which was stirring him.

Finally, in the early part of 1870, there came a day when Gambetta
surpassed himself in eloquence. His theme was the grandeur of
republican government. Never in his life had he spoken so boldly as
then, or with such fervor. The ministers of the emperor shrank back in
dismay as this big-voiced, strong-limbed man hurled forth sentence
after sentence like successive peals of irresistible artillery.

As Gambetta rolled forth his sentences, superb in their rhetoric and
all ablaze with that sort of intense feeling which masters an orator in
the moment of his triumph, the face of the lady in the gallery
responded to him with wonderful appreciation. She was no longer calm,
unmoved, and almost severe. She flushed, and her eyes as they met his
seemed to sparkle with living fire. When he finished and descended from
the rostrum he looked at her, and their eyes cried out as significantly
as if the two had spoken to each other.

Then Gambetta did what a person of finer breeding would not have done.
He hastily scribbled a note, sealed it, and called to his side one of
the official pages. In the presence of the great assemblage, where he
was for the moment the center of attention, he pointed to the lady in
the gallery and ordered the page to take the note to her.

One may excuse this only on the ground that he was completely carried
away by his emotion, so that to him there was no one present save this
enigmatically fascinating woman and himself. But the lady on her side
was wiser; or perhaps a slight delay gave her time to recover her
discretion. When Gambetta's note was brought to her she took it quietly
and tore it into little pieces without reading it; and then, rising,
she glided through the crowd and disappeared.

Gambetta in his excitement had acted as if she were a mere adventuress.
With perfect dignity she had shown him that she was a woman who
retained her self-respect.

Immediately upon the heels of this curious incident came the outbreak
of the war with Germany. In the war the empire was shattered at Sedan.
The republic was proclaimed in Paris. The French capital was besieged
by a vast German army. Gambetta was made minister of the interior, and
remained for a while in Paris even after it had been blockaded. But his
fiery spirit chafed under such conditions. He longed to go forth into
the south of France and arouse his countrymen with a cry to arms
against the invaders.

Escaping in a balloo