y command; yet this
order could not be issued on light grounds; there must be some grave
accusation against you, and in any case you must go; therefore arrange all
my papers, put every thing in due order, and be ready to return with the
orderly."

"You'll give me a good character, mon capitaine," said I, trembling more
than ever--"you'll say what you can for me, I'm sure."

"Willingly, if the general or chief were here," replied he; "but that's
not so. General Moreau is at Strasbourg. It is General Regnier is in
command of the army; and unless specially applied to, I could not venture
upon the liberty of obtruding my opinion upon him."

"Is he so severe, sir?" asked I, timidly.

"The general is a good disciplinarian," said he, cautiously, while he
motioned with his hand toward the door, and accepting the hint, I retired.

It was evening when I re-entered Kehl, under an escort of two of my own
regiment, and was conducted to the "Salle de Police." At the door stood my
old corporal, whose malicious grin as I alighted revealed the whole story
of my arrest; and I now knew the charge that would be preferred against
me--a heavier there could not be made--was, "disobedience in the field." I
slept very little that night, and when I did close my eyes, it was to
awake with a sudden start, and believe myself in presence of the
court-martial, or listening to my sentence, as read out by the president.
Toward day, however, I sunk into a heavy, deep slumber, from which I was
aroused by the reveillee of the barracks.

I had barely time to dress when I was summoned before the "Tribunale
Militaire"--a sort of permanent court-martial, whose sittings were held in
one of the churches of the town. Not even all the terror of my own
precarious position could overcome the effect of old prejudices in my
mind, as I saw myself led up the dim aisle of the church toward the altar
rails, within which, around a large table, were seated a number of
officers, whose manner and bearing evinced but little reverence for the
sacred character of the spot.

Stationed in a group of poor wretches whose wan looks and anxious glances
told that they were prisoners like myself, I had time to see what was
going forward around me. The president, who alone wore his hat, read from
a sort of list before him the name of a prisoner and that of the witnesses
in the cause. In an instant they were all drawn up and sworn. A few
questions followed, rapidly put, and almost