would be quite impassable, are repaired, as in Russia, Poland, and America, by laying logs transversely, and covering them with brushwood, and then earth; but these, after a little weathering and wear and tear, become absolutely dangerous from horses slipping in between the logs, sometimes up to the shoulder. This was one of the drawbacks upon our enjoyment in this otherwise pleasant country; and, having confessed as much, I may as well admit that there were a few others which prevented us from living in a state of absolute and unalloyed happiness. One grievance was the cheapness of gin--a villanous kind of spirit manufactured in the country, and on which a man could get “royal” for twopence; for though our men were really fine fellows and generally very steady soldiers, yet, like other Englishmen, they could not resist a social glass nor avoid its consequences; and, indeed, if excuse it be, they were in a measure driven to the use of this pernicious spirit by the execrable quality of all the beer in the country, which more resembled a mixture of cow-dung and water than anything else. The sale of this poison took place in a small cabaret near the church, which was usually thronged with our people every evening after stable-hour; and, strange to say, where they mixed most sociably with the boors, to my no small astonishment. It is a curious fact, that upon inquiry at the sergeant-major how they could understand each other, he replied that the Yorkshire, Lancashire, and Lincolnshire men, who spoke very broad, could make themselves understood pretty well, and in like manner could comprehend the Flemish of their boon companions. Quarrels would sometimes arise in this _tabagie_, which occasioned a temporary derangement of our tranquil life. But that was a trifle to another grievance which stuck to us incessantly, and was the most serious drawback we endured during our sojourn in the valley of Strytem. I allude to the infernal and eternal frog-concert that nightly disturbed our rest more or less, and kept us in a constant state of irritability. For a few days we bore this curse very philosophically, then began to war against the wretches by pelting them with stones, firing at them with small-shot, beating the water with poles, &c. &c., but all to no purpose, for though we killed them by scores, yet did their numbers never appear to thin nor their detestable “quoah, quoah” to lessen in intensity. Then we made the wheeler construct a raft, and with this some one was always cruising and slaying, yet still no alleviation to the evil. A council was held, and it was determined that nothing short of draining the moat would avail, and therefore drained it should be. Curiosity had some hand in this decision, for we had heard that the moat contained the largest carp ever seen--a fish several feet in length, and weighing I know not what. The old gardener, when acquainted with our resolve and ordered to make the necessary preparations, was perfectly