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the next village--it is only a mile away--and will fetch my sister, who lives there, to keep house for a bit." "That is capital," the surgeon said. "And now, watch attentively how I put this bandage on; and do it the same way, once a day. When you have put the bandage on, you must put wet cloths to his
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head, as long as he remains delirious. I am awfully busy; but I will ride over again, in three or four days, to see how he is getting on. "By the way, it may be an advantage to you if I give you a paper, signed by me, to say that you are taking care of a wounded French officer
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at my request as--although you wished to send him to the ambulance--I refused because, in the first place, he could not bear moving; and in the second, the ambulance was as full as it could possibly hold. That will clear you, in case any German parties come along and find him." It was a week before Ralph opened his eyes
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with any consciousness of what he saw. He looked round, with a vague wonderment as to where he was. In a minute or two, a look of recognition came into his face. Looking round, he saw that there were changes. A small piece had been sawn out of the shutter, so as to let in air and light while it
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remained closed. A table and a chair were beside his bed. In a corner of the loft was a small flat stove, with a few embers glowing upon it, and a saucepan standing upon them. Upon the opposite side of the loft to that where he was lying was a heap of hay, similar to his own; with a figure,
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rolled up in a blanket, lying on it. For some time, Ralph thought all this over in the vague, wondering way peculiar to people recovering from a long illness. Most, he puzzled over the occupant of the other bed; and at last concluded that it was some fugitive, like himself. For some time he lay and watched the figure until,
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presently, it moved, threw off the blanket and rose and, to his surprise, he saw that it was his nurse. "Thanks to all the saints!" she exclaimed, when she saw him looking at her. "You are better, at last. I think that I was asleep, too. But you were sleeping so quiet, that I thought I would take a nap;
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for I was so sleepy." "How long have I been here?" Ralph asked. "Just a week, from the time the fever took you. The English doctor came over and saw you, and sent lots of things for you, and said you were not to be left; so I had the bed made up here, and my sister came over to
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take care of Jacques. And now, you must not talk any more. Drink this broth, and then go off to sleep again." Ralph complied. He was too tired and weak to ask any more questions, and it was not until next day that he heard of the obstinate battles which General Chanzy had fought--on the 7th, 8th, and 10th--near Beauguency.
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"Thank goodness," Ralph said, "we can't have been very badly beaten, if we were able to fight three drawn battles within about twenty miles of a first defeat." For the next two days, Ralph improved in health. Then he had a relapse, and was very ill, for some days. Then he began, steadily but slowly, to gain strength. It was
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three weeks after his arrival at the cottage before he could walk, another week before he had recovered his strength sufficiently to think of moving. One of his first anxieties--after recovering consciousness after his first, and longest, attack of fever--had been upon the subject of the terrible anxiety which they must be feeling, at home, respecting him. They would have
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heard, from Colonel Tempe, that he was missing and, as he would have been seen to fall, it was probable that he was reported as dead. Ralph's only consolation was that, as the Germans were at Dijon, the communication would be very slow, and uncertain; and although it was now ten days since the engagement, it was possible--if he could
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but get a letter sent, at once--that they would get it nearly, if not quite as quickly as the one from Colonel Tempe; especially if as was very probable the colonel would be a great deal too engaged, during the week's tremendous fighting which succeeded the day upon which Ralph was wounded, for him to be able to write letters.
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The first time that he saw the English surgeon, he mentioned this anxiety, and the doctor at once offered to take charge of a letter; and to forward it with his own, in the military post bag, to the headquarters of the ambulance at Versailles, together with a note to the head of the ambulance there, begging him to get
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it sent on in the first bag for Dijon. In this way, it would arrive at its destination within four or five days, at most, of its leaving Orleans. It was on the 2nd of January--exactly a month from the date of the fight in which he was wounded--that, after very many thanks to his kind host and hostess, and
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after forcing a handsome present upon them, Ralph started--in a peasant's dress which had been bought for him--for Orleans. He had still plenty of money with him; for he had drawn the reward, of fifty thousand francs, in Paris. The greater portion of this money he had paid into the hands of a banker, at Tours, but Percy and he
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had kept out a hundred pounds each; knowing by experience how useful it is, in case of being taken prisoner, to have plenty of money. Ralph's wound was still bound up with plaster, and to conceal it a rabbit-skin cap with flaps had been bought so that, by letting down the flaps and tying them under the chin, the greater
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part of the cheeks were covered. The farmer had made inquiries among his neighbors and, finding one who was going into Orleans, with a horse and cart, he had asked him to give Ralph a lift to that place. The start had been effected early, and it was three o'clock when they drove into Orleans. Here Ralph shook hands with
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his driver--who wished him a safe journey home--and strolled leisurely down the streets. Orleans presented a miserable aspect. The inhabitants kept themselves shut up in their houses, as much as possible. The bishop was kept a prisoner, by the Prussians, in his own palace; troops were quartered in every house; the inhabitants were, for the most part, in a state
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of poverty; and the shops would have been all shut, had not the Prussians ordered them to be kept open. The streets were thronged with German troops, and long trains of carts were on their way through, with provisions for the army. These carts were requisitioned from the peasantry, and were frequently taken immense distances from home; the owner--or driver,
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if the owner was rich enough to pay one--being obliged to accompany them. Many were the sad scenes witnessed in these convoys. The grief of a father dragged away, not knowing what would become of his wife and children, during his absence. The anguish of a laborer at seeing his horse fall dead with fatigue, knowing well that he had
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no means of taking his cart home again; and that he had nothing to do but to return to his home, and tell his wife that the horse and cart--which constituted his sole wealth--were gone. Ralph waited until, late in the afternoon, he saw a long train halt by one of the bridges. It was evidently intending to cross, the
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next morning, and go down south. In a short time the horses were taken out, and fastened by halters to the carts; two or three soldiers took up their posts as sentries, and the drivers were suffered to leave--the Germans knowing that there was no chance of their deserting, and leaving their horses and carts. The poor fellows dispersed through
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the town. Those who had any money bought food. Those who had not, begged; for the Germans allowed them no rations, and left them to shift for themselves--or starve--as they liked. Ralph joined in conversation with a group of these, who were relating their hardships to two or three sympathetic listeners. An old man, especially, was almost heartbroken. His wife
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was dying, and he had been forced from her bedside. "What could I do?" he asked, pitifully. "I was a carrier. My horse and cart were all I had in the world. If I had not gone with them they were lost for ever. What was I to do?" No one could answer him but, when the party had broken
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up, Ralph went up to him. "How much are your horse and cart worth?" he asked. "The horse is worth five hundred francs," he said. "The cart is an old one--two hundred and fifty would pay for it. It is not much, you see, but it is all I have." "Look here, old man," Ralph said, "I am not what
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I look. I am a French officer, and I want to get down near the Prussian outposts, but without passes I could not get on. Besides I have been wounded, and am too weak to walk far. I will give you the seven hundred and fifty francs which are the value of your horse and cart, and will take your
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place as driver; so that you can start back, at once, to your wife. Do you agree?" The old man was so affected with joy that he burst into tears. "God bless you, sir," he said. "You have saved my life, and my poor wife's life, too." "Very well, it is a bargain, then," Ralph said. "Here is half the
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money. You shall have the rest tomorrow. "Now you must go with me tomorrow morning, at the hour for starting; and tell the officer in charge that I am a nephew of yours--living here, but out of work, at present--and that you have arranged with me to drive the cart, as long as it's wanted, and then to take it
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home again." After a few more words, the peasant took him back and showed him his cart; in order that he might know where to find him, in the morning. "We start at daybreak," he said, "so you had better be here by half-past six." "Where do you sleep?" Ralph asked. "I? Oh, I don't sleep much. I lie down
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for a bit, underneath the carts; and then walk about to warm myself." "Take this warm fur coat of mine," Ralph said. "It will keep you warm tonight, anyhow. I shan't want it; I shall get a bed somewhere." The coat was the one Ralph had worn on his night walk, after being wounded. He had had all the braid,
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and the fur of the collar and cuffs taken off; and had had it purposely dirtied, so that it was no longer a garment which could attract attention, on the back of a man with a cart. After some difficulty, Ralph got a bed; and was at the agreed place at the appointed time. The old man went up to
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the Prussian sergeant in command, and told the tale Ralph had dictated to him. The sergeant agreed to the arrangement, with a brief nod. The old man handed Ralph his whip, and returned him the fur coat; which Ralph was glad enough to put on, for the morning was bitterly cold, and Ralph--enfeebled by his illness--felt it keenly. In another
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five minutes, the carts were in motion across the bridge, and then away due south. For half an hour Ralph walked by the side of his cart and--being, by that time, thoroughly warm--he jumped up in the cart and rode, during the rest of the day; getting down and walking--for a short time only--when he found his feet getting numbed
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with the cold. In the afternoon they arrived at La Ferte, some fifteen miles from Orleans. There they remained for the night. There were not very many troops here, and Ralph could have obtained a bed by paying well for it; but he feared to attract attention by the possession of unusual funds and, therefore, slept in a hay loft;
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afraid, in spite of his fur coat, to sleep in the open air. The next morning the train was divided, twenty of the carts going down towards Romorantin; while the rest--now fifteen in number--kept on towards Salbris. Ralph's cart formed part of this latter division. The night after they left La Ferte, they halted at La Motte Beuvron, where there
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was a strong force of Germans. The following day only four carts continued their route to Salbris, Ralph happening again to be among them. He had regretted two days before that he had not formed part of the division for Romorantin, as from that place he would have been less than twenty miles from Tours, which the Prussians had not
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yet entered; but as he had the good fortune to go on to Salbris, he did not mind--as Salbris, like Romorantin, was one of the most advanced stations. They arrived late in the afternoon, and the carts were at once unloaded. The sergeant in charge told them to wait, while he got their papers for them; and in ten minutes
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he returned. "You will have tomorrow to rest your horses, and the next day a train will start for the north. Your work is over now, as there is nothing to go back. Here are the passes for you, saying that you have carried goods down here for the army; and are therefore to return back, without your carts being
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further requisitioned." Ralph put up his horse and cart for an hour in the village, while he went to search for some farm house upon which no Prussian soldiers were quartered. He was unable, for some time, to find one; but at last, over a mile from the town, he found a small place which had escaped the attention of
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the Prussian quartermaster, and where there was a small, unoccupied stable. Ralph soon struck a bargain with its owner; returned to Salbris, mounted his cart, drove out; and was soon settled in the little farm house. He anticipated no great difficulty in passing out through the outposts; as there was no French force of any importance, near, and the German
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troops interfered but little with the movements of the country people. The affair, however, turned out more easy than he had anticipated for, towards morning, he was awoke by the distant sound of bugles. "Something is up," he said to himself; "either a French attack, a general advance, or a recall. If it should be the latter, I am in
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luck." It turned out to be as Ralph hoped. The peasant in whose house he was stopping went into Salbris, early; and came back with the news that there was no longer a German there. Orders had come for them to fall back, towards Orleans. "I am not at all surprised," Ralph said, when he heard it, "for Orleans was
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emptying fast of troops. This sudden march of Bourbaki for the east, and the necessity to reinforce Frederick Charles, near Vendome must try even Prussian resources to the utmost." Half an hour later, Ralph was jogging along on his way to Vierzon. There he found that the railway was open to Bourges, from which town he should have no difficulty
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in getting on to Dijon. He soon found a purchaser for his horse and cart, at ten pounds, and the next morning started on his way home. : Home. It was a long journey from Vierzon to Dijon. At Bourges Ralph had taken advantage of a delay of some hours--necessitated by the fact that no train was going--to get some
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suitable clothes, instead of the peasant's suit in which he had traversed the lines. He had, of course, brought his papers with him; so that he had no difficulty, whatever, in getting on by the train. But the train itself made but slow work of it. Bourbaki had passed west only the week before, with all his army, upon his
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march to the relief of Belfort; and the railway was completely choked. However, Ralph was not inclined to grumble at the cause of his delay; for it was only upon Bourbaki's approach that the Germans had evacuated Dijon--which was now held by Garibaldi's irregulars, and a considerable force of Mobiles. So great were the delays that it was evening when
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the train reached Dijon. Ralph had scarcely stepped out on to the platform when Percy bounded upon him, and threw his arms round his neck. "Dear, dear old Ralph! Thank God you are back again." "My dear Percy, where did you spring from?" "I have been home five days. I was still down at Marseilles, when I heard that Dijon
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was open again; and I came straight up. "And how are you, Ralph?" "Oh, I am getting all right again. How are they all, at home?" "Well--quite well--but dreadfully anxious about you." By this time the boys were out of the station, and were walking homeward. "But you have not told me how you happened to be at the station."
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"Well, I was waiting there, just on the chance of seeing you. Mamma was so dreadfully anxious about you that I wanted to do something. At any rate, I could not sit quiet at home. There are never more than two trains with passengers in a day, sometimes only one; so I have been staying down in the town, most
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of the days since I came home--having paid one of the railway people to send me word, directly the train was telegraphed as starting from Dole." "How long is it since my letter arrived?" "Nearly three weeks, Ralph; fortunately it came four or five days before a letter from Tempe, saying that he feared you were killed. Not having heard
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again, they were terribly anxious." "I had no means of writing," Ralph said. "The English ambulance--through whom my letter was sent--moved down to Vendome, the very day after I wrote; and I had no other way of sending my letter." "I said it was something of that sort. I pointed out to them that it was evident, by what you
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said, that the fever had passed off, and that you only wanted strength; but that being in hiding, of course, you could not write. I gave you three weeks to get strong enough to start, and four or five days to manage to get through the lines; so that by my calculation you were just due, when you arrived. "It
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has pulled you down, Ralph, very much. I wish I had been there to nurse you." "Thank you, Percy. Fortunately I did fall into very good hands, and was well looked after. I hope papa has not been over anxious about me?" "I think he has been nervous, Ralph; but he did not show it, but talked cheerfully to keep
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up mamma and Milly." "And are you quite strong again, Percy?" "Yes, I think I am nearly as strong as ever, Ralph. "There, we are just at the house, now. You had better wait outside; while I go in and let them know, gradually, that you are home. I came in like a fool, suddenly, and mamma fainted--she says for
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the first time in her life--and Milly went into hysterics, and cried and laughed so wildly that you might have heard her in Dijon. She frightened me nearly out of my senses." Ralph remained, accordingly, outside the door; while Percy went in alone. The others had finished tea. "You are a little late, Percy," Mrs. Barclay said. "We gave you
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twenty minutes' law. It is not the least matter, your being late; but I do not think it is wise to be out, these bitter nights, until you are quite strong." "I am quite strong, mamma, as strong as ever," Percy laughed; but his laugh was, in spite of himself, a little unnatural. His father looked sharply up. Percy sat
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down, and drank a little of the tea his mother handed to him. "I waited for the train to come in," he said, "and--of course it may not be so--but I heard of someone who, by the description, seemed to be Ralph." "What was it, Percy, what was it?" Milly cried; while her mother gazed at him with a pale
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face, and appealing eyes. "Don't agitate yourself, mamma dear--you see, it may not be true, after all--but among the people in the train was one who had come straight from Bourges. I spoke to him, and he said that he had heard--by a friend who had come straight from Vierzon--that a young officer had just arrived there, in disguise; who
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had been wounded, and in hiding, ever since the capture of Orleans. You know, mamma, it is just the time I calculated he would be coming; and from the fact of his being a young staff officer, and in disguise, I have very little doubt it is Ralph." Captain Barclay rose from his seat and--standing for a moment behind his
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wife's chair--looked at Percy, and then at the door, inquiringly. Percy nodded. Captain Barclay leaned over, and kissed his wife "Thank God, dear, for all His mercies! Another day or two, and we shall be having him home." "Thank God, indeed!" Mrs. Barclay said; "but though I hope--though I try to think it was him--perhaps it was not, perhaps--" "No,
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mamma," Percy said, "from some particulars he gave, and from what he said, I feel almost sure--I may say I am quite sure--it is Ralph. I would not say so, you know, unless I felt very certain." Mrs. Barclay felt that he would not, and fell into her husband's arms, crying softly with happiness. Milly was no longer in the
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room. She had caught the glance between her father and Percy, and had rightly interpreted it. She had risen to her feet, but a warning gesture from Captain Barclay had checked the cry of gladness on her lips; and she had stolen quietly from the room, closed the door noiselessly, had flown to the front door and out into the
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road beyond, and was now crying happily in Ralph's arms. "And when do you think he can get here, Richard?" Mrs. Barclay asked her husband. "Soon, dear--quite soon," he answered. "He may come tomorrow. He would be certain to come almost as quickly as the news." "Oh, how happy I am!" Mrs. Barclay said. "Thank God for His mercies! To
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think that, tomorrow, I may have both my boys back again." "Will there be another train in, tonight, Percy?" Captain Barclay asked. "Quite possibly," Percy said; "indeed, indeed,"--and he hesitated--"you see, I walked up fast; it is just possible that he may have arrived by this train." Mrs. Barclay understood now. "He is come," she exclaimed, looking up. "I know
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it, now." Captain Barclay took her up in his arms. "You can bear it, can't you, Melanie? Yes, dear, he has come." Percy saw that it was safe now. He went to the door, and opened it. Ralph was standing outside, in readiness; and in another moment his mother was in his arms. Later in the evening, Captain Barclay said
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to Ralph: "I suppose tomorrow you will obtain a medical certificate, and write to General Chanzy: saying that you are alive, but unable to rejoin?" "Yes," Ralph answered, "I suppose that will be the best plan. I must have a month's rest." "That means, my dear boy, that you will not have to go out any more. Another month will
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see the end of the struggle--or at any rate, if the end has not absolutely arrived, it will be unmistakable. "The game is, I am convinced, altogether lost. A fortnight ago, I had still hope. Chanzy and Bourbaki had each an army, nearly or quite equal to that of Prince Frederick Charles. He could not attack one in force, without
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leaving the road to Paris open to the other. "Bourbaki has come upon this mad expedition to the east; and you will see Prince Frederick Charles will throw his whole strength upon Chanzy, crush him, and then attend to Bourbaki. Bourbaki may relieve Belfort, but in that corner of France what is he to do? Prussian reinforcements are coming down
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to Werder, every day. Troops are marching on this town from Paris and, if Bourbaki is not wonderfully quick, we shall have another Sedan here. "After the defeat of these, the last two armies of France, it would be madness to continue the war. Paris must surrender, for there would be no further possibility of relief; and there would be
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no advantage, whatever, in enduring further sufferings. "No, my boys, I said 'Go' when I thought that there was a possibility of saving France. You have done your duty--more than your duty. It would be worse than folly--it would be wickedness--to voluntarily put your lives into danger, when success has ceased to be possible. I should be the last man
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to hinder you from what was your duty. I said 'Go' before, when few fathers would have said so. I would say 'Go' again, now, if your duty called you; but as you can both obtain sick leave, for another six weeks, I say take that leave. Do not do more than your duty, for heroism is now of no
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use to France." "I agree with you altogether, papa," Ralph said. "I have seen, and had, quite enough fighting for my lifetime. Of course, if the war goes on Percy and I, as officers, must return to our duty, but I am willing to obtain all the sick leave I can get; for although I still believe in the individual
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bravery of the French soldiers, I am quite convinced that it is altogether out of the question that--with their want of organization, want of generals, want of officers, want of discipline, want of everything--they can drive out the magnificent armies of Germany. "Has Percy got his leave extended?" "Yes," Percy said; "I am fairly well, but I am still shaky.
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I have not quite got over that swim; and the surgeon said, without my applying for it, that I must have prolonged rest so, at the end of the month, he extended it for two months longer. "I thoroughly agree with you both. We have had quite enough of it. We shall always have the satisfaction that we did our
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duty to France, and our rank; and these ribbons,"--and he touched the rosette of the legion of honor, in his buttonhole--"will prove that we have distinguished ourselves. We have had great good fortune, hitherto; it might turn, next time." And so it was settled that the boys should remain at home, for the next two months; by which time they
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agreed, with their father, the resistance would be fairly worn out. Ralph wrote to General Chanzy, relating the whole circumstances of his absence. General Chanzy wrote in reply--in spite of the demands upon his time--saying how pleased he was that Ralph had escaped, as he had quite given him up. He ended his note by saying that he had already
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mentioned his name, in dispatches, and should now make a fresh report. Colonel Tempe--or rather General Tempe, for he now commanded a brigade--wrote also to congratulate him. One portion of his letter contained bad news; for he mentioned that Tim had lost an arm, at the battle of the 8th December, but that he was now doing well. Those were
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exciting days at Dijon. The news of the victory at Villersexel, followed by the fighting which ended in the capture of Montbeliard; and then the obstinate contests near Belfort, when Bourbaki in vain endeavored to drive back the Germans, and to relieve the besieged town--all this kept the excitement up, at fever heat. It was not fated that the war
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should end without the boys seeing service once more for, upon the 21st, heavy firing was heard upon the northwest of Dijon. The Barclays' house was on the southwest of the town. Upon the northwest the ground rises in two steep hills--or rather one steep hill, with two summits about a mile apart. One of these summits is called Talant,
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the other Fontaine les Dijon. Behind the latter, and upon even higher ground--at a distance of two and three miles, respectively--lay the villages of Daix and Hauteville. It was about ten o'clock in the morning that the boys heard the faint boom of a cannon. "Listen, papa," Percy shouted; "there are cannon. The Prussians are attacking the heights, on the
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other side." Captain Barclay came out into the garden, and listened for a while with them. The enemy had taken up positions upon some of the numerous heights surrounding, and were playing upon the batteries at Talant, Fontaine les Dijon, Daix, and Hauteville. The French replied vigorously; and it was evident that they were stronger, in artillery, than were the
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enemy. "I fancy," Captain Barclay said, "that it is no attack. It is merely, I think, a fire opened to occupy our attention; in order that a body of troops may pass along to the northward of Dijon, to fall upon Bourbaki's rear. However, my place is with my company of national guards. There is no fear of an attack,
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at present; but they will get under arms no doubt." "We will go down into the town with you, papa." The firing continued until five o'clock, when it gradually died away, the Germans retiring. An hour later, the greater portion of the troops marched back to the town. The enemy, they reported, were not over , strong while, in all,
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the Garibaldians and mobilized national guards in the town were , to , strong. The French were also much stronger in artillery. Captain Barclay returned home with the boys. They sat up late, talking over the affair, and it was nearly midnight when they went up to their rooms. Suddenly, they were startled by a fresh outburst of fire upon
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the heights. In a minute or two, all the household were in the garden. "It is a night attack," Captain Barclay said; "and judging by the sound, they are in earnest. I can hear musketry, as well as artillery." As they listened, it came nearer. "They have taken Daix and Hauteville," Ralph said. "What shall we do, papa? We can't
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stay here, quiet. It is our plain duty to go down, and report ourselves to General Pelissier." "I think you ought to do so," Captain Barclay answered, gravely. The boys went off to put on their uniforms--for Ralph had replaced the one he had left behind, in the cottage near Orleans. "I do not think you need be uneasy, Melanie,"
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Captain Barclay said to his wife. "It is our duty to go; but I hardly think that they can have been reinforced in sufficient strength to attack the town." The boys were soon down. "Goodbye, mamma; goodbye, Milly. Don't be alarmed about us. We have no horses, and there can be no risk of our being sent on any perilous
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service, tonight." Two silent kisses, and then father and sons hurried away towards the town. "They have taken Fontaine les Dijon," Ralph said. "We shall soon see if they are in earnest." Dijon they found in utter confusion. Mounted orderlies galloped about. The troops were all under arms. Engineers were at work, crenelating the walls and houses upon the side
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threatened with attack. General Garibaldi was sitting in his carriage, in readiness to move in any direction, instantly. General Pelissier--who commanded the mobilized guards--was in his office, and staff officers came in and out with reports, every five minutes. The boys entered, and briefly reported themselves for service. They had already reported their presence in the place, upon their arrival.
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"Thank you, gentlemen," he said. "I do not think that you can be of any use, just at present; but if the Germans press the attack, I shall be greatly obliged. In that case, please dismount two of the orderlies, and take their horses." The night passed off, however, quietly. The Germans, satisfied with the advantage, remained in the positions
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they had taken; and the French prepared to drive them back again, in the morning. At daybreak, the troops began to pour out from the town; and the cannonade commenced with greater fury on both sides. Two of the orderlies, in obedience to General Pelissier's orders, gave up their horses to the Barclays; who rode out with the general's staff.
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The Prussians had evidently been reinforced, in the night; but the French nevertheless gained ground, gradually. After several hours' heavy cannonading, the Mobilises were ordered to take the position of Fontaine les Dijon, with the bayonet. Three Zouaves--who happened to be present--took their places at the head of the column and, at the double, they went up the hill amidst
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a storm of shot and shell. The Germans did not await the assault, but fell back upon Daix. The spirit of the Mobilises was now up and, still led by the three Zouaves, they dashed forward. The resistance here was obstinate; but the Germans were driven back, with great loss. The pursuers gave them no rest; but went forward at
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the double, and drove them out of Hauteville at the bayonet's point, thus winning back all the positions lost in the night. The Barclays had little to do during the affair as, after the orders had once been given, the spirit of the troops carried them on over everything. The loss upon both sides was considerable, and one of General
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Werder's sons was among the prisoners taken by the French. The fight over, the boys returned home for a few hours. Their father had come in half an hour before them. The next morning they returned, at daybreak, to Dijon. The Prussians had received considerable reinforcements, in the night; and had executed a long detour, advancing this time by the
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Langres Road, nearly due north of the city. They left the road and took up their position upon a plateau, near the village of Pouilly, about three miles from Dijon. The French positions were about a mile nearer to the town, extending from the foot of Fontaine les Dijon through the villages of Saint Marten, and Fontaine. From the morning,
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until three in the day, a heavy artillery fire was kept up, on both sides. At that hour, the Prussians gave signs of an intention to advance. Their artillery took up fresh positions, their fire increased in rapidity, and it was evident that the crisis of the day was at hand. Up to this time, the boys had had but
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little to do. Sitting on their horses, or leaning against them, they had chatted with the officers of the general staff. At this period, however, General Garibaldi drew up; and there was a brief consultation between him and General Pelissier. A few hasty orders were given and, in an instant, the whole of the staff were dashing away to different
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parts of the ground. "Charge in line!" was the order and, forming shoulder to shoulder, the Garibaldians and Mobiles moved forward in a grand line, a mile and a half long; uttering loud and inspiriting cheers. The boys had been sent to the regiments next to each other and, their message delivered, they joined each other and rode on with
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