t that we did not want him to
participate in this review of our troops in the fear that his emotion
would be too much for him, so he carefully avoided speaking of it. But
the next day, at the very minute when the Prussian battalions started
on their march from the Porte Maillot to the Tuileries,[274-1] the
window up there opened gently and the Colonel appeared on the balcony
wearing his helmet, his saber and all the old-fashioned but still
glorious regalia of one of Milhaud's cuirassiers.

I still wonder what will power, what spurt of vitality it had taken to
put him on his feet again in all the trappings of war. At all events,
there he was, standing erect behind the rail, surprised to find the
avenues so large, so silent, the window curtains down, and Paris as
gloomy as a great pesthouse; flags everywhere, but such strange flags
bearing a red cross on a white field, and no crowd to meet our
soldiers.

For an instant he thought he might be mistaken; but no, below, behind
the Arc de Triomphe, there came an indistinct rattle and then a black
line advanced in the early light. Then, little by little, the eagles on
the tops of helmets could be seen shining in the sun, the little drums
of Jena began to beat, and under the Arc de L'Etoile, accented by the
heavy tread of marching men and by the clash of sidearms, Schubert's
Triumphal March burst out.

Suddenly the silence of the Place de L'Etoile was broken by a terrible
cry: "To arms! To arms! The Prussians!" And the four Uhlans[275-1] at
the head of the column could see up there on the balcony a tall old man
stagger and fall. This time Colonel Jouve was really dead.

SELMA LAGERLOeF

The Silver Mine

King Gustav the Third[276-1] was making a hurried trip through Dalarna.
Though the horses seemed to be fairly skimming the ground, the King was
dissatisfied. He leaned out of the window continually urging the driver
to make haste, and his courtiers expected any minute that the royal
coach or harness would break.

Finally the carriage tongue did indeed break. The courtiers leaped from
the coach and after a hasty inspection said that it would be impossible
to continue the journey without repairs. Anxious for the King's
entertainment, they asked him if he would not like to attend the
services in a little church which could be seen a short distance ahead.

The King agreed, and stepping into one of the other carriages, drove to
the church. For hours he had been ridin