"General Serrurier wrote two letters to you yesterday, monsieur." "Well! what then?" "In the first he notified you that in certain events he should withdraw to Goïto." "Yes, General." "Did you reply to that letter?" "Certainly." "What did you reply?" "Do you wish to know?" "I should like to hear what you said." "Very well! I replied, 'Retreat to the devil, if you like; I don't care; but I'll shoot myself rather than retire.'" "Do you know that if you had written me such a letter as that I would have had you shot?" "May be; but you would probably never have written me such a letter as General Serrurier wrote me." "That is true." Then, turning to Dermoncourt, he said to him: "Go and have the troops drawn up in three columns, and come back and tell me when it is done." Dermoncourt went out; then, turning to my father, who was about to return to his room, he said: "Stay, General; I was obliged to speak to you as I did before your aide-de-camp; deuce take it, when a man writes such letters to his chief, he should at least write them himself, and not dictate them to his secretary. But we will say no more about it. Who are your commanding officers here?" "The first column, General, is composed of the 57th demi-brigade, under its own leader, Victor; the second is under the command of Adjutant-General Rambaud, our chief staff officer; the third, of Colonel Moreau, commandant of the 11th demi-brigade." "Very good. Where is Victor?" "Oh! he is not far off," said my father; "listen and you will hear him snoring." "Go and wake him." My father went into the room close by and shook Victor, who could not be induced anyhow to wake up. "Come, my lad!" said my father, "you must wake up." "What the deuce do you want?" he growled. "I want to make you general of division." "What, me?" "Yes, Bonaparte is here, and has given you the command of a column in to-morrow's battle." "Goodness me!" Victor shook himself awake and ran out. Dermoncourt entered at the same time. "Well?" asked Bonaparte. "Your orders are executed, General." "Good. Now go to the outskirts of la Favorite and find out the position of the enemy." Dermoncourt went. It was eight in the evening, and our troops occupied la Favorite. Dermoncourt went beyond the outposts, and, venturing towards Mantua, fell up against a sortie which Wurmser was making. So, three-quarters of an hour after his departure, they heard him shouting a long way off: "To horse, General, to horse! The enemy is following me." Indeed, he narrowly escaped being caught, and feeling himself almost overtaken, he called out for help. My father leapt to his saddle, dashed out at the head of the 20th regiment of dragoons and fell upon the enemy, whom he drove back to their base, holding them in check till day; whilst Masséna's division, which was completely disorganised by the forced march and immense distance it had had to traverse, reached Marmirolo and St. Antoine, where it re-formed.