as rapidly replied to. The
prisoner was called on then for his defense: if this occupied many
minutes, he was sure to be interrupted by an order to be brief. Then came
the command to "stand by;" and after a few seconds consultation together,
in which many times a burst of laughter might be heard, the court agreed
upon the sentence, recorded and signed it, and then proceeded with the
next case.

If nothing in the procedure imposed reverence or respect, there was that
in the dispatch which suggested terror, for it was plain to see that the
court thought more of the cost of their own precious minutes than of the
years of those on whose fate they were deciding. I was sufficiently near
to hear the charges of those who were arraigned, and, for the greater
number, they were all alike. Pillage, in one form or another, was the
universal offending; and from the burning of a peasant's cottage, to the
theft of his dog or his "poulet," all came under this head. At last came
number 82--"Maurice Tiernay, hussar of the Ninth." I stepped forward to the
rails.

"Maurice Tiernay," read the president, hurriedly, "accused by Louis
Gaussin, corporal of the same regiment, 'of willfully deserting his post
while on duty in the field, and in the face of direct orders to the
contrary; inducing others to a similar breach of discipline.' Make the
change, Gaussin."

The corporal stepped forward, and began,

"We were stationed in detachment on the bank of the Rhine, on the evening
of the 23d--"

"The court has too many duties to lose its time for nothing," interrupted
I. "It is all true. I did desert my post; I did disobey orders; and,
seeing a weak point in the enemy's line, attacked and carried it with
success. The charge is, therefore, admitted by me, and it only remains for
the court to decide how far a soldier's zeal for his country may be
deserving of punishment. Whatever the result, one thing is perfectly
clear, Corporal Gaussin will never be indicted for a similar misdemeanor."

A murmur of voices and suppressed laughter followed this impertinent and
not over discreet sally of mine; and the president calling out, "Proven by
acknowledgment," told me to "stand by." I now fell back to my former
place, to be interrogated by my comrades on the result of my examination,
and hear their exclamations of surprise and terror at the rashness of my
conduct. A little reflection over the circumstances would probably have
brought me over to their opi