That
was the agreement they made; and although it seems strange, such things
have happened. It's sure and certain, anyhow, that only a man who had an
agreement with God could pass through the enemy's lines, and move about
in showers of bullets and grape-shot, as Napoleon did. They swept us
away like flies, but his head they never touched at all. I had a proof
of that--I myself, in particular--at Eylau, where the Emperor went up on
a little hill to see how things were going. I can remember, to this day,
exactly how he looked as he took out his field-glass, watched the battle
for a minute, and finally said: "It's all right! Everything is going
well." Then, just as he was coming back, an ambitious chap in a plumed
hat, who was always following him around, and who bothered him, they
said, even at his meals, thought he'd play smart by going up on the very
same hill; but he had hardly taken the Emperor's place when--batz!--away
he went, plume and all!
Now follow me closely, and tell me whether what you are going to hear
was natural.
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