This mass of old nails, bolts, broken bits of cast-iron, flying three hundred metres, almost to the little bridge, made such slaughter that, some days after, the Russians asked for an armistice in order to bury their dead. Four hundred were found scattered in the ditches of the road. This I saw myself. And if you want to see the place where those savages were buried, you have only to go up the cemetery lane. On the other side, at the right, in M. Adam Ottendorf's orchard, you will see a stone cross in the middle of the fence; they were all buried there, with their horses, in one great trench. You can imagine the delight of our gunners at seeing this massacre. They lifted up their sponges and shouted, "Vive l'Empereur!" The soldiers shouted back from the covered ways, and the air was filled with their cries. Our sergeant, with his thirty men, their guns on their shoulders, quietly reached the glacis. The barrier was quickly opened for them, but the two companies descended together to the moat and came up again by the postern. I was waiting for them above. When our sergeant came up I took him by the arm, "Ah, sergeant!" said I, "how glad I am to see you out of danger!" I wanted to embrace him. He laughed and squeezed my hand. "Then you saw the engagement, Father Moses!" said he, with a mischievous wink. "We have shown them what stuff the Fifth is made of!" "Oh, yes! yes! you have made me tremble." "Bah!" said he, "you will see a good deal more of it; it is a small affair." The two companies re-formed against the wall of the _chemin de ronde_, and the whole city shouted, "Vive l'Empereur!" They went down the rampart street in the midst of the crowd. I kept near our sergeant. As the detachment was turning our corner, Sorlé, Zeffen, and Sâfel called out from the windows, "Hurrah for the veterans! Hurrah for the Fifth!" The sergeant saw them and made a little sign to them with his head. As I was going in I said to him, "Sergeant, don't forget your glass of cherry-brandy." "Don't worry, Father Moses," said he. The detachment went on to break ranks at the Place d'Armes as usual, and I went up home at a quarter to four. I was scarcely in the room before Zeffen, Sorlé, and Sâfel threw their arms round me as if I had come back from the war; little David clung to my knee, and they all wanted to know the news. I had to tell them about the attack, the grape-shot, the routing of the Cossacks. But the table was ready. I had not had my breakfast, and I said, "Let us sit down. You shall hear the rest by and by. Let me take breath." Just then the sergeant entered in fine spirits, and set the butt-end of his musket on the floor. We were going to meet him when we saw a tuft of red hair on the point of his bayonet, that made us tremble. "Mercy, what is that?" said Zeffen, covering her face. He knew nothing about it, and looked to see, much surprised.