d after them the idle young men, and
the habitants in general.

The stranger having warmly shaken Parpon by the hand and again whispered
in his ear, stepped forward. The last light of the setting sun was
reflected from the red roof of the Little Chemist's shop upon the quaint
figure and eloquent face, which had in it something of the gentleman,
something of the comedian. The alert Medallion himself did not realise
the touch of the comedian in him, till the white hand was waved
grandiloquently over the heads of the crowd. Then something in the
gesture corresponded with something in the face, and the auctioneer
had a nut which he could not crack for many a day. The voice was
musical,--as fine in speaking almost as the dwarf's in singing,--and the
attention of the children was caught by the rich, vibrating tones. He
addressed himself to them.

"My children," he said, "my name is--Valmond! We have begun well; let
us be better friends. I have come from far off to be one of you, to stay
with you for awhile--who knows how long--how long?" He placed a finger
meditatively on his lips, sending a sort of mystery into his look and
bearing. "You are French, and so am I. You are playing on the shores of
life, and so am I. You are beginning to think and dream, and so am I. We
are only children till we begin to make our dreams our life. So I am one
with you, for only now do I step from dream to action. My children, you
shall be my brothers, and together we will sow the seed of action and
reap the grain; we will make a happy garden of flowers, and violets
shall bloom everywhere out of our dream--everywhere. Violets, my
children, pluck the wild violets, and bring them to me, and I will give
you silver for them, and I will love you. Never forget," he added, with
a swelling voice, "that you owe your first duty to your mothers, and
afterwards to your country, and to the spirit of France. I see afar"--he
looked towards the setting sun, and stretched out his arm dramatically,
yet such was the eloquence of his voice and person that not even the
young Seigneur or Medallion smiled--"I see afar," he repeated, "the
glory of our dreams fulfilled; after toil and struggle and loss: and I
call upon you now to unfurl the white banner of justice and liberty and
the restoration."

The women who listened guessed little of what he meant by the fantastic
sermon; but they wiped their eyes in sympathy, and gathered their
children to them, and said, "Poor g