The False Chevalier / or, The Lifeguard of Marie Antoinette

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THE FALSE CHEVALIER

THE

FALSE CHEVALIER

OR

The Lifeguard of Marie Antoinette

BY

W. D. LIGHTHALL

This Edition is intended for circulation only in the Dominion of Canada.

image: The Palace of Versailles
The Palace of Versailles.
After the contemporary acquarelle by Portail.

F. E. GRAFTON & SONS

MONTREAL

1898

(All rights reserved)

To
CYBEL, MY WIFE,
the sweet companion and critic
of my labours on
this book


CONTENTS

——

Chap.  
I. THE FUR-TRADER'S SON
II. GERMAIN IN FRANCE
III. THE INNKEEPER'S LESSON
IV. THE CASTLE OF QUIET WATERS
V. MONSIEUR DE RÉPENTIGNY
VI. EPERGNES AND WAX-LIGHTS
VII. "THE LEAP IS TAKEN"
VIII. THE ABBÉ'S DISASTER
IX. A PHILOSOPHER BEHIND HORSE-PISTOLS
X. THE GALLEY-ON-LAND
XI. THE COURT
XII. GERMAIN GOES TO PARIS
XIII. A JAR IN ST. ELPHÈGE
XIV. THE OLD-IRON SHOP
XV. THE BEGGARS' BALL
XVI. BROKEN ON THE WHEEL
XVII. THE SAVING OF LA TOUR
XVIII. MADAME L'ETIQUETTE
XIX. THE COMMISSION
XX. DESCAMPATIVOS
XXI. THE SHADOW OF THE GOLDEN DOG
XXII. THE SECRET OUT
XXIII. THE EXECUTIONER OF DESTINY
XXIV. A CURIOUS PROFESSION
XXV. FACING THE MUSIC
XXVI. A DUEL
XXVII. JUDE AND THE GALLEY
XXVIII. ANOTHER DUEL
XXIX. THE LETTRE DE CACHET
XXX. THE HEAVENS FALL
XXXI. ONE DEFENDER
XXXII. A STRONG PROOF
XXXIII. THE REGISTER OF ST. GERMAIN-DES-PRÉS
XXXIV. AT QUEBEC
XXXV. AT ST. ELPHÈGE
XXXVI. AT MONTREAL
XXXVII. ONCE MORE THE SWORD
XXXVIII. THE RECORD
XXXIX. THE MARQUIS'S VISITOR
XL. AN UNEXPECTED ALLIANCE
XLI. A POOR ADVOCATE
XLII. A HARD SEASON
XLIII. BACK AT EAUX TRANQUILLES
XLIV. SELF-DEFENCE
XLV. THE NECESSITIES OF CONDITION
XLVI. THE PATRIOTS
XLVII. THE DEFENCE OF THE BODYGUARD
XLVIII. SISTERS DEATH AND TRUTH
XLIX. CIVIC VIRTUE
L. JUDGMENT DAY
LI. LOVE ENDURETH ALL THINGS
LII. THE SUPREME EXACTITUDE
LIII. RETRIBUTION ACCOMPLISHED

PREFATORY NOTE

——

This story is founded on a packet of worm-eaten letters and documents found in an old French-Canadian house on the banks of the St. Lawrence. The romance they rudely outline, its intrigues, its brilliancy of surroundings, its intensity of feelings, when given the necessary touches of history and imagination, so fascinated the writer that the result was the present book. A packet of documents of course is not a novel, and the reader may be able to guess what is mine and what is likely to have been the scanty limit of the original hint.

The student of history will recognise my debt to many authorities; among whom the chief are Paul Lacroix and Taine. I wish it distinctly understood that the person attacked in the documents in question is not the hero of this narrative.

W. D. L.


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