a soldier of fortune; this is a trade at which
one gains in general a good deal of glory and very little money; my
glorious father died, leaving me, for sole inheritance, his rapier and
his uniform; I girded on the rapier, which was rather too long, and I
wore the uniform, which was rather too large. From that time," said
Dubois, calling the chevalier's attention to the looseness of his coat,
"from that time I contracted the habit of always having plenty of room
to move easily."

Gaston nodded, as though to express his approbation of this habit.

"Thanks to my good looks I was received in the Royal Italian, which was
then recruiting in France. I held a distinguished post; when--the day
before the battle of Malplaquet--I had a slight quarrel with my sergeant
about an order which he gave me with the end of his cane raised instead
of lowered, as it should have been."

"Pardon me," said Gaston, "but I cannot see what difference that could
make to the order he was giving."

"It made this difference, that in lowering his cane it struck against my
hat, which fell to the ground; the result was a duel, in which I passed
my saber through his body. Now, as I certainly should have been shot if
I had waited to be arrested, I made off, and woke the next
morning--devil take me if I know how it happened--in Marlborough's
army."

"That is to say, you deserted," said Gaston, smiling.

"I had Coriolanus and the great Conde for examples," said Dubois, "and
this appeared to me to be sufficient to excuse me in the eyes of
posterity. I assisted then, I must tell you, as we are to hide nothing
from one another, at the battle of Malplaquet; but instead of being on
one side of the brook, I was on the other, and instead of having the
village behind me, I faced it. I think this was a lucky exchange for
your humble servant; the Royal Italian left eight hundred men on the
field of battle, my company was cut to pieces, and my own comrade and
bedfellow killed by a cannon-ball. The glory with which my late regiment
covered itself so much delighted Marlborough, that he made me an ensign
on the field of battle. With such a protector I ought to have done well,
but his wife, Lady Marlborough, whom Heaven confound, having been
awkward enough to spill a bowl of water over Queen Anne's dress, this
great event changed the face of things in Europe. In the overthrow which
resulted, I found myself without any other protector than my own merit,
and the ene