Barlasch of the Guard

This is a novel book. A tale of Napoleon's retreat from Moscow. Said by all reviewers to be the best work of this well-known writer. A few children had congregated on the steps of the Marienkirche at Dantzig, because the door stood open. The verger, old Peter Koch -- on week days a locksmith -- had told them that nothing was going to happen; had been indiscreet enough to bid them go away. So they stayed, for they were little girls. A wedding was in point of fact in progress within the towering walls of the Marienkirche -- a cathedral built of red brick in the great days of the Hanseatic League. Who is it? asked a stout fishwife, stepping over the threshold to whisper to Peter Koch. It is the younger daughter of Antoine Sebastian, replied the verger, indicating with a nod of his head the house on the left-hand side of the Frauengasse where Sebastian lived. There was a wealth of meaning in the nod.