s which separate
the lower valley of the Indus from Rajputana; and also that I follow the
general bases of all invasions of India that have had any success, from
Mahmoud of Ghazni, in the year 1000, to Nadir Shah, in 1739. And how
many have taken the route I mean to take between the two epochs! Let us
count them. After Mahmoud of Ghazni came Mohammed Ghori, in 1184, with
one hundred and twenty thousand men; after him, Timur Tang, or Timur the
Lame, whom we call Tamerlane, with sixty thousand men; after Tamerlane,
Babar; after Babar, Humajan, and how many more I can't remember. Why,
India is there for whoever will go and take it!"

"You forget, citizen First Consul, that all the conquerors you have
named had only the aboriginal populations to deal with, whereas you have
the English. We hold India--"

"With from twenty to twenty-two thousand men."

"And a hundred thousand Sepoys."

"I have counted them all, and I regard England and India, the one with
the respect, the other with the contempt, they merit. Wherever I meet
European infantry, I prepare a second, a third, and if necessary, a
fourth line of reserves, believing that the first three might give way
before the British bayonets; but wherever I find the Sepoys, I need only
the postilion's whip to scatter the rabble. Have you any other questions
to put to me, my lord?"

"One, citizen First Consul: are you sincerely desirous of peace?"

"Here is the letter in which I ask it of your king, my lord, and it is
to be quite sure that it reaches his Britannic Majesty that I ask Lord
Grenville's nephew to be my messenger."

"It shall be done as you desire, citizen; and were I the uncle, instead
of the nephew, I should promise more."

"When can you start?"

"In an hour I shall be gone."

"You have no wish to express to me before leaving?"

"None. In any case, if I have any, I leave my affairs to my friend,
Roland."

"Shake hands with me, my lord; it will be a good omen, as you represent
England and I France."

Sir John accepted the honor done him by Bonaparte, with the exact
measure of cordiality that indicated both his sympathy for France, and
his mental reserves for the honor of his own nation.

Then, having pressed Roland's hand with fraternal effusion, he
bowed again to the First Consul and went out. Bonaparte followed him
reflectively with his eyes; then he said suddenly: "Roland, I not only
consent to your sister's marriage with Lord Tanlay, but I wish i