“Well, sir,” said the Emperor, addressing me, “if all I hear of you be correct, you carry a stouter heart before the enemy than you seem to wear here. Your name is high in Marshal Massena’s list; and General Marmont desires to have your services on his staff. I make no objection; you shall have your grade.” I bowed without speaking; indeed, I could not have uttered a word, even if it had been my duty. “They have extracted the ball, I hope?” said the Emperor to me, and pointing to my thigh. “It never lodged, sire; it was a round shot,” said I. “Diable! a round shot! You’re a lucky fellow, Colonel Tiernay,” said he, laying a stress on the title, “a very lucky fellow.” “I shall ever think so, sire, since your Majesty has said it,” was my answer. “I was not a lieutenant-colonel at your age,” resumed Napoleon; “nor were you either, Marmont. You see, sir, that we live in better times, at least, in times when merit is better rewarded.” And with this he passed on; and Marmont, slipping my arm within his own, led me away, down the great stair, through crowds of attendant orderlies and groups of servants. At last we reached our carriage, and in half an hour re-entered Vienna, my heart wild with excitement, and burning with zealous ardor to do something for the service of the Emperor. The next morning I removed to General Marmont’s quarters; and for the first time put on the golden aigrette of chef d’état-major, not a little to the astonishment of all who saw the “boy colonel,” as, half in sarcasm, half in praise, they styled me. From an early hour of the morning till the time of a late dinner, I was incessantly occupied. The staff duties were excessively severe, and the number of letters to be read and replied to almost beyond belief. The war had again assumed something of importance in the Tyrol. Hofer and Spechbacher were at the head of considerable forces, which in the fastnesses of their native mountains were more than a match for any regular soldiery. The news from Spain was gloomy: England was already threatening her long-planned attack on the Scheldt. Whatever real importance might attach to these movements, the Austrian cabinet made them the pretext for demanding more favorable conditions; and Metternich was emboldened to go so far as to ask for the restoration of the Empire in all its former integrity.