"Though you told me, Baron, he was but an ensign, I looked to see
a man of the same type as so many of my gallant Irish officers,
ready for any desperate service.

"So, young sir, you have begun early, indeed, to play havoc among
my liege subjects, for I hear that you, and a soldier with you,
slew four of them."

"Hardly your liege subjects, Your Majesty, if I may venture to say
so; for, assuredly, they were not engaged in lawful proceedings,
when I came upon them."

A slight smile crossed the king's face. He was accustomed to
adulation, and the simple frankness with which this young soldier
ventured to discuss the propriety of the word he used surprised
and amused him.

"You are right, sir. These fellows, who are ready to undertake any
service, however criminal, for which they are paid, certainly do
not deserve to be called liege subjects. Now, I would hear from,
your own lips, how it was that you thrust yourself into a matter
with which you had no concern; being wholly ignorant, I
understand, that the lady whose voice you heard was Mademoiselle
Pointdexter."

"The matter was very simple, Sire. Having joined the regiment but
a few months, and being naturally anxious to perfect myself in
exercises in arms, I have but little time to stir out, during the
day, and of an evening I frequently go for long rambles, taking