om, when, having
carefully closed the door, he said,--

"So you are going over to England, monsieur?"

The last word was accented deeply, and with an emphasis meant to
show that he who used it proclaimed himself no partisan of republican
principles, but one who held to the ancient habits of the monarchy.

The manners of the time suggested distrust on all sides, and I answered,
guardedly, that I had some intention of visiting England.

"You will see them, then," resumed he, "and even that much is a blessing
in itself! How do I envy you! Ah, monsieur, if the name should not
escape you, will you try and remember Claude Mirepois? My father was
head postilion in the royal stables, and enjoyed his pension to his
death; and I was educated by order of the princes, and was to have been
in the household too."

"Are we all right and regular, citizen?" broke in the _conducteur_,
putting in his head.

"All right--quite right, citizen Guichemar," said the other, in some
confusion. "These are ticklish times; I was anxious to see that this
youth's pass was regular."

"_Parbleu!_ a conscript is always _en regle_," said the other, laughing,
and so hurried me away to the diligence; and once more we rattled along
on our journey.

The whole of that night my mind dwelt upon this incident. Amongst the
various parties that disputed for preeminence in the country, I had
never heard of any professing royalist principles, except the Vendeans;
nor had I the slightest suspicion that many concealed monarchists held
places of trust under the government of the republic.

At Havre, I discovered that the measures of the police were of the
very strictest kind, and that to obtain a permission to embark, it was
necessary to have a reference to some citizen of the town, who should
stand guarantee for your loyalty and integrity. Now, I had never been
there before; I knew none, not even by name; and what was I to do?
Great as my difficulty was, I did not suffer it to appear so to the
commissary, but calmly said that I 'd return to my hotel, and run my eye
over a list of the merchants for one to be my bail.

The packet was to sail that evening with the tide; and as the office of
the commissaire closed at four o'clock, there was little time to lose.
I wandered on "from street to street; I walked into cafes; I sat down in
the most public places, scanning with eagerness every face that
passed me, and straining my eyes to try and detect the features of