"I shall see, mon frère," and, in the kindness of her heart, after pretending to search for what she too well knew were not to be found, she came again to my bedside, and said there would, perhaps, be some to-morrow.
"Still no letter!" I exclaimed, sadly, with tears in my eyes.
She laid a soft hand caressingly on my brow.
I besought her, in the most moving terms, to inquire if there were any letters for me at our cantonments in the vale of Aladyn, heedless of the distance and of the trouble I gave her; for I thought only of Louisa Loftus, and that her answer to my Gallipoli missive might have reached the regiment during my illness and absence.
"Monsieur, then, belongs to the English service?"
"No."
"The Osmanli army, then?"
"No, mademoiselle; I belong to the British," said I.
"Ah! true. But your uniform is not red?"
"All our light cavalry wear blue. Ah, ma soeur, seek the quarters of the lancers serving in the Light Brigade, and see if there is a letter for me. It will do me more good than all the doses of our Italian doctor."