There
was, moreover, a dejection in his eye, strongly in contrast
with his former imperious glance; and more than one
officer remarked, that, if his days were devoted to the
customary practical arrangements for defence, his pallid
countenance betokened that his nights were nights rather
of vigil than of repose.
However natural and deep the alarm entertained for the
fate of the sister fort, there could be no apprehension
on the mind of Colonel de Haldimar in regard to his own;
since, furnished with the means of foiling his enemies
with their own weapons of cunning and deceit, a few
extraordinary precautions alone were necessary to secure
all immunity from danger. Whatever might be the stern
peculiarities of his character,--and these had originated
chiefly in an education purely military,--Colonel de
Haldimar was an officer well calculated to the important
trust reposed in him; for, combining experience with
judgment in all matters relating to the diplomacy of war,
and being fully conversant with the character and habits
of the enemy opposed to him, he possessed singular aptitude
to seize whatever advantages might present themselves.
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