Page:The Czar, A Tale of the Time of the First Napleon.djvu/354

344 impress upon all the household. Madame de Salgues told him she had come to Paris as much from a determination to defy "General Buonaparte" as from a sense of the insecurity of a town like Versailles in such troublous times. Henri, strange to say, had reaped advantage from the general confusion. "When the power of Napoleon was re-established, Madame de Talmont deplored that the army, as a career for her son, was of course out of the question; and Henri thought this a favourable moment for broaching the ideas he had already uttered in confidence to Ivan. They were received much better than he had ventured to expect; and he was now, with his mother's consent, studying under a celebrated architect. "One must sometimes sacrifice one's feelings," she said, "though never one's principles. And, after all, what to do? The army is no longer a place for a man of honour; the bar you do not like; and to the Church there is at least one objection,—I do not wish the noble name of Talmont to die with you."

Emile was now a resident under the roof of his grandmother; he had ceased to wear the uniform of the Ecole Polytechnique. With a few other students who made their imperialism very obtrusive during the Hundred Days, he had the honour of sharing in the downfall of his hero by being expelled at the return of the Bourbons. This ended not only his military and scientific education, but, at least for the present, his hopes of obtaining a commission.

A day or two after his arrival, Ivan inquired for M. de Sartines and his daughter, whom he had not yet seen.

"No doubt they will be here to-morrow," Madame de Salgues answered. "They know you are with us. Besides, we are their near neighbours now, and they seldom leave us three days without a visit."

"Wish they would leave us three weeks!" said Emile. "That little girl is a perfect nuisance."

"My dear boy, how very ungallant you are!" Madame de