ts, but his good qualities far outweighed the latter. He was modest
to a degree, and the flatteries to which men in his position are
naturally exposed produced not the slightest effect upon him. When in an
amiable mood, he used to cut them short with a "Oui, oui; le marechal
Vaillant est un grand homme, il n'y a pas de doute; tout le monde est
d'accord sur ce chapitre la, donc, n'en parlons plus." When not in an
amiable mood, he showed them the door, saying, "Monsieur, si je suis
aussi grand homme que vous le dites, je suis trop grand pour m'occuper
de vos petites affaires. J'ai l'honneur de vous saluer."

He was fond of his native town, one of whose streets bore or still bears
his name, though, according to all authorities, it never smelt sweet by
whatsoever appellation it went. But he objected to being lionized, so he
never stayed with the prefect, the maire, or the general commanding the
district, and simply took up his quarters at the hotel, insisting on
being treated like any other visitor. The maire respected his wishes;
the population did not, which was a sore point with the marshal.
Nevertheless, when, in 1858, during their Exhibition, they wanted him to
distribute the prizes, he consented to do so, on condition that his
reception should be of the simplest. The Dyonnais promised, and to a
certain extent kept their word. Next morning the prefect, accompanied by
the authorities, fetched him in his carriage. The ceremony was to take
place in the park itself, and at the entrance was posted General Picard,
accompanied by his staff, and at the head of several battalions. The
moment the marshal set foot to the ground, the general saluted, the
drums rolled, and the bands played. The marshal felt wroth, and at the
conclusion of the distribution sent for the general, whom, not to mince
matters, he roundly bullied.

General Picard did not interrupt him. "Have you finished, monsieur le
marechal?" he asked at last.

"Of course, I have finished."

"Very well; the next time you come out as a simple bourgeois, you had
better leave the grand cordon of the Legion of Honour at home. If I had
not saluted you as I did, I should have had the reprimand of the
minister of war, and of the chancellor of the Legion of Honour. After
all, I prefer yours."

"But I am the minister for war."

"I know nothing about that. I only saw an old gentleman with the grand
cordon. If you are the minister for war, perhaps you will be good enough
to