I gained a little ridge of the ground, and
could distinctly see that it was a line of guns and artillery wagons,
endeavoring to force their way through a narrow ravine; a few minutes
after, I heard the sounds of French, and relieved of all apprehensions,
I mounted my horse and soon came up with them.

They were four troops of Lannes's artillery, which, by a mistake similar
to my own, had left the highroad and entered one of the field-tracks,
which thus led them astray; and here they were, jammed up in a narrow
gorge, unable to get back or forward. The officer in command was a
young colonel, who was completely overwhelmed by his misfortune; for he
informed me that the whole artillery of the division was following him,
and would inevitably be involved in the same mishap. The poor fellow,
who doubtless would have faced the enemy without a particle of fear, was
now so horrified by the event, that he ran wildly from place to place,
ordering and counter-ordering every instant, and actually increasing
the confusion by his own excitement. Some of the