eart!" exclaimed the
captain, grasping his hand, and wringing it with all the enthusiasm of
his fervid nature. "Somers, my boy, did you ever hear of a man having his
double?"

"I have read of such things in old legends."

"I believe in it, Somers. You are my double! You are my second self! You
are as near like me as one pea is like another! Just before the battle of
Magenta----"

At this interesting point in the conversation, the officers of the mess
burst into an involuntary roar of laughter, ending up Magenta with a long
dash.

"Not exactly like you, Captain de Banyan," added Somers.

"You can't tell half so big a story," said Lieutenant Munroe.

"Gentlemen," interposed the captain with dignity, "you interrupted me at
the wrong moment. I was about to prove to you wherein Lieutenant Somers
was my double; and with your permission, I will proceed with my argument.
Just before the battle of Magenta, I was sent out on a scout; and I went
at the particular request of the Emperor Napoleon, who--permit me to add,
in the presence of a company which seems to be inimical to my
antecedents, if not to me--had unlimited confidence in my ability to
perform this delicate duty with skill and success. Well, gentlemen, I
passed our pickets; of course I mean the French pickets; for I was, as
you are all aware, a colonel in the French infantry at that time."

"We are all aware of it," laughed Munroe--"over the left."

"That is a slang phrase, and repulsive to the ears of a cultivated
gentleman. As I was saying, gentlemen, I passed our pickets, and soon
encountered a Russian general of division."

"Russian?"

"Austrian, I should have said; and I thank you, Somers, for the
correction. I suppose he was making the grand rounds with the officer of
the day. Be that as it may, he considered it his duty to stop me; and I
was under the disagreeable necessity of putting a bullet through his
head. He was a count, and the father of a large family; however, I could
not help it, though I was sorry to make orphans of his children. I
stepped into his uniform without the delay of a moment."

"Where was the sergeant of the guard, the officer of the day, and the
sentinels?" demanded Lieutenant Munroe.

"I beg you will not interrupt me, Lieutenant Munroe, with these ill-timed
remarks, which are merely intended to throw discredit on my character for
truth and veracity. I remarked, that I stepped into the uniform of the
defunct major-general. To