'Oh, there are many famous soldiers in the room,' said he. 'Besides,'
he added, twisting his moustache, 'there may be junior officers here who
have it in them to rise higher than any of them. But there is Ney to
the right.'
I saw a man with close-cropped red hair and a large square-jowled face,
such as I have seen upon an English prize-fighter.
'We call him Peter the Red, and sometimes the Red Lion, in the army,'
said my companion. 'He is said to be the bravest man in the army,
though I cannot admit that he is braver than some other people whom I
could mention. Still he is undoubtedly a very good leader.'
'And the general next him?' I asked. 'Why does he carry his head all
upon one side?'
'That is General Lannes, and he carries his head upon his left shoulder
because he was shot through the neck at the siege of St. Jean d'Acre.
He is a Gascon, like myself, and I fear that he gives some ground to
those who accuse my countrymen of being a little talkative and
quarrelsome. But monsieur smiles?'
'You are mistaken.'
'I thought that perhaps something which I had said might have amused
monsieur.
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