led with joy as he greeted the lad; he had thought
but now as he stood in the courtyard under the clear-shining moonlight:
"Great God! what a scene of murder is here within a mile of us; what
hundreds and thousands have faced danger to-day; and here are these lads
singing over their cups, and the same moon that is shining over yonder
horrid field is looking down on Walcote very likely, while my lady sits
and thinks about her boy that is at the war." As Esmond embraced his young
pupil now, 'twas with the feeling of quite religious thankfulness, and an
almost paternal pleasure that he beheld him.

Round his neck was a star with a striped ribbon, that was made of small
brilliants and might be worth a hundred crowns. "Look," says he, "won't
that be a pretty present for mother?"

"Who gave you the Order?" says Harry, saluting the gentleman: "did you win
it in battle?"

"I won it," cried the other, "with my sword and my spear. There was a
mousquetaire that had it round his neck--such a big mousquetaire, as big as
General Webb. I called out to him to surrender, and that I'd give him
quarter: he called me a _petit polisson_, and fired his pistol at me, and
then sent it at my head with a curse. I rode at him, sir, drove my sword
right under his arm-hole, and broke it in the rascal's body. I found a
purse in his holster with sixty-five louis in it, and a bundle of
love-letters, and a flask of Hungary-water. _Vive la guerre!_ there are
the ten pieces you lent me. I should like to have a fight every day;" and
he pulled at his little moustache and bade a servant bring a supper to
Captain Esmond.

Harry fell to with a very good appetite; he had tasted nothing since
twenty hours ago, at early dawn. Master Grandson, who read this, do you
look for the history of battles and sieges? Go, find them in the proper
books; this is only the story of your grandfather and his family. Far more
pleasant to him than the victory, though for that too he may say
_meminisse juvat_, it was to find that the day was over, and his dear
young Castlewood was unhurt.

And would you, sirrah, wish to know how it was that a sedate captain of
foot, a studious and rather solitary bachelor of eight or nine and twenty
years of age, who did not care very much for the jollities which his
comrades engaged in, and was never known to lose his heart in any garrison
town--should you wish to know why such a man had so prodigious a
tenderness, and tended so fondly a boy