840 Ten Years of my Life. 



At six o'clock we dined. We were six at table : the ' par- 

 ticulier/ tlie ' particiiliere,' and her aged father, my brother-in- 

 law, Miss Runkel and myself. The dinner, a soup with the 

 meat in it, was placed on t4ie bare table. The ' particiiliere * 

 cut the bread and gave it to each in her hand, and with a 

 smiling face. Our simple repast was ihuminated by a solitary 

 tallow candle, which was snuffed every few minutes by the 

 same fingers which gave us the bread. I, liked this dinner bet- 

 ter than many very fine ones I had in France, in chateaux 

 whose proprietors were base enough to fein German sympa- 

 thies, whilst this poor honest man and patriot bravely said that 

 he would rather die than see Prussia take one square foot of 

 land. 



Passing next morning in fine weather through magnificent 

 woods, we arrived early in Compiegne, where we were splendidly 

 quartered in the villa of a M. Sauvage, who was fortunately 

 absent in Paris, eating, probably, horse steaks and roast rats, 

 whilst we were sitting at his sumptuously provided dinner- 

 table, drinking Prussian healths in excellent French cham- 

 pagne. 



We remained in Compiegne four days, and visited, of course, 

 the palace, and the once splendid, but now somewhat spoilt, 

 rooms of the Empress Eugdnie, wondering at their luxurious 

 arrangements. 



On the 25th we left Compiegne with the staff of General 

 von Goeben, and overtook on the road General von Manteuffel 

 and staff, with whom we entered Montidier. We had very 

 fine rooms in the house of a gentleman, who was much affected 

 in showing us from the window a place where five 'terrible^ 

 Prussian guns had been placed, which had fired five ' terrible ^ 

 shots, which offered a most ' terrible ' sight, and after which 

 ' terrible ' event the place surrendered. 



Saturday, the 26th, we remained in Plessier-Rozainvillers. 

 Next morning, Sunday, the 27th November, we marched early 

 towards Moreuil. The weather was foggy, and soon became 

 so dark that we could not see many paces around us. When 

 we came to a turn in the roL^d leading to our allotted quarters, 

 which were in a little place somewhere between Moreuil and 

 Amiens, we heard suddenly the rolling of musketry not far 

 from us. Aides-de-camp were running about frantic, their horses 

 looking in the fog like dromedaries. The whole column 



