the guards presented arms and received the holy benediction, all except
one; upon him the head of the church frowned severely, and turned his
back, while extending his pious hands towards the others. "And yet,"
said the poor fellow in concluding his story, "and yet I could not have
done otherwise; I had my orders and must have followed them, and had the
emperor commanded it, I should have run my bayonet through the body of
the holy father himself.

"Thus, you see, my dear sir, how I have loved the emperor, for I have
many a day stood under fire for him in this world, 'et il faut que
j'aille encore au feu pour lui apres ma mort.'."

He received in good part the consolations I offered him on this head, but
I plainly saw they did not, could not relieve his mind from the horrible
conviction he lay under, that his soul's safety for ever had been
bartered for his attachment to the emperor.

This story had brought us to the end of the third bottle of Medoc; and,
as I was neither the pope, nor had any very decided intentions of saying
mass, he offered no obstacle to my retiring for the night, and betaking
myself to my bed.




CHAPTER XXV.

THE INN AT CHANTRAINE.

When contrasted with the comforts of an English bed-room in a good hotel,