t 7 /// ^ I ^ I Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2007 with funding from Microsoft Corporation http://www.archive.org/details/autobiographyofgOOzimmrich AUTOBIOGRAPHY GODFREY ZIMMERMAN, FORMERLY IN THE COMMISSARIAT DEPARTMENT THE ARMY UNDER NAPOLEON. LONDON: ALEXANDER DURLACHER, 16, OLD BOND STREET, AND SOLD BY THE AUTHOR, 38, OLD BOND STREET. MDCCCLII. • > • . TO THE OFFICERS OF THE HOUSEHOLD BRIGADE, IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED, BY GODFREY ZIMMERMAN. 321978 PREFACE. The publication of the accompanying narrative re- quires many apologies, and a very large share of indulgence from all those who may deem it worthy of a perusal. Many kind friends who have heard me relate anecdotes of my past career, have suggested to me that my autobiography would be sufficiently inte- resting to justify its publication. I have ventured to act upon that suggestion, in the hope that the profits arising from the sale of this' work may, in some measure, relieve me from the pressure of debts which my son's misfortunes in business have accumulated upon me. That the work itself can lay no claim to merit, either from its style or language, I am fully aware ; VI PKEFACE. and I can only hope that its defects will be pardoned, when it is known that education, such as is to be ob- tained from books, it has never been my good fortune to receive, and that I am indebted to observation alone for the little knowledge which I possess. To those of my friends who have so liberally sub- scribed to my undertaking, and encouraged me to proceed, my warmest thanks are due, for without their assistance I should never have presumed to obtrude myself on the public notice. SUBSCRIBERS. His Grace the Duke of Hamilton The Most Honourable the Marquis of Conyngham Marquis of Donegal Marquis of Downshire Marquis of Worcester The Right Honourable the Earl of Craven Earl of Longford, Captain 2nd Life Guards Earl of Munster, late Captain 1st Life Guards Earl of Mount Charles, 1st Life Guards Earl of Strathmore Lord Viscount Anson Lord Viscount Dungarvan Lord Viscount Dupplin, Captain 1st Life Guards Lord Viscount Hinton Lord Viscount Ingestre, 1st Life Guards A^lll SUBSCRIBERS. The Eight Honourable Lord Viscount Maidstone Lord Viscount Ranelagh Lord Viscount Seaham Lord Bingham, Coldstream Guards Lord Robert P. Clinton Lord De L'Isle and Dudley- Lord Dunkellin, Coldstream Guards Lord Dynevor Lord Eliot, Captain 1st Life Guards Lord Elphinstone Lord Otho A. Fitzgerald, Royal Horse Guards Lord Gerald Fitzgerald Lord Francis A. Gordon, Major 1st Life Guards Lord Hastings Lord Nigil Kennedy Lord Londesborough Lord George Lennox Lord William P. Lennox Lord A. Lennox Lord Alexander F. C. G. Lennox, late Captain Royal Horse Guards Lord George C. G. Lennox, Royal Horse Guards Lord Methuen SUBSCRIBERS. ix The Right Honourable Lord George J. Manners, Captain Royal Horse Guards Lord George A. F. Paget, Colonel 4th Light Dragoons Lord Ribblesdale Lord De Ros Lord Sandys Lord Stanhope, Royal Horse Guards Lord Templemore Lord Wenlock Lieut. -General the Hon. Edward Pyndar Lygon, C.B , Colonel 13th Light Dragoons Lieut.-General the Hon. Henry Beauchamp Lygon, 10th Hussars Colonel the Hon. Cecil Lowther Lieut.-Col. R. E. Boyle, Coldstream Guards Major the Hon. James W. B. Macdonald Major the Hon. Horace Pitt, Royal Horse Guards Major the Hon. Wellington H. S. Cotton, late 1st Life Guards Captain the Hon. Dudley C. Fitzgerald de Ros, 1st Life Guards R. N. Lawley, 2nd Life Guards Cornwallis Maude, 2nd Life Guards X SUBSCRIBERS. Captain the Hon. George Watson Milles, Royal Horse Guards Arthur Duncombe, R.N. The Hon. J. B. J. Dormer, 2nd Life Guards „ „ J. H. G. Fermor, 2nd Life Guards „ „ C. S. B. Hanbury, 2nd Life Guards „ „ Brownlow C. Bertie, late 2nd Life Guards „ „ WilHam H. Wellesley, Coldstream Guards „ „ Percy Barrington „ „ Cavendish Boyle ! „ „ R. Curzon „ „ R. W. Clive „ „ F. H. Chichester „ „ Adolphus F. Capel „ „ Octavius Duncombe, late 1st Life Guards The Hon. and Rev. Augustus Duncombe Sir John W. Hamilton Anson, Bart. Sir Andrew Vincent Corbet, Bart. Sir J. A. Cathcart, Bart., late Captain 1st Life Guards Sir William A. Fraser, Bart., 1st Life Guards Sir John Gerard, Bart. Sir William Miller, Bart. Sir Richard D. King, Bart. Sir Robert Sheffield, Bart. Sir Richard Sutton, Bart. SUBSCRIBERS. XI Sir Charles Slingsby, Bart., late Eoyal Horse Guards Sir Watkyn Williams Wynn, Bart. Colonel John Hall 1st Life Guards Colonel Richard Parker „ Captain Henry Lowther „ Captain H. Dorrien Streatfield „ Captain James Macnaghten Hogg „ Theophilus J. Levett, Esq. „ Henry Lygon, Esq. „ H. George Caulfield, Esq. „ Richard Bateson, Esq. „ Henry Wyndham, Esq. „ Francis George Hare, Esq. „ Walter De Winton, Esq. „ Algernon W. Peyton, Esq. „ A. H. Davenport, Esq. „ F. Dorrien Magens, Esq. „ James Keith Eraser, Esq. „ William George Craven, Esq. „ Owen William George, Esq., M.D. „ Colonel M'Douall ..... 2nd Life Guards Colonel L. D. Williams „ Lieut.-Col. Thos. Ogilvy „ Major G. Howard Vyse „ Xll SUBSCRIBERS. Captain C. J. Tottenham . . Henry Savile Lumley, Esq. Fountain Hogge, Esq. E. Ffolliott Wing-field, Esq. J. Glencairn C. Hamilton, Esq. Robert O'Brien Jameson, Esq. Augustus Savile Lumley, Esq. Edward H. Howard, Esq. Henry C. Lane, Esq. Colonel E. W. Bouverie . . Captain Hugh Smith Baillie „ H. Dormer Trelawny „ Robert Sheffield „ Francis Sutton Francis W. Fitzhardinge Berkeley, Esq. Francis Howard Vyse, Esq. Duncan James Baillie, Esq. William J. Hope Gambler, Esq. Edward Breedon, Esq. Thomas Leslie, Esq. J. Wyndham Billington, Esq. J. Inglis Jones, Esq. William Robert Hare, Esq. James William Baillie, Esq. 2nd Life Guards Royal Horse Guards SUBSCRIBERS. Xlll Colonel Hanmer, late Royal Horse Guards Colonel Biddulpb, late 1st Life Guards Lieut.-Col. Augustus Cox, Grenadier Guards Lieut.-Col. Henry Daniell, Coldstream Guards Major Hanmer, late Royal Horse Guards Major Charles Hall .... late 1st Life Guards Captain John Farrer „ Lovell „ Thomas Bulkeley „ George Rushout „ Every West „ Fitzmaurice . . . late 2nd Life Guards „ J. K. Wedderburn „ Robert Blane „ Clement Hill, late Royal Horse Guards „ A. Cathcart, late 10th Hussars „ Vesey, late 9th Lancers „ Percy Williams, late 9th Lancers „ Douglas Willan, late 12th Lancers „ Parry, late 17th Lancers „ T. Spencer Ricketts, R.N. „ W. A. Hamilton, R.N. „ John N. Blagden Hale „ Hay XIV SUBSCRIBERS. Freiherr Von Gemmingen J. T. Ambrose, Esq. James Alexander, Esq. Robert Alexander, Esq. John Asburner, Esq., M.D. Thomas Addison, Esq., M.D. Augustus W. Arnold, Esq. Ralph Bemal, Esq. D. F. B. Buckley, Esq., Scots Fusiliers D. C. Bruce, Esq. Frederick W. Cox, Esq. Charles Cox, Esq. William B. Cochrane, Esq. James Coles, Esq. Robert Clive, Esq. Augustus Craven, Esq. Talbot Clifton, Esq. J. Campbell, Esq. Dionysius W. Dowling, Esq. Whyndham H. Duff, Esq. E. Digby, Esq. C. H. Egerton, Esq. "William Coding, Esq. William Goldsmid, Esq. SUBSCRIBERS. XV Fulke Greville, Esq. H. L. Hunter, Esq. James Hall, Esq. Edward Hamilton, Esq., M.D. Charles J. B. Hamilton, Esq. William F. Higgins, Esq. Edward Hobhouse, Esq., late Coldstream Guards David Holmes, Esq. William Inglis, Esq. Harcourt Johnstone, Esq., late 2nd Life Guards Richard Lumley, Esq. Martin J. Lloyd, Esq. Richard Lucas, Esq., late 2nd Life Guards Alfred Montgomery, Esq. Charles Mills, Esq. J. C. Mansel, Esq. Arthur Mannering, Esq. Alexander Oswald, Esq. WilHam Pigott, Esq. Philip Perceval, Esq. Edwin P. Price, Esq. Philip T. Powys, Esq James Powell, Esq., M.D. H. Porter, Esq. xvi SUBSCRIBERS. H. R. Price, Esq. T. Ramsden, Esq. Richard Sutton, Esq. Charles Sutton, Esq. George Tomline, Esq. Henry Thorold, Esq., 33rd Regiment. P. Broke Turner, Esq. Henry Vyner, Esq. Godfrey Wentworth, Esq. J. W. Wells, Esq. *^* G. Z. begs to apologize for any inaccuracy which may occur as regards title or spelling of the above names. CHAPTER I. Birth of the author — His departure from home — Arrival at Carls- ruhe — Occupation there — Goes to Manheim — Removes to Pforz- heim — His emplojrment — Is drawn for a soldier, but procures his discharge — Becomes a butcher at Nussloch — Revisits his parents — Proceeds to Blaufelden, and thence to Weimar — His adventures there — Resides in Dresden — Escapes being robbed by some soldiers — Conclusion of the chapter. T HAVE to date my existence from the 7th day of May, 1788. I was bom in Michelfeld, a small village belonging to the grand duchy of Baden, fifteen miles from Heidelberg. My father was a butcher of very limited means, with twelve children besides myself I remained with my parents until I had attained my thirteenth year, when my father, as is the custom of the country, desired me to seek my own livelihood, telling me he did not owe me anjiihing, and therefore I must work for myself The next day saw me on the road to Carlsruhe, which is about twenty-seven miles distant from my native place. B 2 AUTdBIOUllipHY. One guilder (about twenty-pence) from my father, and a shirt and a pair of stockings from my mother, was all I received previous to leaving my home. I put a thick round of bread in my pocket, and off I went to encounter the difficulties of the world. After walking for six miles, I sat down on the road-side to rest, and eat my provisions, then proceeded for nine miles further, when I called at a farm-house, and there purchased for one kreitzer (less than a halfpenny) more bread and milk than I could eat. I was soon on my road again, and arrived within two miles of Carlsruhe the same night. Feeling now very much fatigued, I postponed my visit to the aforenamed place until the following morning, in order that I might enter it fresh, and more capable of seeking for a situation. My supper and a night's lodging did not cost me anything, for I had some potatoes given me, and slept on some hay. My first view of Carlsruhe gratified me highly; the hussars were walking about, and, in fact, everything pleased and astonished me; for never having been more than four miles from my home, all was naturally new to me. On the right side of the town the arsenal is situated, and I then imagined that the six cannons. AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 3 and the 8000 or 4000 balls I saw there, were sufficient to conquer the whole world. After walking about for a few hours, I went to (what is termed) a house of call, and had been there only a very short time, when a person in the same way of business as my father came in for the purpose of hiring a lad ; and I was engaged by this man. The salary he agreed to give me was twenty-two guilders per annum (which is equal to thirty-six shillings English money), two new shirts, and two pairs of shoes. He immediately took me home with him ; and as soon as I was in the house, his wife, thinking to give me a good repast, cut me for my dinner some large pieces of stale meat, which I was certain had been in the place for at least a fortnight. After dinner, my master desired me to follow him, as he wished to show me my bedroom, which consisted of a kind of shed, with- out a door of any sort. As soon as I entered this place, which was to serve as my bed chamber, my attention was attracted by a basket, suspended by two ropes immediately over my bed. I inquired the meaning of this ; and was informed that it was the receptacle for the fat from the beasts, which was always kept there, and that the contents were dis- b2 4 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. posed of once a week. The first night I slept in my new home I was much disturbed by some companions, whose presence could have well been dispensed with — viz., large worms which dropped continually on me from the basket. Notwithstanding this, I determined to remain contented in my situation, being aware that as soon as the summer months had elapsed, I should not be troubled with those vermin ; nor was I disappointed in my expectation, for the winter set in cold and frosty, and so freed me altogether from this annoyance. I must now inform you what my duties consisted of for the small salary which I was to receive. Every morning at half-past three o'clock I had to go to the slaughter-house, situated about two miles from Carls- ruhe, to fetch the fore-quarters of the beasts which had been killed on the previous evening. On my return I had my breakfast, consisting of a kind of pea soup and boiled potatoes. After this I carried out the meat to the different customers, some days until five o'clock, at which time I drove the cattle to the slaughter-house, was occupied there until about eight, then returned home, taking with me (on a truck) the head, feet, skin, &c., in fact, all the parts belonging to the beasts, and retired to rest about half- past nine. r AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 5 In the manner above described I passed two years; at the expiration of which time the idea entered my mind that I could better my position in life by pro- ceeding to Manheim. After great trouble to obtain the money necessary to defray my expenses thither, I arrived at the wished-for place. I very soon obtained a situation with a butcher, but at a less salary than what I had received of my former master, and the only compensation for my loss of wages was the assistance of a horse and cart, which my new em- ployer kept, and which consequently saved me much time and labour. I remained in this place one year and a half, when the war broke out between Napoleon and the Emperor of Austria, which terminated in the battle of Austerlitz. I then removed from Manheim to Pforzheim, a town on the high road to Austria, about fifteen miles from Stuttgard, and resided there until after the marriage of Napoleon with the Archduchess Maria- Louisa of Austria, which took place by proxy at Vienna on the 11th of March, 1810. I was now engaged to a man of business who held a contract to supply the French army with oats, hay, anr] straw : I received from him four pounds sterling 6 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. per annum, which was considered a liberal salary. My master had also contracted to provide forage for the horses at the rate of fourpence each animal, but for which he himself had to pay to the inhabitants five- pence halfpenny. I will here give you a short insight into the roguery of war. Scarcely a day elapsed but a fresh regiment of artillery and cavalry passed through the town. The quartermaster of one of the regiments came one day to my master, and, presenting his order to receive forage for 160 horses, drew him aside, and asked him how much he would give him for forty horses which were lame, and, consequently, were obliged to be left behind. The end of the transaction was, that for one bottle of wine (which cost eightpence) he actually obtained forage for the number named, (i. e.) he was paid for supplpng 160, and there were only 120 to provide for. I shall content myself with relating this one specimen, but similar transactions occurred daily. I had by this time saved a small sum of money, which proved useful to me, as I was drawn for a soldier by the Grand Duke of Baden, who fought for Napoleon. Imagining I could do better than follow AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 7 the chances of war, with assistance from my friends I purchased my discharge for 440 guilders (about thirty-one pounds sterling.) About this time I received a letter from a publican residing in Nussloch, a town about nine miles from Heidelberg, on the high road from Strasburg to Frank- fort on the Maine, which was also the direct route from Switzerland to Prussia. The letter was to this effect : — " My dear sir, if you like to call on me I can put you in the way of earning money, provided it is your pleasure to follow the trade of a butcher. I do not understand anything about that business, but as there is not a day passes but we have from five to six hundred persons quartered here, no doubt you will find it a very profitable speculation, as there is only one butcher in our place."" I accepted the offer and transacted the business for one year. Still I could not rest contented, for my disposition was naturally wild, and now I wished to learn the nature of war. No sooner was this idea formed than I commenced to put my design in operation. My first step towards the accomplishment of this, was to revisit my home and see my parents, to inform them of my intention. With my father I was not a great favourite, but my 8 AUTOBIOGEAPHY. mother was very fond of me, and would have done an3rthing in her power to serve or please me. However, I merely remained to drink to the health of my parents, and receiving in return my mother's blessing, again started forth to struggle against the fortunes of the world. The first place I proceeded to was Blaufelden, (where I had a married sister residing,) and I stopped 'there one night. The following day I told my sister that I had left my home, perchance for ever, but should it be my fate to return a beggar, I would not disgrace my parents by appearing before them as such, and therefore would leave with her my best suit of clothes, so that I might always possess the chance of appearing respectable. I left Blaufelden on the high road to Erfurt in Saxony, (at that time a citadel.) Every night I slept in a different village, and all who saw me appeared pleased with the courage I displayed, for one so young. On my arrival in Erfurt, my courage failed me. I slept the first night there in a cellar, together with about twenty soldiers, some French, Italian, Swiss, Bavarian, &c. Though much fatigued, I continually heard, throughout the night, exclamations of suffering AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 9 from those around ; and when daylight broke, I be- held two men lying dead near me; one had received a shot in his side. I rose early, and started towards Leipsic. The first place I halted at was Weimar, where a strange sight presented itself to my view. About six hundred beasts were standing together under a shed ; and on my inquiring the purpose of this I was informed that a general resided in Weimar who received the cattle from different counties, and sent them to the divisions where they were required for food for the French army. The general lodged at an inn bearing the sign of the Alexander ; I went there and inquired if I could have a night's lodging ; I was refused by the landlord, but his wife (who was a very kind and humane woman) said I could have a bed in the out-house belonging to the stables. This offer I gladly accepted ; and the next morning the landlady asked me where I came from, and what were my views. I told her that " my father was a poor man, with thirteen children, and that not being of any use at home, 1 had quitted it to seek for that which thousands had already found."" She inquired my meaning. " My fortune,'' I replied. She was pleased with the answer, and said, if I were 10 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. willing, she would employ me in the kitchen, until I could obtain something more advantageous, as I could be very useful to her to cut the meat, there being nearly three hundred persons residing in the house. I had been in my situation a week when the general inquired who the young fellow was who was employed in the kitchen department of the inn. The landlord informed him of the whole of my pedigree, and the next morning the general sent for me. As soon as I entered his presence, he asked me if I was a native of Baden, and whether I was a clever fellow. To the last question I replied by begging of him to impose a task whereby he might be able to judge of my abilities. He thereupon gave me an order to see fifty-four oxen, (destined for the county of Oldenburg,) and told me I was to report to him what was the gross weight of those beasts according to my own idea. I inspected each ox separately, and wrote down the weight of every one according to my calculation. I then returned to the general, and told him how many hundred weight of meat they would produce. He made no reply, but touching me on the shoulder, desired me to ring the bell. When the servant answered it, he told him to go immediately to the AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 1 1 regimental tailor and desire him to call ; and on his arrival, he received orders to take my measure for a suit of clothes of green cloth, the buttons to be stamped with the imperial eagle, and the words " com- missaire of the butcher department," (for this was the office to which I was now appointed.) In four days my uniform was complete ; and the first time of putting it on I looked in the glass at least a hundred times, for I could scarcely recognise myself ; every one around was pleased with me, but I was the greatest admirer. The following day I had to fetch hay for 380 oxen (twenty pounds to each.) On arriving at the place where 1 was to receive it, the head man touched his hat very politely and invited me to taste his wine, at the same time saying that he regretted to inform me that the hay had lately been very sour ; in fact, he did not think the oxen would eat half the quantity I had ordered. After giving me this infor- mation he placed two napoleons in my hand, begging my acceptance of them, (I need not tell you that it required but little persuasion to induce me to comply,) and I arrived at the conclusion that the money fully compensated for the failure of the hay. As soon as I received fresh oxen, I branded them 12 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. with this mark W on their hind quarters, and on their horns with the name of the general. On receiving an order for the cattle to go to a certain regiment, the usual passport was given me, stating that I left Weimar on such a day of the month, &c. One day I had to march seven miles, another nine, and so on, and I invariably arrived at the appointed place to the precise hour. If an ox lost his shoe, or fell lame, I was compelled to slaughter it, and send the meat to the first hospital, and the skin to the town hall, where I received a certificate that an ox of a certain weight had been obliged to be killed. A circumstance occurred to me about this time, which, though simple in itself, will never be effaced from my memory I was in my room, cleaning my boots, when I was aroused by a knock at the door; on my saying " entrez," a man entered, whose quaint three-cornered hat and strange attire denoted him to be one belonging to the old school. On my desiring to know his pleasure, he inquired if I was the commis- saire of the butcher department, and on replying in the afiirmative, he told me that he had brought seventy-four head of cattle from Suhl, (a manufactur- ing town formerly belonging to the king of Saxony,) AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 13 and if I would be good enough to value them in a proper manner he would make me a handsome pre- sent. I asked him if he was not a Jew, to which an affirmative answer was given. I then said, "there are plenty of your nation where I come from, and they are great rogues, for they never fulfil their promises.'' He told me that was not the case with him ; and, in earnest thereof, presented me with six napoleons. The next day I received an order to value the beasts ; but this I avoided, possessing sufiicient sense to save myself from being shot, as that, according to an exist- ing law in the time of Napoleon, was the fate of any one suspected of bribery. On my marches with the oxen, I had, to every 100 beasts, 10 drovers and 20 soldiers, (that being the allowance,) consequently, according to the quantity of cattle, so was the number of men I had to guard me. During my sojourn in Weimar I led the life of a gen- tleman, being enabled to gratify every wish for amuse- ment and luxury ; but a circumstance occurred to me about this time which well-nigh proved fatal to all my comfort and future hopes. In the different divisions where I stopped, the cattle were placed at night in the churchyard, and a sentry placed to watch them. They 14 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. were counted as they were driven in, and their number taken over again on the following day. One morning on this being done, whilst I was stationed in Gera, one ox was missing. Suspicion fell upon me, and I was arrested on the charge of disposing of the said beast, ordered before a court-martial, and there, after a short trial, (in spite of all my protestations of in- nocence,) a verdict of guilty was pronounced against me. However, one gentleman among the judges spoke favourably of me, and said, he felt convinced I would not run away; therefore, for that night, I was quartered at his house, and my sentence deferred. In the course of the evening my defender desired my presence, and asked me several questions relative to the affair, — in fact, cross-examined me again. Finding I answered him in a straightforward manner, without any prevarication, he concluded by sajdng, he was certain I was innocent of the charge imputed to me, and made that report to the court-martial on the fol- lowing day; and, in consequence thereof, I was sent back to my station. A few weeks after, the skin of the stolen beast was discovered in a yard belonging to a tanner, the letter W which I had burnt being perfectly legible in spite of the skin having been tanned. The AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 15 master of the place was questioned on the subject, who, on referring to his book, discovered that he had pur- chased it of a butcher residing in Gera, and this man produced the person who had sold him the ox. He was accordingly arrested, and confessed being the cul- prit; consequently my innocence was perfectly esta- bUshed to the satisfaction of every one. In conclusion, I can only assure the reader that the greatest suffering I have ever endured, was the twenty-four hours when I lay under this charge, of which I was entirely innocent. ^ - " ' My journeys with the cattle were always attended with great danger to my life, it being a continual practice on the part of one army to endeavour to take provisions from the other. Previous to the battle of Toplitz taking place, about fifteen miles from Dresden towards the Polish frontier, I had to march with 600 oxen (180 men attending me) ; and between Olden- burg and Dresden some of the Austrian army attacked us so suddenly, and with such swiftness, that they killed between twenty and thirty of our men, and de- prived us of from forty to fifty cattle. I remained from this time in Dresden ; Napoleon had then his head-quarters stationed there. The 16 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. Austrian army lay twenty-seven miles to the right of Dresden ; the Prussian towards Berlin on the left side, about thirty-six out of Dresden ; and the Russian in the front towards Bautsen, about twenty-four miles from Dresden. After this they made peace for two months ; during that time all were amicably disposed ; the Austrian, French, and Prussian soldiers smoked and drank together as if they were the greatest friends, I started from Dresden very early one morning in order to visit several camps, thinking, perchance, I might see some of my old friends and countrymen, but I only met one person I knew. He had for- merly resided about one mile from my native place. This man embraced, and appeared extremely delighted to see me, saying, how proud my parents would feel if they could but behold me now, as I looked like a general. He asked me to take a walk with him, and said he would introduce me to the regiment he sup- plied (his business was to provide the army with spirits). He requested to know if I was in want of money; if so, he would lend me as much as I required (this was but a ruse to discover how much I was worth, as will afterwards appear). I thanked him for his oifer, but said I should not have occasion to avail AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 17 myself of it, having as much as I needed. Thereupon I put my hand in my pocket, and drew out about twenty Napoleons to prove to him that what I as- serted was true. This at once determined his project; he induced me to go to a public-house, where I met five soldiers who were comrades of his. After talking together for some time, he went up to them and con- versed in an under-tone, and I (as I afterwards dis- covered) was the subject of the conversation ; for he informed them that I was a young fellow who had plenty of money about me, and if they would lend their assistance to rob me of my treasure, he pro- mised that the spoil should be equally divided. This they agreed to, and he, to make more certain of suc- cess, plied the men with liquor, so that all repugnance should be overcome, provided any of them wished to forego their promise. 1 was not long in discovering by their movements what their intentions were ; so, being aware that the odds were rather too heavy against me, I with one leap sprang on the table, and from thence through the closed window on to the high- road, and so effected my escape, fortunately without injuring myself. When I visited my home twenty- eight years after this occurrence, one of my brothers c 18 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. showed me the house where the man who had con- spired against me formerly resided, and who, after a life of dissipation and villany, had committed suicide by hanging in that very place. CHAPTER II. Continuation of the author's adventures at Dresden — A sketch of the battle of Leipsic. A T the period in which the last chapter concludes, Austria, Prussia, and Russia wished to compromise with Napoleon, desiring him to go off from the River Rhine, and remain Emperor of France and King of Italy. This proposition he would not accede to, and the result was, that the three powers resolved to form themselves into one body, and attack him at once. On the 10th of August, 1813, the day fixed for the termination of the armistice, they recommenced hos- tilities, and on the 15th, Austria declared war against France, and passed with its army of two hundred thousand men into the federation of the allies. Six days previous to the battle of Dresden taking place (August 26th), I received an order to send twenty-five head of cattle towards Bautzen, and to wait for further commands; and three days after- c2 20 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. wards an order was given me to march with the light cavahy, who, I found, were to journey the same route as that by which the beasts had been despatched, and which faced the position of the Russian army. After proceeding about four miles, we halted, put up our horses, and I went with four officers to a public-house for refreshments. The landlord particularly advised us to try some celebrated sausages (as he termed them) of his own making; we agreed to do so, and whilst partaking of the same, he entered the room and said to us, "I see, gentlemen, you enjoy my re- commendation."' I told him that, being one of the head butchers of the French army, and therefore a judge of these things, I knew they contained the right stuff. He was extremely pleased at my opinion, not imagining that it was spoken in jest, for I was positive that the ingredients of the sausages consisted- of nothing but horse-flesh, as there were not any cattle about but what belonged to the French army ; in fact, during the time of war, a beast was not to be seen in the place, and those we required were sent from counties more than a hundred miles distant. We all at this time led a very merry life, though female society was denied us, it being even a rare AUTOBIOGRAPHY. gj event to see a female, except in the forests, where they had fled for protection as soon as the war broke out, and made their homes in these retired spots. From this place we marched on for about five miles, remained there for the night, and took up our quarters in a garden. Early the following morning we were on our road, and after marching three miles were ordered to halt ; I then beheld the cattle I had sent, and about twelve thousand soldiers. The beasts were now slaughtered, and the meat immediately pre- pared for cooking, fires being lighted, and boilers fixed over ; but the meat had not been in the vessels more than five minutes when the trumpets sounded for marching, and our men took their share away with them. We were now ordered to march at the rate of five miles an hour towards Dresden, and we had not been on our road more than twenty minutes when the sound of cannon reached our ears ; and on arriving before the place where the public-house had stood three days previously, and where we had in- tended to call again, we found it a heap of ashes, it having been burned to the ground. When we came within two miles of Dresden, the river Elbe was on our left, and the Austrian artillery on the opposite 22 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. side, the cannon-balls from whom whistled about three feet above our heads. On our entry into Dresden, we had to cross the bridge situated in the midst of the town, on the left side of which (immediately under the cannon's mouth) Napoleon was stationed on horse- back, with a map in his hand, issuing the necessary directions to his men concerning the battle. The bridge, on account of its construction, served as a protection to him ; it having a very steep ascent and descent, and the path, which was about a foot above the road, having a parapet four feet in height. By the time we arrived in Dresden, our horses were worn out with fatigue, but we marched on three miles further towards Toplitz, by the same route as the Austrians had fled the day previously. I there beheld some of the horrors of war, and thought how dearly a victory might be obtained, for thousands lay on the ground dead and wounded. Those of the latter who were only injured in the head or arms, contrived to crawl away for assistance, whilst others, whose wounds were more serious, and prevented them from moving, cried out to us to release them from their sufferings by shooting them. This no one had the courage to do, and so they were left to linger out their miserable AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 23 existence. It had now become dusk, so we sought for a shelter for the night. A large house, belonging to a private gentleman, was the only place we saw available for our purpose, and finding it untenanted, we took up our quarters there. Our business then was to seek for food for ourselves, and hay for the horses. I took a large piece of burning wood, and went about exploring the house. I first entered a kind of cellar, imagining it probable that some provisions would be found there, but was disappointed, for the place was entirely vacant. Thinking there might be a secret door which led to some other chamber, I obtained a stone, and hammered on different parts of the wall, in the hopes of my suspicions being realized. Having been occupied in this manner for about five minutes, and being about to give up the search in despair, I gave one more knock for a finale, and immediately after having done so, a female voice exclaimed (in my own language), "I hope you will have mercy upon me.'' This slightly startled me, and pressing that spot of the wall from which the sound proceeded, it immediately opened, and I beheld a young woman, whose face of ghastly paleness, and general appear- ance, for the moment almost led me to believe that 24 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. an apparition stood before me. I begged her to calm herself, and tell me the cause of her misfortunes, and the reason of my finding her in such a place, as I would befriend her. She then informed me that as soon as the battle commenced, her father and the rest of the family had made their escape in the night, leaving her behind, and fled she knew not whither ; but she imagined that they were secreted in a forest a few miles distant. She said, if she could but reach Dresden she should be in safety, having many friends residing there. I told her she could easily accomplish her object, provided she would move straight on, and not take any notice of the dead, who lay in the fields she would have to pass through. She followed my advice, and started on her road about eleven, o'clock the same night. It was near this hour that the news reached us of Napoleon's victory over the Austrians, and by four o'clock the next morning intelligence arrived from Gross-Beeren that the French had been defeated on the Prussian side. We received orders to march towards Berlin, about seven miles from Gross-Beeren. There we discovered the retreat of the French army. We now halted for the night, and were put to the utmost inconvenience AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 25 through our inability to obtain fire, as there was not any wood to be procured, except from the trees, and this was too damp to bum. The soldiers broke in a small village, and set fire to the church, by the light of which they built a temporary bridge over the canal for them to pass over the next morning. The French wings were now stationed to the right and left of the city, wliich itself formed the centre of their line. The allies were ranged along the heights from Planen to Strehlen. The Emperor of Russia and King of Prussia were with their army. They had not very greatly the advantage in point of numbers, for the division of Klenau never came up, and Napo- leon had concentrated nearly two hundred thousand men on the occasion. (Vide Home's "Life of Napo- leon.") The next morning (which broke in a tempest of wind and rain), before the battle commenced, I bade farewell to my comrades, and proceeded to Leipsic. Six weeks elapsed ere I arrived at my desti- nation, having to encounter many difiiculties on my way, for, not possessing any authority to leave, there was great risk in acting as I did. Shortly after my arrival in Leipsic, I called on the postmaster -general, who was an intimate friend of mine, and told him 26 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. that, being possessed of cash to the amount of sixteen hundred Napoleons, if he would be good enough to give me an acknowledgment for this money, I would leave it all in his possession. He replied by telling me if I would give him an acknowledgment he would give me the whole of his property, as he did not con- sider that in two days' time there would be one stone left of Leipsic. I was aware that there were three roads from Leipsic to Frankfort- on-the- Maine; this I communicated to my friend, and told him that I had determined to go to Mersberg, which led towards Hesse Cassel, to the right side, about sixty miles from the enemy. He said it would be utterly useless for me to do so, as every way was cut off by the enemy, and that he did not think, if 1000 men attempted it, even ten would be able to effect their escape. I therefore remained in Leipsic ; but at this time they charged so dear for provisions, that it appeared as if I had to pay a Napoleon for everything I put in my mouth. To secure my money somewhat more safely, I had a pair of linen overalls made, with twenty-one buttons on each side, each of which was a Napoleon. Two days after — viz., on the 16th of October — the battle commenced, which was a most fearful one. I AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 27 lost my horse and the whole of my baggage, it being impossible for me to discover the stables where they were placed. As a short sketch of this battle may not prove unin- teresting to some of my readers, I beg to digress for a short time from my own history to relate the following particulars taken from Home's " Life of Napoleon."" At nine o'clock on the morning of the 16th, the battle began with a tremendous attack upon the whole line of the French position. It was received with a firm- ness which rendered vain every effort to dislodge a single division. Six desperate attempts had been made by the allies before noon, when they paused, somewhat (as Scott describes) "in the condition of wrestlers who have exhausted themselves in vain and premature efforts."" It was now Napoleon"s turn. He assumed the offensive, and was successful at every point. The centre of the allied army was fairly broken by the impetuosity of the attack ; the strong positions of Gossa and the redoubt called the Swedish camp, were taken ; and Murat, with Latour Maubourg, and Kellermann, thundered through the gap, at the head of the whole body of the French cavalry, and bore down the grenadiers of the reserve. At this crisis, when 28 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. the King of Saxony had set all the bells in Leipsic ringing at the tidings sent to him by Napoleon, the Emperor Alexander saved the day for the allied army. He ordered the Cossacks of his guard, who were in immediate attendance on his person, to charge the French cavalry. They obeyed with the utmost fury ; re-took the cannon which the French had just seized, drove back the cavalry which had so nearly decided the action, and so gave time for the Austrian reserves to come up. The overwhelming superiority of force had then time to make its impression. " The allies had such vast numbers,'" says Las Casas, " that when their troops were fatigued, they were regularly relieved, as at parade." In the meantime, a terrii&c cannonade had been commenced by the allies on the north, where Blucher had arrived and come into action. Some of the French troops in that quarter had been withdrawn, to support the raging battle of the centre, and Ney and Marmont were, in consequence, outnumbered as three to one. Blucher took the village of Mackem, twenty pieces of cannon, and two thousand prisoners, and crowded the defence of the French nearer to the walls of Leipsic. The main battle raged till evening, with various success ; and when at length darkness AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 29 obliged the combatants to leave to the dead the ground on which the fierce strife had been maintained, the French had not relinquished in this quarter one foot of their original position, though they had been driven back from the posts they had at one time seized. Poniatowski had maintained his ground against every attack ; and Bertrand had preserved his post at Lindenau. But Napoleon's fortunes needed something more than an honourable defence, and he had achieved no victory. Still before him lay the dark masses of his enemies, in the same positions they had occupied the night before. Their losses had been indeed prodi- gious ; but his own had been very severe, and he had need of every man he could muster ; while in the great host opposed to him, fifty thousand individual lives might be extinguished without causing any anxiety to their leaders : the necessary preponderance over him would still be maintained — a military cal- culation goes no farther. It was evident to Napo- leon that the struggle was over, and that an honour- able defence, terminated by a retreat, was all that lay before him. He had received certain intelligence, also, from an Austrian prisoner, that the King of Bavaria 30 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. had deserted his alliance, and that the Bavarian army under General Wrede, lately fighting under the French standard, was now in readiness to intercept his return to the Rhine. The Austrian prisoner here mentioned was General Merfeld, who had been em- ployed by his sovereign to solicit an armistice from General Bonaparte, in 1797, when the victorious army of Italy was fast approaching the gates of Vienna, and who had returned with a favourable answer. During the night of the 16th, this Austrian officer was summoned to the presence of Napoleon, and charged with a message to his imperial master, which, in terms at once simple and dignified, solicited a sus- pension of arms. Napoleon offered, as the price of peace, to give up Poland and lUyria ; consented to the independence of the Hanse Towns and Holland ; and was ready to renounce any further attempts on Spain. He proposed that Italy should be considered one independent country, and preserved in its inte- grity. Lastly, he was willing to evacuate Germany, and retreat towards the Rhine. "Adieu, General Merfeld,'" said he, as he dismissed his prisoner; " when, on my part, you name the word armistice to the Emperor, I doubt not that the voice which then AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 31 strikes his ear will awaken many recollections." — " Words," says Scott, " affecting by their simplicity, and which, coming from so proud a heart, and one who was reduced to ask the generosity he had formerly extended, cannot be recorded without strong sym- pathy/' No answer was ever returned by the sove- reigns, who took no notice whatever of concessions thus entire. The ostensible objects of the war were attained, yet they continued to push it to extremity. Its ultimate objects were now to appear. But of the blood wantonly poured out on the ground during the succeeding days, who is to render an account ? A dead calm lasted throughout the 17th, during which the allies prepared for a renewed attack, and Napoleon for defence and for retreat, — not forgetting to confer his high meed of praise on the heroic deeds of the various individuals of his army. To the noble Prince Poniatowski he presented on this day the baton of a marshal of France. At eight o'clock on the morning of the 18th, the allies renewed their attack with tenfold fury ; their ranks were now in- creased by the presence of Bernadotte and his army. The French line of defence was drawn nearer to Leipsic, Probstheyda now forming the central point. 32 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. and Napoleon with his guard being stationed on an eminence immediately behind it. Along the whole line, the fire continued for many hours tremendous on both sides ; nor could the inhabitants of Leipsic, who were appalled spectators from the walls and steeples of the city, perceive that either army recoiled or ad- vanced. The slaughter was enormous, but greater among the allied army than in that of the French, because the latter fought under shelter. About two o'clock, a furious onset of the Prussians forced the central position of Probstheyda, and the din and con- fusion of flight began to be heard. Napoleon, in the rear, and on the very verge of this tumult, placed his reserve of the old guard in order — led them in person to the point in danger — recovered the ground, and then resumed his station. He is described as main- taining throughout the whole of this dreadful day, a calm decision and presence of mind ; and as having supported his squadrons, in their enforced defence, with the same spirit of power which he had always possessed over them when leading them on to victory. His military genius was never more apparent than now, when he fought against insuperable difiiculties. At length the allies, notwithstanding their numbers, were AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 33 obliged to desist from their suicidal attacks ; and drawing back their troops, brought forward their artil- lery, and contented themselves with maintaining an incessant fire of balls and shells, to which the French replied with equal continuity. Meanwhile, Ney and Marmont had contended with overwhelming numbers on the northern side of the city. They had been obliged to concentrate their lines nearer the walls, but had preserved their order, and resisted every furious onset of their enemies to force their new posi- tions, when, at a critical moment of the attack, the Saxon brigades, of 10,000 men, deserted their lines, marched forward to meet the Russians, with colours of truce displayed, and suddenly facing about, turned their artillery upon the ranks which they had just left ; " and having,'' as Scott expresses it, " expended, during that morning, one half of their ammunition on the allies, they now bestowed the other half upon the French army.'' This piece of shameless treachery, — which it is just to mention, that Scott himself highly reprobates, — incapacitated the French marshals from maintaining their ground before Bernadotte, who pressed hard upon them, and forced them into a posi- tion close under the walls of Leipsic. The Wurtem- D 34 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. berg cavalry, a few minutes afterwards, followed the example of the Saxons, and also deserted to the allies. As night approached, the battle once more ceased at all points. Napoleon had completely maintained the day on the southern line of attack. The Saxon trea- chery had decided the advantage for the allies on the northern side. The fast failing amount of resources, and the awful account of dead and wounded were now to be summed up by Napoleon. The result was a preparation for immediate retreat, to commence during the night. His ammunition was falling short, a circumstance not wonderful; for, according to Baron Fain, the extra- ordinary number of 250,000 cannon-balls had been expended by the French during the four preceding days. Provisions also were scarce, and the Bavarians in arms, ready to intercept the communications with France. Leipsic was no longer tenable by Napoleon. He spent the whole night in issuing the orders which brought all his divisions successively within the walls. The retreat was necessarily a matter of extreme dif- ficulty. About 100,000 men, confined in a narrow space by surrounding enemies, had to debouch from a single gate, cross two rivers, (the Pleisse and Elster, AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 85 which wash the walls,) besides traversing a tract of marshy land, and to crown the difficulty, only one temporary bridge, in addition to the stone bridges already existing, had been constructed by the French engineers. It is said that Napoleon had given orders for three bridges; however that may be, the negli- gence was of fatal consequence. Victor and Augereau first defiled upon the bridges; Marmont, Reynier, and Ney, were ordered to maintain their positions in the city, until the two former divisions had effected their passage ; Lauriston, Macdonald, and Poniatowski, were entrusted with the command of the rear-guard, and charged to protect the avenues to the Elster, until all the other troops had passed. Poniatowski received his orders from the emperor himself " Prince," said he, " you will defend the southern faubourg." " I have but few soldiers left," he answered. " Well, but you will defend the post with what force you have." " Do not doubt, sire, that we will maintain our ground. We are all ready to die for your majesty!" was the prompt reply ; and so these two men parted. The first light of morning showed their enemies that the French had commenced a retreat. All the allied columns in- stantly advanced upon the city, but were arrested in d2 36 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. their progress by the obstinate resistance of the French rear-guard. While the sounds of the fierce attack and firm defence sounded through the city, Napoleon was bidding farewell to the venerable King of Saxony and his family. He formally released the king from all the ties of their mutual alliance; discharged the Saxon body-guard which had remained faithful to him ; and expressed the grief which he felt at thus leaving the royal family in the midst of their enemies. They would have followed him in his retreat, but he refused to suffer them to lose their last chance of making some terms with the allies. They then pressed him to linger no longer in Leipsic. " You have done enough/' said the king ; " and now you push your generosity to too great an extreme in risking your person to remain a few moments longer in consoling us.'" Napoleon yielded to their entreaties. " I did not mean to have left you/' he said, " till the enemy was in the city, and I owe you that proof of devotion. But I see that my presence only increases your fears. I insist no longer. Receive my ^ adieu.' Whatever happens, France will pay the debt of friendship which I have contracted towards you." Napoleon passed in safety through the gates with his guard, and gained the bridge of Lindenau. AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 37 The King of Saxony, the magistrates, and some of the French generals, sent proposals to the conquerors to permit the retreating army to march out of the city unmolested, in mercy to the unfortunate inha- bitants. " But when,'' says Scott, " were victorious generals prevented from prosecuting military advan- tages, by the mere consideration of humanity ?" They paid no heed to the proposal. The retreating Emperor, however, did not show the same want of humanity, even in self-defence. " Napoleon,'' says the same historian, "was urged to set fire to the suburbs, to check the pressure of the allies on his rear-guard. As this, however, must have occasioned a most extensive scene of misery, he generously refused to give such a dreadful order." The brave rear-guard, yielding foot by foot, before overwhelming numbers, were at length forced into the city. Fighting at every step as they retreated, they approached the great bridge of the Elster. All the divisions had crossed — ^their task was accomplished, they drew nearer to their means of escape, — for the bridge was mined, and orders were given for its destruction as soon as they had passed. The inha- bitants began to fire on them from the roofs; the 38 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. enemy pressed closer on their rear, when a dreadful explosion made the fierce din pause for an instant. The bridge had prematurely blown up and left the devoted rear-guard without retreat. Numbers threw themselves into the river, and some escaped ; among these was Macdonald, who swam across the Elster. Reynier and Lauriston disappeared, and were reported killed or drowned. Poniatowski, seeing the enemy's forces thronging around in every direction, drew his sword, and said to his suite and a few Polish Cuiras- siers who followed him, " Gentlemen, it is better to fall with honour, than to surrender." He charged accordingly, and dashed through the troops opposed to him, receiving a musket-shot in the arm : other enemies appeared ; through them he also made his way, but was again wounded through the cross of his decoration. He then plunged into the Pleisse, and got across that river with the help of his staff-officers, though much exhausted. Then, seeing the enemy's riflemen already on the banks of the Elster, he leaped his horse into that deep and marshy river, and rose no more. " Five days afterwards,'' says Bourrienne, " a fisherman drew the body of the prince out of the water. On the 26th of October, it was temporarily AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 39 interred at Leipsic, with all the honours due to the illustrious deceased. A modest stone marks the spot where the body of the prince was dragged from the river. The Poles expressed a wish to erect a monu- ment to the memory of their countryman in the garden of M. Eeichembach, situated on the bank of the Elster, at the spot where the prince was drowned ; but that gentleman declared he would do it at his own expense, which he did. The monument consists of a beautiful sarcophagus, surrounded by weeping willows. The body of the prince, after being embalmed, was sent in the following year to Warsaw ; and in 1816, it was deposited in the cathedral among the remains of the kings and great men of Poland. The celebrated Thorwaldsen was commissioned to execute a monu- ment for his tomb. Prince Poniatowski left no issue but a natural son, born in 1790." Nearly 20,000 men either perished or were made prisoners, and 200 pieces of cannon and an immense quantity of baggage were taken in consequence of this fatal mistake at the bridge. The error is explained as having been caused by the sapper whose duty it was to fire the train, and who thought that the rear- guard had already passed ; and it is said, that the 40 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. oflficer who was left in charge, was absent at the moment from his post ; but in the rout and confusion, no perfectly distinct explanation was elicited, though Napoleon instituted an inquiry. His detractors have not failed to attribute the premature order to his own selfish fears. The fact is, that the explosion awoke him out of a profound sleep, into which he had fallen after passing the bridge of Lindenau ; when his sense of momentary security suffered him to yield to the extreme exhaustion consequent on three days and nights of incessant excitement. Deep memories fol- lowed the victims of the catastrophe ; but Napoleon was the chief actor in a tragedy, of which this was only one incident, and was constrained to pass onward to the end. The carnage at the battle of Leipsic is almost in- credible as stated by some authorities, but it is given so variously as to render any authentic account im- possible. The French writers allow that 30,000 of their own army were missing, of whom 20,000 were killed, and that 22,000 wounded were left in the hospitals of the city. Seventeen French generals were taken. The King of Saxony was also made prisoner, and sent into Prussia, under a guard of AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 41 > Cossacks, without being permitted an interview with the sovereign. The loss in killed and wounded, on the part of the allies, is allowed on all sides to have been much heavier than on that of the French ; it is, therefore, certain, that to estimate it at fifty or sixty thousand is no extravagant computation. " The triumph of the allied monarchs,'' says Scott, " was complete. Advancing at the head of their victorious forces, each upon his own side, the Emperor of Russia, the King of Prussia, and the Crown Prince of Sweden, met and greeted each other in the great square of the city, where they were soon joined by the Emperor of Austria. Napoleon, meanwhile, with his broken army, pursued his retreat towards the Rhine by the route of Erfurt, Gotha, Fulda, and Hanau. He was not closely pursued by the allies ; but provisions were scarce, and his troops spread over the country, committed excesses, and fell into disorder. He preserved his usual deport- ment, indulging in no expressions of grief or reproach. At Erfurt, he left a garrison to check the pursuit. Scarcely a single soldier belonging to the German confederate states was now marching under his standard ; all had deserted and joined his enemies. Westphalia had already shaken off the government of 42 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. Jerome Bonaparte, who had retired into France, accompanied by his queen. At Erfurt, also, a de- sertion, which had long taken place in spirit, was com- pleted in every sense. Murat proposed to push for- ward, and bring up forces from the French frontier ; left the Emperor in consequence ; passed rapidly on to Eisnach, where he was met by the Duke of Rocca- Romana, the grand equerry of the Neapolitan court, and in company with this nobleman started for Italy. Arriving in his dominions, he shortly afterwards com- menced hostilities against the French. It was observed that when he took leave, Napoleon embraced him repeatedly, as though under the influence of some pre- sentiment that they should never meet again. The Poles still remained faithful to a man ; and when Napoleon, appreciating their honourable conduct, gave to such of them as had only taken up arms in the Russian campaign, for the express purpose of deliver- ing Poland, the choice of abandoning his fortunes at the present crisis, they unanimously agreed to remain with him until he was safely beyond the Rhine, reserving to themselves their right, when that period arrived, to leave his standard. Only a portion of them availed themselves of this liberty. The majority of AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 43 the Polish corps had served so long under him, that his camp had become their native country. It is im- possible to pass over Scott's remarks on this conduct of the Poles. " The manner/' says he, " in which Napoleon had disappointed their hopes could not be forgotten by them ; but they had too much generosity to revenge, at this crisis, the injustice with which they had been treated." It is very true, that Napoleon had been tardy and over-prudent in his dealings with the Poles; but it ill becomes the partisan of their "legitimate'" enemies, or, (to use one of his own similes), their "robbers and despoilers,"' to parade this " generosity in not taking revenge "" on their friend by siding with their despotic foes. Napoleon left Erfurt on the 25th of October, and passed the Fulda on the 28th. Few enemies harassed his march beyond this river, with the exception of some hordes of Cossacks. An obstacle, however, not altogether unexpected, had interposed between him and France. On entering the forest of Hanau on the 30th, he found an army of 45,000 Bavarians under General de Wrede, drawn up to oppose his passage. Napoleon attacked them without hesitation, his light troops disputing the ground from tree to tree, and 44 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. after a combat of several hours, the Bavarians were driven behind the river Kintzig, and took refuge in the town of Hanau. Napoleon, with the advanced guard, pushed on to Williamstadt, leaving Marmont with three corps of infantry to support the rear-guard under Mortier, which had not yet come up. On the following day, a sharp action ensued between these French corps and the Bavarian army, which ended in the total defeat of the latter, with the loss of 10,000 men. General de Wrede was dangerously wounded, and his son-in-law. Prince Oettingen, killed on the spot. The French soldiers, enraged at being thus inter- cepted by the very men who had so lately fought by their side, gave little quarter. A Bavarian miller performed a piece of signal service to his countrymen on this occasion. Seeing a corps of their infantry pursued by the French cavalry, he suddenly let the water into his mill-stream which the fugitives had passed when dry, and so interposed an obstacle between them and their pursuers. He was rewarded with a pension by the King of Bavaria. The whole of the French army passed through Frankfort, and entered Mentz on the 1st and 2nd of November. AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 45 The left bank of the Rhine was soon after lined with the encampments of the allied sovereigns, who, once more, after the lapse of twenty years, stood threaten- ingly on the frontier of France. CHAPTEK III. The author reverts to his own history — Is taken prisoner by Cos- sacks, but makes his escape — Arrives in Mayence, where he is taken ill — Returns to his father's house — Again leaves home, and proceeds towards Metz — Goes to Paris, where he meets with a long-lost friend — Strange adventure at Chalons-sur-Marne — He is providentially deterred from plunging into the Khine — Is ordered to march to Bremen, where he meets with his uncle — Becomes a linen-draper — His adventures in that capacity — Meditates settling in life, but is prevented doing so — He pro- ceeds to England. T NOW revert to my own history. During the retreat after the battle described in the last chapter, the French were so sensibly affected by fear that they did not know what they were about, for wherever they went the Cossacks and Russians were before them. Artillery, cavalry and infantry, were so confused that they were always in each other's way, for the downfall of Napoleon had been so sudden, they knew not where to fly for protection, not having any leaders ; and had the retreat been conducted in a proper manner thousands of lives would have been saved. AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 47 I have here to mention an occurrence of which I was a painful witness, illustrating the disastrous results which occur from inexperience, and the not being thoroughly initiated into every particular of whatever avocation a person may pursue. After one day's march towards Langensala, we were quartered in a small town and slept in a kind of barn. About three o'clock in the morning I was awoke by the tramp of horses, and on looking out beheld from fifty to sixty of the light cavalry enter from one side of the town, and a few minutes after, on the opposite side, between twenty and thirty Polish lancers marched in, who wore a similar uniform to the Cossacks, having in the breast of their coats twelve divisions cut, for holding cartridges. I was well acquainted with them — but had I not been so, should have fallen into the same error as the cavalry did — viz., mistaken them for the Cossacks, on this account the more particularly, that since the battle of Leipsic we had been surrounded by them. Napoleon had, at this time, a great number of soldiers who had not been in the army a twelve- month. Almost as soon as the cavalry perceived the approach of the lancers, they charged on them, and in spite of their repeated assertions that they were Poles 48 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. and not Cossacks, they did not believe them, and consequently kept up the slaughter ; the cruel treat- ment to which they had been subjected by their enemies had been of so extreme a nature that all feelings of mercy were stifled, and they only thought of revenge. We now marched on, but had only advanced a short distance on our road when we fell in with a body of Cossacks, who made us all (twenty-eight in number) prisoners. They took us to a public house, and the gate was locked on us immediately we entered. Our captors then tied up their horses, and went into the house to drink ; whilst they were thus occupied, we contrived to cut the belly-bands of the horses, broke open the gate, and every one of us effected our escape. From Leipsic to Mayence is upwards of 250 English miles, and it is a positive fact that a person could not, on an average, proceed twelve yards through all this way without encountering dead bodies of men and horses, and ammunition of every description. It was that period of the year when everything was in from the field, only a few potatoes and turnips were to be seen ; we marched day and AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 4i9 night through fields, forests, and rivers, and the only food to be obtained was raw vegetables picked up from the ground. On reaching Frankfort (about eighteen miles from Mayence) I got some hot victuals, but owing to the nature of my recent living, was unable to retain anything of the kind on my stomach. The nervous fever then broke out amongst us, and hundreds died through it. On my arrival in Mayence I was compelled to become an inmate of the hospital for six weeks with the fever ; whilst there, numbers were thrown out of the window before they were dead, placed in waggons, taken to the fields, and cast into pits dug on purpose. My illness cost me thirty Napoleons, for when I asked for my overalls, I dis- covered that there were only twelve, instead of forty- two buttons. My attendant must have detected the value of them, and abstracted them for his own use. On being discharged from the hospital, I started forth (in spite of the weakness resulting from my late severe illness), towards my home (a distance of sixty miles), to see my parents once more ; but the journey was not so easily accomplished as ha^i been anticipated. This was chiefly owing to the Russians, who were E 50 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. quartered in almost every village which lay in my route, and who looked with great suspicion on any one whom they considered to belong to Napoleon. However, some pitied, and would have assisted me, whilst others were less gentle in their remarks and actions ; yet, despite of all difficulties, I arrived at my destination in safety. When I opened the door of my father s house, I beheld both my parents weeping. After my first salutation, I inquired if they wept for joy or sorrow ; they informed me that one of my brothers, who was then their sole support, had been drawn for a soldier. I desired them not to grieve on that account, for as I was but of little use to any one, I would become his substitute. This my mother opposed, saying that I had sufiered sufficient already, and she would part with everything she possessed to purchase her song's discharge, at the same time praying I would follow the same line of business as my brothers, and remain at home with them, as there was a good livelihood to be obtained by any one who was inclined to be indus- trious. The few pounds I had left I gave towards my brother's release. My eldest brother was a cattle dealer ; and the day after my return home, I went AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 51 with him to purchase beasts. Wherever we stopped he was well known ; it was, perhaps, owing to this, that he spoke to me as follows: "When we arrive at the place where I intend to dine, if any one asks me who you are, I shall say my drover; be particular that you maintain this/' I promised to do so, but on my return home I told my parents I had resolved to quit my home immediately, and for ever, as my brother's conduct had so hurt my feelings and pride, that I could not possibly remain longer with him. The one who was most affected at my leaving was my brother Benedict (who was six years my junior.) He followed for several miles weeping, vowing he would not be separated from me ; and it was only by force, which I was reluctantly compelled to use, that he would eventually leave, for he went away several times, looked back, and again ran up to me, until I declared that, if he did not instantly return, I would give him a sound thrashing. This had the desired effect, and he bade me farewell. This man became one of the most extensive cattle dealers in Manheim, and for several years supplied the whole of Baden with milch cows. When my determination to leave my home became E 2 52 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. known, an old friend of my father s called on me and said "he had a particular favour to ask of me. He had a son/' (he said,) " who he was afraid might be drawn for a soldier, and as he did not desire this, he begged of me to take him under my protection, as that was the only way he knew of to secure his being left free/' I at once (without considering the responsibility of such a charge,) promised to grant his request, and pledged him my word of honour to protect him in every pos- sible way. Two days after I took this young man away with me, and proceeded to Manheim, where I joined the Russian army, which was then stationed there. A few hours after I had been with them, we were ordered to march towards Metz. At the end of six days' march we were quartered in a small town, where several of the Russian soldiers were already stationed. The burgomaster of the town told me that it was not possible he could lodge us both in the same house, as the place was then quite full, consequently we were obliged to take up our quarters separately. As my young friend was entirely ignorant of everything relative to war, and quite inexperienced in the ways of the world, I desired him not to go anywhere, except AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 53 under my direction, and begged that he would im- plicitly follow the advice I should give him. I then showed him the house where I was to stay for the night, told him to go to his dinner, and return to me immediately after, as I would contrive that he should sleep in the same house with me. This he promised to do, but several hours elapsed after the time he was expected to return, and still he came not. At length I became extremely uneasy, and went about the town seeking for him, but not knowing the number of the house he had gone to, my search was unsuccessful. In my progress I inquired of several people whether they had seen a person answering his description, but all answered in the negative, so I returned to my quarters alone, and at last was compelled to go away without him. My life was now (through this affair) quite a burden to me. It caused me so much grief that at times I really knew not what I was about, for, imagining he had been killed, I knew not what to say to his father that would be satisfactory, or how it would be possible to console him for the loss of his son. After causing every inquiry to be made, it un- happily was all to no purpose, for nothing could be seen or heard respecting him. Immediately on my 54 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. arrival in Paris, which took place some months after this occurrence, I visited several small restaurants, and such places where I thought it probable my lost friend might be discovered provided he were in Paris. At one of these houses, I was informed that a person precisely answering my description of him, had been there the day previous, and that they had collected some money for him, as he appeared in great distress, and said he wished to obtain sufficient to take him to Lyons and Grenoble, where he expected to find a long lost friend. This information, of course, greatly dis- concerted me, and I resolved, if it were in my power, to follow him to the places he had named. As I was leaving the house I met an old acquaintance, a gentle- man whom I had obliged in many ways whilst re- siding in Weimar and Saxony; he was delighted to see me again, and desired me to accompany him, as " he could not allow me to depart" (he said) " until he had paid me in some trifling way for my past kindness towards him." I went with him to a large hotel in the Rue St. Martin, and on our arrival there he ordered a sumptuous dinner. Whilst we were dining a waiter entered the room, and said, " Gentlemen, I have *to implore your charity for a AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 55 young man (a native of Strasburg), who is in great distress, and wishing to obtain sufficient money to defray his expenses as far as Grenoble, waits outside until my return, as I have promised to interest myself in his behalf/' It was with great difficulty that I could command my feelings, whilst the man was speak- ing, as I felt confident it was the individual whom I had so long sought. I told the man to show the applicant into the room. He no sooner crossed the threshold than my expectations were at once realized, for he, whom I had so long been seeking, stood before me. For one instant, but an instant only, did I feel incensed against him for his wilful desertion of me (as I supposed), but his warm embrace and tears very soon dispelled all my angry feelings — everjrthing was forgotten in the joy of beholding him again. He then thus explained the cause of his mysterious dis- appearance — " that feeling extremely fatigued, he had remained at the house where he had dined; in the night he was aroused by the drums sounding for marching; and that he quitted his bed and went oflF with a regiment which was ordered to march a dif- ferent route from the one I had to go/' His idea was, on starting, that every soldier in the town was to 56 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. march the same route, and therefore he should not have any trouble to find me as he proceeded, nor did he discover his error until too late, for they had marched too far for him to return ; and even had he done so, it would not have been possible for him to have discovered the place where I was staying. Since he left me, he had subsisted almost entirely on charity, going from town to town in the hopes of finding me. His pale and emaciated appearance certainly confirmed all that he asserted. I now resolved to send him home to his father, and for that purpose, on the fol- lowing day, waited on the Austrian ambassador — ^laid before him the true facts of the case, stating how I was situated regarding my promise to the parents of the young man, and asked him to grant me a passport for him to go back to his country. He approved most highly of my conduct throughout the affair, and immediately a passport was made out, to the effect that the bearer could not take any but the direct route to his home. I gave him money to pay his expenses on the road, and the next day saw him depart. He afterwards informed me by letter that he arrived perfectly safe at the end of his journey ; and after the lapse of twenty-eight years, I had the grati- AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 57 fication of receiving his thanks in his own village for the assistance which I had rendered him. After Napoleon had conquered Germany, he caused powerful batteries to be erected along the left side of the river Rhine, where there was the most extensive traffic, and the greatest facility for people to land. Nevertheless, it was not until after the battle of Leipsic that he imagined they would be called into requisition. He then became aware they would prove of the greatest service to him, though they were inef- fectual against the Russians on the night we crossed the river Rhine on the ice (January 1st, 1814); but this must be mainly attributed to the dense fog which prevailed on that night, for we arrived close to the cannon's mouth ere any one knew where he was, and the French had not perceived our approach ; but all were soon in arms, and a severe struggle took place. Of course the utmost confusion prevailed, owing to the state of the atmosphere, and shots were fired at random, yet in less than an hour six or seven hundred men were killed on both sides. Ultimately the French were defeated, and fled to Metz, at that time a fortress belonging to Napoleon. We then marched on the same route, but finding it would be useless to attack 5& AUTOBIOGRAPHY. them in their retreat, we turned to the left, and pro- ceeded to Vitry le Fran^ais, at which place the soldiers gave themselves up to every excess, visiting the wine- cellars of the different houses, tapping the casks, and making the wine flow as plentifully as water, until every one became as if insane; and the horses were brought to the same condition, for the men filled their hats with wine, and gave it to them to drink. The inhabitants, thinking to satisfy the Russians, gave them plenty of money, but they were not aware that the notes tendered were utterly valueless, as they were French. I could here describe at great length the darker scenes of a military life, particularly in the period I am writing of, but as this subject has been so often dilated upon by others more competent than myself, it would be presumptuous in me to attempt it. From Vitry le Fran^ais we marched to Chalons sur Marne. Whilst stationed at this place, I was the hero of a strange adventure. On waking up one night, I beheld a young woman (as I imagined) sitting before the fire drying her clothes. Thinking it very remarkable that any one should thus intrude into my room, and more particularly one of the female sex, I immediately arose from the bundle of straw which AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 59 constituted my bed, and went towards my visitor, whose face was no sooner turned towards me, than I immediately recognised, with the utmost surprise, a TYian in disguise, I very soon settled this affair; for ere he was aware of my design, I laid him senseless with a blow from the butt end of my pistol, and then quitted the house. As I went out of my room I beheld, hanging behind the door, a large wood chopper, which doubtless would have been used by him to attack me, had not Providence ordained that I should awake ere he could put his design into execution, as robbery was evidently his intention, and had I offered resistance, he would probably have had recourse to means more effectual than mere words. Our next march was to Paris, but we remained there only a short time, being ordered back to Chateau Thierry. The Emperor Alexander then put his army in camp, and completed his regiments. The Kussian soldiers were very kind, and would have obliged me in any way, but I imagined they had some motive in this which I could not comprehend ; and, as it after- wards proved, my conjectures were not unfounded. At the place where we were now stationed, I was comr polled to lie for eight nights close to a river, the reason 60 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. of this was, that at this time I was attached to the horse artillery. One night I was disturbed by a noise near me, and I heard, or imagined I heard, something relative to marching, or words to that effect ; not being called up, I did not arise then, but on my doing so at my usual hour, discovered that I had been robbed of every trifle I possessed, by those who pro- fessed to be my friends. I still determined to remain with the army, supposing we were to march to Saxony, where I had many good friends residing, who I felt assured would assist me as soon as I could make my case known to them ; however, I was doomed to dis- appointment, for we were ordered to Cologne. On my arrival there I was utterly worn out with fatigue, and felt altogether tired of my existence ; in fact, it was but a simple, yet strange thing, which prevented me from putting an end to all my earthly troubles. I stood on a bridge over the river Rhine, resolved to precipitate myself into it ; but at the moment of putting this in execution, I recollected that I had that about me which would cause my body to be recognised, for on my arm was burnt the insignia of a butcher (it being the custom of my country to have this done) ; in consequence thereof, I felt confident that my AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 61 parents would be sought for and discovered, and they would feel themselves disgraced for ever. It was only this thought, which Providence instilled in my mind at the precise instant, that saved me from committing an act of self-destruction. We had now to march to Elbersfeld, from thence towards Hanover, as far as the river Veser. In the town of Bremen I was quartered in a public-house where, with the exception of an old man, there was not any one who understood my language. The aforesaid person, who spoke my own tongue, was requested by the landlord to interrogate me, and ascertain what country I was of The old man ques- tioned me, and inquired the name of my father; I had scarcely uttered it, when he fell on the ground as if electrified. On his recovery, he embraced me, and said, " You are my nephew ; your father was my brother. I have not seen my home for fifty years.'' The reason of this was owing to my grand- father having sent him to receive a large sum of money, on his return with which he fell in with sharpers, who deprived him of every shilling, and he was in consequence afraid to go home. After telling me this, he said I must come and live with him, and 62 AUTOBIOGRAPHY, he would do something for me. I comphed with his request, obtained my discharge, and went with him home. He lived nine miles from Bremen, in a place called Osterholz. I soon discovered that my uncle was a poor man ; so after remaining with him for a few days, I told him that as neither of us possessed any property, it would not be expedient, either on his account or my own, that I should remain with him. He said he intended to take me three miles from his house, to a small town called Scharmbeck, and intro- duce me to one of his intimate friends, who was very rich. When I arrived there, the man inquired of me what I was inclined to do. Of course it was perfectly immaterial what occupation I now followed, and I re- plied to that effect. He then informed me that his chief business was in linendrapery, and if I knew anything relative to that trade, he would give me employment. I told him that having only followed the occupation of a butcher, it was impossible for me to know the nature of his business ; but requested him to give me a trial, as I might learn in a short time. This he agreed to, promising to give me a quantity of printed calico to take round the country, telling me to endea- vour to get this class of goods exchanged with young AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 63 ladies for their hair (a frequent occurrence), or such things as quilts, pigs' bristles, calf-skin, sheep-skin, horse-hair, &c., as there was an excellent living to be obtained in that way, and he would divide the profits with me. I accepted his terms, and left a few days after with about fifty pounds weight of the article mentioned. My master advised me to go first to a place called Devil's Moor, where a great many wealthy farmers resided. When I arrived there, I discovered that I should have to walk a long distance, for the houses were all detached, about half-a-mile from each other, and were built in an extraordinary manner, especially the one at which I first called. The entrance-hall (as it is termed here) consisted of an immense room with no other flooring but that which nature had provided ; to the right and left of the house the stables were situated, and formed in such a manner that the cattle were always visible, something similar to the cages in which wild beasts are kept. At this place, inquiring of the farmer (who appeared to be a good-natured sort of fellow) if he or his family required anything in my way, he said, you shall stop here to-night, and to-morrow I will see if I can do business with you ; consequently, I remained, 64 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. and was treated most hospitably. At night the farmer, with his wife, children, and myself, together with fourteen servants, were seated round a large turf fire, when my host said he perceived by my face that I was not ignorant of the world, and therefore desired me to tell him who I was, and where I came from. I complied, and amused the whole circle so much, that it was not until four o'clock the next morning that I retired to rest, and then only by promising to finish my history ere I left the house. On the fol- lowing morning I told them I could not possibly exist by relating my stories, having a master who expected me to bring him home money, and there- fore I must proceed to business. The farmer said he would attend to that ; and desiring me to remain until his return, he rode out to all the surrounding farmers, and invited them to come to his house in the evening, and he would amuse them with a curious entertainment; and I requested him to desire them, if they had anything to dispose of in the way of horse- hair, calf-skin, &c., to bring it with them, as they would find a good market for it. Having stopped in this place from Monday until the Friday follow- ing, I told them that I was compelled to return AUTOBIOGRAPHY. . 65 for the Sabbath-day, but promised to visit them again in the course of the following week ; and I left without effecting the sale of a single article of my goods, but received as presents from different farmers a great quantity of things. On my return home, my master was much pleased with me, and valued my gifts at twenty dollars, half of which sum he imme- diately gave me. I carried on this kind of business for nearly six years, but not in the same place, for I visited Dusseldorf, and several other towns, yet made Scharmbeck my permanent residence. I saw my uncle every week, who was exceedingly proud of me, hearing me spoken of in praise wherever he went. After remaining so long in this place, I thought of settling in life by getting married. I therefore looked about, and soon met with one whom I thought would be suitable for a wife, and paid my addresses to her. She was a young woman of highly respectable family; but as soon as the inhabitants heard of this transaction, they (in spite of all their former love for me) drew up a petition, to the effect that there was a person whom no one knew, or where he was from, wishing to settle himself in the place, and take the bread away from old- F 66 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. established people. This they sent to the mayor in Osterholz, and from thence it was forwarded to a higher authority in Hanover ; in consequence of this, I received a notice that I was not to become a householder in the place where I was then residing, under the penalty of being expelled from it on the instant. I had at this time a very good friend (the schoolmaster of the town.) One afternoon, on taking my usual walk with him, he desired me to listen and heed the advice he was about to give me. If I would do so (he said), it might prove a fortune to me; he then addressed me as follows : " If you stop here for twenty years it will not be possible to save more than five hundred dollars; now, being acquainted with the nature of England, I am enabled to state that it is a country where a man like you may realize a fortune ; go there, and as soon as you arrive, take out a hawking licence, which costs about four pounds per annum ; commence by purchasing mer- chandize to the value of a sovereign, conduct yourself in a proper manner, and you are certain (with the blessing of the Almighty) to prosper. On quitting him that day I meditated on the advice he had be- stowed upon me, and after due consideration deter- AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 67 mined to follow it, by proceeding as soon as I was able to England, to try my fortune in that great country. I went to my intended and informed her of my reso- lution, saying, that everything was ordained by the Almighty for the best, and therefore advised her to think of me no more, but consider what was most beneficial to herself; at the same time telling her that my affection for her was far too sincere to take her from a comfortable home to a country in which I was an entire stranger. And thus it was not any diminution of love, but only my duty which prompted me to act as I had resolved. I quitted Scharmbeck on the 9th of April, 1820, in a ship which left Bremen direct for England (a voyage then of seven weeks.) Previous to my leaving I received a great many presents, and also certificates relative to my good conduct during my residence in the afore- named place. These I still retain in my possession. My wardrobe was good, and I had about 200 dollars in cash. I paid the captain thirty dollars for my passage : this was to constitute me a cabin passenger, but I was most shamefully deceived. We stopped at several places for passengers and merchandize, in con- sequence of which there were at last so many of the F 2 68 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. former that it was not possible for the captain to accommodate them all comfortably, and I had to suffer for this mismanagement, being turned out of my berth simply because those who required it were, or appeared to be, in better circumstances than myself; and I was compelled to sleep on deck, or among the crew at the bottom of the ship on logs of wood, nor could I obtain any redress for this treatment. Our arrival at Gravesend was hailed with much delight by every one, but by none more than myself, to whom the voyage appeared interminable, owing to the rough usage to which I had been subjected whilst on board. CHAPTER IV. Adventures of the author in England. /~\N my arrival in England, as detailed in the ^^ last chapter, I remained for a few hours at Gravesend, during which time my attention was chiefly directed to the English boats, which greatly excited my admiration. As I was standing, regarding two of these which were about to proceed to London, a man came up to me, and asked if I would go with him. I said, "yes;"" (this was the only word of the English language I could speak) but I was entirely ignorant of his meaning, as well as of the question addressed to me. I had scarcely uttered the word, when another man asked me the same question, to which I replied in a similar way, imagining that, as the other person went away apparently satisfied after I had said " yes,'' the same response would apply to anything that was addressed to me. When the boats 70 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. were about to start, the man who had spoken to me first took hold of my arm for the purpose of con- ducting me on board ; but on doing so, the other inter- fered, saying, "have you not promised to go with me ?" " Yes,'" I replied. Immediately aftei-wards, the other repeated the question, to which, of course, the same answer was returned ; at this they were exces- sively annoyed, and commenced bullying and drag- ging me along, when they were interrupted by the captain of the vessel with whom I had come over, who inquired of the men what they required of me. Having been informed by them, he very soon stopped their proceedings, and I went with the man whom I had first seen, and in a few hours arrived in the metropolis. I brought with me from Germany two recommend- ations, one from a lady to her brother, who was a sugar-baker in an extensive way of business, residing in Whitechapel ; the other was from my friend the schoolmaster, and addressed to the late Dr. Herschel (then chief rabbi of the Jews.) My first visit was to him ; he spoke to me very kindly, and saying that things should not be done in haste, told me that he was acquainted with very respectable people where AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 71 I could lodge for the present at a moderate charge. I thanked him for his advice and promised to follow it ; he then sent his servant with me to a person of the name of Joseph (who kept a coffee-house which is still in existence in Duke's-place, a locality perhaps unknown to many of my readers), with his compli- ments, requesting them to treat me wall. Before quitting him he desired me to pay him a visit in the course of a few days. Mr. and Mrs. Joseph were exceedingly kind people and did all in their power to save me expense ; in proof of which, the latter told me that there was not any occasion for me to spend a shilling every morning for my breakfast (which was the usual charge), for if I would purchase my own grocery and bread and butter, her servant should wait upon me, and by these means I could save ninepence per day. I acted in accordance with her wishes, and after remaining there for eight days I thought it was time to commence working for my living. I was advised to purchase six dozen plated pencil-cases and stand in St. Paul's Churchyard to sell them, as three shillings profit was to be realized out of them ; this I at once did, and Joseph sent his son with me to the aforenamed 72 AUTOBIOGBAPHY. place, and taught me to say " only sixpence each r As soon as I could pronounce these words, I inces- santly repeated them to the passers by, but although these amounted to many hundreds of persons, the only thing I received was insult, being pushed about and quite unsuccessful notwithstanding my urgent solicitations to sell. At length the knowledge of having been respected from where I came, and now, in a foreign country, treated like a vagabond, would not allow my feelings to bear it any longer, and I wept like a child. As I was returning to the coffee- house, chance threw me in the way of one who earned his living in a similar way to that I had so unsuccessfully essayed, and I sold to this man all my stock in trade for half the sum it cost me. On my arrival at home Mrs. Joseph immediately in- quired what success had attended me, and on my informing her that I had disposed of the whole of my stock she was most delighted, saying, " blessed is the Almighty," and foresaw that I should become a great man ; had I informed her on what terms I had dis- posed of my goods, her expressions of delight would doubtless have been less violent ; she of course wished me to continue my pencil-trade, but as it did not AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 73 exactly meet my views to resume this, I told her that I should seek for a situation, which would be more agreeable to me, and I was certain would prove more profitable. Having been informed that a Mr. de P ss, a butcher, then residing in a ^place called Shoemaker Row, was in need of a servant, I called on him the following day, and succeeded in obtaining the situa- tion, thus returning once more to my original trade, though for a very short time, as will be seen. About three hours after I had been in his service, I was ordered to carry out the meat, with another man, to the West End. However, on arriving at Holborn Hill, requesting my companion to take my tray, having determined to proceed no farther, I imme- diately returned to Duke's Place, feeling altogether disappointed, and my energies seemed to have de- serted me. The same evening I met a countryman of mine, but a stranger to me ; he entered into conver- sation, and asked me where I came from and what I did for a living. On my informing him that for the present I had not any occupation, he said, "I will recommend you to do something whereby I am certain you will realize a large sum of money. Go to a man of the name of K — r, a general dealer. 74 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. residing in Houndsditch, purchase of him various articles adapted for the country, take them to different towns and villages a few miles from London, and you are certain to find it a profitable undertaking/' I dis- covered afterwards that the person who gave me this rational advice had only been discharged four days from a lunatic asylum. The next day I went to the place where I had been directed, purchased goods to the amount of sixteen shillings, and the following morning started with them to Kingston-upon-Thames. I took with me a paper, the direction I was to take being written upon it, and also the following sentences, useful and necessary to me on my journeys : " Mrs., do you want anything in my way ? Very cheap, I am very poor, c&c." Men often came up and asked me what I required. Looking on my paper T exclaimed, " Mrs., do you want anything in my way ?" at which they laughed, went away, and many considered me an impostor. I slept in Kingston that night, and the following morning started very early after business. My first call was at a public-house. In reply to the landlord's inquiries relative to what I required, I returned him a similar answer to that which I had applied to others — " Mrs., do you want anything in my way r The man was AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 75 exceedingly annoyed and was about turning me out of the house, when his wife came up at the moment and laid out five shillings with me. This was as if I had suddenly acquired a fortune, and it gave me great energy; before seven o'clock that evening I had taken twenty-six shillings, and had nearly half my goods left. About eight o'clock, as I was walking up one of the streets, a coach-and-four which 'had arrived from London on its way to Guildford passed me, and stopped to change horses at the corner. Whilst standing looking at this with the utmost admiration (it being the first of the kind I had ever beheld), the coachman beckoned me with his whip. Concluding this to be an invitation for me to go with him, which I considered very liberal on the part of a stranger, I went up to him, got on the coach (without speaking a word), and in a short time arrived at our destination. Immediately on my arrival in Guildford the coachman demanded four shillings for his fare. I felt extremely surprised and vexed at his demand, and expressed myself to that effect in my own language, which of course neither he, nor any one there, could compre- hend. At length I contrived to make the man under- stand that it was not my wish to go with him, but as he was kind enough to invite me I did not like to 76 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. refuse, thinking it would have been rude to have done so, therefore he had not any right to charge me any- thing. At last I concluded the dispute by paying one shilling. On descending from the coach, I perceived a public-house at the comer of the street (the sign of the Ram) which, judging by its exterior appearance to be respectable, I bent my steps thither and inquired (reading from my paper) if I could obtain a bed there for the night. An affirmative answer was returned me by the landlady, who was, I learnt, the sole pro- prietress of the inn, her husband being a farmer. At this time it was a rare occurrence to the inhabitants of the town to see a foreigner in those parts, and it was, perhaps, owing to the novelty, that they all ap- peared exceedingly pleased, and every one desired to converse with me. But their efforts proved useless, for not understanding sufficient of the English language to comprehend them, I could not reply to their questions. I remained in this place four days, when my promise to Mr. and Mrs. Joseph to return home by the Sabbath-day compelled me to leave. In reply to my inquiry of how much I had to pay for my board and lodging I was told '' not any- thing, only come and see us again,'" said the land- AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 77 lady; my repeated solicitations (expressed as clearly as I was able) to pay were uttered in vain, she would not receive one farthing for this generous and disinterested action. I started off to London (a dis- tance of about thirty miles) on foot, but frequently obtained a lift on a waggon, or other vehicles on my road. My friends at the coffee-house were much delighted to see me again, and at the success which had attended me, having now three pounds in cash, and some goods. My next journey was to Hertford, but I had not any opportunity of transacting business in that place, for after being there a short time, I went to an inn to obtain refreshment, and on being shown into a room, I found myself in the presence of four men, who bore the appearance of gentlemen farmers ; one of them stared at me most intently the moment I entered, and, after a few minutes, declared to his friends that I was Majocchi (of ^'non mi ricordo" memory), as he had seen me (he said) in the House of Commons, and followed up his assertion by striking me. My asto- nishment at this treatment was naturally very great, but on requesting an explanation, as I was entirely ignorant of the meaning of his words relative to my 78 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. being the person whose name he had mentioned, the only reply I could obtain was fresh blows and exclamations of vengeance against me. Finding my only alternative was to leave the house, I did so im- mediately, but had not been in the street more than five minutes when I was surrounded and followed by a crowd, which increased as I proceeded ; stones and other missiles were directed against me, accompanied by expressions which were anything but pleasant, and eventually I was completely turned out of the town- I returned directly to London, and informed Mr. Joseph of the occurrence, wishing to punish my assailants by law; but he advised me to allow the matter to rest, being quite certain no benefit would be derived by proceeding farther in the affair, or at least, if I did obtain any compensation, it would not be until after I had had great trouble and loss of time, which of course I could not afford, and there- fore, following his advice, I allowed this unwarrantable insult to pass unpunished and unnoticed. On the Monday after this occurrence I went off again, taking fresh goods. The first place I visited was Chatham. Finding business very profitable in this part of the country, I remained in Chatham AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 79 and Rochester for three weeks ; by that time, all my goods being disposed of, I was compelled to return to London, but merely remained there to purchase what I required, and the next day started to Essex, stopped at the best inn in Colchester, and transacted business in and about that place for nearly a month. From Colchester I went to Lynn, at which place I was duped for the first time in this country. The landlord of the inn where I was stay- ing mentioned me to a Doctor M n (a German, and a noted charlatan) as being one of his country- men. What else he said I know not ; but in the evening the Doctor paid me a visit. On entering the room, he came up to me, shook me very warmly by the hand, as if I had been an old acquaint- ance, and said, "My dearest friend, I am truly de- lighted to have met with you, and in proof thereof, have come for the express purpose of drinking a bottle of wine with you, as you are the first countryman of mine that I have seen since I have been in England, though my residence here has extended over forty years."' His plausible manner completely took me oflf my guard, and I credited every word he uttered, ordered a bottle of wine, treated him to a good supper. 80 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. and we passed a very jovial night. During supper he said to me, " My good friend, it is your duty to recol- lect that you are living in a country where the climate is very changeable, and totally different from what you have been accustomed to ; I therefore advise you for your own benefit, to listen and attend to what I tell you. Being one of the medical profession, I am enabled to give advice necessary for the preservation of health. The first thing you must do (provided you do not already use them) is to procure some flannel jackets, and always wear one next your skin ; secondly, be very particular as regards your diet; and, lastly, take a dose of medicine once a month. And (added he) " pray how long is it since you have taken any V On my informing him that I thought it was at least five years, he appeared greatly alarmed, and offered to send me a dose directly, for which he would not charge anything. Thereupon he took his departure ; but the next day I received another visit from him, and in the evening he brought me the promised draught, which I was desired to take previous to retiring to rest ; and we passed another merry evening together. I took the medicine as ordered, but through- out the night was very restless, and towards morning AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 81 became exceedingly ill. I rang the bell about eight o'clock, and desired the chambermaid to send imme- diately for Doctor M ^n, and beg of him to call as soon as possible, as I was very unwell, but, in spite of the urgent summons he had received, I did not see him until one o'clock, when he apologized for not having attended me sooner, but said he was unable to do so owing to the number of patients he had been compelled to visit. On my saying to him, " Doctor, the draught you gave me has made me feel very ill, and God only knows what will become of me," he smiled, and desired me to make myself perfectly easy, as he was quite aware of the effect of the medicine, and promised to send something which would quite restore me. The next day, when the doctor came, I still felt very weak and ill ; on telling him that I con- tinued very unwell, he immediately replied, " Please God, by the time I see you again, which will be in the course of a few days, you will be all right.'' On hearing this I became much frightened, and implored him not to quit me, as I was not in a fit condition to be left, and asked him what his meaning was for proposing such a thing ? He appeared extremely sorry ; but said that his absence was unavoidable, in Q 82 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. proof of which he drew a letter from his pocket, and read it to me ; to the effect " that a lady, one of his patients, residing a long distance from Lynn, expected her accouchement to take place every hour, and that he must repair without a moment's delay to her house. After reading this, he asked if it were possible for him to remain ; and in reply to my insisting on his staying with me, he begged me to consider that he had a wife and a large family to support, and therefore could not afford to throw away so good a chance (as the present) of earning money: — ^the only thing I can propose (said he) is this, that if you like to give me the same fee as I shall receive where I am ordered to attend, I will remain with you as a favour, for you must be aware that I risk offending a good patient, and shall be obliged to send to say that it will not be in my power to wait on her (which of course will be an expense) ; but yet, for friendship's sake, I will do as I have promised. On receiving this reply, I asked him how much his fee would be. "Ten pounds,'" he answered. This to me was a fortune; in fact, it was not in my power to give him so much, but I offered him nearly every shilling 1 possessed, which amounted to seven pounds. This he at once accepted, remained, and AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 83 very soon restored me to perfect health ; but this was not by any means astonishing, there not having been anything the matter with me of the slightest im- portance. The medicine was administered for the purpose of making me feel ill, and the letter was a forgery (one of his own writing). This I discovered some time after, on my informing a friend of the transaction, who told me that it was by such means, constantly and successfully practised, that this noto- rious quack had made so much money. Innumerable anecdotes are told of this man, which are exceedingly amusing, and illustrate how a person of inventive mind (such as the one in question) can make his way in the world. Ipswich was the next place which I went to, and through rather a strange incident, relative to a tailor to whom I was recommended, long remembered my visit to that town. He made me a suit of clothes which did not meet my approbation, not being suf- ficiently fashionable, according to my own idea of style. On telling the man this, he agreed to make me another suit, and then went away without uttering any other remark ; but when the second suit was finished, he brought them to me, together with the g2 84 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. first, and told me if I refused to pay him for both, the law should compel me. Fearing he would put his threat into operation, I took them. Being now enabled to make a smart appearance, and as I was earning a good livelihood, my idea was that I ought to get married, and so resolved to take advantage of the first opportunity which presented itself in the matrimonial line ; and I was not long in finding one ; for about this time I accidentally met a friend of mine (one of my own persuasion), who, on being informed of my intention to enter the marriage state, said he knew of a person whom I should admire, and who, he was confident, would prove all I could wish. She is of good family, he said, but has no fortune. Telling him it would be absurd of me to think of such a thing, considering how I was situated, I begged of him to gratify my curiosity as soon as possible. The following day he introduced me to the mother of the young lady destined to become my wife. She was a widow. I accepted her invitation to dine with her that day, and she informed me that her late husband, who formerly kept a shop in Yarmouth, was a German, and had been deceased many years, leaving her with a young AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 85 family. My friend having informed my hostess of the purpose of my introduction to her, she told me if it was my wish to see her daughter (who was at present on a visit to some of her relations in London), she would send for her to return immediately. This was done at my desire ; and on the day she was expected, I accompanied her mother to the coach- office to meet my future spouse, whom I naturally was very anxious to behold. When the coach came up I was standing about twenty yards distant ; but she very soon perceived me (perhaps in consequence of my regarding her rather intently), and asked her mother if she was acquainted with me. I was there- upon introduced, and soon discovered that all my friend had spoken in her favour was true. The next day the old lady asked me my opinion of her daughter ; on telling her that I thought she allowed me but a very short time to decide, and that there was not any occasion to do so in a hurry, she began to weep, and vowed if I did not give her my promise, there and then, to marry her child, I should become a most unfortunate man. This was but one of the evil consequences she prognosticated, in the event of my refusing to obey her wishes ; at last, her argu- 86 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. ments so overpowered me^ that I gave my consent to become her son-in-law. At this, her delight was so great, that she told me as I had so readily consented to her wishes, she would give her daughter ten pounds for a marriage portion. A few days after, an agreement was drawn up to the following effect — " That we should be married that day twelvemonth ; but if within that time either party should become dissatisfied, and wish to break off the match, they might do so by paying the sum of twenty pounds sterling."' i I carried on my general itinerant trade from this time as usual, until my marriage, which took place much sooner than the appointed time ; the reason of this was, that when I stopped in London, my lodging was always in the same house where my intended and her parent resided (they having removed from their old residence), and being aware that not having any friends or relations whom I could visit, my expenses would be lessened rather than increased, I became a victim to matrimony on the 1st of November, 1821, six months sooner than I anticipated. A few days after my marriage I recommenced business; went first to Richmond and Twickenham, taking with me AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 87 the whole of my stock-in-trade, which amounted to the value of about fifteen pounds. At the last-named place I was fortunate enough to meet with a very- good friend (Miss J n, the most celebrated woman of her time for equestrian feats) ; she desired me to call on her at eight o'clock that evening, and she would recommend me to some friends who were to dine with her. I went at the appointed time, was shown into the dining-room, where the company (five gentlemen) were assembled. She commenced busi- ness at once, by saying, " Gentlemen, here is a poor industrious man, a foreigner, but recently arrived in this country ; he has solicited my patronage, which I have promised him, and to prove this, I will put down five pounds to make a raffle for some of his goods, and shall expect every one at the table to follow my example ; by so doing,'" she said, " you will benefit a fellow-creature for life, and not injure yourselves." They all acceded to her request, and I left the house with thirty pounds in my pocket. I started very early the next morning for London, being naturally anxious to inform my wife of the success of my first transaction after our nuptials. I also imparted happiness to my few creditors, pos- 88 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. sessing now the means of paying them all ; for, though my debts did not amount to a great sum, it appeared to be so at that time. I now felt myself a free man, and (as it were) commenced life afresh. I generally started on my country excursions from the White Horse Cellar, Piccadilly, and by bargaining for my fare, often saved half the regular sum charged. One day as I was on my way to Kew, I met, on the outside of the coach, a gentleman, whom, by his general appearance, I imagined to be somebody of importance. It was, perhaps, owing to this that I requested him to change places with me, considering mine to be the most comfortable. This he politely refused, but immediately entered into conversation, desiring to know if I was in any business, and where I came from, as he concluded by my appear- ance that I was a foreigner. On replying, his doubts were at once dispelled, and he conversed with me in my own language. On my informing him that I had formerly belonged to the army, he questioned me relative to several battles, and the manoeuvres of the soldiers. By his manner and address, I felt con- fident that I had the honour of conversing with a AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 89 very noted person. Our conversation continued until my arrival at the end of my journey, when, as I was about to descend from the coach, he begged of me to go with him to Reading, and he would pay my expenses ; but on my informing him it was not pos- sible for me to do so, having only recently married, and I had faithfully promised my wife to return home that evening, he said no more on the subject, but made me accept a piece of gold, and at the same time putting a card into my hand (of the meaning of which I was ignorant), and desiring me to call on him at my earliest convenience, he bade me farewell. Immediately on my return home, I told my wife of the day's adventure. On my showing her the card to read the name and address, she found it to be that of Lord B 1, Great Stanhope-street. The next morning I went there, sent in the card I had received, and told the footman under what circumstances it had come into my hands ; this he communicated, and I was immediately ushered into the presence of several ladies, who all behaved exceedingly kind, and every one wished to benefit me, but having only a few trifling things, which were not of the slightest use to 90 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. them, they laid out money with me merely for encou- ragement, in consequence of the recommendation of my friend and compagnon de voyage, whom I after- wards discovered was not the nobleman whose name was inscribed on the card, but the Right Hon. Lord de E s. I am quite aware that my manners must have been extremely incorrect before my patronesses, these being the first ladies of high station it had been my fortune to do business with ; but their patronage did not end here, nor with Lord de R s, who recommended me to several of the nobility, among whom were the officers of the First Life Guards, who were all pleased and satisfied with my method of transacting business, and gave me letters of recom- mendation to the highest personages in the country; and in one twelvemonth I could count among my patrons and patronesses every member of the Royal Family, and the majority of the aristocracy. It may, perhaps, seem strange, if I confess, that although exceedingly thankful for the kind patronage bestowed upon me, I did not (at this particular period) thoroughly appreciate, or rather comprehend, the value of the goodness shown me by my superiors; and not having any one who could teach me the AUTOBIOGRAPHY. ' 91 importance of my good fortune, it was left to time alone to accomplish this. It was my intention to have placed here the names of some of those who have been, and still are, my best friends ; but as this might be deemed super- fluous by many of my readers, the subscribers being a sufficient guarantee that what I say is true, I shall content myself with merely inserting those of their late Majesties George IV., William IV., the King of Hanover, Queen Adelaide, and her late Royal Highness the Princess Sophia, as being among those from whom I received the greatest kindness. In conclusion, I beg to assure the reader that it is my greatest pride and boast, to be enabled positively to assert, that I have never lost the patronage of any of my numerous customers through misconduct, or other causes which might appertain to extortion or dis- honesty in dealing. Those who are deceased have given me proof of what I say, by recommending me to those who yet survive, and from them I possess even a better proof, by the recommendations which I am continually receiving to any one whom they con- sider will benefit me. Should any of my readers, who are not acquainted with me, feel disposed at 92 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. any time to favour me with a visit at my residence, 88, Old Bond-street, it will afford me the greatest pleasure to show them the following letters of recom- mendation, which I have received at different times from noblemen and gentlemen, and these will, per- haps, afford the best testimony of the truth of all I have said in my own favour. For reasons which need not now be stated, I have suppressed the full names of the writers, and of those who have added their signatures ; but as the original letters may be always seen in my own possession, I. trust this will not be deemed of any importance. The letters alluded to are the following: — from Colonel H 11, 1st Life Guards ; signed by Lord C e, G.C.B. and GC.H., Colonel P r, Lieut.- General Hon. Henry L n, and all the officers of the same regiment. From Colonel W s, 2nd Life Guards ; signed by Lieut.-General Hon. Edward L n. Colonel M^D 11, and other officers. From the Regiment of the Royal Horse Guards Blue, signed by F.M. the Marquis of A y, K.G ; the late General H 11, Colonel H r, Colonel R n, Colonel S h. Colonel B e. Colonel F r, and all the other officers. From Lord B n, late Colonel 17th AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 93 Lancers. From Colonel T d, 14tli Light Dragoons. From Captain H n; and from the Frhr Von Gemmingen (equerry to the late Grand Duke of B n), the chief object for writing which was to inform me that the Grand Duchess had spoken to him of me in very high terms, and remembered me kindly. In the year 1848, I received a still better proof of my being held in some esteem by my kind patrons. The late Lord William B d, of the 1st Life Guards, made a tour to Jerusalem, accom- panied by some of his brother officers. Whilst there, he went to the High Priest of the Jews, and told him it was his desire to take home a present for one of his (the High Priest's) brother Jews ; " and it was not of the slightest importance to him,'' he said, what the expense would be, so that the gift proved interesting, and would be properly appreciated by the person for whom it was intended.'' The Priest advised him to take (as the most appropriate gift, and one which he was certain could not fail to be esteemed by the individual to whom it was presented) some earth from the grave of the Mother Rachel. This was agreed upon ; and the following day the High Priest, accompanied by ten men, went to the tomb (which 94 AUTOBIOGEAPHY. was many miles distant), and filled a small canvas bag with the earth from it. On the bag was fastened a slip of parchment, bearing an inscription in the Hebrew language, vouching the authenticity of the contents, and to this is attached the signature and seal of the High Priest. This highly valued relic has proved of the greatest interest to many of our cognoscenti, who have come to my house expressly to see it. I must now return to some of the earlier inci- dents of my life, and relate an amusing one which occurred to me in the course of my first interview with her late Eoyal Highness the Princess Sophia, owing to my not rightly comprehending the English language. Her Royal Highness inquired what class of goods suited me, as perchance she had some which she would make me a present of. I told her that the things which I could dispose of best were those adapted for the stage. She promised me some, and then inquired if I had any children. On informing her that though I had not at present, I expected one very shortly, she ofiered to present me with a basket (meaning what is termed a hahy- basket), I said to her Royal Highness that I felt AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 95 extremely honoured and obliged by her kindness, but it would not be necessary for me to avail myself of it, having a hag outside the door (imagining that her gift was intended for me to carry the things in, which she had promised to give me). The Princess smiled at my reply, and then explained what she meant in my own language. A short time after this, another, and a more impor- tant event occurred in my life — one which, though it materially increased my expenses, added to my happi- ness, and gave me increased energy to be assiduous in my business. / became a father. There was now only one thing which caused me any sorrow — that it was not in my power to visit my native place ; it had long been my prayer that I might be enabled to do so, and I often, when expressing this wish, said it would be immaterial to me how hard I worked, or what difficulties I should have to contend with, so that I might behold my parents once more, and show my friends and the inhabitants of my native village that my mother's blessing had been fulfilled. But, finding this was not to be granted at the present time, my only alternative was to rest in hope. About a twelvemonth after this, I had saved a sufficient sum to 96 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. go ; but on proposing it to my wife, she begged I would postpone my journey, as the money was required for other purposes, and would be of far greater service at home, particularly as we expected an addition to our family. I obeyed her wish, and it did not eventually cause me any regret ; for soon after my second child was born, illness occurred, both my children being attacked with the measles at the same time, and thus my small earnings disappeared in paying the expenses attendant upon such a visitation. As soon as they were convalescent, the apothecary who attended them told me that it was necessary for the perfect restoration of their health that they should go to the sea-side. This my pecuniary means would not allow, the fare being then to Ramsgate (the place I was ordered to go to) by any of the steamboats (which had been but recently constructed) sixteen shillings in the second cabin, and therefore had not fortune strangely favoured me at this particular juncture, it would not have been possible for me to have followed the advice of our medical attendant. Business called me into the city, to a merchant (one of my customers), and in the course of conversation I told him of my domestic troubles ; he expressed his pleasure at my informing him, being AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 97 enabled (he said) to relieve me, and immediately pre- sented me with free tickets for my family, servant, and myself, to go and return by one of the Eamsgate boats, of which he was a shareholder. I left him, heaping many blessings on his head for this unex- pected kindness, returned directly home to prepare for departure, and the following day we all started. But yet, had it not been for the intervention of a fellow- passenger, I should have had some trouble in arriving at my destination ; in fact, I do not think it would have been my fate to have reached it at all. Imme- diately on stepping on board the steamer I showed the captain my tickets, and in answer to my question whether I was on the right one, received an affirmative answer; but we had not proceeded farther than Gravesend when he demanded of me the full fare for every one of us. I expostulated with him as well as I was able (in broken English), and a gentleman who was standing near, hearing me speak very loud, came up and solicited an explanation of our dispute. On my informing him, he put his hand in his pocket, and drew out the sum demanded, which he offered to the captain, desiring him to take it, and he should hear further of the affair on their arrival in Eamsgate. H 98 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. Finding he had to deal with a person more conversant with the law than myself, or, to use a rather vulgar expression, " not quite so green/' he refused to do so, and thus the matter dropped. The only incident worth recording during my sojourn in Ramsgate, occurred to me a few days after my arrival. I was walking out with my wife, and, m passing through a narrow street, my foot touched against something which at first appeared to be a small bundle of waste paper; but to my great surprise, on taking it up to examine it, I found a roll of bank notes. I felt much alanned, fearing if the money was discovered on my person it would bring me into trouble, and I knew not where to convey it. However, my anxiety was soon over, for the money had not been in my possession more than an hour, when the crier was employed to announce the loss, and to state that the loser was a widow of the name of H n, the proprietress of a china and glass shop in Ramsgate. I immediately repaired to her house, and restored the money. She was, naturally, much delighted, and told me she was about putting the money in a parcel to take to London ; whilst she was doing so the bell rang for her to go into the shop, which AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 99 she immediately did, carelessly leaving the bank notes on a table close to an open window, and thus they were blown out, and fell in the place where I had found them. After affording me this information, she again repeated her thanks, but these constituted my only reward. Twenty-one years after this event, a son of this woman called on me and said, " that his mother, who had recently died, requested him a few moments before her decease, to call on me, and once more thank me for my past service to her.'" Two daughters of this person still reside in Ramsgate, and whenever I visit that place they invariably treat me with very great kindness. On my return to London, I was more attentive to business than ever; but yet it was not in my power to earn more than was sufficient to keep my wife and children respectably, for, provided I saved five pounds, something directly occurred in my family, which reduced it to one. Still I was happy ; and it was only the desire to see my native place that preyed on my mind. I received regularly every week for twelve years a letter from my parents, or some other member of my family. The last I received from my father (written when he was in his eighty-fourth year), was H 2 100 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. to the following effect : — " My dear child, finding the end of my earthly career fast approaching, I cannot die happy without receiving your pardon for all the ill treatment you have received from me." I des- patched him an immediate answer to this strange document, couched in these terms:- — "My dearest father. The more you plough a piece of ground the better it will prove in time ; this will apply to me, who have reaped benefit from the many corrections I experienced at your hands ; I thank you for them, and pardon you from my heart and soul." Shortly after this a letter reached me from home, which, by its border of deep black, betokened, too plainly, that death had been busy there. Before opening it I fully expected to read of the decease of my father, but to my grief and surprise, it informed me of the death of my maternal parent. It was written by a clergjrman, who resided about two miles from Michelfeld, and in it he told me that all the inhabitants of the village and its environs were present at my mother's funeral, as she was so much beloved. But what affected me most, was the following statement, that from the day on which I had quitted my home, my mother had allowed this clergyman a certain quantity of meat AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 101 every week, to recite a daily prayer for my welfare. This he professed to have done, and declared that during the space of more than twenty years, he had not once neglected the obligation. It was now my fixed determination that if I lived mitil the summer, nothing should prevent me from accomplishing my long desired journey; but when that time arrived, my hopes and anticipations were again frustrated, owing to my following the advice of Lord W. L X, who desired me particularly to postpone my visit, as the cholera was then raging in Germany, from which hundreds were dying daily. Shortly after this my father died. The next four years of my life I shall dismiss in a short time, by merely recounting a few incidents that occurred to me during that period, and which I trust will be con- sidered worth relating. The first on the list is one relative to a transaction I had with Mr. Philip W ^t, late of the 17th Lancers, to whom I was recommended by Captain P ^y, of the same regi- ment. Mr. W ^t purchased a dressing-case of me, — ^giving an old one in exchange. After it had been in my house five days, having the means of disposing of it, I examined it carefully previous to sending it 1 02 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. away, and discovered in a secret drawer, goods and cash amounting to the value of about ninety pounds. Immediately placing the same in my pocket, I called a cab, and desired the man to drive as quickly as possible to Hounslow, where the regiment was then stationed. Mr. W 1 was in the mess-room on my arrival, and his astonishment was equal to his delight on regaining his treasure, as he was ignorant, he said, of the things being in the place where I had found them ; his valet having deposited them there without his knowledge, some months previously, during his residence in Ireland, when they were given him, with the money, to put away carefully, and he had not informed his master where they were placed. This affair established me with the whole regiment. Lord B , the colonel, wrote me a complimentary letter, and Mr. W promised me, in the presence of all his brother officers, that if at any time I should be in need of a friend, he would prove one to me ; but the regiment soon after left Hounslow, and I heard no more of this gentleman : though with Captain P I still do business, as also with one of his brothers residing in Saxe Weimar. It will doubtless appear singular to the reader. AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 103 when I tell him that the greatest difficulty it was my fate now to contend with, was conquering my temper, which at times was most severely tried, owing to the many insults that were heaped upon me ; and it often required great resolution on my part to abstain from resenting these follies; but the knowledge that it would prove injurious to me were I to do so pre- vented me, and therefore I allowed them to pass un- noticed, more particularly since they were generally offered by those whom I considered inferior to me, — the domestics of my different customers, who were jealous of the favour with which their masters regarded me, or from other matters of business. To bear out this assertion, I beg to subjoin the following narrative. Business one day requiring my presence at Windsor, on arriving there I went (according to my usual custom) to the Crown Inn, which was kept by a friend of mine, who was always pleased to see me, and particularly so on this occasion, for, on entering the house after the usual salutations, he expressed his delight at my having come at that precise time, being very desirous, he said, of introducing me to one of his old acquaintances, a brother soldier (my host had for- merly been in the army). I followed him into the iO* ALTTOBIOGRAPHY. parlour, and he said to a person who was sitting there, " Allow me, if you are not already acquainted with him, to introduce a very good fellow, — Zimmerman/' I perceived at once that it was no stranger to whom this was addressed, and his immediate reply to the introduction proved it. " I know him well,"' replied he ; "so well, that if it should ever be his fate to come to the gallows, I would give the hang- man ten pounds to allow me to perform his duty ; and if it were in my power, I would torture him for an hour previously/' This speech, spoken really in earnest^ naturally astonished the landlord as well as myself; but I answered him very coolly, without betraying the slightest signs of annoyance, " That if he should be compelled to make his exit from this world in the agreeable manner he destined for me, I would spend twenty pounds and a fortnight's trouble to obtain him a reprieve ; and as he was aware that my connexion was among the highest persons in the country, my influence might prove of service to him/' Before proceeding further, it will be as well for me to inform the reader who this person was who had ex- pressed his feelings towards me in such a candid manner. He was the valet to one of my customers AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 1 05 (a gentleman of rank), which situation he had held for many years. His master was a very kind and generous man ; and the manner in .which he inva- riably treated me when business occasioned me to visit him, had rendered his servant jealous, — often imagining that I purchased things which were his perquisites. A short time after this occurrence I was informed that he had been discharged from his situation, in consequence of his conduct towards me having come to his master's knowledge. Many weeks elapsed, and I heard no more of the man, when one day a person came to my house and told me that he had been con- fined to his bed for several months, and was just on the point of death ; he had therefore sent for me to come to his bedside without delay, feeling he could not die happy without receiving my forgiveness for his former insulting behaviour to me. I sent by the messenger a trifling present of nourishment, and desired him to tell the man that it was not possible for me to accede to his request as regarded visiting him, — ^but to assure him of my perfect forgiveness. Two days afterwards he died. Whilst on the subject of personal treatment (if I 106 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. may be permitted to use the expression), I beg to show the other side of the picture, and relate (out of a great many) two instances of kindness which were shown me by those above my station in life. The first I have to mention is the late General R — d, who, when I was confined to my house for nearly two months with a serious illness, generously ordered, and paid, his own physician to attend me the whole time. I could also speak of many other kind acts which he performed towards me ; he offered to assist me in any way that lay in his power, as did also Captain A — r, late of the 1st Life Guards, who called to see me (during this time) and would have lent me (without interest) three hundred pounds for as long a period as I required, being aware (he said), what a serious loss my illness would prove to one who had to go out each day to earn his daily bread. This was indeed the truth, for during the two months that I was unable to attend to my business, necessity compelled me to dispose of nearly half of what I possessed ; but I refused the kind offer, imagining my recovery would be retarded by the knowledge that I was three hundred pounds in debt. How thankful I was on the day when my health again permitted me to go out, and on discovering that my AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 107 long illness had not caused me the loss of any of my connexion ! indeed, the contrary appeared to be the case, for I received three or four letters every day desiring me to call on the writers for the purpose of business. Thus did I esteem myself fortunate, and feel truly contented with my lot in life ; and the fol- lowing occurrence, which happened at this time, served to strengthen the feeling. I received one morning the subjoined laconic epistle (in a female hand.) " Zimmerman. I will thank you to call on me any time after 1 1 o'clock ;" then followed the initials only of the writer and the direction where I was to go. Being aware it was not in a neighbour- hood where any person of station resided, my first impulse was to disregard the letter ; but on second perusal, judging by the elegant style of the hand- writing that no one but a lady of education could have written it, I waived my resolution, and the following day went to the appointed place. The exterior of the house promised but little for the interior, nor did the little slipshod girl who answered the bell dissipate the illusion. In reply to my inquiry, she informed me that the lady whom I was seeking resided on the first floor. I immediately went upstairs, and in 108 AUTOBIOGKAPHY. answer to my knock at the door was requested to walk in. On entering the room I beheld the occupant of it on her knees, lighting the fire ; her back being turned towards the door, she did not, for some minutes, perceive me, and concluding it was the servant who had entered, she did not alter her position ; until, finding the silence continue, she rose. Turning to- wards me, I instantly recognised a lady who had been an excellent customer to me for sixteen years, and from whose husband and family I had received much kindness. They were known to be very wealthy, and were universally beloved. I had not heard of them previous to this, for nearly a twelvemonth, but that I attributed to their having gone on the Continent. I now stood staring at her, thinking it was a dream, and scarcely crediting the evidence of my own senses. However, she soon broke the spell by saying, " Zim- merman, you here behold one of the changes of fortune. When you saw me last I was rich, enjoying all that money could purchase. Now you see me reduced to almost absolute poverty, being scarcely able to purchase the mere necessaries of life.'' This had been occasioned by unavoidable losses, the par- ticulars of which I refrained from inquiring, not AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 109 wishing to hurt her feelings, or perhaps recal scenes she would have wished for ever obliterated from her memory. Her purpose in sending for me was to ascertain if I could sell her some trifling things which her children required. On mastering my feelings sufficiently to speak, I told her that, presuming she had need of more than the articles mentioned, which would prove but of slight service to her, I respectfully tendered her five pounds, requesting her acceptance. But this she decidedly refused, nor could any per- suasion induce her to take the money. Finding all I said on the subject was of no avail, I left her, and immediately called on a nobleman (one of my most frequent customers), to whom (knowing him to be very wealthy) I represented the precise facts of the case, and requested his assistance. When I ceased speaking, he desired me to advise him what course to pursue. I told him to enclose a bank-note in an envelope, and I would take it to the lady and tell her it came from a stranger. After considering my pro- position for a few minutes, he expressed his fears con- cerning the propriety of such a course, for, in the event of the donor being ever discovered, it might prove annoying to him, as he was a friend of the party for J 1 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. whom I was interested. Desiring him not to have any fears on the subject, but to leave the arrangement to me, he gave me the money, which I immediately took to the lady and requested to see her husband, who appeared very much overcome at first beholding me ; but reasoning in a short time calmed him, and I then spoke of the purport of my visit, telling him that I had money to offer for his acceptance, and all that was required for the same now, or ever, was an acknow- ledgment of its receipt, which, however painful it might be to his feelings I was bound to ask for, and in the event of his refusing to accede to my request, it would be imperative on me to return the gift to the party from whom it had come. Shedding tears, he said, " Zimmerman, the money must be accepted, for I am in want.'" About a fortnight after this occur- rence, he called on me to return his thanks once more for my kindness towards him, and brought a trifling article (a piece of needlework) which his wife had made expressly for my acceptance. He had no sooner quitted my house than I took the gift to several of my friends, telling them it was my desire to raffle the same, and give the proceeds to a charitable purpose ; an object in which I fortunately succeeded, and raffled AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 11] the work for twenty guineas, which sum I directly presented to the lady, who gave me a receipt which I took to the winner of the raffle, Captain G , late of the 2nd Life Guards. From this time I heard no more of the family for about two years, when on entering my shop one morning, I beheld an old gentleman sitting there who rose immediately and shook me very warmly by the hand, but his apparent emotion prevented him for a few moments from uttering a word ; at last he told me that, his object in visiting me was to express his sincere thanks for the generosity which his son (the husband of the lady I had assisted) had experienced at my hands. He then informed me that his son s behaviour had been so bad as to cause him to reject him for many years, and he declared that he would not assist him with a shilling. Feeling excessively annoyed at hearing him speak thus, I asked him his age. " Eighty," he replied. I then said to him, " Believe me, you are acting altogether wrong, and contrary to the will of Providence ; for if a man like you refuse to forgive an only son (perchance in consequence of a few youthful follies which he may have committed), and neglect to relieve him when he is want, how can 112 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. you expect to be forgiven by the Almighty V Saying that he felt the force of my words, and expressing himself delighted at having seen me, as I had opened his eyes to his fault, he vowed from that day he would forgive his son : — a vow which he strictly kept, by becoming reconciled to him and his family. To me also he behaved extremely well. At his desire I called on him, for the purpose of purchasing a quan- tity of goods which he had for disposal ; but on finding that what he showed me met my approval, he com- pelled me to accept the whole, as a slight reward (he said) for my former benevolence to his son. CHAPTER V. The author, accompanied by his son, revisits his native country — Various incidents of the journey — Returns to England — Con- clusion. TN the autumn of 1840, I made preparations for -■- visiting my native country, as I had long deter- mined to do ; and to facilitate the execution of my purpose, I wrote to my brothers and sisters, desiring them to meet me in Manheim, on the day I expected to arrive there, mentioning the date. Their anxiety to see me was so great, that it caused them to be at the appointed place six days before the time. I received sterling proof of this, being obliged to pay their bills at the inn at which they had been lodging. My stay in Manheim was only one night, for early the following morning I proceeded to Michelfeld, which place I could scarcely recognise. Everybody and everything appeared changed, and indeed it was so, for the friends of my youth were all dead, and I 114 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. even the trees from which 1 had been accustomed to steal the fruit, had been replaced by young ones. The day previous to my leaving England I went to the Bank, and obtained a certain number of the different coins of the present reign, for the purpose of distributing amongst my family, the children of the public school, and other charitable institutions ; but my calculations were altogether wrong ; for every person considering me to be very wealthy, claimed relation- ship or friendship with me, merely for the purpose of obtaining money. This proceeded so far, that I was very much delighted, when it was in my power, to leave the place which I had so long and so ardently desired to visit. Previous to my quitting, I visited, accompanied by my brothers, the grave of my parents. As we were on the road thither, one of them exclaimed several times, " How good the Almighty has been to you, that you are allowed to visit your country again, in such style, after so many years!" I asked him if he could recollect the day when it was his desire that I should say, I was his drover? Appearing hurt at my recalling this circumstance, he begged of me not to bring forward old grievances, but forgive him for all past offences. " To prove to you that I do so,'' AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 115 was my reply, " there is my hand, and any time hereafter that you are in need of a friend, let me know, and I will assist you/' Precisely that day two years I received a letter from this brother, informing me that his son, who was very useful to him in his business, had been drawn for a soldier, and although it was his anxious desire to purchase his discharge, he had not the means of so doing. I immediately trans- mitted the necessary sum, and thus my promise was fulfilled. From Michelfeld I went to Carlsruhe, where, on my arrival, I called on the Frhr Von G n, whom I had not seen since I had left my home. He soon recognised and treated me exactly as if I had been on an equality with himself This caused me to contrast the present with the last time I had stood before him, when it was as a poor peasant-boy awaiting the orders of his master. He introduced me to the Grand Duke and Duchess of B n, who behaved with equal kindness and condescension ; in such a manner that the inhabitants pointed me out to their children as an example ; telling them how " by my own industry and upright conduct I had, from a butcher's boy, raised myself to the especial notice and approba- i2 116 AUTOBIOGKAPHY. tion of their king. The same night I had the honour of sitting next to the Royal Family in the theatre, and every one present intently gazed at me, as at some very noted person. By the Rev. Pharaoh Springer, chaplain to the Grand Duchess Stephanie, I was also highly commended. Whilst walking with him a few days before I left, he said, " I pray, Zimmerman, that you may ever be happy and contented, and I have not the slightest doubt my prayer will be answered, if you will but remain faithful to your religion ; always act as you have hitherto done, and the blessing of the Almighty, which evidently rests upon you, will never be removed." This excellent man died shortly after my return to England. Were I to recount every trifling event that occurred to me, both during the period of the foregoing chap- ters and within the last few years, I could extend this book to many more pages, but fearing to trespass on the patience of my kind readers, I will refrain from so doing, and shall therefore, in conclu- sion, only mention one or two incidents which occurred in the year 1843, when, in company with my son (for whom the journey was undertaken), I again visited my own country, wishing to show him the AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 117 places where the most eventful scenes of my life had passed. This I accomplished. The first I have to mention is a singular, yet true one, that on our arrival in Manheim, at half-past four A.M., we partook of refi:eshments on the very spot where I had for- merly been compelled, when in the capacity of a butcher's boy, to fetch, daily, six cwt. of meat. This I told my son whilst occupied in the manner described, and my statement was confirmed by one of my old masters on whom I called whilst in Man- heim. About eighteen miles from thence I met two of my old friends, to whom fortune had been so un- favourably disposed since last I had seen them, as to afford me the opportunity of returning them some slight reward for the many acts of kindness they had shown me in my young days. On inquiring of the landlady of the inn where I breakfasted, whether a person of the name of F h was alive (knowing him to have formerly resided in the town), she told me that he was still in existence, but was so reduced in circumstances as to be compelled, together with his wife, to become an inmate of the workhouse. On being thus informed, I sent for them. The two aged and crippled persons I beheld enter the inn, bore no re- 118 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. semblance to those for whom I had inquired. I could scarcely have imagined that time could work such ravages, but on being convinced of their identity I immediately made myself known to them ; they wept for joy at again beholding me, as it had never been their idea (they said) that they should have had that happiness. Their affection I felt was sincere, for as a boy they loved me so much that it was their particular wish to adopt me as their child, and were only pre- vented from so doing by my father, who, being a person strict to his religion, would not permit it, as they were not of the same persuasion. I went the same morning with these old people to church. Before quitting, I gave them pecuniary relief, and when bidding them farewell, the old man told me that he could now die contented, having seen me once more, which he had always prayed for ; and the beholding me in such good circumstances afforded him still greater pleasure. From hence we went to a small village (about two miles distant from my own) for the purpose of calling on the burgomaster, who was a very intimate friend of mine, we having been playmates together when boys. He was so delighted to see me again that he AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 119 ofifered me, in his own name and that of the parish, a house to live in, free of rent and taxes, and every one would do all that lay in their power (he said) to render me happy, if I would make that place my per- manent residence. Often did he press this subject whilst we were dining with him that day, and appeared greatly disappointed at my informing him that I was compelled to refuse his kind offer, as my wife and family would not rest contented in such a quiet and retired spot. Before quitting him, he begged my acceptance (as a gage d'amitie) of an antique silver cup, which had been in the possession of his family for upwards of two hundred years. This I also refused, telling him that I felt as much pleasure in accepting his good wishes in words, as I should in his proffered gift. Our next visit was to a town a few miles from Durlach, where I had ascertained one of my married sisters was then residing, whom I had not seen for thirty-one years. We arrived at the post-house at about 11 o'clock at night. I called for wine, and invited the landlord and his wife to join us, thus affording me an opportunity of detaining them from retiring to rest so soon as they intended, and so gaining 1 20 A CJTOBIOGRAPH Y. the information I required. After talking together for a few minutes, the landlady called her husband on one side, and conversed with him in an under tone, but I gained sufficient of their conversation to learn that they were remarking my resemblance to some person residing in the same place. The man s curiosity was so aroused by this, that he inquired, as politely as he was able, if I was in business. On telling him that I dealt in different seeds, such as hemp, clover, &c., he informed me that there was a man residing in the town who followed precisely the same trade (this was what I wished to ascertain, having been told that my brother-in-law was in that business, and therefore adopted the above method of assuring myself that I was right). Immediately on gaining this informa- tion, I asked my host, as a favour, to send one of his men to this person's house, and request him (not- withstanding the lateness of the hour) to come to me immediately, wishing to see him on business of im- portance that night. The landlord sent the ostler, who returned shortly with an answer, to the effect that he would not get out of his bed at that time for any one, and if the Englishman could not wait until the morning he might go back from whence he came. AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 121 Thus no alternative was left me but to await his pleasure, and we therefore retired to rest. I had been in bed about an hour, and had just fallen in a slumber, when I was partially aroused by hearing my name pronounced in tones similar to those in which my mother had often addressed me. But whether from over-weariness, or thinking it was imagination, I took no notice of it. On opening my shutters and window early the following morning, I beheld a female sitting in a listening attitude on the outside (my room being situated on the ground-floor, and the window opening on the ground), who, immediately she saw me, rushed to my arms, embracing me tenderly, and calling me her dear brother. For a moment this reception sur- prised me, not imagining it was my sister, as I thought that the length of time which had elapsed since we last met, would prevent her from so suddenly recognising me. However, a few minutes served to assure me that she stood in the relationship spoken of. The manner in which she discovered my presence in the town is so singular, that I think it worth relating. She dreamed that the stranger who had sent for her husband was myself, and so powerful was the im- pression this dream had on her, that it caused her to 1 22 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. rise between two and three o'clock in the morning, and come to the house where I was lodging. She first went to the stable-man, who sat up throughout the night, and asked him to show her my sleeping apart- ment. On being informed where it was situated, she came to the window and tapped on it two or three times, at the same time calling me by my name (thus accounting for what I deemed an illusion of fancy), and in reply (she said), I distinctly pronounced her own name, Rebecca ; of this I had not the slightest recollection, but yet it must have been true, it being by these means alone that she was confirmed in her suspicions. Her first impulse on liearing my voice was to request me to open the window, and so allow her to enter. But not hearing me move, she concluded that I had fallen asleep again from the fatigue ex- perienced in travelling that day, and therefore allowed me to remain undisturbed until the morning, when I discovered her in the place mentioned. I remained one day in this town, and was exceedingly amused the whole time with the inhabitants, who surveyed me and my son with the greatest astonishment, regarding us as Englishmen, it being a very rare event for them to see one in that town. AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 1 23 We now started on our road to Carlsruhe. At the first house where they changed horses, I recognised the landlord as having been a schoolfellow of mine. On informing him of this, and stating who I was, he was much pleased, and appeared quite surprised at the change he beheld in me. He told me that time had also worked wonders with another of our mutual friends during my absence. This was a person of the name of W — f, who from being a poor clerk, had become a very wealthy banker. At the time of leaving my home this man was in the capacity just mentioned. I heard nothing of him until after my marriage, when, in a letter which my father wrote to me, he enclosed a few lines, the purpose of which was to inform me, that having saved 3000 guilders (d^250), he intended in the spring of the following year to go to America, unless I could tell him of any- thing (in England) in which he could advantageously invest his fortune (as he termed it). In replying to his communication, I advised him particularly to remain in his own country, where he had already been so fortunate, as the sum of money he spoke of would not prove of the slightest service in this country ; in proof of which I told him, that although I had not 1 24 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. transacted business here two years, I possessed many friends who would willingly lend me that sum without any acknowledgment. He followed my advice, and the result was as above related. It being but a short distance from where I was staying, I resolved to call on my old friend, and see how he would behave to one who had been instrumental in gaining him the posi- tion he then held. On receiving an affirmative answer, in reply to my question whether Herr W — f was at home, I desired the domestic to inform her master that two Englishmen wished to see him. After waiting a few minutes we were requested to walk upstairs into his room. On entering, I beheld my old acquaintance, sitting (or rather reclining) in his arm-chair, having on a dressing-gown of no mean pretensions, and in his mouth a long pipe, from which he was emitting every second volumes of smoke. All this, I imagined, got up for the occasion. He received us with frigid politeness (by which I sup- posed that he did not recognise me), requesting to know to whom he was indebted for the honour of the visit, and the purport of it. I told him that previous to my leaving England, a friend of his requested me to call on him for the pur- AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 125 pose of ascertaining how he was in health, and begged to be remembered to him. On telling him my own name, in answer to his inquiry who the person was, he asked me the reason of my not having brought a letter from him (meaning myself). This somewhat took me aback, but after a moment's hesitation, I said, that having only seen him a few hours before I left, he had not any time to write, but instead of doing so had entrusted me with something to show him, and which would prove that I was no impostor. Thereupon I placed in his hands the epistle which he had written to me nearly twenty-two years before. He instantly recognised it, and said : " This man is the cause of all my good fortune, for if I had not followed his counsel, I should have been by this time in a foreign country, and perchance a beggar. How glad I should be to see him l" Hearing him speak thus, moved me greatly, which he perceiving, exclaimed, ^' I am now certain that it is Zimmerman whom I see before me.'' As further disguise would have been useless, I informed him that he was right in his con- jectures, and then introduced my son. Were I to finish this anecdote here, my readers would natu- rally arrive at the conclusion, that after discovering 126 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. that I and the messenger were the same person, Herr W — f immediately treated us as distinguished guests. But not desiring that any one should be so deceived, let me inform them that he did not even display the courtesy usually due on such an occasion, neither offering me nor my son the slightest refresh- ment: and his behaviour, altogether, appeared to be so rude and ungrateful, that after the lapse of a few minutes I quitted his house, and thus ended my ac- quaintance with one, who, according to his own authority, owed, indirectly, everything in this life to me. We then went to Paris, but nearly all who had been connected with me when I was last there were dead. I shall not relate more of this journey, but only say, that on my arrival at home my son often asserted, — that which I beg to offer as an apology, provided any of my readers complain of this work being tedious, — that I have not related half which it is in my power to do. Therefore, in bidding farewell, should any find the life and adventures of Zimmerman too long, let me (in extenuation of this fault) impress upon them that which I have just stated. FINIS. LONDON ; SAVfLL AND EDWARDS, PRINTERS, CHANDOS STREET. YB 58360 321978 UNIVERSITY OF CAUFORNIA LIBRARY