f
during the night of the 10th and 11th of July, when not the most
pessimistically inclined could foresee the certainty of a war, and,
least of all, the disastrous result of it to France. Those who would
know the real cause of Prevost-Paradol's suicide had better read a short
tale that appeared anonymously in the _Revue des Deux Mondes_ of
February, 1860. The hero of "Madame de Marcay" is none other than the
brilliant journalist himself, and the germs of suicidal mania were so
plainly discernible in him, as to make those who knew the writer wonder
that he had not killed himself long before he did.

I have already said that the excitement did not abate, but the more
serious-minded began to look critical, and, among the latter, curiously
enough, there were a good many superior officers in the army. They were
too loyal to express openly their want of confidence in their leaders,
but it was evident enough to the careful listener that that want of
confidence did exist. I had a conversation during that week with one of
the former, whose name, for obvious reasons, I must suppress; and this
is, as far as I can remember, what he said, knowing that he could trust
me. "There is not a single properly drawn ordnance map of France at the
War Office; and if there were, there is not a single man in power there
who would know how to use it. I doubt whether there is a settled plan of
campaign; they'll endeavour to conduct this war as they conducted the
Crimean, Italian, and Mexican wars--that is, on the principle which
stood them in such good stead in Algeria, though they ought to know by
this time how very risky those experiments turned out, especially in
'59; and I have no need to tell you that we are going to confront a
different army from that of the Austrians or the Russians, Todleben
notwithstanding. The African school of warfare ought to be played out by
now, but it is not. To a certain extent, the Emperor is to blame for
this. You remember what his uncle said: 'There is not a single general
of whose draught I am not aware. Some will go up to their waists; others
up to their necks; others, again, to over their heads; but the latter
number is infinitely small, I assure you.' The Emperor is not in the
same position with regard to the capacity of his generals, let alone of
his officers."

"But he ought to be," I objected; "he interviews a great many of them on
Sunday mornings." I was alluding to the informal levee held at the
Tuile