one; it is great. Ah, madame, dear madame"--he got to his feet and
stepped into the middle of the floor--"he has the true Napoleonic spirit.
He loves it all. At the very first, it seemed as if he were going to be
a little ridiculous; now it is as if there was but one thing for him--
love of France and loyalty to the cause. Ah, think of the glories of the
Empire! of France as the light of Europe, of Napoleon making her rich and
proud and dominant! And think of her now, sinking into the wallow of
bourgeois vulgarity! If--if, as His Excellency said, the light were to
come from here, even from this far corner of the world, from this old
France, to be the torch of freedom once again--from our little parish
here!"

His face was glowing, his thin hands made a quick gesture of charmed
anticipation.

Madame Chalice looked at him in a sort of wonder and delight. Dreamers
all! And this visionary Napoleon had come into the little man's quiet,
cultured, passive life, and had transformed him, filled him with
adventure and patriotism. There must be something behind Valmond, some
real, even some great thing, or this were not possible. It was not
surprising that she, with the spirit of dreams and romance deep in her,
should be sympathetic, even carried away for the moment.

"How is the feeling in the country since his illness?" she asked.

"Never so strong as now. Many new recruits come to him. Organisation
goes on, and His Excellency has issued a proclamation. I have advised
him against that--it is not necessary, it is illegal. He should not
tempt our Government too far. But he is a gentleman of as great
simplicity as courage, of directness and virtue--a wholesome soldier--"