that he stopped short, with mouth and eyes wide open-surprise painted upon every feature.  I see him now as distinctly as I did then.  The King, as well as all the rest of the company, remarked the agitation of Conillac, and said to him with emotion, “Well, Conillac! come up.”  Conillac remained motionless, and the King continued, “Come up.  What is the matter?” Conillac, thus addressed, finished his ascent, and came towards the King with slow and trembling steps, rolling his eyes from right to left like one deranged.  Then he stammered something, but in a tone so low that it could not be heard.  “What do you say?” cried the King.  “Speak up.”  But Conillac was unable; and the King, finding he could get nothing out of him, told him to go away.  He did not need to be told twice, but disappeared at once.  As soon as he was gone, the King, looking round, said, “I don’t know what is the matter with Conillac.  He has lost his wits; he did not remember what he had to say to me.”  No one answered.

Towards the moment of the capitulation, Madame de Maintenon apparently asked permission to go away, for the King cried, “The chairmen of Madame!” They came and took her away; in less than a quarter of an hour afterwards the King retired also, and nearly everybody else.  There was much interchange of glances, nudging with elbows, and then whisperings in the ear.  Everybody was full of what had taken place on the ramparts between the King and Madame de Maintenon.  Even the soldiers asked what meant that sedan-chair and the King every moment stooping to put his head inside of it.  It became necessary gently to silence these questions of the troops.  What effect this sight had upon foreigners present, and what they said of it, may be imagined.  All over Europe it was as much talked of as the camp of Compiegne itself, with all its pomp and prodigious splendour.

The last act of this great drama was a sham fight.  The execution was perfect; but the commander, Rose, who was supposed to be beaten, would not yield.  Marechal de Boufflers sent and told him more than once that it was time.  Rose flew into a passion, and would not obey.  The King laughed much at this, and said, “Rose does not like to be beaten.”  At last he himself sent the order for retreat.  Rose was forced then to comply; but he did it with a very bad grace, and abused the bearer of the order.

The King left the camp on Monday the 22d of September, much pleased with the troops.  He gave, in parting, six hundred francs to each cavalry captain, and three hundred francs to each captain of infantry.  He gave as much to the majors of all the regiments, and distributed some favours to his household.  To Marechal de Boufflers he presented one hundred thousand francs.  All these gifts together amounted to something:  but separately were as mere drops of water.  There was not a single regiment that was not ruined, officers and men, for several years.  As for Marechal de Boufflers, I leave it to be imagined what a hundred thousand francs were to him whose magnificence astounded all Europe, described as it was by foreigners who were witnesses of it, and who day after day could scarcely believe their own eyes.