Page:A French Volunteer of the War of Independence.djvu/18

x MS. notes—supposed to be written by Comte Thomas d'Espinchal—relating to the Chevalier de Pontgibaud. It is there stated that the Chevalier furnished Talleyrand with the means of returning to France by lending him 600 louis. It is not improbable, and as the Ex-Bishop would be absolutely certain to forget the obligation, this may account for certain severe remarks about Talleyrand to be found towards the close of the present volume.

In editing the Chevalier's Memoirs I have done little more than identify the personages named only by initials, and supply notes concerning them, correct one or two dates, and strike out a passage or two that was not according to modern taste. As a translator I have endeavoured, as I always do, to render the original as faithfully as could be, and preserve the style and spirit of the author. The only liberty I have taken with the text is to cut up some of the sentences, for a few of them were of an inordinate length. If it should be found that the style is not always of the