“They were so near by that time, that I could hear the panting of the horses, the clink of their swords, and the creaking of their saddles, and so cried:  ‘Fire!’”

“Fifty rifle shots broke the stillness of the night, then there were four or five reports, and at last one single shot was heard, and when the smoke had cleared away, we saw that the twelve men and nine horses had fallen.  Three of the animals were galloping away at a furious pace, and one of them was dragging the body of its rider, which rebounded from the ground in a terrible manner, whose foot had caught in the stirrup behind it.”

“One of the soldiers behind me gave a terrible laugh, and said:  ’There are a number of widows there!’”

“Perhaps he was married.  And a third added:  ‘It did not take long!’”

“A head was put out of the litter: 

“‘What is the matter?’ she asked; ‘you are fighting?’”

“‘It is nothing, Mademoiselle,’ I replied; ’we have got rid of a dozen Prussians!’”

“‘Poor fellows!’ she said.  But as she was cold, she quickly disappeared beneath the cloaks again, and we started off once more.  We marched on for a long time, and at last the sky began to grow pale.  The snow became quite clear, luminous and bright, and a rosy tint appeared in the East, and suddenly a voice in the distance cried: 

“‘Who goes there?’”

“The whole detachment halted, and I advanced to say who we were.  We had reached the French lines, and as my men defiled before the outpost, a commandant on horseback, whom I had informed of what had taken place, asked in a sonorous voice, as he saw the litter pass him:  ’What have you there?’”

“And immediately, a small head, covered with light hair, appeared, disheveled and smiling, and replied:” 

“‘It is I, Monsieur.’”

“At this, the men raised a hearty laugh, and we felt quite light-hearted, while Pratique, who was walking by the side of the litter, waved his kepi, and shouted:” 

“‘Vive la France!’ And I felt really moved.  I do not know why, except that I thought it a pretty and gallant thing to say.”

“It seemed to me as if we had just saved the whole of France, and had done something that other men could not have done, something simple and really patriotic.  I shall never forget that little face, you may be sure, and if I had to give my opinion about abolishing drums, trumpets, and bugles, I should propose to replace them in every regiment by a pretty girl, and that would be even better than playing the Marseillaise.  By Jove!  It would put some spirit into a trooper to have a Madonna like that, a living Madonna, by the colonel’s side.”

He was silent for a few moments, and then continued, with an air of conviction, and jerking his head: 

“All the same, we are very fond of women, we Frenchmen!”

ONE EVENING