oh, brown! when it suddenly came into my head to claim protection as a Frenchman and a troubadour from Monsieur de Riviere.  The ambassador, enchanted to find something to show him off, demanded that I should be set at liberty.  The Turks have one good trait in their nature; they are as willing to let you go as they are to cut your head off; they are indifferent to everything.  The French consul, charming fellow, friend of Chosrew, made him give back two thousand of the talari, and, consequently, his name is, as I may say, graven on my heart—­”

“What was his name?” asked Monsieur de Serizy; and a look of some surprise passed over his face as Georges named, correctly, one of our most distinguished consul-generals who happened at that time to be stationed at Smyrna.

“I assisted,” added Georges, “at the execution of the Governor of Smyrna, whom the Sultan had ordered Chosrew to put to death.  It was one of the most curious things I ever saw, though I’ve seen many, —­I’ll tell you about it when we stop for breakfast.  From Smyrna I crossed to Spain, hearing there was a revolution there.  I went straight to Mina, who appointed me as his aide-de-camp with the rank of colonel.  I fought for the constitutional cause, which will certainly be defeated when we enter Spain—­as we undoubtedly shall, some of these days—­”

“You, a French soldier!” said the count, sternly.  “You show extraordinary confidence in the discretion of those who are listening to you.”

“But there are no spies here,” said Georges.

“Are you aware, Colonel Georges,” continued the count, “that the Court of Peers is at this very time inquiring into a conspiracy which has made the government extremely severe in its treatment of French soldiers who bear arms against France, and who deal in foreign intrigues for the purpose of overthrowing our legitimate sovereigns.”

On hearing this stern admonition the painter turned red to his ears and looked at Mistigris, who seemed dumfounded.

“Well,” said Pere Leger, “what next?”

“If,” continued the count, “I were a magistrate, it would be my duty to order the gendarmes at Pierrefitte to arrest the aide-de-camp of Mina, and to summon all present in this vehicle to testify to his words.”

This speech stopped Georges’ narrative all the more surely, because at this moment the coucou reached the guard-house of a brigade of gendarmerie,—­the white flag floating, as the orthodox saying is, upon the breeze.

“You have too many decorations to do such a dastardly thing,” said Oscar.

“Never mind; we’ll catch up with him soon,” whispered Georges in the lad’s ear.

“Colonel,” cried Leger, who was a good deal disturbed by the count’s outburst, and wanted to change the conversation, “in all these countries where you have been, what sort of farming do they do?  How do they vary the crops?”

“Well, in the first place, my good fellow, you must understand, they are too busy cropping off each others’ heads to think much of cropping the ground.”