ne, was
for charging the enemy's batteries with his horse, who would have been
ecrases, mitrailles, foudroyes to a man but for the cunning of ce grand
rogue que vous voyez."

Montholon.--"Coquin de Major, va!"

Napoleon.--"Montholon! tais-toi. When Lord Lake, with his great
bull-headed English obstinacy, saw the facheuse position into which
he had brought his troops, he was for dying on the spot, and would
infallibly have done so--and the loss of his army would have been the
ruin of the East India Company--and the ruin of the English East India
Company would have established my empire (bah! it was a republic then!)
in the East--but that the man before us, Lieutenant Goliah Gahagan, was
riding at the side of General Lake."

Montholon (with an accent of despair and fury).--"Gredin! cent mille
tonnerres de Dieu!"

Napoleon (benignantly).--"Calme-toi, mon fidele ami. What will you?
It was fate. Gahagan, at the critical period of the battle, or rather
slaughter (for the English had not slain a man of the enemy), advised a
retreat."

Montholon. "Le lache! Un Francais meurt, mais il ne recule jamais."

Napoleon.--"STUPIDE! Don't you see WHY the retreat was ordered?--don't
you know that it was a feint on the part of Gahagan to draw Holkar from
his impregnable intrenchments? Don't you know that the ignorant Indian
fell into the snare, and issuing from behind the cover of his guns, came
down with his cavalry on the plains in pursuit of Lake and his dragoons?
Then it was that the Englishmen turned upon him; the hardy children of
the north swept down his feeble horsemen, bore them back to their
guns, which were useless, entered Holkar's intrenchments along with his
troops, sabred the artillerymen at their pieces, and won the battle of
Delhi!"

As the Emperor spoke, his pale cheek glowed red, his eye flashed fire,
his deep clear voice rung as of old when he pointed out the enemy from
beneath the shadow of the Pyramids, or rallied his regiments to the
charge upon the death-strewn plain of Wagram. I have had many a proud
moment in my life, but never such a proud one as this; and I would
readily pardon the word "coward," as applied to me by Montholon, in
consideration of the testimony which his master bore in my favor.

"Major," said the Emperor to me in conclusion, "why had I not such a man
as you in my service? I would have made you a Prince and a Marshal!" and
here he fell into a reverie, of which I knew and respected the