Page:A French Volunteer of the War of Independence.djvu/248

224 "A Swiss of Neuchatel, monsou le Resident," replied the Gascon.

"Monsou le Resident" could not refrain from saying, with a quiet smile, "Since when was Neuchatel situated on the Garonne?" The imperturbable Gascon was not taken aback, and without moving a muscle, replied, "Ever since the Revolution, monsou le Resident." The retort was unanswerable, and the passport was issued. In my case, the application seemed only a natural consequence of the official document of which I was the bearer, and I obtained the passport without any difficulty. I had borrowed my friend's name, certainly, but the description in the passport referred to me, and I set out on my journey in perfect security. When I was about to leave, I reviewed the state of my finances, and as I know that what does not increase diminishes, I exchanged a fair number of ducats for English merchandise, which promised me a good profit if I could only succeed in in-