y a thousand mouths through the principality. As Philip rode past on
the left of the exulting Duke, the crowds cheered him wildly. Only on
the faces of Comte Carignan Damour and his friends was discontent, and
they must perforce be still. Philip himself was outwardly calm,
with that desperate quiet which belongs to the most perilous, most
adventurous achieving. Words he had used many years ago in Jersey kept
ringing in his ears--"'Good-bye, Sir Philip'--I'll be more than that
some day."

The Assembly being opened, in a breathless silence the Governor-General
of the duchy read aloud the licence of the King of England for Philip
d'Avranche, an officer in his navy, to assume the honours to be
conferred upon him by the Duke and the States of Bercy. Then, by command
of the Duke, the President of the States read aloud the new order of
succession:

"1. To the Hereditary Prince Leopold John and his heirs male; in default
of which to

"2. The Prince successor, Philip d'Avranche and his heirs male; in
default of which to

"3. The heir male of the House of Vaufontaine."

Afterwards came reading of the deed of gift by which the Duke made over
to Prince Philip certain possessions in the province of d'Avranche. To
all this the assent of Prince Leopold John had been formally secured.
After the Assembly and the chief officers of the duchy should have
ratified these documents and the Duke signed them, they were to be
enclosed in a box with three locks and deposited with the Sovereign
Court at Bercy. Duplicates were also to be sent to London and registered
in the records of the College of Arms. Amid great enthusiasm, the
States, by unanimous vote, at once ratified the documents. The one
notable dissentient was the Intendant, Count Carignan Damour, the
devout ally of the French Government. It was he who had sent Fouche word
concerning Philip's adoption; it was also he who had at last, through
his spies, discovered Detricand's presence in the town, and had taken
action thereupon. In the States, however, he had no vote, and wisdom
kept him silent, though he was watchful for any chance to delay events
against the arrival of the French envoys.

They should soon be here, and, during the proceedings in the States,
he watched the doors anxiously. Every minute that passed made him more
restless, less hopeful. He had a double motive in preventing this new
succession. With Philip as adopted son and heir there would be fewer
spoils of office