“If I had known all this, I would have killed Renard then and there, without giving him time to draw another breath; but the father, the mother, the girl herself, and the quartermaster were all in the plot like thieves in a fair.  While I was smoking my pipe, and worshiping Judith as if she had been one of the saints above, the worthy Renard was arranging to meet her, and managing this piece of business very cleverly under my very eyes.

“You are the only person to whom I have told this story.  A disgraceful thing, I call it.  I have always asked myself how it is that a man who would die of shame if he took a gold coin that did not belong to him, does not scruple to rob a friend of happiness and life and the woman he loves.  My birds, in fact, were married and happy; and there was I, every evening at supper, moonstruck, gazing at Judith, responding like some fellow in a farce to the looks she threw to me in order to throw dust in my eyes.  They have paid uncommonly dear for all this deceit, as you will certainly think.  On my conscience, God pays more attention to what goes on in this world than some of us imagine.

“Down come the Russians upon us, the country is overrun, and the campaign of 1813 begins in earnest.  One fine morning comes an order; we are to be on the battlefield of Lutzen by a stated hour.  The Emperor knew quite well what he was about when he ordered us to start at once.  The Russians had turned our flank.  Our colonel must needs get himself into a scrape, by choosing that moment to take leave of a Polish lady who lived outside the town, a quarter of a mile away; the Cossack advanced guard just caught him nicely, him and his picket.  There was scarcely time to spring into our saddles and draw up before the town so as to engage in a cavalry skirmish.  We must check the Russian advance if we meant to draw off during the night.  Again and again we charged, and for three hours did wonders.  Under cover of the fighting the baggage and artillery set out.  We had a park of artillery and great stores of powder, of which the Emperor stood in desperate need; they must reach him at all costs.

“Our resistance deceived the Russians, who thought at first that we were supported by an army corps; but before very long they learned their error from their scouts, and knew that they had only a single regiment of cavalry to deal with and the invalided foot soldiers in the depot.  On finding it out, sir, they made a murderous onslaught on us towards evening; the action was so hot that a good few of us were left on the field.  We were completely surrounded.  I was by Renard’s side in the front rank, and I saw how my friend fought and charged like a demon; he was thinking of his wife.  Thanks to him, we managed to regain the town, which our invalids had put more or less in a state of defence, but it was pitiful to see it.  We were the last to return —­he and I. A body of Cossacks appeared in our way, and on this we rode in hot haste.  One