"Advance, comrade, and give the counter-sign," replied he, rapidly, and like one repeating a phrase of routine; and then, as if suddenly remembering himself, he added with a low sigh, "There is none!" His arms dropped heavily as he spoke, and he fell back against the wall with his head drooping on his chest. There was something so unutterably forlorn in his looks, as he sat thus, that all apprehension of personal danger from him left me at the moment, and advancing frankly, I told him how I had lost my way in the wood, and by mere accident chanced to descry his light as I wandered along in the gloom. I do not know if he understood me at first, for he gazed half vacantly at my face while I was speaking, and often stealthily peered round to see if others were coming; so that I had to repeat more than once that I was perfectly alone. That the poor fellow was insane seemed but too probable; the restless activity of his wild eye, the suspicious watchfulness of his glances, all looked like madness, and I thought that he had probably made his escape from some military hospital, and concealed himself within the recesses of the forest. But even these signs of over-wrought excitement began to subside soon; and as though the momentary effort at vigilance had been too much for his strength, he now drew his cloak about him, and lay down once more. I handed him my brandy flask, which still contained a little, and he touched it to his lips with a slight nod of recognition. Invigorated by the stimulant, he supped again and again, but always cautiously, and with prudent reserve. "You have been a soldier," said I, taking my seat at his side. "I _am_ a soldier," said he, with a strong emphasis on the verb. "I, too, have served," said I; "although, probably, neither as long nor as creditably as you have." He looked at me fixedly for a second or two and then dropped his eyes without a reply. "You were probably with the Army of the Meuse?" said I, hazarding the guess, from remembering how many of that army had been invalided by the terrible attacks of ague contracted in North Holland. "I served on the Rhine," said he, briefly, "but I made the campaign of Jemappes, too. I served the king also--King Louis," cried he, sternly. "Is that avowal candid enough; or do you want more!" Another Royalist, thought I, with a sigh. Whichever way I turn they meet me--the very ground seems to give them up. "And could _you_ find no better trade than that of a Mouchard?" asked he, sneeringly. "I am not a Mouchard--I never was one. I am a soldier like yourself; and, mayhap, if all were to be told, scarcely a more fortunate one." "Dismissed the service--and for what?" asked he, bluntly. "If not broke, at least not employed;" said I, bitterly. "A Royalist?" "Not the least of one, but suspected."