CELEBRATED CRIMES, COMPLETE

BY ALEXANDRE DUMAS, PERE

IN EIGHT VOLUMES



MURAT--1815




I--TOULON

On the 18th June, 1815, at the very moment when the destiny of Europe was
being decided at Waterloo, a man dressed like a beggar was silently
following the road from Toulon to Marseilles.

Arrived at the entrance of the Gorge of Ollioulles, he halted on a little
eminence from which he could see all the surrounding country; then either
because he had reached the end of his journey, or because, before
attempting that forbidding, sombre pass which is called the Thermopylae
of Provence, he wished to enjoy the magnificent view which spread to the
southern horizon a little longer, he went and sat down on the edge of the
ditch which bordered the road, turning his back on the mountains which
rise like an amphitheatre to the north of the town, and having at his
feet a rich plain covered with tropical vegetation, exotics of a
conservatory, trees and flowers quite unknown in any other part of
France.