entered the hall, which was in indescribable disorder. Orderlies had
evidently slept and had their meals there, for the stone floor was
littered with straw, and empty bottles, sardine-boxes, and pieces of
bread were lying about. But when I opened the door of the dining-room
I could not help pausing for a moment to look at the strange sight
before me. The grey light of that September morning came in through
four large windows and shone dimly upon the long table. The officers
of the Guard had certainly made their arrangements well. They had
levied contribution upon all the silver plate that could be found,
which was hardly necessary, for, as they had arrived too late to have
a proper meal prepared, they had to be content with what they had
brought with them. The contrast between the rich plate, some of it
broken, the empty silver dishes, and the empty tins of preserved meat
was strange indeed. But they had solaced themselves in the cellar.
Innumerable bottles, both empty and full, were piled upon the
furniture. Costly glasses of all shapes and sizes, some empty, others
still half full, were standing about in every direction. The white
tablecloth was soiled with large purple stains. The floor was littered
with bits of smashed glass. By the table, the chairs that had been
pushed back or overturned showed the number of drinkers to have been
about ten. An acrid smell of tobacco and wine hung about this scene
of an overnight orgy.

One thing I specially remember: the sight of an officer's cap, with a
red band, hanging from one of the branches of the large chandelier in
the centre of the room. And I could not help picturing to my mind the
head of the man it had belonged to, some _Rittmeister_, with an
eyeglass, fat pink cheeks and neck bulging over the collar of his
tunic. What a pity he had been able to decamp! That is the kind of
countenance we should so much have liked to see closer and face to