legged fellow
has delivered his speech in quite a royal style and in a most
impressive tone. You, rosy-cheeked, stunted-grown, and brown-armed
spouse, be now the Queen and Princess of these mountains. Infanta of
have-nothing, Dauphiness of hunger-sufferings, heiress of all the airy
castles, and governess of all mad-visionaries, I present you my sincere
congratulations, and hope to see you soon rise to the rank of the
prophets."

"Scoffer!" said Castanet reddening; "your presence would not suit our
assembly, if your speeches were not useful in rendering our humility
still more humble, and to make our reproach before men, and our misery
still more conspicuous to us."

"That thereby spiritual pride be so much the more glorified! Be not
however disturbed in your feelings and convictions by me; compared with
a christian, my speech is merely the barking of a dog, and in this
animal dignity, I now indeed follow my illustrious patron, the
spiritually-minded Edmond, and prophet also by the grace of God."

A murmur arose round about, which probably would have broken out into
anger and tumult, had not Cavalier directed the attention of the
brethren to a different subject. "My friends," cried he in a lively
manner, "I have just had a vision. At this very moment the commandant
of Usez has sent a courier with important dispatches to the Marshal at
Nismes. New troops are to arrive, and they intend hemming us in on all
sides. But little was said, neither could I distinguish all. The enemy
has just ridden out of the gates of the city; Bertrand, if thou wilt
seize him, thou wilt meet him in the ravine two miles from hence. He is
not to be mistaken, he wears a red coat, and a blue cloak over it, in
consequence of the threatening rain, he has spread his white
handkerchief over his new hat, by these marks he will be clearly enough
known to you: he is an elderly man, who, I should think, has never been
a soldier. Bring him here safe and sound with his dispatches."

Bertrand took with him two assistants, and mounted on light ponies,
they hurried down the mountain towards the well known ravine.

Lacoste listened to these instructions with staring eyes: "Little
brother," said he thoughtfully, "if thy information be at all true, thy
little finger has more penetration than the whole of my large body. But
I still believe, thy red-coated courier will not be found in the circle
of created beings, and good Bertrand will have been made a little b