Page:Legends of Rubezahl, and Other Tales (1845).djvu/223

 I was well pleased with this change. Determined to be a soldier in earnest, I put myself forward on all occasions; I was the first in every attack; and when we were compelled to retreat, I used my legs to such good purpose that the enemy could never overtake me. For a time I got on very well; I received a command in a troop of horse, with hope of still further promotion; but one day, being sent out upon a foraging expedition, I executed my orders with so much enthusiasm that I not only emptied granaries and barns, but, moreover, every drawer, press, strong box, or bureau I could lay my hands on, whether in houses or churches. As ill luck would have it, we were in a friendly country; the people took it into their stupid heads to make a to-do about the affair, and certain officers, who envied my military reputation, odiously charged me with pillaging. I was most unjustly brought to a court-martial, degraded to the ranks, and then whipped through a lane of five hundred men out of a service in which I had thought to make my fortune. I had now no other resource than to return to my original business; but I had neither money to buy leather nor the disposition to work. An idea suddenly occurred to me. I have mentioned that I had formerly sold my purses far too cheap. In justice to myself, now that I wanted the means of support, it was obvious that I ought by all