Buche followed a furrow about twenty-five paces, to where three or four Englishmen were lying one on the top of the other. I asked him what he was going to do amongst the dead. He came back with a tin bottle, and shaking it at his ear, he said, "Joseph, it is full." He dipped it in the water of the ditch before opening it, and then took out the cork and drank, saying, "It is brandy!" He passed it to me, and I drank also. I felt my life returning, and I gave him back the bottle half full, thanking God for the good idea that he had given us. We looked on all sides to see if we could not find some bread in the haversacks of the dead, but the uproar increased, and as we could not resist the Prussians if they should surround us, we set off again full of strength and courage. The brandy made us look at everything on the bright side already, and I said to Buche: "Jean, now the worst is over and we shall see Pfalzbourg and Harberg again. We are on a good road which will take us back to France. If we had gained the battle, we should have been forced to go still farther into Germany, and we should have been obliged to fight the Austrians and the Russians, and if we had had the good fortune to escape with our lives, we should have returned old gray-haired veterans, and should have been compelled to keep garrison at 'Petite Pierre,' or somewhere else." These miserable thoughts ran through my head, but I marched on with more courage, and Buche said: "The English are right in having their bottles made of tin, for if I had not seen this shining in the moonlight, I should never have thought of going to look for it." Every moment while we were talking in this way men were riding by, their horses almost ready to drop, but by beating and spurring, they kept them trotting just the same. The noise of the retreating army began to reach our ears again in the distance, but fortunately we had the advance. It might have been about one o'clock in the morning, and we thought ourselves safe, when suddenly Buche said to me: "Joseph, here are the Prussians!" And looking behind us, I saw in the moonlight five bronzed hussars from the same regiment as those who, the year before, had cut poor Klipfel to pieces. I thought this was a bad sign. "Is your gun loaded?" I asked Buche. "Yes." "Well! let us wait, we must defend ourselves, I will not surrender." "Nor I either," said he, "I had rather die than to be taken prisoner." At the same moment the Prussian officer shouted arrogantly, "Lay down your arms."