“But if I am caught I shan’t be able to defend myself,” he exclaimed, in a fit of desperate rage. “It will be because God willed it so,” I answered. “Go at once, or I will call.” The man then made off, abusing me as he went. Our little driver then fetched a soldier, to whom I related the adventure, showing him the objects. “Which way did the rascal go?” asked a sergeant who had come with the soldier. “I can’t say,” I replied. “Oh well, I don’t care to run after him,” he said; “there are enough dead men here.” We continued our way until we came to a place where several roads met, and it was then possible for us to take a route a little more suitable for vehicles. After going through Busigny and a wood, where there were bogs in which we only just escaped being swallowed up, our painful journey came to an end, and we arrived at Cateau in the night, half dead with fatigue, fright, and despair. I was obliged to take a day’s rest there, for I was prostrate with feverishness. We had two little rooms, roughly white-washed but quite clean. The floor was of red, shiny bricks, and there was a polished wood bed and white curtains. I sent for a doctor for my charming little Soubise, who, it seemed to me, was worse than I was. He thought we were both in a very bad state, though. A nervous feverishness had taken all the use out of my limbs and made my head burn. She could not keep still, but kept seeing spectres and fires, hearing shouts and turning round quickly, imagining that some one had touched her on the shoulder. The good man gave us a soothing draught to overcome our fatigue, and the next day a very hot bath brought back the suppleness to our limbs. It was then six days since we had left Paris, and it would take about twenty more hours to reach Homburg, for in those days trains went much less quickly than at present. I took a train for Brussels, where I was counting on buying a trunk and a few necessary things. From Cateau to Brussels there was no hindrance to our journey, and we were able to take the train again the same evening. I had replenished our wardrobe, which certainly needed it, and we continued our journey without much difficulty as far as Cologne. But on arriving in that city we had a cruel disappointment. The train had only just entered the station, when a railway official, passing quickly in front of the carriages, shouted something in German which I did not catch. Every one seemed to be in a hurry, and men and women pushed each other without any courtesy. I addressed another official and showed him our tickets. He took up my bag, very obligingly, and hurried after the crowd. We followed, but I did not understand the excitement until the man flung my bag into a compartment and signed to me to get in as quickly as possible.