f wine is necessary to restore you.' I offered her my arm and
escorted her into my room, where she sat by my side at the table and
took the refreshment which I offered her.

How she blossomed out in my presence, this woman, like a flower before
the sun! She lit up the room with her beauty. She must have read my
admiration in my eyes, and it seemed to me that I also could see
something of the sort in her own. Ah! my friends, I was no
ordinary-looking man when I was in my thirtieth year. In the whole light
cavalry it would have been hard to find a finer pair of whiskers.
Murat's may have been a shade longer, but the best judges are agreed
that Murat's were a shade too long. And then I had a manner. Some women
are to be approached in one way and some in another, just as a siege is
an affair of fascines and gabions in hard weather and of trenches in
soft. But the man who can mix daring with timidity, who can be
outrageous with an air of humility, and presumptuous with a tone of
deference, that is the man whom mothers have to fear. For myself, I felt
that I was the guardian of this lonely lady, and knowing what a
dangerous man I had to deal with, I kept strict watch upon myself.
Still, even a guardian has his privileges, and I did not neglect them.

But her talk was as charming as her face. In a few words she explained
that she was travelling to Poland, and that her brother who had been her
escort had fallen ill upon the way. She had more than once met with
ill-treatment from the country folk because she could not conceal her
good-will towards the French. Then turning from her own affairs she
questioned me about the army, and so came round to myself and my own
exploits. They were familiar to her, she said, for she knew several of
Poniatowski's officers, and they had spoken of my doings. Yet she would
be glad to hear them from my own lips. Never have I had so delightful a
conversation. Most women make the mistake of talking rather too much
about their own affairs, but this one listened to my tales just as you
are listening now, ever asking for more and more and more. The hours
slipped rapidly by, and it was with horror that I heard the village
clock strike eleven, and so learned that for four hours I had forgotten
the Emperor's business.

'Pardon me, my dear lady,' I cried, springing to my feet, 'but I must
go on instantly to Hof.'

She rose also, and looked at me with a pale, reproachful face. 'And me?'
she said. 'What i