Among the officers who perished at the battle of Wagram, or rather in a small engagement which took place after the battle had ended, one of those most regretted by the soldiers was General Oudet.  He was one of the bravest generals of the army; but what brings his name especially to mind, among all those whom the army lost on that memorable day, is a note which I have preserved of a conversation I held several years after this battle with an excellent officer who was one of my sincerest friends.

In a conversation with Lieutenant-colonel B——­ in 1812, he remarked, “I must tell you, my dear Constant, of a strange adventure which happened to me at Wagram.  I did not tell you at the time, because I had promised to be silent; but since at the present time no one can be compromised by my indiscretion, and since those who then had most to fear if their singular ideas (for I can call them by no other name) had been revealed, would now be first to laugh at them, I can well inform you of the mysterious discovery I made at that period.

“You well know that I was much attached to poor F——­ whom we so much regretted; and he was one of our most popular and attractive officers, his good qualities winning the hearts of all, especially of those who like himself had an unfailing fund of frankness and good humor.  All at once I noticed a great change in his manner, as well as in that of his habitual companions; they appeared gloomy, and met together no more for gay conversation, but on the contrary spoke in low tones and with an air of mystery.  More than once this sudden change had struck me; and if by chance I met them in retired places, instead of receiving me cordially as had always been their custom, they seemed as if trying to avoid me.  At last, weary of this inexplicable mystery, I took F——­ aside, and asked him what this strange conduct meant.  ’You have forestalled me, my dear friend,’ said he.  ’I was on the point of making an important disclosure; I trust you will not accuse me of want of confidence, but swear to me before I confide in you that you will tell no living soul what I am now going to reveal.’  When I had taken this oath, which he demanded of me in a tone of gravity which surprised me inexpressibly, he continued, ’If I have not already told you of the ‘Philadelphi’, it is only because I knew that reasons which I respect would prevent your ever joining them; but since you have asked this secret, it would be a want of confidence in you, and at the same time perhaps an imprudence, not to reveal it.  Some patriots have united themselves under the title of ‘Philadelphi’, in order to save our country from the dangers to which it is exposed.  The Emperor Napoleon has tarnished the glory of the First Consul Bonaparte; he had saved our liberty, but he has since destroyed it by the reestablishment of the nobility and by the Concordat.  The society of the ‘Philadelphi’ has as yet no well-defined plans for preventing the evils with which ambition