Belle Rose: A Romance of the Cloak and Sword — page 49: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

THE SKIRMISH. 39 ‘That makes fifteen louis. In war, as in love, what one loses is lost.”’ Ah ls ‘‘With three hundred and sixty livres you have just about enough to beat about the streets of Paris for two months, after which you will have the resource of making a lackey of yourself.”’ ‘*T would rather throw myself into the river.’’ 5 ding is not the way to marry Mademoiselle de Malzon- villiers.’’ “True. I can always make a soldier of myself.’’ ‘That is difficult. In the trade of arms you have twenty chances to get your head cracked and one to win epau- lettes.’’ **Not many, to be sure.”’ ‘But at Paris, for two chances to make a fortune, you have twelve to die of hunger—unless you consent to prac- tice certain trades which are repugnant to honest people.’’ ‘The ‘not many’ of just now is reduced to none.”’ **Ah! my friend, you have undertaken a rough job, in which courage and perseverance can only win in case acci- dent places itself on their side.’”’ ‘While waiting for its consent to do so, what do you advise me?’’ ‘That is what we are mutually going to decide upon. Empty that bottle of old Burgundy. Wine brings counsel; it shows as easy the most extravagant things, and those are the only kind which are worth while attempting. When you wish to become a captain, you must think of , becoming a general.’’ ‘¥ *“‘General!’’ exclaimed Jacques, thoroughly astonished. ‘ “Certainly if I was foolish enough to relish love, I would risk myself with princesses of the blood.’’ ating me in the light-horse?”’ *#h! the uniform is pretty! If you take care to avoid the grape-shot, the bullets, the balls, the grenades, and other mischievous projectiles, if you are neither killed nor amputated, if you always conduct yourself valiantly, if you never get punished, if you distinguish yourself by _ gome splendid action, and if luck smiles upon you, you can count upon the gold lace of a quarter-master at the age of ty-eight. You have to take care that a lieutenant does take it into his head to look at you askew because you ed to salute him properly, in which case you would run risk of remaining a brigadier up to your sixtieth year.”’ v, a 2 « ‘*Well, for a beginning, what do you say to incorpor- | | ; - . ah “s ¢ &'s - ‘ 7 a 4 . 4 *