Year: 1877

Chambers Journal


About sixty years ago was in Paris
for the first time in my life. Bonaparte
still fingered at st. Helena, and the ad-
venturers, good, bad and Indifferent in
character, who had served In his armies
had not yet loss all hope of the return of
their idol, and consequently had not
yet thought it worth while to settle
down in peace and quietness.


Young Paul Ferrand, whom l fre-
quently met at the cafe, and who had
served as a captain at Waterloo, was
sure that the Little Corporal would
come back again soon. "You have
not beaten him." he would tell me
laughing. "You sent him to Elba, but
be returned; you have sent him to st.
Helena, and he will return again. We
shall see."


Ferrand was an exceedingly nice fel
low; and although he professed to
cherish an unquenchable hatred for
England and everything English, he
had, by some means or other, become
attached to Alice Rae, young Eng
glish lady of my acquaintance, and who
had been living with her mother since
the conclusion of peace at Paris, not
far from the abode of the ex captain.
And he was always very friendly with
me too. He would, it is true, abuse
my countrymen most numerically
but he was always particularly good
natured, and whenever he found linn
self saying little too much, he would
arrest himself and apologize so hearth
ly that / could never be angry VII
him. l was alone in the French Cd


tai, and had few friends there exce


Mrs Rae, her daughter Alice, and Pau
and SO it happened that 1 passed a
good deal of my time in the society of
these three. The mother, a woman
still in the prime of life, and the widow
of kings messenger, was a conpee
ton of mine by marriage, and that
fact gave me good excuse for offering
my services as escort whenever she or
her pretty daughter thought fit to go
to the theatre or opera. At such times
Paul always had seat in the stalls.
and between the acts he would come
up to my box, to the delight of Alice,
who was in love with him, and to the
no small satisfaction of Mrs. Rae, who
herself had quite maternal affection
for the young Frenchman, and did not
in the least discourage bis attentions
to her daughter. If there was no formal
engagement between the two, 1t was at
least perfectly understood by all par
ties that as soon as Paul should get an
appointment for which at the time he
was a candidate, he was to marry Alice,
and /, though only few years her
senior, was to give her away.


One night the opera house was
crowded more than usual 4 great
singer was to appear, and a new work
by a renowned composer was to be per
formed. But Paul Ferrand, sitting in
the stall, seemed scarcely to listen to
the music or to notice the acting; and
much more often were bis eyes turned
in the direction of my box than in that
of the stage Alice and her mother
were with me; and as the curtain fell
at the conclusion of the first act, Paul
came mp to us. He was in high spirits,
for be had heard that the minister had
decided to give him the coveted post,
and he expected to hear in a few days
that bis appointment had been signed
by the King. We congratulated him /;
and as he left us to return to his seat,
1 whispered to him; you'll be a happy
man In q month or two now, Paul "


He smiled and shut the door.