’My bedchamber at this chateau was hung with tapestry, and as the footman assured me of the safety of my bed, he drew aside a piece of the tapestry, which discovered a small recess in the wall that held a grabat, in which my servant was invited to repose.  My servant was an Englishman, whose indignation nothing but want of words to express it could have concealed; he deplored my unhappy lot; as for himself, he declared, with a look of horror, that nothing could induce him to go into such a pigeon-hole.  I went to visit the accommodations of my companion, Mr. Rosenhagen.  I found him in a spacious apartment hung all round with tapestry, so that there was no appearance of any windows.  I was far from being indifferent to the comfort of a good dry bed; but poor Mr. Rosenhagen, besides being delicate, was hypochondriac.  With one of the most rueful countenances I ever beheld, he informed me that he must certainly die of cold.  His teeth chattered whilst he pointed to the tapestry at one end of the room, which waved to and fro with the wind; and, looking behind it, I found a large, stone casement window without a single pane of glass, or shutters of any kind.  He determined not to take off his clothes; but I, gaining courage from despair, undressed, went to bed, and never slept better in my life, or ever awakened in better health or spirits than at ten o’clock the next morning.

’After breakfast the Marquis took us to visit the Grotto de la Baume, which was at the distance of not more than two leagues from his house.  We were most hospitably received at the house of an old officer, who was Seigneur of the place.  His hall was more amply furnished with implements of the chase and spoils of the field than any which I have ever seen, or ever heard described.  There were nets of such dimensions, and of such strength, as were quite new to me; bows, cross-bows, of prodigious power; guns of a length and weight that could not be wielded by the strength of modern arms; some with old matchlocks, and with rests to be stuck into the ground, and others with wheel-locks; besides modern fire-arms of all descriptions; horns of deer, and tusks of wild boars, were placed in compartments in such numbers, that every part of the walls was covered either with arms or trophies.

’The master of the mansion, in bulk, dress, and general appearance, was suited to the style of life which might be expected from what we had seen at our entrance.  He was above six feet high, strong, and robust, though upwards of sixty years of age; he wore a leather jerkin, and instead of having his hair powdered, and tied in a long queue, according to the fashion of the day, he wore his own short grey locks; his address was plain, frank, and hearty, but by no means coarse or vulgar.  He was of an ancient family, but of a moderate fortune.’  Here Edgeworth adds a long description of the grotto and its stalactites.  They returned to dine with the old officer at his castle.