Page:The Hessians and the other German auxiliaries of Great Britain in the revolutionary war.djvu/54

 42 it. A characteristic incident occurred in 1738. A Prussian recruiting officer and a Prussian soldier's wife induced an Anspach soldier to desert for the sake of re-enlisting in the Prussian army. They were intercepted by the Anspach authorities. The woman was hanged; the officer was obliged to be present at the execution and was then locked up in a fortress. The deserter seems to have escaped with his life, being a valuable merchantable commodity. Having enlisted his recruits, perhaps under a foreign jurisdiction, the officer, or under-officer, was obliged to get them to his garrison. This would afford, of course, opportunities for escape; and Kapp quotes, from a book printed in Berlin as late as 1805, the precautions to be taken against this danger. The under-officer who is escorting a recruit must wear sword and pistol. He must make the recruit walk in front of him, never let him come too near, and warn him that a single false step may cost him his life. He must avoid large towns, and places where the recruit has previously served, as much as possible. It is also desirable to avoid the place where the recruit was born. They must spend the night at inns where the landlord is known to be well-disposed to recruiting officers, and sure to side with them, and not with their victim. The recruit and the officer must both undress, and their clothes be given to the landlord for safe keeping. Inns where recruits are to spend the night must have a separate room for the purpose; if possible, up-stairs, and with barred windows. A light must be kept burning all