And then when all is ready, when the little bells jingle, when the whip snaps, and we start on the way—what delight!
Ah Fritz! everything looks bright after thirty years; we forget fears, anxieties, and fatigues; but the memory of good men and happy hours remains with us forever!
The veterans, on both sides of the wagons, with their muskets under their arms, escorted my twelve pipes as if they were the tabernacle; Heitz led the horses, and the sergeant and I walked behind.
"Well, Father Moses!" said he laughing, "it has all gone off well; are you satisfied?"
"More than I can possibly tell, sergeant! What would have been my ruin will make the fortune of my family, and we owe it all to you."
"Go along," said he, "you are joking."
He laughed, but I felt deeply; to have been in danger of losing everything, and then to regain it all and make profit out of it—it makes one feel deeply.
I exclaimed inwardly: "I will praise thee, O Lord, among the people; and I will sing praises unto thee among the nations.
"For thy mercy is great above the heavens, and thy truth reacheth unto the clouds."