the Place du College the marshal's carriole was lost to
sight in the gathering crowd, among whose numbers the most strange and
contradictory reports from the field of battle were now beginning to
circulate. The fog was clearing; the streets were bright with sunshine.

A hail, in no gentle terms, was heard proceeding from the courtyard:
"Now then, ladies, here is where you are wanted, not outside!"

They all three hastened inside and found themselves in presence of Major
Bouroche, who had thrown his uniform coat upon the floor, in a corner of
the room, and donned a great white apron. Above the broad expanse of, as
yet, unspotted white, his blazing, leonine eyes and enormous head,
with shock of harsh, bristling hair, seemed to exhale energy and
determination. So terrible did he appear to them that the women were his
most humble servants from the very start, obedient to his every sign,
treading on one another to anticipate his wishes.

"There is nothing here that is needed. Get me some linen; try and see if
you can't find some more mattresses; show my men where the pump is--"

And they ran as if their life was at stake to do his bidding; were so
active that they seemed to be ubiquitous.

The factory was admirably adapted for a hospital. The drying-room was
a particularly noticeable feature, a vast apartment with numerous and
lofty windows for light and ventilation, where they could put in a
hundred beds and yet have room to spare, and at one side was a shed that
seemed to have been built there especially for the convenience of the
operators: three long tables had been brought in, the pump was close at
hand, and a small grass-plot adjacent might serve as ante-chamber for
the patients while awaiting their turn. And the handsome old elms, with
their deliciously cool shade, roofed the spot in most agreeably.

Bouroche had considered it would be best to establish himself in
Sedan at the commencement, foreseeing the dreadful slaughter and the
inevitable panic that would sooner or later drive the troops to the
shelter of the ramparts. All that he had deemed it necessary to leave
with the regiment was two flying ambulances and some "first aids," that
were to send him in the casualties as rapidly as possible after applying
the primary dressings. The details of litter-bearers were all out there,
whose duty it was to pick up the wounded under fire, and with them
were the ambulance wagons and _fourgons_ of the medical train. The t