"He will not suffer much hurt," said he; "there is something to
break his fall."
I looked down, and there the unhappy wretch was seen squatting and
clinging to the slippery shingles of an old stable, unhurt, some
twelve feet below us, unable to reascend, and very unwilling to adopt
the only alternative which the case presented---that of descending
softly upon the rank bed of stable-ordure which the provident care
of the gardener had raised up on every hand, the recking fumes of
which were potent enough to expel us very soon from our place of
watch at the window. Of the further course of the elegant culprit
we took no heed. The ludicrousness of his predicament had the
effect of turning the whole adventure into merriment among those
who remained in the establishment; and availing ourselves of the
clamorous mirth of the parties, we made our escape from the place
with a feeling, on my part, of indescribable relief.