d followed the
Bourbons into exile, and returned with them in 1814; and it is on his
authority that the story is given as fact.

Mirabeau had just been released from the dungeon of the castle of
Vincennes near Paris. He had been confined there for three years and a
half, by virtue of that most odious mandate, a _lettre-de-cachet_. His
imprisonment had been of a most painful nature; and it was prolonged at
the instance of his father, the Marquis de Mirabeau. On his being
reconciled to his father, the confinement terminated, in the year 1780,
when Mirabeau was thirty-one years of age.

One of his father's conditions was, that Mirabeau should reside for some
time at a distance from Paris; and it was settled that he should go on a
visit to his brother-in-law, Count du Saillant, whose estate was situated
a few leagues from the city of Limoges, the capital of the Limousin.
Accordingly, the count went to Vincennes to receive Mirabeau on the day of
his liberation, and they pursued their journey at once with all speed.

The arrival of Mirabeau at the ancient manorial chateau created a great
sensation in that remote part of France. The country gentlemen residing in
the neighborhood had often heard him spoken of as a remarkable man, not
only on account of his brilliant talents, but also for his violent
passions; and they hastened to the chateau to contemplate a being who had
excited their curiosity to an extraordinary pitch. The greater portion of
these country squires were mere sportsmen, whose knowledge did not extend
much beyond the names and qualities of their dogs and horses, and in whose
houses it would have been almost in vain to seek for any other book than
the local almanac, containing the list of the fairs and markets, to which
they repaired with the utmost punctuality, to loiter away their time, talk
about their rural affairs, dine abundantly, and wash down their food with
strong Auvergne wine.

Count du Saillant was quite of a different stamp from his neighbors. He
had seen the world, he commanded a regiment, and at that period his
chateau was perhaps the most civilized country residence in the Limousin.
People came from a considerable distance to visit its hospitable owner;
and among the guests there was a curious mixture of provincial oddities,
clad in their quaint costumes. At that epoch, indeed, the young Lismousin
noblemen, when they joined their regiments, to don their sword and
epaulets for the first time, we