the regiment of Nideck. He campaigned in France under the count; and you
will see his wife, a Frenchwoman, Marie Lagoutte, who pretends that she
comes of a high family."

"And why should she not?"

"Of course she might; but, between ourselves, she was nothing but a
_cantiniere_ in the Grande Armee. She brought in Tobias Offenloch upon
her cart, with one of his legs gone, and he has married her out of
gratitude. You understand?"

"That will do, but open, for I am numb with cold."

And I was about to push on; but Sperver, as obstinate as any other good
German, was not going to let me off without edifying me upon the history
of the people with whom my lot was going to be cast for awhile, and
holding me by the frogs of my fur coat he went on--

"There's, besides, Sebalt Kraft, the master of the hounds; he is rather
a dismal fellow, but he has not his equal at sounding the horn; and there
will be Karl Trumpf, the butler, and Christian Becker, and everybody,
unless they have all gone to bed."

Thereupon Sperver pushed open the door, and I stood in some surprise on
the threshold of a high, dark hall, the guard room of the old lords of
Nideck.

My eyes fell at first upon the three windows at the farther end, looking
out upon the sheer rocky precipice. On the right stood an old sideboard
in dark oak, and upon it a cask, glasses, and bottles; on the left a
Gothic chimney overhung with its heavy massive mantelpiece, empurpled by
the brilliant roaring fire underneath, and ornamented on both front and
sides with wood-carvings representing scenes from boar-hunts in the
Middle Ages, and along the centre of the apartment a long table, upon
which stood a huge lamp throwing its light upon a dozen pewter tankards.

At one glance I saw all this; but the human portion of the scene
interested me most.

I recognised the major-domo, or head butler, by his wooden leg, of which
I had already heard; he was of low stature, round, fat, and rosy, and his
knees seldom coming within an easy range of his eyesight; a nose red and
bulbous like a ripe raspberry; on his head he wore a huge hemp-coloured
wig, bulging out over his fat poll; a coat of light green plush, with
steel buttons as large as a five-franc piece; velvet breeches, silk
stockings, and shoes garnished with silver buckles. He was just with his
hand upon the top of the cask, with an air of inexpressible satisfaction
beaming upon his ruddy features, and his eyes glowing in profile,