Through  the  entire  night,  officers  came
and  went  to  and  from  the  tent  of  the  Em-
peror. To  him,  at  least,  it  seemed  no  sea-
son of  repose.  At  length,  when  nigh  morn-
ing, wearied  with  watching,  and  tired  out
with  expectancy,  I  leaned  my  head  on  my
knees,  and  dropped  into  a  half-sleep.  Some
vague  sense  of  disappointment  at  being  for-
gotten by  the  Emperor  was  the  last  thought
I  had  as  I  fell  off,  and  in  its  sadness  it  co-
lored all  my  dreams.  I  remembered,  with
all  the  freshness  of  a  recent  event,  the  curse
of  the  old  hag  on  the  morning  I  had  quit-
ted my  home  forever  ;  her  prayer  that  bad
luck  should  track  me  every  step  through
life  ;  and  in  the  shadowy  uncertainty  of
my  sleeping  thoughts  I  believed  I  was  pre-
destined to  misfortune.
