When M. le Maire disappeared within the mist, we all remained behind with troubled hearts.  For my own part I was alarmed for my friend.  M. Martin Dupin is not noble.  He belongs, indeed, to the haute bourgeoisie, and all his antecedents are most respectable; but it is his personal character and admirable qualities which justify me in calling him my friend.  The manner in which he has performed his duties to his fellow-citizens during this time of distress has been sublime.  It is not my habit to take any share in public life; the unhappy circumstances of France have made this impossible for years.  Nevertheless, I put aside my scruples when it became necessary, to leave him free for his mission.  I gave no opinion upon that mission itself, or how far he was right in obeying the advice of a hare-brained enthusiast like Lecamus.  Nevertheless the moment had come at which our banishment had become intolerable.  Another day, and I should have proposed an assault upon the place.  Our dead forefathers, though I would speak of them with every respect, should not presume upon their privilege.  I do not pretend to be braver than other men, nor have I shown myself more equal than others to cope with the present emergency.  But I have the impatience of my countrymen, and rather than rot here outside the gates, parted from Madame de Bois-Sombre and my children, who, I am happy to state, are in safety at the country house of the brave Dupin, I should have dared any hazard.  This being the case, a new step of any kind called for my approbation, and I could not refuse under the circumstances—­especially as no ceremony of installation was required or profession of loyalty to one government or another—­to take upon me the office of coadjutor and act as deputy for my friend Martin outside the walls of Semur.

The moment at which I assumed the authority was one of great discouragement and depression.  The men were tired to death.  Their minds were worn out as well as their bodies.  The excitement and fatigue had been more than they could bear.  Some were for giving up the contest and seeking new homes for themselves.  These were they, I need not remark, who had but little to lose; some seemed to care for nothing but to lie down and rest.  Though it produced a great movement among us when Lecamus suddenly appeared coming out of the city; and the undertaking of Dupin and the excellent Cure was viewed with great interest, yet there could not but be signs apparent that the situation had lasted too long.  It was tendu in the strongest degree, and when that is the case a reaction must come.  It is impossible to say, for one thing, how treat was our personal discomfort.  We were as soldiers campaigning without a commissariat, or any precautions taken for our welfare; no food save what was sent to us from La Clairiere and other places; no means of caring for our personal appearance, in which lies so much of the materials of self respect.  I say nothing of the chief features of all—­the