Julien had been apprehensive of some trick of this charade and had supped on some chocolate which he had brought from Paris. He could not wake Geronimo up sufficiently to induce him to leave.
"If they were to give me the whole kingdon of Naples," said the singer, "I would not now give up the pleasure of sleeping."
"But the seven sovereign princes?"
"Let them wait."
Julien left alone, and arrived at the house of the great personage without other incident. He wasted a whole morning in vainly soliciting an audience. Fortunately about four o'clock the duke wanted to take the air. Julien saw him go out on foot and he did not hesitate to ask him for alms. When at two yards' distance from the great personage he pulled out the Marquis de la Mole's watch and exhibited it ostentatiously. "Follow me at a distance," said the man without looking at him.
At a quarter of a league's distance the duke suddenly entered a little coffee-house. It was in a room of this low class inn that Julien had the honour of reciting his four pages to the duke. When he had finished he was told to "start again and go more slowly."
The prince took notes. "Reach the next posting station on foot. Leave your luggage and your carriage here. Get to Strasbourg as best you can and at half-past twelve on the twenty-second of the month (it was at present the tenth) come to this same coffee-house. Do not leave for half-an-hour. Silence!"
These were the only words which Julien heard. They sufficed to inspire him with the highest admiration. "That is the way," he thought, "that real business is done; what would this great statesman say if he were to listen to the impassioned ranters heard three days ago?"
Julien took two days to reach Strasbourg. He thought he would have nothing to do there. He made a great detour. "If that devil of an abbé Castanède has recognised me he is not the kind of man to loose track of me easily … And how he would revel in making a fool of me, and causing my mission to fail."
Fortunately the Abbè Castanède, who was chief of the
