ut him, for I
forgot to tell you that his name Napoleon really means the _Lion of the
Desert_. And that is gospel truth. You will hear plenty of other things
said about the Emperor, but they are all monstrous nonsense. Because,
look you, to no man of woman born would God have given the power to
write his name in red, as he did, across the earth, where he will be
remembered for ever!... Long live 'Napoleon, the father of the soldier,
the father of the people!'"

"Long live General Eble!" cried the pontooner.

"How did you manage not to die in the gorge of the redoubts at
Borodino?" asked a peasant woman.

"Do I know? we were a whole regiment when we went down into it, and only
a hundred foot were left standing; only infantry could have carried it;
for the infantry, look you, is everything in an army----"

"But how about the cavalry?" cried Genestas, slipping down out of the
hay in a sudden fashion that drew a startled cry from the boldest.

"He, old boy! you are forgetting Poniatowski's Red Lancers, the
Cuirassiers, the Dragoons, and the whole boiling. Whenever Napoleon
grew tired of seeing his battalions gain no ground towards the end of a
victory, he would say to Murat, 'Here, you! cut them in two for me!' and
we set out first at a trot, and then at a gallop, _one, two_! and cut a
way clean through the ranks of the enemy; it was like slicing an apple
in two with a knife. Why, a charge of cavalry is nothing more nor less
than a column of cannon balls."

"And how about the pontooners?" cried the deaf veteran.

"There, there! my children," Genestas went on, repenting in his
confusion of the sally he had made, when he found himself in the middle
of a silent and bewildered group, "there are no agents of police spying
here! Here, drink to the Little Corporal with this!"

"Long live the Emperor!" all cried with one voice.

"Hush! children," said the officer, concealing his own deep sorrow with
an effort. "Hush! _He is dead_. He died saying, '_Glory, France,
and battle_.' So it had to be, children, he must die; but his
memory--never!"

Goguelat made an incredulous gesture, then he whispered to those about
him, "The officer is still in the service, and orders have been issued
that they are to tell the people that the Emperor is dead. You must not
think any harm of him because, after all, a soldier must obey orders."

As Genestas went out of the barn, he heard La Fosseuse say, "That
officer, you know, is M. Benassis