f his force; neither knew I whether
he meant to turn eastward towards the plains of Lombardy, or march
direct to the relief of Genoa. Of Moreau's successes in Germany, too, I
had only heard vaguely, and, of course, could recount nothing. I
could overhear, occasionally, around and about me, the murmurs of
dissatisfaction my ignorance called forth, and was not a little grateful
to an old artillery captain for saying, 'That's the very best thing
about the lad; a spy would have had his whole lesson by heart.'

'You are right, sir,' cried I, catching at the words; 'I may know but
little, and that little, perhaps, valueless and insignificant, but my
truth no man shall gainsay.'

The boldness of this speech from one wasted and miserable as I was, with
tattered shoes and ragged clothes, caused a hearty laugh, in which, as
much from policy as feeling, I joined myself.

'Come here, _mon cher_,' said an infantry colonel, as, walking to the
door of the room, he drew his telescope from his pocket; 'you tell us of
a _coup de main_--on the Monte Faccio, is it not?'

'Yes,' replied I promptly, 'so I understand the name.'

'Well, have you ever seen the place?'

'Never.'

'Well, there it is yonder'; and he handed me his glass as he spoke. 'You
see that large beetling cliff, with the olives at the foot? There, on
the summit, stands the Monte Faccio. The road--the pathway rather, and a
steep one it is--leads up where you see those goats feeding, and crosses
in front of the crag, directly beneath the fire of the batteries.
There's not a spot on the whole ascent where three men could march
abreast; and wherever there is any shelter from fire, the guns of the
"Sprona," that small fort to the right, take the whole position. What do
you think of your counsel now?'

'You forget, sir, it is not my counsel. I merely repeat what I
overheard.'

'And do you mean to say, that the men who gave that advice were serious,
or capable of adopting it themselves?'

'Most assuredly; they would never recommend to others what they felt
unequal to themselves. I know these English well, and so much will I say
of them.'

'Bah!' cried he, with an insolent gesture of his hand, and turned
away; and I could plainly see that my praises of the enemy were very
ill-taken. In fact, my unlucky burst of generosity had done more to
damage my credit than all the dangerous or impracticable features of
my scheme. Every eye was turned to the bold precipice, and the s