y 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 despatch 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 wilfully 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
charge, Gaussin.'

The corporal stepped forward, and began--

'We were stationed in detachment on the bank of the Rhine, on the
evening of the 23rd----'

'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 misdemeanour.'

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 of the circumstances would
probably have brought me over to their opinion, and shown me that I had
gratuitously thrown away an opportunity of self-defence; but