the uniform of a general officer, with a big sabre, his hair cut
short and unpowdered and sporting an enormous moustache, which was in
remarkable contrast to the costume in which I was used to seeing him
when we lived peacefully at Larivière.

I have said that my father, in spite of his stern masculine looks,
was a kind man, and particularly toward children, whom he adored. I
saw him again with the keenest transports of delight, and he
overwhelmed me with caresses. He stayed for several days at Turenne;
he warmly thanked the good mesdames Mongalvi for the truly maternal
care they had taken of me; but when he asked me a few questions, it
was easy for him to see that though I had a good knowledge of prayers
and litanies and lots of hymns, my remaining education was limited to
some notions of history, geography, and spelling. He considered
also, that, being now in my twelfth year, it was not possible to
leave me in a boarding establishment for young ladies, and that it
was time to give me an education which was more masculine and more
extensive. He had resolved therefore, to take me with him to
Toulouse, to where he had also brought Adolphe, and to place us both
in the military college of Sorèze, the sole great establishment of
this kind which the revolutionary turmoil had left standing.

I left, after bidding a tender farewell to my young friends. We
headed for Cressensac, where we were joined by Captain Gault, my
father's aide-de-camp. While the coach was being got ready, Spire,
my father's old servant, who knew that his master intended to travel
day and night, made up packages of food.

At this moment a new spectacle was presented to me: a mobile
column, composed of gendarmes, national guards and volunteers,