The day was beautiful; and I had the precaution to
send out a couple of saddle-horses, that he might not be fatigued
in walking over the fields which had been recently ploughed up. The
animal he rode was so quiet that he was much gratified, and had an
opportunity of examining every spot of the positions of both armies;
and seemed greatly delighted, especially with the Farm of Goumont,
where he loitered a couple of hours. In our rounds we fell in with
Monsieur Da Costar, with whom he got into conversation, though I had
told him he was an impostor. But he had attracted so much notice by
his pretended story of being about the person of Napoleon, that he was
of too much importance to be passed by: I did not, indeed, know as
much of this fellow's Charlatanism at that time as afterwards, when
I saw him confronted with a blacksmith of La Belle Alliance, who had
been his companion in a hiding-place, ten miles from the field, during
the whole day; a fact which he could not deny. But he had got up a
tale so plausible, and so profitable, that he could afford to bestow
hush-money on the companion of his flight, so that the imposition was
but little known, and strangers continued to be gulled.
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