by the women of Brittany.

"There's the Big Round Head," said they; "now we'll exchange some good
sword-play with the English."

Unfortunately, at this time it was not Breton sword-thrusts against
English, but Frenchmen against Frenchmen.

Georges remained in Vendee until after the defeat of Savenay. The whole
Vendean army was either left upon the battlefield or vanished in smoke.
For three years, Georges had performed prodigies of valor, strength and
dexterity; he now crossed the Loire and re-entered Morbihan with only
one man left of all who had followed him.

That man became his aide-de-camp, or rather his brother-in-arms.
He never left him, and in memory of the hard campaign they had made
together he changed his name from Lemercier to Tiffauges. We have seen
him at the ball of the Victims charged with a message to Morgan.

As soon as Cadoudal returned to his own part of the country, he fomented
insurrection on his own responsibility. Bullets respected that big
round head, and the big round head justified Stofflet's prediction. He
succeeded La Rochejacquelin, d'Elbee, Bonchamp, Lescure, even Stofflet
himself, and became their rival for fame, their superior in power; for
it happened (and this will give an idea of his strength) that Cadoudal,
almost single-handed, had been able to resist the government of
Bonaparte, who had been First Consul for the last three months. The two
leaders who continued with him, faithful to the Bourbon dynasty, were
Frotte and Bourmont.

At the time of which we are now speaking, that is to say, the 26th of
January, 1800, Cadoudal commanded three or four thousand men with whom
he was preparing to blockade General Hatry in Vannes.

During the time that he awaited the First Consul's answer to the letter
of Louis XVIII. he had suspended hostilities; but Tiffauges had arrived
a couple of days before with it.

That letter was already on the way to England, whence it would be sent
to Mittau; and since the First Consul would not accept peace on the
terms dictated by Louis XVIII., Cadoudal, commander-in-chief of Louis
XVIII. in the West, renewed his warfare against Bonaparte, intending
to carry it on alone, if necessary, with his friend Tiffauges. For
the rest, the latter was at Pouance, where conferences were being
held between Chatillon, d'Autichamp, the Abbe Bernier, and General
Hedouville.

He was reflecting--this last survivor of the great warriors of the civil
war--and the news he