been
denied me to die at the head of my army, all that is left me is to
surrender my sword to Your Majesty. I am Your Majesty's affectionate
brother, Napoleon." Desiring to arrest the butchery and being no longer
master, the Emperor yielded himself a prisoner, in the hope to placate
the conqueror by the sacrifice. And Delaherche saw General Reille rein
up his charger and dismount at ten paces from the King, then advance and
deliver his letter; he was unarmed and merely carried a riding whip. The
sun was setting in a flood of rosy light; the King seated himself on a
chair in the midst of a grassy open space, and resting his hand on the
back of another chair that was held in place by a secretary, replied
that he accepted the sword and would await the appearance of an officer
empowered to settle the terms of the capitulation.

VII.

As when the ice breaks up and the great cakes come crashing, grinding
down upon the bosom of the swollen stream, carrying away all before
them, so now, from every position about Sedan that had been wrested from
the French, from Floing and the plateau of Illy, from the wood of la
Garenne, the valley of la Givonne and the Bazeilles road, the stampede
commenced; a mad torrent of horses, guns, and affrighted men came
pouring toward the city. It was a most unfortunate inspiration that
brought the army under the walls of that fortified place. There was too
much in the way of temptation there; the shelter that it afforded the
skulker and the deserter, the assurance of safety that even the
bravest beheld behind its ramparts, entailed widespread panic and
demoralization. Down there behind those protecting walls, so everyone
imagined, was safety from that terrible artillery that had been blazing
without intermission for near twelve hours; duty, manhood, reason were
all lost sight of; the man disappeared and was succeeded by the brute,
and their fierce instinct sent them racing wildly for shelter, seeking a
place where they might hide their head and lie down and sleep.

When Maurice, bathing Jean's face with cool water behind the shelter of
their bit of wall, saw his friend open his eyes once more, he uttered an
exclamation of delight.

"Ah, poor old chap, I was beginning to fear you were done for! And don't
think I say it to find fault, but really you are not so light as you
were when you were a boy."

It seemed to Jean, in his still dazed condition, that he was awaking
from some unpleasant d