»o 



6 Ten Years of any Life. 



to make ready. On the 4th we saw in Metz the 8th army 

 corps pass, and spoke to many of our friends from Coblentz, 



namely General v. S , who told me of the death of Count 



"Waldersee, who was wounded at St. Privat, and killed before 

 Paris a few days before he had returned again to his command. 



One or two days before our departure gentlemen from the 

 city of Crefeld arrived with supplies, which they handed over to 

 me, and I resolved to take my provisions with me and to use 

 them in time of need. Privy Councillor Sulzer allowed me nine 

 v/aggons and eighteen horses for them, and when we left Jouy 

 on the 7th we formed quite a respectable caravan. We passed 

 our first night at Jarny and the following at Etain. The weather 

 had become fine, and after the busy and yet monotonous time 

 before Metz the change of scene was agreeable and refreshing 

 to all of us. 



On leaving Etain next morning we found the road much 

 crowded with waggons and troops, and we could progress only 

 very slowly. Prince Alfred, who was on horseback, suggested 

 a b3^-road, but we lost ourselves, and it was dark when we 

 arrived at head-quarters, where we ought to have been at two 

 o'clock. There we received the rather distressing mtelligence 

 that our party had been detached to another village, Brabant, 

 some distance off, which we did not reach before eight o'clock 

 p.m. In that village existed only one respectable house, the 

 chateau, where we were billeted ; but on arriving we found our 

 quarters occupied by General von Kummer and his staff, who 

 had believed that we had remained with tlie head-quarters, 

 stavinsf out beyond any reasonable time. 



As we of course could not insist on our right and disposses 

 the general, we looked out for other quarters. When we nearly 

 despaired of finding any and thought of passing tne_night in 

 cur carriages, we discovered at last the dwelling of a shepherd 

 who lived with his vvife in two extremely dirty rooms on the 

 ground floor, with which we were compelled to be satis, f^d, 

 envying almost our horses which had found excellent srabi.ng 

 in the shed where once the sheep had been, transforir.ed long 

 ago by the natural process of eating into the substance of'two- 

 legged lions, commonly called there ' ks sacres Prussiens.^ The 

 front room in which stood a small cooking stove, looked so 

 disuial and uninhabitable that we all crowded into the back 

 room, which was adorned with an immense four-post bed 

 filling up one corner. 



