“And I,--what am I?” interrupted he. “A Creole, come from Heaven knows what far-away place beyond seas; that there never was a man with more expensive tastes, and smaller means to supply them,--with worse prospects, and better connections; in short, a kind of live antithesis. And yet, with all that, exchange places with me now, and see if, before a fortnight elapse, I have not more dinner invitations than any officer of the same grade within the Boulevards; watch if the prettiest girl at Paris is not at my side in the Opera. But here comes your official appointment, I take it.” As he said this, an orderly of the “Garde” delivered a sealed packet into my hands, which, on opening, I discovered was a letter from General Duroc, wherein I read, that “it was the wish of his Majesty, Emperor and King, that I, his well-beloved Thomas Burke, in conformity with certain instructions to be afterwards made known to me, should proceed with the _compagnie d'élite_ to Paris, then and there--” As I read thus far aloud, Tascher interrupted me, snatching the paper from my hands, and continued thus:-- “Then and there to mope, muse, and be _ennuyé_ until such time as active service may again recall him to the army. My dear Burke, I am really sorry for you. Wars and campaigning may be--indeed they are--very fine things; but as the means, not the end. His Majesty, my uncle,--whom may Heaven preserve and soften his heart to his relations!--loves them for their own sake; but we,--you and I, for instance,--what possible reason can we have for risking our bones, and getting our flesh mangled, save the hope of promotion? And to what end that same promotion, if not for a wider sphere of pleasure and enjoyment? Think what a career a colonel, at our age, would have in Paris!” “Come, Tascher, I will not believe you in all this. If there were not something higher to reward one for the fatigues and dangers of a campaign than the mere sensual delights you allude to, I, for one, would soon doff the epaulettes.” “You are impracticable,” said he, half angrily; “but it is as much from the isolation in which you have lived as any conviction on the subject. You must let me introduce you to some relatives of mine in Paris. They will be delighted to know you; for, as one of the _compagnie d'élite_, you might figure as a very respectable 'lion' for two, nay, three entire evenings. And you will have the _entrée_ to the pleasantest house in Paris; they receive every evening, and all the best people resort there. I only exact one condition.” “And that is--” “You must not make love to Pauline. That you will fall in love with her yourself is a fact I can't help,--nor you either. But no advance on your part; promise me that.” “In such case, Tascher, it were best for all parties I should not know the lady. I have no fancy, believe me, for being smitten whether I will or no.”