194 SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS 



very sorry for the poor creatures, but orders were orders. With 

 the greatest difficulty, every obstacle being put in the way and 

 very bad language used at what the temporary hosts considered 

 downright inhumanity, the wounded were collected and loaded 

 up once more into the cold and draughty wagons. Being 

 very anxious to return to the front as soon as possible, and 

 not to be sent still further to the rear, I this time took pre- 

 cautions against a second mishap. A driver mounted on one 

 of the team horses was sent ahead with strict instructions to 

 go straight to the Maire of Malesherbes where there was no 

 commandant with the request that the necessary accommoda- 

 tion might be ready on our arrival. This proved successful, 

 and the wounded were soon comfortably housed. After the 

 Maire had receipted the list of wounded, we took the wagons 

 into the enormous yard of an old-fashioned French country inn, 

 and rested the horses and refreshed ourselves with coffee. 

 Before daybreak we were on the road once more, with several 

 sacks of corn which we had luckily been able to purchase from 

 the charming landlady. 



Just after the second taking of Orleans I was sent to that 

 city to see whether room could be got there for our horses. It 

 was freezing hard and ice covered everything. On arrival I 

 rode into the courtyard of the largest hotel, and finding an 

 adjoining barn-like stable empty, tied up my horse there. 

 Knowing better by that time than to interview the landlord, I 

 went straight to his better half and stated my wishes. Her 

 immediate response was a derisive laugh : " Oh, yes," she said, 

 " the stable is empty now, but a Prussian supply column is 

 expected and will fill it; it, as everything else, now belongs 



to those Germans." She, however, gave me a huge loaf, 



which I cut up and gave to my horse, who enjoyed it greatly. 



After lunch at table d'hote, with a large party of German 

 chiefly Bavarian officers, I went for a walk in the town, and 

 on return, to my disgust, found my horse tied up outside and 

 the barn crammed with " train " horses. On complaining, 

 and explaining matters to the colonel, he had it put back and 

 everything seemed right, until a little later the horse once more 

 stood shivering on the ice outside. Taught by experience, 

 I now got hold of the colonel's servant, who very soon discovered 

 an empty stall in his master's private stable. There the horse 



