 Prologue of the Bronze Eagle, a story of the Hundred Days. This is a LibriVox recording. A LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Dion Jones, Salt Lake City, Utah. The Bronze Eagle, a story of the Hundred Days by Baroness Emma Orksi. Prologue, the landing at Zhuan. The perfect calm of an early spring dawn lies over headland and sea. Hardly a ripple stirs the blue cheek of the bay. The softness of departing night lies upon the bosom of the Mediterranean, like the dew upon the heart of a flower. A silent dawn. Veils of transparent grays and purples and mauves still conceal the distant horizon. Breathless calm rests upon the water and that odd hush, which at times descends upon nature herself when the finger of destiny marks an eventful hour. But now the gray and the purple veils beyond the headland are lifted one by one. The myths of dawn rises upwards like the smoke of incense from some giant censors swung by unseen mighty hands. The sky above is of a translucent green, studded with stars that blink and now are slowly extinguished one by one. The green has turned to silver and the silver to lemon gold. The veils beyond the upland are flying in the wake of departing night. The lemon gold turns to glowing amber, anon to orange and crimson, and far inland the mountain peaks peeping shyly through the mist blush a vivid rose to find themselves so fair. And to the south there where fiery sea blends and merges with fiery sky a tiny black speck has just come into view. Larger and larger it grows as it draws nearer to the land. Now it seems like a bird with wings outspread and eagle flying swiftly to the shores of France. In the bay the fisherfolk who are making ready for their day's work pause a moment as they haul up their nets with rough brown hands held above their eyes they look out upon that black speck. The ship is not one they have seen in these waters before. Tis the emperor come back from Elba says someone. The men laugh and shrug their shoulders. That tale has been told so often in these parts during the past year. The good folk have ceased to believe in it. It has almost become a legend now that story that the emperor was coming back their emperor the man with the battered hat and the gray red and goat the people's emperor he who led them from victory to victory whose eagles soared above every capital and every tower in Europe he who made France glorious and respected her citizens men her soldiers heroes and with stately majesty the dawn yields today the last tones of orange have faded from the sky. It is once more of a translucent green merging into sapphire overhead and the great orb in the east rises from out the trammels of the mist and from awakening earth and sea comes the great love call the triumphant call of day and far away upon the horizon to the south the black speck becomes more distinct and more clear it takes shape substance life it divides and multiplies for now there are three or four specks silhouetted against the sky not three or four but five no six no seven seven black specks which detach themselves one by one one from another and from the vagueness beyond experienced eyes scan the horizon with enthusiasm and excitement which threatened to blur the clearness of their vision anyone with an eye for seagoing craft can distinguish that top sail schooner there well ahead of the rest of the tiny fleet skimming the water with swift grace and immediately behind her the three masted palaca hum have we not seen her in these waters before and the two graceful falukas whose latin sails look so like the outspread wings of a bird but it is on the schooner that all eyes are riveted now she skips along so fast that within an hour her pennant is easily distinguishable red and white the flag of Elba of that diminutive toy kingdom which for the past twelve months has been ruled over by the mightiest conqueror this modern world has ever known the flag of Elba then it is the emperor coming back a crowd had gathered on the headland now a crowd made up of barefooted fisherfolk men women children and of the laborers from the neighboring fields and vineyards they have all come to greet the emperor the man with the battered hat and the gray red goat the curious flashing eyes and mouth that always spoke genial words to the people of France traitors turned against him Ney de Marmont Bernadotte those on whom he had showered the full measure of his friendship whom he had loaded with honors with glory and with wealth foreign armies joined in coalition against France and forced the people's emperor to leave his country which he loved so well had sent him to humiliation and to exile but he had come back as all his people had always said that he would he had come back there was the top sail schooner that was bringing him home so swiftly now another hour and the schooner's name can be deciphered quite easily from the constant and that of the Polaca la Saint Esprit and beyond these La Toille and Saint Joseph Carolin and the entire little fleet flies the flag of Elba the emperor has come back barefooted fisherfolk whisper it among themselves the laborers in the valley call the news to those upon the hills after another hour or so there are those among the small knot who stand congregated on the highest point of the headland who swear that they can see the emperor standing on the deck of the la in constant he wears a black bicorn hat and his gray red and goat he is pacing up and down the deck of the schooner his hands held behind his back in the manner so familiar to the people of France and on his hat is pinned the tricolor of France everyone on shore who is on the lookout for the schooner now can see the tricolor quite plainly a mighty shout escapes the lusty throats of the men on the beach the women are on the verge of tears from sheer excitement and that shout is repeated again and again and sends its ringing echo from cliff to cliff and from fort to fort as the red and white pendant of the kingdom of Elba is hauled down from the ship's stern and the tricolor flag the flag of liberty and of regenerate France is hoisted in its stead the soft breeze from the south unfurls its folds and these respond to his caress the red white and blue make a trenchant note of color now against the tender hues of the sea flaunting its triumphant message in the face of awakening nature the eagle has left the bounds of its narrow cage of Elba it has taken wing over the blue Mediterranean within an hour perhaps or two it will rest on the square church tower of Antibes but not for long soon it will take to its adventurous flight again and soar over valley and mountain peak from church belfry to church belfry till it finds its resting place upon the towers of Notre Dame one hour afternoon the curtain has risen upon the first act of the most adventurous tragedy the world has ever known Napoleon Bonaparte has landed in the Bay of Juan with eleven hundred men and four guns reconquer France and the sovereignty of the world six hundred of his old guard six score of his Polish light cavalry three or four hundred Corsican chaussures thus did that sublime adventurer embark upon an expedition the most mad the most daring the most heroic the most egotistical the most tragic the most glorious which recording destiny has ever written in the book of this world the boats were lowered at one hour afternoon and the landing was slowly and methodically begun too slowly for the patience of the old guard the old growlers with grizzled mustache and furrowed cheeks down which tears of joy and enthusiasm were trickling at sight of the shores of France they were not going to wait for the return of those boats which had conveyed the Polish troopers on shore they took to the water and waited across the bay tossing the salt spray all around them as they trod the shingle like so many shaggy dogs enjoying a bath and when six hundred furbonnets darkened the sands of the bay at the foot of the tower of logbell such a shout of Viva la Emperor went forth from six hundred lusty throats that the midday spring air vibrated with kindred enthusiasm for miles and miles around and of prologue Chapter 1 Part 1 of The Bronze Eagle by Baroness Orksey this LibriVox recording is in the public domain recording by Dion Giants, Celtic City, Utah The Glorious News where the broad highway between Grenoble and Gap parts company from the turbulent draught and after crossing the ravine of volks skirts the plateau of Lamotte with its magnificent panorama of forests and mountain peaks a narrow bridal path strikes off at a sharp angle on the left and in wayward curves continues its length through the woods upwards to the hamlet of volks and the shrine of Notre Dame far away to the west the valley of the draught lies encircled by the pine-covered slopes of the lawn's range whilst towering some seven thousand and more feet up the snow-clad crest of grand moosh-roll glistens like a sea of myriads of rose-coloured diamonds under the kiss of the morning sun there was more than a hint of snow in the sharp stinging air this afternoon even down in the valley and now the keen wind from the northeast whipped up the faces of the two riders as they turned their horses at a sharp trot up the bridal path though it was not long since the sun had first peeped out above the forests of Palvaux the riders looked as if they had already a long journey to their credit their horses were covered with sweat and sprinkled with leather and they themselves were plentifully bespattered with mud for the road in the valley was soft after the thaw but despite probable fatigue both sat their horse with that ease and unconscious grace which marks the man accustomed to hard and constant writing though to the experienced eye there would appear a vast difference in the style and manner in which each horseman handled his mount one of them had the rigid precision of bearing which denotes military training he was young and slight of build with unruly dark hair fluttering round the temples from beneath his white sugar-loaf hat and escaping the trammels of the neatly tied black silk bow at the nape of the neck he held himself very erect and rode his horse on the curb the reins gathered tightly in one gloved hand and that hand held closely and almost immovably against his chest the other sat more carelessly though in no way more loosely in his saddle he gave his horse more freedom with a chain-snaffle and reins hanging lightly between his fingers he was obviously taller and probably older than his companion broader of shoulder and fairer of skin you might imagine him writing this same powerful mount across a sweep of open country but his friend you would naturally picture to yourself in uniform on the parade ground the riders soon left the valley of the drake behind them on ahead the path became very rocky winding its way beside a riotous little mountain stream whilst higher up still peeping through the intervening trees the whitewashed cottages of the tiny hamlet glimmered with dazzling clearness in the frosty atmosphere at a sharp bend of the road which effectually revealed the foremost of these cottages distant less than two kilometers now the younger of the two men drew rain suddenly and lifting his hat with outstretched arm high above his head he gave a long sigh which ended in a kind of exultant call of joy there is Notre Dame de Vaux he cried at the top of his voice and hat still in hand he pointed to the distant hamlet there's the spot where before the sun darts its midday rays upon us I shall hear great and glorious and authentic news of him from a man who has seen him as lately as forty eight hours ago who has touched his hand heard the sound of his voice seen the look of confidence and of hope in his eyes oh, he went on speaking with extraordinary volubility it is all too good to be true since yesterday I have felt like a man in a dream I haven't lived I have scarcely breathed I, the other man broken upon his ravings with a good humored growl you have certainly behaved like an escaped lunatic since early this morning my good De Marmont he said dryly don't you think that as we shall have to mix again with our fellow men presently you might try to behave with some semblance of reasonableness but De Marmont only laughed he was so excited that his lips trembled all the time his hand shook and his eyes glowed just as if some inward fire was burning deep down in his soul no, I can't he retorted I want to shout and to sing and to cry viva lampeur till those frowning mountains over there echo with my shouts and I'll have none of your English stiffness and reserve and curbing of enthusiasm today I am a lunatic if you will an escaped lunatic if to be mad with joy be a proof of insanity Clifford, my dear friend he added more soberly I am honestly sorry for you today thank you commented his companion dryly may I ask how I have deserved this genuine sympathy well because you are an Englishman and not a Frenchman said the younger man earnestly because you as an Englishman must desire Napoleon's downfall his humiliation perhaps his death instead of exulting in his glory trusting in his star believing in him following him if I were not a Frenchman on a day like this if my nationality or my patriotism demanded that I should fight against Napoleon that I should hate him or vilify him I firmly believe that I would turn my sword against myself so shamed should I feel in my own eyes it was the Englishman's turn to laugh and he did it very heartily his laugh was quite different to his friends it had more enjoyment in it more good temper more appreciation of everything that tends to gaiety in life and more direct defiance of what is gloomy he too had reigned in his horse presumably in order to listen to his friends enthusiastic tirades and as he did so there crept into his merry pleasant eyes a quaint look of half-contemptuous tolerance tempered by kindly humor well you see my good de Marmont he said still laughing you happen to be a Frenchman a visionary and weaver of dreams believe me he added more seriously if you had the misfortune to be a prosy shopkeeping Englishman you would certainly not commit suicide just because you could not enthuse over your favorite hero but you would realize soberly and calmly that while Napoleon Bonaparte is allowed to rule over France or over any country for the matter of that there will never be peace in the world or prosperity in any land the younger man made no reply a shadow seemed to gather over his face a look almost of foreboding as if fate that already lay in wait for the great adventurer had touched the young enthusiast with a warning finger whereupon Clifford resumed gaily once more shall we he said go slowly on now as far as the village is not yet ten o'clock Emery cannot possibly be here before noon he put his horse to a walk de Marmont keeping close behind him and in silence the two men rode up the incline toward Notre Dame de Vaux on ahead the pines and beach and birch became more sparse disclosing the great patches of moss covered rock upon the slopes of Pelvaux on Telfer the eternal snows appeared wonderfully near in the brilliance of this early spring atmosphere and here and there on the roadside bunches of wild crocus and of snow drops were already visible rearing their delicate corollas up against a background of moss the tiny village still far away lay in the peaceful hush of a Sunday morning only from the little chapel which holds the shrine of Notre Dame came the sweet insistent sound of the bell calling the dwellers of these mountain fastnesses to prayer the north easterly wind was still keen but the sun was gaining power as it rose well above Pelvaux and the sky over the dark forests and snow-crowned heights was of a glorious and vivid blue the words Auberge du Grand Dauphine looked remarkably inviting written in bold shiny black characters on the whitewashed wall of one of the foremost houses in the village at the time in front of the little inn and as a young ostler in blue blouse and sabbats came hurriedly and officiously forward whilst mine host in the same attire appeared in the doorway the two men dismounted unstrapped their mantles from their saddle bows and loudly called for mulled wine mine host typical of his calling and of his race rubricant of cheek portly of figure and genial in manner was over anxious to please his guests it was not often that gentlemen of such distinguished appearance called at the Auberge du Grand Dauphine seeing that Notre Dame devolks lies perdu on the outskirts of the forests of Pelvaux and the bridal path having reached the village leads nowhere save into the mountains and that Lamotte is close by with its medicinal springs and its fine hostels but these two highly distinguished gentlemen evidently meant to make a stay of it they even spoke of a friend who would come and join them later when they would expect to be served with the best wine mine host could put before them and that mine host dark-eyed daughter was all of flutter at sight of these gallant strangers one of them with such fiery eyes and vivacious ways and the other so tall and so dignified with fair skin well bronzed by the sun firm mouth that had such a pleasant smile on it her eyes sparkled at sight of them both and her glib tongue rattled away at truly astonishing speed would a well-baked omelette and a bit of fricando suit the gentlemen admirably ah well then that could easily be done and now in the meanwhile only good mulled wine that would present no difficulty either five minutes for it to get really hot as Annette had made some the previous day for her father who had been on a tiring errand up to Lamour and had come home cold and starved and it was specially good all the better and the clothes and nutmeg having soaked in for nearly four and twenty hours where would the gentlemen have it outside in the sunshine well it was very cold and the wind biting but the gentlemen had mantles and she Annette would see that the wine was piping hot five minutes and everything would be ready the tall fair-skinned gentlemen wanted to wash what a funny idea hadn't he washed this morning when he got up he had well then why should he want to wash again she and Annette managed to keep herself quite clean all day and didn't need to wash more than once a day but there strangers had funny ways with them and they guessed at once that Massour was a stranger he had such a fair skin and light brown hair well so long as Massour wasn't English for the English she detested why did she detest the English because they made war against France well against the emperor anyhow and she and Annette firmly believed that if English could get hold of the emperor they would kill him oh yes they would put him on an island peopled by cannibals and let him be eaten bones, marrow and all and Annette's dark eyes grew very round and very big as she gave forth her opinion upon the barbarous hatred of the English for the emperor on very gaily and very volubly while she dragged a couple of chairs out into the open and placed them well in the lee of the wind and brought a couple of pewter mugs which she sat on the table she was very much interested in the tall gentleman who had availed himself of her suggestion to use the pump at the back of the house so bent on washing himself and she asked many questions about him from his friend ten minutes later the steaming wine was on the table in a huge china bowl and the Englishman was ladling it out with a long handled spoon and filling the two mugs with the deliciously scented cordial Annette had disappeared into the house in response to a peremptory call from her father the chapel bell had ceased to ring long ago and she would miss hearing mass altogether today and Missour Lecurie who came on alternate Sundays all the way from LeMotte to celebrate divine service would be very angry indeed with her well that couldn't be helped Annette would have loved to go to mass but the two distinguished gentlemen expected their friend to arrive at noon and the daydreamer to be quite ready by then so she comforted her conscience with a few prayers said on her knees before the picture of the Holy Virgin which hung above her bed after which she went back to her house on her duty with a light heart but not before she had decided an important point in her mind namely which of those two handsome gentlemen she liked the best the dark one with the fiery eyes that expressed such bold admiration of her young charms or the tall one with the earnest grey eyes who looked as if he could like a feather and carry her running all the way to the summit of tail affair Annette had indeed made up her mind that the giant with the soft brown hair and winning smile was on the whole the more attractive of the two the two friends with mantles wrapped closely round them sat outside the grand Dauphine all unconscious of the problem which had been disturbing Annette's busy little brain the steaming wine had put plenty of warmth into their bones and though both had been silent while they sipped their first mugful it was obvious that each was busy with his own thoughts then suddenly the young Frenchman put his mug down and leaned with both elbows on the table because he wanted to talk confidentially with his friend and there was never any knowing what prying ears might be about I suppose he said even as a deep frown told of puzzling thoughts within the mind I suppose that when England hears the news she will up and at him again attacking him even before he has had time to settle down upon his reconquered throne that throne is not reconquered yet my friend retorted the Englishman dryly nor has the news of this mad adventure reached England so far but when it does broken De Marmont somberly your castle re will rave Wellington will gather up his armies to try and crush the hero whom France loves and acclaims will France acclaim the hero there's the question the army will the people will Clifford shrugged his shoulders the army yes he said slowly but the people what people about the town folk your mirrors and prefits your traits people your shopkeepers who have been ruined by the wars which your hero has made to further his own ambition don't say that Clifford once more broke in De Marmont and this time more vehemently than before when you speak like that I could almost forget our friendship or not my good De Marmont rejoined Clifford with his good humored smile you will anyhow within the next few months days perhaps bury our friendship beneath the ashes of your patriotism no one believe me he added more earnestly has a greater admiration for the genius of Napoleon than I have his love of France his desire for her glory superb but underlying his love of country there is the love of self the mad desire to rule to conquer to humiliate it led him to Moscow and thence to Elba it has brought him back to France it will lead him once again to the capital no doubt but as surely too it will lead him on to the Tarpien Rock once he will be hurled down this time not only bruised but shattered a fallen hero and you will a broken idol for posterity to deal with in after time as it lists and England would like to be the one to give the hero the final push said De Marmont not without a sneer England my friend hate and fear bone apart as they have never hated and feared anyone before in the whole course of their history and tell me have we not cause enough to hate him for fifteen years has he not tried to ruin us to bring us to our knees tried to throttle our commerce break our might upon the sea to make a slave of Britain and Britain proved unconquerable believe me we hate your hero less than he hates us he had spoken with a good deal of earnestness but now he added more lightly as if in answer to De Marmont's glowering look at the same time he said I doubt if there is a single English gentlemen living at the present moment let alone the army who would refuse ungrudging admiration to Napoleon himself and to his genius but as a nation England has her interest to safeguard she has suffered enough and through him in her commerce and her prosperity in the past twenty years she must have peace now I know side the other a nation of shopkeepers yes we are that I suppose we are shopkeepers most of us I didn't mean to use the word in any derogatory sense protested Victor De Marmont with the ready politeness peculiar to his race why even you I don't see why you should say even you broke in Clifford quietly I am a shopkeeper nothing more I buy goods and sell them again I buy the gloves which our friend Missour de Molin manufactures at Grenoble and sell them to any London draper who chooses to buy them a very mean and un-gentlemanly occupation is it not he spoke French with perfect fluency and only with the suspicion of a drawl in the intonation of the vowels which suggested rather than proclaimed his nationality and just now there was not the slightest tone of bitterness apparent in his deep tone and mellow voice once more his friend would have protested but he put up a restraining hand he said with a smile I can't imagine for a moment that you have the same prejudices as our mutual friend Missour de Comte de Cambre who must have made a very violent sacrifice to his feelings when he admitted me as a guest to his own table I am sure he must often think that the servants hall is the proper place for me the Comte de Cambre retorted de Marmont with a sneer is full up to his eyes with the prejudices and arrogance of his cast it is men of his type and not Marat or Robespierre who made the revolution who goaded the people of France into becoming something worse than man devouring beasts and mind you 20 years of exile did not sober them nor did contact with democratic thought in England and America teach them the most elementary lessons of common sense if the emperor had not come back today we should be once more working up for revolution more terrible this time more bloody and vengeful if possible than the last then as Clifford made no comment on this peroration the younger man resumed more lightly and knowing the Comte de Cambre's prejudices as I do imagine my surprise after I had met you in his house as an honored guest and on what appeared to be intimate terms of friendship to learn that you in fact that I was nothing more deeper broke in Clifford with a short laugh nothing better than our mutual friend of Grenoble a highly worthy man whom de Cambre esteems somewhat lower than his butler it certainly must have surprised you very much well you know old de Cambre has a horror anything that pertains to trade and an avowed contempt for everything that he calls bourgeois there's no doubt about that ascented Clifford fervently perhaps he does not know of your connection with gloves with business people in Grenoble generally oh yes he does replied the Englishman quietly well then queried de Marmont then as his friend sat there silent with that quiet good humored smile lingering round his lips he added apologetically perhaps I am indiscreet but I never could understand it and you English are so reserved that I never told you how Massor de Cambre commander of the order of the Holy Ghost of the Order de Lis hereditary grand chamberlain of France etc etc came to sit at the same table as a vendor and buyer of gloves said Clifford Gailey there's no secret about it I owe the comps exalted condescension to certain letters of recommendation which he could not very well disregard oh as to that quote de Marmont with a shrug of the shoulders people like the de Cambres have their own codes of courtesy and of friendship in this case my good de Marmont it was the code of ordinary gratitude that imposed its dictum even upon the autocratic and aristocratic comp de Cambre gratitude sneered de Marmont in a de Cambre Massor de Cambre said Clifford with slow emphasis his mother, his sister his brother in law and two of their faithful servants were rescued from the very foot of the guillotine by a band of heroes known in those days as the league of the Scarlet Pimpernel I knew that said de Marmont quietly then perhaps you also knew that their leader was Sir Percy Blakeney a prince among gallant English gentlemen and my dead father's friend when my business affairs sent me to Grenoble Sir Percy warmly recommended me to the man whose life he had saved what could Massor de Cambre do but receive me as a friend you see my credentials exceptional and unimpeachable of course ascended de Marmont now I understand but you will admit that I have had grounds for surprise you who were the friend of Dumoulin a tradesman and avowed bonapartist to unpardonable crimes in the eyes of Massor de Cambre he added with a return to his former bitterness you to be seated at his table and to shake him by the hand why man if he knew that I have remained faithful to the emperor he paused abruptly and his somewhat full sensitive lips were pressed tightly together as if to suppress an insistent outburst of passion but Clifford frowned and when he turned away de Marmont it was in order to hide a harsh look of contempt surely he said you have never led the comp to suppose that you are a royalist I have never led him to suppose anything but he has taken my political convictions for granted rejoined de Marmont then suddenly a look of bitter resentment darkened his face seeing it appear hard and lined and considerably older my uncle Marshal de Marmont Duke de Raguse was an abominable traitor he went on with ill repressed vehemence he betrayed his emperor his benefactor and his friend it was the vilest treachery that has ever disgraced an honorable name Paris could have held easily for another four and twenty hours and by that time the emperor would have been back but de Marmont gave her over willfully scurvelly to the allies but for his abominable act of cowardice the emperor never would have had to endure the shame of his temporary exile at Elba and Louis de Bourbon would never have had the chance of wallowing for twelve months upon the throne of France but that which is a source of irreparable shame to me is a virtue in the eyes of all these royalists de Marmont's treachery against the emperor has placed all his kindred in the forefront of those who now lick the boots of that infamous bourbon dynasty and it did not suit the plans of the Bonapartist party that we in the provinces should claim our faith too openly until such time as the emperor returned and if the comte de Cambre had known that you are just an ardent Bonapartist suggested Clifford calmly he would long before now have had me kicked out by his lackeys broke in de Marmont with ever increasing bitterness as he brought his clenched fist crashing down upon the table while his dark eyes glowed with a fierce and passionate resentment for men like de Cambre there is only one caste the noblesse one religion the catholic one creed adherence to the bourbons all else is scum trash beneath contempt hardly human oh if you knew how I loathe these people he continued speaking volubly and in a voice shaking with suppressed excitement they have learnt nothing these aristocrats nothing I tell you the terrible reprisals of the revolution which culminated in that appalling reign of terror have taught them absolutely nothing they have not learnt the great lesson of the revolution that the people will no longer endure their arrogance and their pretensions that the old regime is dead dead the regime of oppression and pride and intolerance they have learnt nothing he reiterated with ever growing excitement nothing humanity begins with the noblesse is still their watchword today as it was before the irate people sent hundreds of them to perish miserably on the guillotine the rest of mankind to them is only cattle made to toil for the well-being of their class oh I loathe them I tell you I loathe them from the bottom of my soul and yet you and your kind are rapidly becoming at one with them said Clifford his quiet voice in strange contrast to the other man's violent agitation no we are not protested de Marmont emphatically the men whom Napoleon created marshals and peers of France have been openly snubbed at the court of Louis the 18th Ney who is prince of Moscow and next to Napoleon himself the most soldier of France has seen his wife treated little better than a chamber made by the duchess de Anjoulem and the ladies of the old noblesse my uncle is Marshall of France and Duke de Ragoos and I am the heir to his millions but the comp de Cambrai will always consider it a mass alliance for his daughter to marry me the note of bitter resentment of wounded pride and smoldering hatred became more and more marked while he spoke his voice now sounded hoarse and his throat seemed dry presently he raised his mug to his lips and drank eagerly but his hand was shaking visibly as he did this and some of the wine was spilled on the table silence for a while outside the little inn silence which seemed full of portent for through the pure mountain air there was wafted the hot breath of men's passions fierce dominating challenging love hatred prejudices and contempt all were portrayed on de Marmont's mobile face they glowed in his dark eyes and breathed through his quivering nostrils now he rested his elbow on the table and his chin in his hand his nervy fingers played a tattoo against his teeth clenched together like those of some young feline creature which sees its prey coming along and is snarling at the sight Clifford with those deep-set earnest gray eyes of his was silently watching his friend his hand did not shake nor did the breath come any quicker from his broad chest yet deep down behind the wide brow behind those same overshadowed eyes a keen observer would of assurity have detected the signs of a latent volcano of passions all the more strong and veral as they were kept in perfect control it was he who presently broke the silence and his voice was quite steady when he spoke though perhaps a trifle more toneless more dead than usual and he said what of mademoiselle crystal in all this crystal queried the other curtly what about her she is an ardent royalist more strong in her convictions and her enthusiasm than women usually are and what of that rejoined De Marmont fiercely I love crystal but when she learns that you she shall not learn it rejoined the other cynically we sign our marriage contract tonight the wedding is fixed for Tuesday until then I can hold my peace an exclamation of hot protest escaped the Englishman's lips his hand which rested on the table became so tightly clenched that the hard knuckles looked as if they would burst through their fetters of sinew and skin and he made no pretense at concealing the look of burning indignation which flashed from his eyes but man he exclaimed a deception such as you propose is cruel and monstrous in view too of what has occurred in the past few days in view of what may happen if the news which we have heard is true in view of all that my friend retorted De Marmont firmly the old regime has had its nine days of wonder and of splendor the emperor has come back we who believe in him who have remained true to him in his humiliation and in his misfortunes may once more raise our heads and loudly proclaim our loyalty the return of the emperor will once more put his dukes and his marshals in their rightful place on a level with the highest nobility of France the comp de Cambray will realize that all his hopes regaining his fortune through the favors of the bourbons have by force of circumstances come to not like most of the old noblesse who emigrated he is without a sue he may choose to look on me with contempt but he will no longer desire to kick me out of his house for he will be glad enough to see the Cambray scutch in with de Marmont gold but mademoiselle crystal insisted Clifford almost appealingly for his whole soul had revolted at the cynicism of the other man crystal has listened to that ape Saint Janus replied de Marmont dryly one of her own cast a marquis with sixteen quarterings to his family escutcheon and not a in his pockets she is very young and very inexperienced she has seen nothing of the world as yet nothing she was born and brought up in exile in England in the myths of that narrow society formed by impecunious Emma Grace and shopkeeping Englishman murmured Clifford under his breath she could never have married Saint Janus reiterated de Marmont with deliberate emphasis the man hasn't a sue even crystal realized from the first that nothing ever could have come of that boy and girl dallying the comp never would have consented perhaps not but she mademoiselle crystal would she ever have consented to marry you if she had known what your convictions are crystal is only child said de Marmont with a light shrug of the shoulders she will learn to love me presently when Saint Janus has disappeared out of her little world and she will accept my convictions as she has accepted me submissive to my will as she was to that of her father once more a hot protest of indignation rose to Clifford's lips but this too he smothered resolutely what was the use of protesting could he hope to change with a few arguments the whole cynical nature of a man and what right had he even to interfere the comp de Cambrai and mademoiselle crystal were nothing to him in their minds they would never look upon him even as an equal let alone as a friend so the bitter words died upon his lips and you have been content to win a wife on such terms was all that he said I have had to be content was de Marmont's retort crystal is the only woman I have ever cared for she will love me in time I doubt not and her sense of duty will make her forget Saint Janus quickly enough then as Clifford made no further comment silence fell once more between the two men perhaps even de Marmont felt that somehow during the past few moments the slender bond of friendship which similarity of tastes and a certain similarity of political ideals had foraged between him and the stranger had been a mapping point and this for a reason which he could not very well understand he drank another draft of wine and gave a quick sigh of satisfaction with the world in general and also with himself for he did not feel that he had done or said anything which could offend the keenest susceptibilities of his friend he looked with a sudden sense of astonishment at Clifford as if he were only seeing him now for the first time his keen dark eyes took in with a rapid glance the Englishman's powerful personality the square shoulders the head well erect the strong Anglo-Saxon chin firmly set the slender hands always in repose in the whole attitude of the man as an heir of willpower which had never struck de Marmont quite so forcibly as it did now and a virility which looked as ready to challenge fate as it was able to conquer her if she proved adverse and just now there was a curious look in those deep-set eyes a look of contempt or of pity de Marmont was not sure which but somehow the look worried him and he would have given much to read the thoughts which were hidden behind the high square brow however he asked no questions and thus the silence remained unbroken for some time save for the sowing of the northeast wind as it whistled through the pines whilst from the tiny chapel held the shrine of Notre Dame de Vaux came the sound of a soft-toned bell ringing the midday Angelus just then round that same curve in the road where the two riders had paused an hour ago in sight of the little Hamlet a man on horseback appeared riding at a brisk trot up the rugged stony path Victor de Marmont woke from his memory there's Emory he cried he jumped to his feet then he picked up his hat from the table where he had laid it down tossed it up into the air as high as it would go and shouted with all his might viva l'ampereur end of chapter one part one chapter one part two of the bronze eagle by Baroness Orxy this Librivox recording is in the public domain recording by Dion Giants Salt Lake City, Utah the man who now drew rain with abrupt clumsiness in front of the auberge looked hot tired and travel stained his face was covered with sweat and his horse with leather the lapel of his coat was torn his breeches and boots were covered with soft frozen mud but having brought his horse to a halt he swung himself out of the saddle with the brisk air of a boy who has enjoyed his first ride across country surgeon captain Emory was a man well over forty but today his eyes glowed with that concentrated fire which burns in the heart at twenty and he shook de Marmont by hand with a vigor which made the younger man wence with the pain of that iron grip my friend Mr. Clifford an English gentleman said Victor de Marmont hastily in response to a quick look of suspicious inquiry which flashed out from under Emory's bushy eyebrows you can talk quite freely Emory and for God's sake tell us your news but Emory would hardly speak he had been riding hard for the past three hours his throat was parched and through it his voice came up hoarse and raucous nevertheless he at once began talking in short jerky sentences he landed on Wednesday he said I parted from him on Friday at Castelon you had my message this morning early we came at once I thought we could talk better here first but I was spent last night I had to sleep at course so I sent to you but now in heaven's name give me something to drink while he drank eagerly and greedily of the cold spiced wine which Clifford had served out to him he still scrutinized the Englishman closely from under his frowning and bushy eyebrows Clifford's winning glance however seemed to have conquered his mistrust for presently after he had put his mug down again he stretched out a cordial hand to him now that our Emperor is back with us he said as if in apology for his former suspicions we his friends are bound to look as gants at every Englishman we meet as you are said Clifford with his habitual good-humored smile as he grasped surgeon captain Emery's extended hand it is the hand of a friend I am grasping insisted Emery of a personal friend if you will call him so replied Clifford politically I hardly count you see I am just a looker on at the game the surgeon captain's keen eyes the bushy brows shot a rapid glance at the tall well-knit figure of the Englishman you are not a fighting man he queried much amazed no replied Clifford dryly I am only a tradesman your news Emery your news here broken Victor de Marmont who during the brief colloquy between his two friends had been hardly able to keep his excitement in check Emery turned away from the other man in silence clearly there was something about that fine noble looking fellow who proclaimed himself a tradesman while that splendid physique of his should be at his country service which still puzzled the worthy army surgeon but he was primarily very thirsty and secondly as eager to impart his news as de Marmont was to hear it so now without wasting any further words on less important matter he sat down close to the table and stretched his short thick legs out before him my news is of the best he said with lusty fervor we left Porto for Raho on Sunday last but only landed on Wednesday as I told you for we were severely alarmed in the Mediterranean we came on shore at Antibes at midday of March 1st and bivouacked in an olive grove on the way to Cairns that was a sight good for sore eyes my friends to see him sitting there by the campfire his feet firmly planted upon the soil of France what a man sir what a man he continued heading directly to Clifford on board the inconstant he had composed and dictated his proclamation to the army to the soldiers of France the finest piece of prose sir I have ever read in all my life but you shall judge of it sir you shall judge and with hands shaking with excitement he fumbled in the bulging pocket of his coat collected there from a roll of loose papers roughly tied together with a piece of tape you shall read it sir he went on mumbling while his trembling fingers vainly tried to undo the knot in the tape you shall read it and then may have you'll tell me if your pit was ever half so eloquent curse these knots will you allow me sir said Clifford quietly and with steady hand and firm fingers he undid the refractory knots and spread the papers out upon the table already de Marmont had given a cry of loyalty and of triumph his proclamation he exclaimed and a sigh of infinite satisfaction born of enthusiasm and of hero worship escaped his quivering lips the papers bore the signature of that name which had once been all powerful in its magical charm at sound of which Europe had trumbled and crowns had felt insecure the name which men had breathed nay still breathed either with passionate loyalty or with bitter hatred Napoleon the proclamation where with the heroic adventurer confident in the power of his diction meant to reconquer the hearts of that army whom he had once led to such glorious victories de Marmont read the long document through from end to end in a half audible voice now and again he gave a little cry a cry of loyalty of victories of Austerlitz and Gena of Wagram and of Ekmul at mention of those imperial eagles which had led the armies of France conquering and glorious throughout the length and breadth of Europe or a cry of shame and horror at mention of the traitor whose name he bore and who had delivered France into the hands of strangers into those of his enemies and when the young enthusiast had read the proclamation through to the end he raised the paper to his lips and fervently kissed the imprint of the revered name Napoleon now tell me more about him he said finally as he leaned both elbows on the table and fastened his glowing eyes upon the equally heated face of surgeon Captain Emery well resumed the latter as I told you we bifwacked among the olive trees on the way to Cairns the emperor had already sent Cambron on ahead with forty of his grenadiers to commandeer what horses and mules he could as we were not able to bring many across from Porto Farajo Cambron he said I will be in command of the vanguard in this the finest campaign which I have ever undertaken my orders are to you that you do not fire a single unnecessary shot remember that I mean to reconquer my imperial crown without shedding one drop of French blood oh he is in excellent health and in excellent spirits such a man such fire in his eyes such determination in his actions younger, bolder than ever I tell you friends continued the worthy surgeon Captain as he brought the palm of his hand flat down upon the table with an emphatic bang that it is going to be a triumphal march from end to end of France the people are mad about him at Roca Vignan just outside Cairns where we bivouacked on Thursday men women and children were flocking round to see him pressing close to his knees bringing him wine and flowers and the people were crying Viva l'Empereur even in the streets of Grasse but the army man the army cried to Marmont the garrisons of Antibes and Cairns and Grasse went over to him at once and the officers we hadn't encountered the army yet when I parted from him on Friday retorted Emory with equal impatience we didn't go into Antibes and we avoided Cairns you must give him time the people in the towns wouldn't at first believe that he had come back General Massena who is in command at Marseille was not fit to spread the news that a band of Corsican pirates had landed on the literal and were marching inland devastating villages as they marched the peasants from the mountains were the first to believe that the Emperor had really come and they wandered down in their hundreds to see him first and to spread the news of his arrival ahead of him by the time we reached Milan the mayor was not only ready to receive him but also to furnish him with five thousand rations of meat and bread with horses and with mules since then he has been at Degu and at Cisteron be sure that the garrisons of those cities have rallied round his eagles by now then whilst Emory paused for breath De Marmont queried eagerly and so there has been no contra temps nothing serious so far replied the other we had to abandon our guns at Grosse the Emperor felt that they would impede the rapidity of his progress and our second day's march was rather trying the mountain passes were covered in snow the Lancers had to lead their horses sometimes along the edge of sheer precipices they were hampered to by their accoutrements their long swords and their Lancers others who had no mounts had to carry their heavy saddles and bridles on those slippery paths but he was walking too stick in hand losing his footing now and then just as they did and once he nearly rolled down one of those cursed precipices but always smiling always cheerful always full of hope at Antibes young Casabianca got himself arrested with twenty grenadiers they had gone into the town to requisition a few provisions when the news reached us some of the younger men tried to persuade the emperor to march on the city and carry the place by force of arms before Casabianca's misfortune drew at it abroad no he said every minute is precious all we can do is to get along faster than the evil news can travel if half my small army were captive at Antibes I would still move on if every man were a prisoner in the citadel I would march on alone that's the man my friends cried emory with ever growing enthusiasm our emperor and he cast a defiant look on Clifford as much as to say bring on your Wellington and your armies now the emperor has come back the whole of France will know how to guard him then he turned to De Marmont and now tell me about Grenoble he said Grenoble had an inkling of the news already last night whose enthusiasm was no wit cooler than that of emory Marchand has been secretly assembling his troops he has sent to Chambure for the 7th and 11th regiment of the line and to Vienne for the 4th hussars inside Grenoble he has the 5th infantry regiment the 4th of artillery and 3rd of engineers with a trained squadron this morning he is holding a council of war and I know that he has been in constant communication with Massena the news is gradually filtering through into the town people stand at the street corners and whisper among themselves the word emperor seemed wafted upon this morning's breeze and by tonight we'll have the emperor's proclamation to his people pinned up on the walls of the Hotel de Ville exclaimed emory and with hands still trembling with excitement he gathered the precious papers once more together and slipped them back into his coat pocket then he made a visible effort to speak more quietly and now he said for one very important matter which by the way is the chief reason for my asking you my good de Marmont to meet me here before my getting to Grenoble yes, what is it queried de Marmont eagerly surgeon captain emory leaned across the table instinctively he dropped his voice and though his excitement had not abated one jot though his eyes still glowed and his hands still fidgeted he had forced himself at last to a semblance of calm the matter is one of money he said slowly the emperor has some funds at his disposal but as you know that scurvy government of the restoration never handed him over one single sue of the yearly revenue which it had solemnly agreed and sworn to pay to him with regularity now of course he continued still more emphatically we who believe in our emperor as we believe in God we are absolutely convinced that the army will rally round him to a man the army loves him and has never seized to love him the army will follow him to victory and to death but the most loyal army in the world cannot subsist without money and the emperor has little or none the news of his triumphant march across France will reach Paris long before he does it will enable his most excellent and most corpulent majesty king Louis to skip over to England or to Ghent with everything in the treasury on which he can lay his august hands now de Marmont do you perceive what the serious matter is which caused me to meet you here 25 kilometers from Grenoble where I ought to be at the present moment yes I do perceive very grave trouble there said de Marmont with characteristic ensouciance but one which need not greatly worry the emperor I am rich thank God and and may God bless you my dear de Marmont for the lot broken emory earnestly but what may be called a large private fortune is as nothing before the needs of an army soon of course the emperor will be in peaceful possession of his throne and will have all the resources of France at his command but before that happy time arrives there will be much fighting and many days weeks perhaps anxiety to go through during those weeks the army must be paid and fed and your private fortune my dear de Marmont would even if the emperor were to accept your sacrifice which is not likely be but as a drop in the mighty ocean of the cost of a campaign what are two or even three millions my poor dear friend it is 40 millions that the emperor wants de Marmont this time had nothing to say he was staring mootily and silently before him now that is what I have come to talk to you about continued emory after a few seconds pause during which he had once more thrown a quick half suspicious glance on the impassive though obviously interested face of the always supposing that Missor here is on our side neither on your side nor on the other captain said Bobby Clifford with a slight tone of impatience I am a mere tradesman as I have had the honor to tell you a spectator at this game of political conflicts Missor de Marmont knows this well else he had not asked me to accompany him today nor offered me a mount to enable me to do so but if you prefer it he added lightly I can go for a stroll while you discuss these graver matters he would have risen from the table only that emory immediately detained him no offense sir said the surgeon captain bluntly none I give you my word assented the Englishman it is only natural that you should wish to discuss such grave matters in private let me go and see to our desionaire in the meanwhile I feel sure that the fricken do is done to a turn by now I'll have it dished up in ten minutes I pray you take no heed of me he added in response to murmured protestations from both de Marmont and emory I would much prefer to know nothing of these grave matters which you are about to discuss this time emory did not detain him as he rose and turned to go within in order to find mine host or Annette the two Englishman took no further heed of him wrapped up in the all engrossing subject matter they remained seated at the table leaning across it their faces close further their eyes dancing with excitement questions and answers as soon as the strangers back was turned already tumbling out in confusion from their lips Clifford turned to have a last look at them before he went into the house and while he did so his habitual pleasant gently ironical smile still hovered round his lips but anon a quickly suppressed sigh chased the smile away and over his face there crapped a strange shadow a look of longing and of bitter regret it was only for a moment however the next he had passed his hand slowly across his forehead as if to wipe away that shadow and smooth out those lines of unspoken pain soon his cheerful voice was heard going along the low rafters of the little inn loudly calling for Annette and for news of the baked omelette and the fricandou you really could have talked quite freely before Mr. Clifford my good Emery said to Marmont as soon as Bobby had disappeared inside the inn he really takes no part in politics he is a friend alike he is a pomp de Cambrai and of glove maker Dumoulin he has visited our Bonapartist club Dumoulin has vouched for him you see he is not a fighting man I suppose that you are equally sure that he is not an English spy remarked Emery dryly of course I am sure asserted to Marmont emphatically Dumoulin has known him for years though this is the first time that Clifford has visited Grenoble he is in the glove trade in England his interests are purely commercial he came here with introductions to the comp de Cambrai from a mutual friend in England who seems to be a personage of vast importance in his own country and greatly esteemed by the comp else you may be sure that that stiff-necked aristocrat would never have received a tradesman as a guest in his house but it was in Dumoulin's house that I first met Bobby Clifford we took a liking to one another and since then have ridden a great deal together he is a splendid horseman and I was very glad to be able to offer him a mount at different times but our political conversations have never been very heated or very serious Clifford maintains a detached, impersonal attitude both to the bonapartist and the royalist cause I asked him to accompany me this morning and he gladly consented for he dearly loves a horse I assure you you might have said anything before him hey, bien, I'm sorry Ben obstinate and ungracious said the surgeon captain but in a tone that obviously belied his words though frankly I am very glad that we are alone for the moment he paused and with a wave of his thick short fingered hand he dismissed this less important subject matter and once more spoke with his wanted eagerness on that which lay nearest his heart now listen, my good De Marmont he said, do you recollect last April when the Empress, poor, wretched misguided woman fled so precipitately from Paris abandoning the capital, France and her crown at one and the same time and taking away with her all the crown diamonds and money and treasure belonging to the emperor she was terribly ill-advised of course but yes I remember all that perfectly well broke in De Marmont impatiently well then you know that that abominable Talley Rand sent one of his emissaries after the Empress and her suite that this emissary, Doudon was his name, reached Orleans just before Marie Louise herself got there and that she ordered in Talley Rand's name the seizure of the Empress's convoy as soon as it arrived in the city broke in De Marmont again yes I recollect that abominable outrage perfectly, Doudon, backed by the officers of the gendarmerie, managed to rob the Empress of everything she had even to the last knife and fork even to the last pocket of belonging to the emperor and marked with his initials oh it was monstrous hellish devilish it makes my blood boil whenever I think of it whenever I think of those fatuous treacherous bourbons gloating over those treasures at the Tularies while our Empress went her way as effectually despoiled as if she had been way-laid by so many vegans on a public highway just so resumed Emery quietly after De Marmont's violent storm of wrath had subsided but I don't know if you also recollect that when the various cases containing the emperor's belongings were opened at the Tularies there was just as much disappointment as gloating some of those fatuous bourbons as you so rightly call them expected to find some forty or fifty millions of the emperor's personal savings there banknotes and drafts on the banks of France, of England and of Amsterdam which they were looking forward to distributing among themselves and their friends your friend the Comte de Cambre would no doubt have come in too for his share in this distribution De Talirand is a very wise man always far-seeing he knows the improvidence, the prodigality the ostentation of these new masters whom he is so ready to serve Erdudon reached Paris with his booty Massort de Talirand had very carefully eliminated there from some five and twenty million Franks in banknotes and broker's drafts which he felt would come in very usefully once for a rainy day but Massort de Talirand is immensely rich himself protested de Marmont ah, he did not eliminate those five and twenty millions for his own benefit said Emery I would not so boldly accuse him of theft the money has been carefully massort de Talirand for the use of his corpulent Majesty Louis de Bourbon eighteenth of that name then as Emery here made a dramatic pause and looked triumphantly across at his companion de Marmont rejoined somewhat bewildered but I don't understand why I am telling you this retorted Emery still with that triumphant error you shall understand in a moment my friend when I tell you that those five and twenty millions were never taken north to Paris they were conveyed in strict secrecy south to Grenoble to Grenoble exclaimed de Marmont to Grenoble reasserted Emery but why why such a long way why Grenoble queried the young man via his puzzlement for several reasons replied Emery firstly both the prefet of the department and the military commandant are hot royalists whilst the province of Daphine is not in case of any army corps being sent down there to quell possible and probable revolt the money would have been there to hand also if you remember there was talk at the time of the king of Naples proving troublesome there too in case of a campaign on the frontier the money lying ready to hand at Grenoble could prove very useful but of course I cannot possibly pretend to give you all the reasons which actuated Massour de Talleyrand when he caused five and twenty millions of stolen money to be conveyed secretly to Grenoble rather than to Paris his ways are more tortuous than any mere army surgeon can possibly hope to gauge enough that he did it and that at this very moment there are five and twenty millions which are the rightful property of the emperor locked up in the cellars of the hotel de Ville at Grenoble but murmur de Marmont who still seemed very bewildered at all that he had heard are you sure? quite sure affirmed Emory emphatically de Moulin brought news of it to the emperor at Elba several months ago and you know that he and his Bonapartist club always have plenty of spies in and around the prefecture the money is there he reiterated with still greater emphasis now the question is how are we going to get hold of it easily rejoined de Marmont with his habitual enthusiasm when the emperor marches into Grenoble and the whole of the garrison rallies around him he can go straight to the hotel de Ville and take everything that he wants always supposing the sore lay prophet does not anticipate the emperors coming by conveying the money to Paris or elsewhere before we can get hold of it emory dryly oh Fourier is not sufficiently astute for that perhaps not but we must not neglect possibilities that money would be a perfect god send to the emperor and finally his two pardoux anyhow my good de Marmont that is what I wanted to talk over quietly with you before I get into Grenoble can you think of any means of getting hold of that money in case Fourier has the notion of conveying it to some other place of safety I would like to think that over emory said de Marmont thoughtfully we of the Bonapartist club at Grenoble have spies inside the hotel de Ville we must try and find out what Fourier means to do as soon as he realizes that the emperor is marching on Grenoble and then we must act accordingly and trust to luck and good fortune and to the emperor's star rejoined emory earnestly once more in the ascendant but the matter of the money is a serious one de Marmont you will deal with it seriously seriously ejaculated de Marmont once more the unquenchable fire of undying devotion to his hero glowed in the young man's eyes everything pertaining to the emperor he said fervently is serious to me for a whim of his lay down my life I will think of all you have told me emory and here beneath the blue dome of God's sky I swear that I will get the emperor the money that he wants or lose my honor and my life in the attempt amen to that rejoined emory with a deep sigh of satisfaction you are a brave man de Marmont would to heaven every Frenchman was like you and now he added with sudden transition to a lighter mood let Annette dish up the fricandou here's our friend the tradesman who was born to be a soldier Missour Clifford he added loudly calling to the Englishman who had just appeared in the doorway of the inn my grateful thanks to you not only for your courtesy but for expediting that delicious de Genère which tickles my appetite so pleasantly I pray you sit down without delay I shall have to make an early start after the meal as I must be inside Grenoble before dark Clifford, good-humored, genial quiet as usual quickly responded to the surgeon captain's desire he took his seat once more at the table and spoke of the weather and the sunshine the alps and the snows the while Annette spread a cloth and laid plates and knives and forks before the distinguished gentlemen we all want to make an early start a my dear Clifford ejaculated de Marmont gaily we have serious business to transact this night with Missour Lecomte de Cambrai and partake to delicious hospitality what? Emery laughed not I forsooth he said Missour Lecomte would as soon have Satan or Beazlebub inside his doors and I marvel my good de Marmont that you have succeeded in keeping on such friendly terms with that royalist ogre I said de Marmont whose inward exultation radiated from his entire personality I my dear Emery did you not know that I am that royalist ogre's future son-in-law par du but this is a glorious day for me as well as a glorious day for France Emery dear friend wish me joy and happiness on Tuesday I wed mademoiselle crystal de Cambrai tonight we sign our marriage contract wish me joy I say she's a bride well worth the winning Napoleon sets forth to conquer a throne I to conquer love and you old sober face do not look so glum he added turning to Clifford and his ringing laugh seemed to echo from end to end of the narrow valley after which a lighter atmosphere hung round the table outside the a Burge du Grand Dauphine there was but little talk of the political situation still less of party hatred and caste prejudices the hero's name was still on the lips of the two men who worshipped him and Clifford faithful to his attitude of detachment from political conflicts listened quite unmoved to the impassioned D3 of his friends but so absorbed were these two in their conversation and their joy that they failed to notice that Clifford hardly touched the excellent Dejeuner set before him and left mine host fine burgundy almost untasted end of chapter one part two