He was not prepared for this; he told me
to take up my commission, said some handsome things of my services, and
granted my request. You are therefore once more a free man, and I have
promised for you that you will be a good boy in future, and remember what
you owe to the lenity of government. Thus you see my prince can be as
generous as yours. I do not pretend, indeed, that he confers a favour
with all the foreign graces and compliments of your Chevalier errant; but
he has a plain English manner, and the evident reluctance with which he
grants your request indicates the sacrifice which he makes of his own
inclination to your wishes. My friend, the adjutant-general, has procured
me a duplicate of the Baron's protection (the original being in Major
Melville's possession), which I send to you, as I know that if you can
find him you will have pleasure in being the first to communicate the
joyful intelligence. He will of course repair to the Duchran without loss
of time, there to ride quarantine for a few weeks. As for you, I give you
leave to escort him thither, and to stay a week there, as I understand a
certain fair lady is in that quarter.
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