Oliver Otis Howard, Autobiography of Oliver Otis Howard, major general , United States army : volume 2

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[496] of Hougomont which Colonel MacDonnell, the indomitable Scotchman, defended to the last. It was in front of Wellington's line of defense, as Devil's Den was out in front of Meade's defensive line at Gettysburg. Hougomont and Devil's Den were alike useful to Wellington and Meade in contributing to final victory. These two great battles furnish epochs in history, and results hard to compare or enumerate.

My son had been in Paris before and at our Hotel de Tibre, and was glad to take me to see the magnificent public buildings, and also the statuary and paintings in the Louvre. Our eight days here were busy ones indeed. Tourists in that time could not have seen more of Paris. During my visit the Hon. Levi P. Morton was our minister to France. He received us kindly, but we did not stay long enough to accept his proffered hospitality and entertainment.

Late Sunday night, April 6th, we set out for Marseilles. We took “third class” on the cars. I had two objects in this. One was economy and the other was to see the people. My son readily conversed with the passengers in French and I could understand them better the longer I was with them. I noticed, however, that I was always treated with marked politeness and a deference they did not show to one another. I asked one intelligent-looking man the reason for this; he said, “Vous êtes un savant,” meaning that I was a student or scholar. I wished to know what made him think so. He drew his hand across his forehead, and then called attention to the crowsfeet beside my eyes. Of course this distinction was amusing and pleasant to me and to my son, who, they were sure, was a student, though he purported to be only a guide and interpreter. But this feeling hindered the more familiar