tch of frenzy, their fire had become
so murderously effective at sight of the Prussians, that the latter
first wavered and then retreated to the shelter of their wood.

"Stand your ground, my boys! don't give way an inch! Aha, see 'em run,
the cowards! we'll fix their flint for 'em!"

He was in high spirits and seemed to have recovered all his unbounded
confidence, certain that victory was yet to crown their efforts. There
had been no defeat. The handful of men before him stood in his eyes for
the united armies of Germany, and he was going to destroy them at his
leisure. All his long, lean form, all his thin, bony face, where the
huge nose curved down upon the self-willed, sensual mouth, exhaled a
laughing, vain-glorious satisfaction, the joy of the conquering trooper
who goes through the world with his sweetheart on his arm and a bottle
of good wine in his hand.

"_Parbleu_, my children, what are we here for, I'd like to know, if not
to lick 'em out of their boots? and that's the way this affair is going
to end, just mark my words. We shouldn't know ourselves any longer if
we should let ourselves be beaten. Beaten! come, come, that is too good!
When the neighbors tread on our toes, or when we feel we are beginning
to grow rusty for want of something to do, we just turn to and give 'em
a thrashing; that's all there is to it. Come, boys, let 'em have it once
more, and you'll see 'em run like so many jackrabbits!"

He bellowed and gesticulated like a lunatic, and was such a good fellow
withal in the comforting illusion of his ignorance that the men were
inoculated with his confidence. He suddenly broke out again:

"And we'll kick 'em, we'll kick 'em, we'll kick 'em to the frontier!
Victory, victory!"

But at that juncture, just as the enemy across the valley seemed really
to be falling back, a hot fire of musketry came pouring in on them from
the left. It was a repetition of the everlasting flanking movement that
had done the Prussians such good service; a strong detachment of the
Guards had crept around toward the French rear through the Fond de
Givonne. It was useless to think of holding the position longer; the
little band of men who were defending the terraces were caught between
two fires and menaced with being cut off from Sedan. Men fell on every
side, and for a moment the confusion was extreme; the Prussians were
already scaling the wall of the park, and advancing along the pathways.
Some zouaves rushed forw