by seeing it filled with a squadron of dragoons, the men being in the very
act of cleaning their horses.

At length we came to the open space on the Alster, a large parade, faced
by a street of splendid houses on the left hand, with a row of trees
between them, and the water on the right.

There were two regiments of foot bivouacking here, with their arms piled
under the trees, while, the men were variously employed, some on duty
before the houses, others cleaning their accoutrements, and others again
playing at all kinds of games. Presently we came to a crowd of soldiers
clustered round a particular spot, some laughing, others cracking coarse
jests, but none at all in the least serious. We could not get near enough
to see distinctly what was going on; but we afterwards saw, when the crowd
had dispersed, three men in the dress of respectable burghers, hanging
from a low gibbet,--so low in fact, that although their heads were not six
inches from the beam, their feet were scarcely three from the ground. I
was here placed in a guard--house, and kept there until the evening, when
I was again marched off under my former escort, and we soon arrived at the
door of a large mansion, fronting this parade, where two sentries were
walking backwards and forwards before the door, while five dragoon horses,
linked together, stood in the middle of the street, with one soldier
attending them, but there was no other particular bustle, to mark the
headquarters of the General commanding. We advanced to the entrance--the
sentries carrying arms--and were immediately ushered into a large saloon,
the massive stair winding up along the walls, with the usual heavy wooden
balustrade. We ascended to the first floor, where we were encountered by
three aides--de--camp, in full dress, leaning with their backs against the
hardwood railing, laughing and joking with each other, while two walllamps
right opposite cast a bright flashing light on their splendid uniforms.