nce of neglect and decay. Many of the walls are
supported by props to prevent them from tumbling. Around the doors the
slightest rain produces a disgusting morass, while the general aspect of
the whole reminds the beholder of Attila's wooden palace in Pannonia,
where he heaped up the booty of a world, and received the ambassadors of
Rome. When the writer reached the door, he found his host with some
other gentlemen waiting to receive him. The company was numerous, and
all, especially the ladies, expensively dressed, in the last Parisian
fashion, with abundant jewelry and ornaments. The saloon in which they
were received was large but low, the walls covered with dirty paper, the
floor of rough boards, the furniture of all sorts and sizes, and nowhere
a trace of art or refined taste. The conversation was carried on in
French, and the ladies exhibited a thorough acquaintance with Paris
matters, notabilities, and gossip generally. At the table the drinking
was almost incredible, and the topic of conversation, the emancipation
of Poland. Every word was aimed at the conversion of the German guest.
The hard treatment of the serfs was spoken of as necessary, as they must
be kept in complete subjection in order to be made useful in the great
work. The festivity grew more and more ardent, till at last one of the
gentlemen took a shoe off from a lady's foot, filled it with wine, and
after drinking from it himself, passed it to the others, so that all
could pledge the ladies from such a cup. The next morning the stranger
saw by chance a sight of another kind, as he was taking a walk. Behind a
wall a man lay on the earth; another held fast his head, and a third his
feet, while a fourth stood over him with a whip, laying on with all his
might. The lord stood by in his dressing-gown, smoking a long pipe, and
coolly directing the procedure. The guest turned away from the
spectacle, but was told by his servant that this was the tenth man who
had undergone the same punishment that morning. The offence was, that
they had not begun work at sunrise. Of course a peasantry so treated
could have no affection for their masters. All the work was done in the
worst manner, while the lord was plundered in every way by his servants.
Of the supplies for the family, more than half were regularly stolen,
there being no supervision in the household. The extravagance of the
masters was boundless, and when they got out of money they resorted to
the Jews, wh