The whole affair was like a dream. I placed the ring on my smallest finger, and thought with delight of the lovely little hand from which it had just been drawn. I gave a lingering glance after the fast-retreating _dèsobligeant_, which was bowling along the road towards the ruined village of St. Solidore, and then, springing into my saddle, galloped in the direction of our camp, the white tents of which were shining in the rising sun, as they dotted the southern slope of the hills of Paramé. The stone was a fine emerald. "Of what is it significant?" thought I, remembering her words and her charming smile. Charters, whom I met with three mounted Greys, coming in search of me, by order of the adjutant, told me that, "according to an old superstition, the emerald was supposed to ensure success in love." Be that as it may, this gift of Jacqueline de Broglie has yet an important part to play in the story of my adventures. END OF VOL. I. LONDON: SAVILL AND EDWARDS, PRINTERS, CHANDOS-STREET.