This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1876 edition. Excerpt: ... conclusion. mi-caeeme. verybody said "it had been a quiet winter that year at Pau." All sorts of people had been missing who were generally there. The St. Hilaires had come little to town, and Madame Variazinka had not once crossed the valley from the c6teaux the whole season through. That good-looking young English huntsman, Sir Gilbert Erle, who had been first in the field, and gayest in the ballrooms all the year before, was reported "coming" during the whole of the season, and still never came. Morton de St. Hilaire was married, and had gone off somewhere with his Jeanne. Several well-known faces had been missing in the American set, and the influx of English visitors had proved "heavy families" this year. Altogether there was little excitement, and people discovered suddenly that Carnival was nearly over, and that they had done next to nothing at all. Then Lent came upon them, and they were still saying what a dull time they had had of it, when, about the second week of that " fasting season," a reviving impetus was suddenly given to society, by a large and unexpected arrival which took place. In a special train, accompanied by his wife and family, and with an enormous suite, our old acquaintance, the Russian Grand Duke George, returned once more to Pau. He came, as he had promised, to revisit the Pyrenees; and, as the only fitting residence for such august visitors, the old chateau was lent to them for the time. In this picturesque and historic residence they all soon settled themselves. A curious party in a curious place, Pau said of them, at the same time delighted to see them there. They brought something to talk about, something to look at, and, if Lent had not intervened so inconveniently, somebody to entertain. And first, Pau...