By day he generally walked on in advance of the chariot, taking upon
himself the duty of a scout; redoubling his vigilance wherever there
happened to be bushes, thickets, high walls, or lurking places of any
kind, favourable to an ambuscade, near the roadside. If he perceived
from afar a group of travellers approaching, whose appearance seemed to
him in the least suspicious, he would instantly draw his sword and fall
back upon the chariot, around which the tyrant, Scapin, Blazius and
Leander formed an apparently strong guard; though, of the last two
mentioned, one was incapacitated for active service by age, and the
other was as timid as a hare. Some times, varying his tactics like a
good general, who thinks of and provides against every emergency, the
baron would constitute himself a rear guard, and follow the chariot at
a little distance, keeping watch over the road behind them. But all his
precautions were needless, for no attack was made upon the travellers,
or any attempt to interfere with them, and they proceeded tranquilly
on their way, "without let or hindrance." Although it was winter, the
season was not a rigorous one, and our comedians, well fortified against
the cold by plenty of warm clothing and good nourishing food, did not
mind their exposure to the weather, and found their journey a very
enjoyable affair.
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