the tirailleurs of the army; and see
on that low mound above them where the flag is flying--the guns are
about to occupy that height. I was right, you see; there they come, six,
seven, eight pieces of heavy metal. _Sacrebleu!_ that must be a place of
some consequence.'

'What are the troops yonder with the red tufts in their caps, and
scarlet trousers?'

'_Ah, parbleu!_ your countrymen will soon know to their cost: they are
the Infanterie de la Garde. There's not a man in the column you are
looking at who is not _decore_.'

'Look at this side, monsieur! See the Chasseurs a Cheval,' said Annette,
putting her hand on my arm, while her bright eyes glanced proudly at the
glittering column which advanced by a road near us--coming along at a
sharp trot, their equipment clattering, their horses highly conditioned,
and the splendid uniform of light blue and silver giving them a most
martial air.

'Bah!' said the corporal contemptuously, 'these are the dragoons to my
taste.' So saying, he pointed to a dark column of heavy cavalry, who
led their horses slowly along by a narrow causeway; the long black
horse-hair trailed from their dark helmets with something of a gloomy
aspect, to which their flowing cloaks of deep blue added.

'The Cuirassiers de Milhauds. But look--look yonder! _Tonnerre de ciel!_
see that!'

The object to which my attention was now directed was a park of
artillery that covered the whole line of road from the Miranda pass to
the very walls of Vittoria.

'Two hundred, at least,' exclaimed he, after counting some twenty or
thirty of the foremost. '_Ventre bleu!_ what chance have you before the
batteries of the Guard?'

As he spoke, the drums beat across the wide plain; a continuous dull
roll murmured along the ground. It ceased; the trumpets brayed forth a
call; a clanging crash followed, and I saw that the muskets were brought
to the shoulder, as the bayonets glanced in the sun and the sharp sabres
glittered along the squadrons. For a second or two all was still, and
then the whole air was rent with a loud cry of '_Vive le Roi!_' while a
mounted party rode slowly from the left, and entering one of the gates
of the city disappeared from our sight. Night was now beginning to fail,
as we wended our way slowly along towards the walls of Vittoria--it
being the corporal's intention to deliver his prisoner into the hands of
the _etat major_ of Marshal Jourdan.

CHAPTER LIII. VITTORIA

What a contra