d--

'Ha! Be seated, monsieur.' The officers of the imperial army know how to
treat their prisoners; though, _pardieu_, they can't teach their enemies
the lesson! You have floating prisons, they tell me, in England, where
my poor countrymen die of disease and starvation. _Sacre Dieu!_ what
cruelty!'

'You have been misinformed, General. The nation I belong to is uniformly
humane to all whom chance of war has made its prisoners, and never
forgets that the officers of an army are gentlemen.'

'Ha! what do you mean?' said he, becoming dark with passion, as he half
rose from his seat; then, stopping suddenly short, he continued in a
voice of suppressed anger, 'Where are your troops? What number of men
has your Villainton got with him?'

'Of course,' said I, smiling, 'you do not expect me to answer such
questions.'

'Do you refuse it?' said he, with a grim smile.

'I do distinctly refuse,' was my answer.

'What rank do you hold in your service?'

'I am but a subaltern.'

'_Tenez!_' said another of the party, who for some time past had been
leisurely conning over the despatches which had been taken from me, 'You
are called "capitaine" here, monsieur.'

'Ha! ha! What say you to that?' cried the general exultingly. 'Read it,
Chamont.'

'"The despatches which Captain Airey will deliver----"

Is it not so?' said he, handing me the paper.

'Yes,' said I coolly; 'he is the senior aide-de-camp; but being employed
on General Graham's staff, now occupied in the pursuit of your army----'

'_Mille tonnerres!_ Young man, you have chosen an unsuitable place to
cut your jokes!'

'Sa Majeste le Roi,' said an aide-de-camp, entering hastily, and
throwing the door open to its full extent; and scarcely had the party
time to rise when the Emperor's brother appeared.

Of the middle size, pale, and with a thoughtful, expressive countenance,
Joseph Bonaparte's appearance was much in his favour. His forehead was
lofty and expansive, his eye large and full, and the sweet smile
which seemed the gift of every member of the family he possessed in
perfection. After a few words with General Oudinot, whose rough manner
and coarse bearing suffered no change by his presence, he turned towards
me, and with much mildness of voice and courtesy of demeanour inquired
if I were wounded. On hearing that I was not, he expressed a hope that
my captivity would be of brief duration, as exchanges were already in
progress. 'Meanwhile,' said he, 'you