Ay, just so.'

'I 'm ready, Tronchon, go on.'

'"_Mon General!_" Nay, nay--_General_ mustn't be as large as
_France_--yes, that's better. "The undersigned, whose certificates
of service and conduct are herewith inclosed." Stay, stop a moment,
Tronchon; don't forget that I have got neither one nor t'other. No
matter; I'll make thee out both. Where was I?--Ay, "herewith inclosed;
and whose wounds, as the accompanying report will show----"'

'Wounds! I never received one.'

'No matter, I'll--eh--what? _Feu d'enfer!_ how stupid I am! What have
I been thinking of? Why, boy, it was a sick-furlough I was about to ask
for--the only kind of petition I have ever had to write in a life long.'

'And _I_ am asking for active service.'

'Ha! That came without asking for in my case.'

'Then what's to be done, Tronchon?--clearly this won't do!'

He nodded sententiously an assent, and, after a moment's rumination,
said--

'It strikes me, lad, there can be no need of begging for that which
usually comes unlooked for; but if thou don't choose to wait for thy
billet for t'other world, but must go and seek it, the best way will be
to up and tell the general as much.'

'That was exactly my intention.'

'If he asks thee, "Canst ride?" just say, "Old Tronchon taught me"; he
'll be one of the young hands, indeed, if he don't know that name! And,
mind, lad, have no whims or caprices about whatever service he names
thee for, even were 't the infantry itself! It's a hard word, that--I
know it well; but a man must make up his mind for anything and
everything. Wear any coat, go anywhere, face any enemy thou 'rt ordered,
and have none of those newfangled notions about this general, or that
army. Be a good soldier and a good comrade. Share thy kit and thy purse
to the last sou, for it will not only be generous in thee, but that so
long as thou hoardest not, thou'lt never be over-eager for pillage. Mind
these things, and with a stout heart and a sharp sabre, Maurice, _tu
iras loin_. Yes, I tell thee again, lad, _tu iras loin_.'

I give these three words as he said them, for they have rung in my ears
throughout all my life long. In moments of gratified ambition, in the
glorious triumph of success, they have sounded to me like the confirmed
predictions of one who foresaw my elevation in less prosperous hours.
When fortune has looked dark and lowering, they have been my comforter
and support, telling me not to be downcast or depressed, that