Moscow: A Story of the French Invasion of 1812

and retired Major in the French army. Old Pierre was growing somewhat old for the personal exercise of his art, but he could still superinten

lent exponent of the beautiful art he taught, one Georges Maux. The other two helpers were, stra

such adepts in their father's professio

rned that he was the father of a girl. When the second and last child made its appearance and proved, like its sister, to be of th

ggested, "they are fine girls both o

ed as boys, taught as boys, treated as boys, and perhaps almost, though not quite, loved as boys. From the earliest day upon which their little hands could hold and man

practical purposes, excepting in one particular: their women's hearts remained to them. One, Marie, was engaged to marry young Karl Havet, to whom she was devotedly attached, much to the chagrin of her father, who regretted Marie's "weakness" as a sad falling away from the state of grace to which his daught

recognised and put up with. The pair were e

y, in his eyes, of a deep contralto speaking-voice, which added a point to her score of manly virtues-Louise, too, though Pierre guessed it not, had fallen a victim to the universal weakness of womankind; she, too, had lost he

ith one of Pierre's accomplished daughters. Louise was acquainted with half a hundred of the most attractive young officers in Paris. Nearly every one of Napoleon's marshals had visited Pierre's establishment, nay, even

suredly there were many of the gilded youths of her acquaintance who had wasted upon her the eloquence of the eye, of the whispering lips, of the tightened hand-all these things

rst visited the fencing establishment in order to see for himself the ski

fencing a bout with Louise he distinctly had the worst

or some reason or another he took her fancy as no other man had done. D'Estreville was no exception to the rule of young men of his age. Louise was a woman, young and handsome, and of course the Baron employed against her all the

aid he woul

to turn the tables; ah, Mademoiselle, it was not the rapier that over

ierre Dupré's fencing establishment and see those girls of his fence. Also you should see Louise's eye

her their skill is really so great as it is said to be by their admirers. As for her eyes and the rest of

you seem to be this time, to gaze upon something equally attractive

ds savour of disrespect towards-some one; there is no one equ

falling short, however, of the highest. Joking apart, she is a splendid woman, strong as a man, handsome as one of the Gra

f not the very first swordsman in France. "That is a thing which I cannot afford to have said of any m

riously, if you fear that your reputation might suffer by defeat,

member to be careful

ewhat inclined to avoid him, or at any rate less disposed to play the bon camarade than on the previous

re," said Marie, laughing. "This day Lo

e old man, looking up sta

this day, in the presence of Monsieur le Baron, she has behaved

rie, and proved yourself no wiser than other silly women, you would have me believe that

sion. Possibly her father's words were the first inti

the Baron arrived with De Tourelle and other friends on the following day, h