The Thirty Years' War - James Aitken Wylie

about in their huts, or to visit the tents of the
Sutlers; and the latter were not to sell drink or food
to any one during these hours. In the camp of
Gustavus Adolphus prayers were read twice a day.
The military discipline enforced by that great
leader was much more strict, and the moral
decorum of his army far higher, as the
comparatively untouched aspect of the fields and
villages around bore witness.
In the open space within the enclosure of the
camp, near the guard-house, stood the gamblingtables,
the ground around being strewed over with
mantles, for the convenience of the players. Instead
of the slow shuffling of the cards, the speedier
throw of the dice was often had recourse to, to
decide the stakes; and when the dice were
forbidden, the players hid themselves behind
hedges and there pursued their game, staking their
food, their weapons, their horses, and their booty,
when booty they happened to possess. Behind the
tent of the upper officer, separated by a broad
street, stood the stalls and huts of the Sutlers,
butchers, and master of the cook-shops; the price of
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