orporal and the artificer were stationed;
two other cannoneers, standing at the muzzle of the piece, slipped into
the bore the cartridge, a charge of powder in an envelope of serge, and
gently drove it home with the rammer, then in like manner introduced the
shell, the studs of which creaked faintly in the spirals of the rifling.
When the primer was inserted in the vent and all was in readiness,
Honore thought he would like to point the gun himself for the first
shot, and throwing himself in a semi-recumbent posture on the trail,
working with one hand the screw that regulated the elevation, with the
other he signaled continually to the gunner, who, standing behind him,
moved the piece by imperceptible degrees to right or left with the
assistance of the lever.

"That ought to be about right," he said as he arose.

The captain came up, and stooping until his long body was bent almost
double, verified the elevation. At each gun stood the assistant gunner,
waiting to pull the lanyard that should ignite the fulminate by means of
a serrated wire. And the orders were given in succession, deliberately,
by number:

"Number one, Fire! Number two, Fire!"

Six reports were heard, the guns recoiled, and while they were being
brought back to position the chiefs of detachment observed the effect
of the shots and found that the range was short. They made the necessary
correction and the evolution was repeated, in exactly the same manner as
before; and it was that cool precision, that mechanical routine of duty,
without agitation and without haste, that did so much to maintain the
_morale_ of the men. They were a little family, united by the tie of
a common occupation, grouped around the gun, which they loved and
reverenced as if it had been a living thing; it was the object of all
their care and attention, to it all else was subservient, men, horses,
caisson, everything. Thence also arose the spirit of unity and cohesion
that animated the battery at large, making all its members work
together for the common glory and the common good, like a well-regulated
household.

The 106th had cheered lustily at the completion of the first round; they
were going to make those bloody Prussian guns shut their mouths at last!
but their elation was succeeded by dismay when it was seen that the
projectiles fell short, many of them bursting in the air and never
reaching the bushes that served to mask the enemy's artillery.

"Honore," Maurice conti