panion,--these were the very crowning
desires of my ambition.

"I 'll write about it this very day: there will be a mail for Algiers
made up this evening, and not a moment shall be lost in making the
application."

I could not express one half my gratitude for this opportune kindness;
and when I again turned my steps toward Paris, my heart had regained the
buoyant elasticity which had so often lifted me above all the troubled
waves of life.

CHAPTER XXXII. MOI ET MON PRINCE

In less than a fortnight after the interview I have just recorded, I
received a letter from De Minerale, enclosing another, addressed
to himself, and whose royal seal at once proclaimed the writer. De
Minerale's was only a few lines, thus:--

"Dear C,--I forward you the 'Duke's' reply to my note, by
which you will see that we have been in time, and fortunate
enough to secure your appointment. Lose not a moment in
fulfilling the instructions contained in it, and dine with
me to-day at the 'Freres,' at seven.

"Yours,

"P. deM."

The Duke's epistle, almost equally brief, was to the effect:

"Headquarters, Oran.

"My Dear De Minerale,--Of course I remember perfectly our
friend the 'Quatorzieme,' whose lucubrations in the journals
I have since been much amused with. In some respects he
would suit me well, being a fellow of high animal spirits,
great readiness, and, if I mistake not, well fitted for the
rough usage of a campaign. But it strikes me that if his
position be such as you represent it, the exchange would be
anything but profitable. This is a land of few pleasures and
no luxuries. Tell him that we never see truffles, that
champagne is only a tradition, and, except Moorish damsels,
who never show us more of their faces than a pair of eyes,--
--darting fire and anger,--we have no beauties. Yet if,
despite all these drawbacks, he be still willing to tempt
his fortune, and trust to 'a razzia' for the rest, let him
call on Count du Verguoble, at the 'Ministere de la Guerre,'
where he will find everything in readiness for his
appointment.

"Should he desire it, he can also receive his commission in
my own regiment, the 13th Chasseurs-a-cheval; and as he will
not be called on for duty, he might as well accept an
appointment that will at least give him forage for his
horses and