ials so slight, and resting upon a foundation so infirm, the
treading of the first corps unavoidably beat it to pieces; those
which followed were therefore compelled to flounder on in the
best way they could; and by the time the rear of the column
gained the morass all trace of a way had entirely disappeared.
But not only were the reeds torn asunder and sunk by the pressure
of those who had gone before, but the bog itself, which at first
might have furnished a few spots of firm footing, was trodden
into the consistency of mud. The consequence was, that every
step sank us to the knees, and frequently higher. Near the
ditches, indeed, many spots occurred which we had the utmost
difficulty in crossing at all; and as the night was dark, there
being no moon, nor any light except what the stars supplied, it
was difficult to select our steps, or even to follow those who
called to us that they were safe on the opposite side. At one of
these places I myself beheld an unfortunate wretch gradually sink
till he totally disappeared. I saw him flounder in, heard his
cry for help, and ran forward with the intention of saving him;
but before I had taken a second step, I myself sank at once as
high as the breast. How I contrived to keep myself from
smothering is more than I can tell, for I felt no solid bottom
under me, and continued slowly to go deeper and deeper till the
mud reached my arms. Instead of endeavouring to help the poor
soldier, of whom nothing could now be seen except the head and
hands, I was forced to beg assistance for myself: when a leathern
canteen strap being thrown to me, I laid hold of it, and was
dragged out just as my fellow-sufferer became invisible.

Over roads such as these did we continue our journey during the
whole of the night: and in the morning reached a place called
Fisherman's huts, upon the margin of the lake. The name is
derived from a clump of mud-built cottages, situated in as
complete a desert as the eye of man was ever pained by beholding.
They stand close to the water, upon a part of the morass rather
more firm than the rest. Not a tree or bush of any description
grows near them. As far as the eye could reach a perfect ocean
of reeds everywhere presented itself, except on that side where a
view of the lake changed without fertilizing the prospect. Were
any set of human beings condemned to spend their lives here, I
should consider their fate as little superior to that of the
solitar