poor Spire be scolded any more, I confessed what I had done, fully expecting a slight reproof for having acted on my own authority. But my father only kissed me, and long afterwards he used to delight to speak of my conduct on that occasion."
II.
THE REVOLUTION IN THE SCHOOL.
Young Marbot was sent to school at the College of Sorèze. It was a military school taught by Benedictine monks. Owing to the popularity of the Benedictines and the prudence of Dom Ferlus, the principal, the school was spared by the revolutionaries. And now, here is an interesting glimpse of what a school was like in the days when the Republic reigned:
"The monks wore lay clothes, and were addressed as 'citizen'; but otherwise no change of any importance had taken place in the routine of the school. Of course it could not but show some traces of the feverish agitation which prevailed outside. The walls were covered with Republican 'texts.' We were forbidden to use the term 'monsieur.' When we went to the refectory, or for a walk, we sang the 'Marseillaise,' or other Republican hymns. The exploits of our armies formed the chief subject of conversation; and some of the elder boys enrolled themselves among the volunteers. We learnt drill, riding, fortifica-
