officially from the King. A general, not anybody of the household,
you see. That's a distinct shade of the present relation. He
stayed just five minutes. Some personage from the Foreign
department at Headquarters was closeted for about a couple of
hours. That was of course business. Then two officers from the
staff came together with some explanations or instructions to her.
Then Baron H., a fellow with a pretty wife, who had made so many
sacrifices for the cause, raised a great to-do about seeing her and
she consented to receive him for a moment. They say he was very
much frightened by her arrival, but after the interview went away
all smiles. Who else? Yes, the Archbishop came. Half an hour.
This is more than is necessary to give a blessing, and I can't
conceive what else he had to give her. But I am sure he got
something out of her. Two peasants from the upper valley were sent
for by military authorities and she saw them, too. That friar who
hangs about the court has been in and out several times. Well, and
lastly, I myself. I got leave from the outposts. That was the
first time I talked to her. I would have gone that evening back to
the regiment, but the friar met me in the corridor and informed me
that I would be ordered to escort that most loyal and noble lady
back to the French frontier as a personal mission of the highest
honour. I was inclined to laugh at him. He himself is a cheery
and jovial person and he laughed with me quite readily--but I got
the order before dark all right. It was rather a job, as the
Alphonsists were attacking the right flank of our whole front and
there was some considerable disorder there. I mounted her on a
mule and her maid on another. We spent one night in a ruined old
tower occupied by some of our infantry and got away at daybreak
under the Alphonsist shells. The maid nearly died of fright and
one of the troopers with us was wounded. To smuggle her back