d then bounded
from his corner as if he had sat on a pile of thorns. Horror! it was
English! One of those monsters who had assassinated Napoleon at St.
Helena for the sake of insuring to themselves the cotton monopoly, had
entered the compartment with a very pretty woman and two lovely
children.

"Conductor, stop!" cried Fougas, thrusting his body halfway out of the
window.

"Monsieur," said the Englishman in good French, "I advise you to have
patience until we get to the next station. The conductor doesn't hear
you, and you're in danger of falling out on the track. If I can be of
any service to you, I have a flask of brandy with me, and a medicine
chest."

"No, sir," replied Fougas in a most supercilious tone, "I'm in want of
nothing, and I'd rather die than accept anything from an Englishman! If
I'm calling the conductor, it's only because I want to get into a
different car, and cleanse my eyes from the sight of an enemy of the
Emperor."

"I assure you, monsieur," responded the Englishman, "that I am not an
enemy of the Emperor. I had the honor of being received by him while he
was in London. He even deigned to pass a few days at my little
country-seat in Lancashire."

"So much the better for you, if this young man is good enough to forget
what you have done against his family; but Fougas will never forgive
your crimes against his country."

As soon as they arrived at the station at Melun, he opened the door and
rushed into another saloon. There he found himself alone in the presence
of two young gentlemen, whose physiognomies were far from English, and
who spoke French with the purest accent of Touraine. Both had coats of
arms on their seal-rings, so that no one might be ignorant of their
rank as nobles. Fougas was too plebeian to fancy the nobility much; but
as he had left a compartment full of Britons, he was happy to meet a
couple of Frenchmen.

"Friends," said he, inclining toward them with a cordial smile, "we are
children of the same mother. Long life to you! Your appearance revives
me."

The two young gentlemen opened their eyes very wide, half bowed, and
resumed their conversation, without making any other response to Fougas'
advance.

"Well, then, my dear Astophe," said one, "you saw the king at
Froshdorf?"

"Yes, my good Americ; and he received me with the most affecting
condescension. 'Vicomte,' said he to me, 'you come of a house well known
for its fidelity. We will remember you when God r