"Major," said the Emperor to me in conclusion, "why had I not such a man
as you in my service? I would have made you a Prince and a Marshal!" and
here he fell into a reverie, of which I knew and respected the purport.
He was thinking, doubtless, that I might have retrieved his fortunes;
and indeed I have very little doubt that I might.
Very soon after, coffee was brought by Monsieur Marchand, Napoleon's
valet-de-chambre, and after partaking of that beverage, and talking
upon the politics of the day, the Emperor withdrew, leaving me
deeply impressed by the condescension he had shown in this remarkable
interview.
CHAPTER III.
A PEEP INTO SPAIN--ACCOUNT OF THE ORIGIN AND SERVICES OF THE AHMEDNUGGAR
IRREGULARS.
HEAD QUARTERS, MORELLA, Sept. 16, 1838.
I have been here for some months, along with my young friend Cabrera:
and in the hurry and bustle of war--daily on guard and in the batteries
for sixteen hours out of the twenty-four, with fourteen severe wounds
and seven musket-balls in my body--it may be imagined that I have had
little time to think about the publication of my memoirs. Inter arma
silent leges--in the midst of fighting be hanged to writing! as the poet
says; and I never would have bothered myself with a pen, had not common
gratitude incited me to throw off a few pages.
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