"  Oh  !  I  know  more  than  that,  Burke  ;
and  believe  me,  if  my  foolish  conduct
the  first  day  we  met  had  led  to  anything

disastrous,  I  should  have  passed  a  life  of
sorrow  for  it  ever  after  ;  but  we  shall  have
time  enough  to  talk  over  all  these  matters
in  the  green  alleys  of  Versailles,  where  I
hope  to  see  you  before  a  week  be  over.
Great  events  may  happen  ere  long,  too.
Burke,  you  don't  know  it,  but  I  can  tell
you,  a  war  with  England  is  at  this  moment
on  t  he  eve  of  declaration. "

"Perhaps,"  said  I,  somewhat  piqued  by
the  tone  of  superiority  in  which  he  had
spoken  for  some  minutes,  and  anxious  to
assume  for  myself  a  position  which,  I  for-
got, conferred  no  credit  by  the  manner  of
tainment,  "I  know  more  of  that  than
you  are  aware  of."

"  Oh,"  replied  he,  carelessly,  "  the  gossip
of  a  mess  is  but  little  to  be  relied  on.  The
'  sabreurs '  will  always  tell  you  that  the
order  to  march  is  given."

"I  don't  mean  that,"  said  I,  haughtily.
"  My  information  has  a  higher  source — the
highest  of  all  —  General  Bonaparte  him-
self."

"  How  ! — what ! — Bonaparte  himself  ?  "

"  Listen  to  me,"  said  I ;  and,  hurried  on
by  a  foolish  vanity  and  a  strange  desire  I
cannot  explain,  to  make  a  confidant  in
what  I  felt  to  be  a  secret  too  weighty  for
my  own  bosom,  I  told  liim  all  that  I  had
overheard  when  seated  behind  the  screen  in
the  salon  at  the  Tuileries.
"You  heard  this — you,  yourself,"  cried
he,  as  his  eyes  flashed,  and  he  grasped  my
arm  with  an  eager  grip.
