in, and almost touched his collar-bones,
which were starting from beneath the skin; a ragged cloak, that covered
him as he lay, had fallen off, and showed that a worn shirt and a
pair of coarse linen trousers were all his clothing. Such a picture of
privation and misery I never looked upon before nor since.

'_Qui va la?_' cried he sternly, and with the voice of one not unused
to command; and although the summons showed his soldier-training, his
condition of wretchedness suggested deep misgivings.

'Qui _va la?_' shouted he again, louder and more determinedly.

'A friend--perhaps a comrade,' said I boldly.

'Advance, comrade, and give the countersign,' replied he rapidly,
and like one repeating a phrase of routine; and then, as if suddenly
remembering himself, he added, with a low sigh, 'There is none!' His
arms dropped heavily as he spoke, and he fell back against the wall,
with his head drooping on his chest.

There was something so unutterably forlorn in his look, as he sat thus,
that all apprehension of personal danger from him left me at the moment,
and advancing frankly, I told him how I had lost my way in the wood, and
by a mere accident chanced to descry his light as I wandered along in
the gloom.

I do not know if he understood me at first, for he gazed half vacantly
at my face while I was speaking, and often stealthily peered around to
see if others were coming, so that I had to repeat more than once that
I was perfectly alone. That the poor fellow was insane seemed but
too probable; the restless activity of his wild eye, the suspicious
watchfulness of his glances, all looked like madness, and I thought
that he had probably made his escape from some military hospital, and
concealed himself within the recesses of the forest. But even these
signs of overwrought excitement began to subside soon; and as though the
momentary effort at vigilance had been too much for his strength, he now
drew his cloak about him, and lay down once more.

I handed him my brandy flask, which still contained a little, and he
raised it to his lips with a slight nod of recognition. Invigorated by
the stimulant, he supped again and again, but always cautiously, and
with prudent reserve.

'You have been a soldier?' said I, taking my seat at his side.

'I am a soldier,' said he, with a strong emphasis on the verb.

'I too have served,' said I; 'although, probably, neither as long nor as
creditably as you have.'

He looked at me