“Indeed! does the Prince really—”
The young officer bowed, and with something more of sternness in his manner than he had yet used, he said, “Mr——, I duly appreciate your situation, and respect your feelings; but the Prince of Eckmuhl is my superior officer, and under other circumstances”—Here he slightly touched the hilt of his sword.
“For myself I don’t care,” said——, “but what is to become of my sisters?”
“They must proceed to Hamburgh.”
“Very well—let me order the stuhl wagen, and give us, at all events, half an hour to move our valuables.”
Here Mr——exchanged looks with his sisters.
“Certainly,” said the young officer; “and I will myself see you safe into the city.”
Who says that eels cannot be made used to skinning? The poor girls continued their little preparations with an alacrity and presence of mind that truly surprised me. There was neither screaming nor fainting, and by the time the carriage was at the door, they, with two female domestics, were ready to mount. I cannot better describe their vehicle, than by comparing it to a canoe mounted on four wheels, connected by a long perch, with a coachbox at the bow, and three gig bodies hung athwart ships, or slung inside of the canoe, by leather thongs. At the moment we were starting, Mr —— came close to me and whispered, “Do you think your ship will still be in the river?”
I answered that I made no doubt she was.
“But even if she be not,” said he, “the Holstein bank is open to us. Anywhere but Hamburgh now.” And the scalding tears ran down his cheeks.