om where she was taking her morning coffee. "What
a night you must have had!"

The need for strength was past now, and Mary sank into a chair and burst
into a fit of hysterical sobbing. Madame Michaud caressed and soothed
her as if she had been an over-tired child.

"There," she said, when Mary recovered a little, "take this cup of
coffee and drink it. I have not touched it and there are two eggs beaten
up in it. Margot will make me some more in a few minutes. Here is a
fresh roll. She made a batch this morning in the oven; try and eat it,
my child, and drink the coffee, and then I will help you into bed."

Mary, with a great effort, ate a mouthful of bread, and drank the
coffee, and in a quarter of an hour was asleep. It was growing dark when
she woke, and remembering the doctor's orders she got up and went into
the sitting-room. Madame Michaud kissed her affectionately.

"Now, you are looking more like yourself, my child; truly you looked
like a ghost when you came in. It is the husband's turn for duty on the
walls so we can sit and have a cosy chat together. Well," she went on,
when Mary had taken a seat that she had placed for her by the stove,
"all is going on famously. We have pushed the Germans back everywhere
and Trochu's proclamation says the plans have been carried out exactly
as arranged. There has not been much fighting to-day, we have hardly had
a gun fired. Everyone is rejoicing, and all the world agrees that now
the Prussians have seen how we can fight they will speedily take
themselves off altogether."

"I hope it is so, Madame Michaud; certainly the wounded said that they
had advanced a long way on the south side, but I have not heard at all
what was done on the other side of the Marne. None of the wounded from
there were brought to our hospital.

"Champigny was taken. They say that there was a hard fight there and we
pushed the Prussians back beyond it ever so far," and Madame Michaud's
arms expressed illimitable distance.

"I suppose there are no reports as to what regiments were engaged," Mary
asked.

"Oh, no, but everyone says that the soldiers fought like lions and that
the National Guard was splendid."

"There were none of the National Guards brought in wounded to our
ambulance," Mary said. "They were all linesmen and mobiles."

"Perhaps there were no National Guards engaged on that side, my dear."

"Perhaps not," Mary agreed. "No, I think they all went out by the east
gates."

"Yes