hether he had done
so or not, I should have given it to you.

"But I was saying, I see Generals Vinoy and Ducrot are
surprised--as I am, myself--at your appearance. Gambetta, in his
letter, twice uses the expression young officers. Once he said,
'these young officers have greatly distinguished themselves, and
have gained the cross of the legion of honor;' and again he says,
'these young officers have volunteered to carry dispatches.'

"Naturally, my friends were looking for a younger man; and having
only seen you for an instant last night, and not having observed
your features, specially, I confess that I was expecting a younger
man.

"You see," he said, with a smile, "we can quite understand
Gambetta's calling your brother a young officer, for he is a mere
lad; but one would hardly have applied the same term to yourself."

Ralph had flushed crimson, at the commencement of this speech.

"I must apologize very greatly, general," he said, when the
Governor of Paris stopped; "for the mistake is certainly due to my
own forgetfulness."

His hearers looked surprised.

"I slept until five o'clock this afternoon," Ralph continued;
"owing, I believe, to a powerful opiate that the doctor you kindly
sent us gave me. Since I woke, my thoughts have been entirely given
to my brother; and the thought of my singular appearance never
entered my mind. I have become so accustomed--in the few days since
I left Tours--to this beard, mustache, and hair, that I never
thought of them, for a moment. Had I thought of it, I could not
have presented myself before you, this evening; for I should not
have presumed to do so, in my present state; and it will take me
some hours of hard work, and not a little pain, before I get rid of
them--for they are fastened on with shoemaker's wax and, I fear,
will not come off, without taking a considerable portion of skin
with them."

The three generals laughed heartily at Ralph's apology, and their
own mistake; and General Trochu then asked him to give them a full
account of what had happened to him, what he had seen, and what
information he had gained since he left Tours. Ralph told the story
unaffectedly, from beginning to end, and received warm commendation
from his listeners.

"Your story began at Tours," General Trochu said; "where had you
last been, before that?"

"We had only arrived, ten days before, from a German prison," Ralph
answered.

The generals all laughed.

"You are adventurou