he hip, which certainly lamed me for some time, and
made the jolting more disagreeable than ever. Well, the
_reconnoissance_ succeeded. Damremont was, however, wrong altogether.
I told him so when I met him; but he was an obstinate old fool, and his
answer was not as polite as it might have been, considering that at that
time I was a very pretty woman. We returned to the camp at Mzez Ammar;
a few days afterwards we were attacked by the Arabs, who showed great
spirit and determination in their desultory mode of warfare, which,
however, can make no impression on such troops as the French. The
attack was continued for three days, when they decamped as suddenly as
they had come. But this cannot be very interesting to you, monsieur.'

"`On the contrary, do not, I beg, leave out a single remark or
incident.'

"`You are very good. I presume you know how we _militaires_ like to
fight our battles over again. Well, sir, we remained in camp until the
arrival of the Duc de Nemours,--a handsome, fair lad, who smiled upon me
very graciously. On the 1st of October we set off on our expedition to
Constantine; that is to say, the advanced guard did, of which my
husband's company formed a portion. The weather, which had been very
fine, now changed, and it rained hard all the day. The whole road was
one mass of mud, and there was no end to delays and accidents. However,
the weather became fine again, and on the 5th we arrived within two
leagues of Constantine, when the Arabs attacked us, and I was very
nearly taken prisoner.'

"`Indeed?'

"`Yes; my husband, who, as I before observed to you, was very obstinate,
would have me ride on a _caisson_ in the rear; whereas I wished to be in
the advance, where my advice might have been useful. The charge of the
Arabs was very sudden; the three men who were with the _caisson_ were
sabred, and I was in the arms of a chieftain, who was wheeling round his
horse to make off with me when a ball took him in the neck, and he fell
with me. I disengaged myself, seized the horse by the bridle, and
prevented its escape; and I also took possession of the Arab's pistols
and scymitar.'

"`Indeed!'

"`My husband sold the horse the next day to one of our generals, who
forgot to pay for it after my husband was killed. As for the scymitar
and pistols, they were stolen from me that night: but what can you
expect?--our army is brave, but a little demoralised. The next day we
arrived before Consta