The Travels and Adventures of Monsieur Violet in California, Sonora, and Western Texas

Monsieur Violet

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Title: Monsieur Violet
Author: Frederick Marryat
Release Date: September 9, 2004 [EBook #13405]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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MONSIEUR VIOLET ***

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THE
TRAVELS AND ADVENTURES
OF
MONSIEUR VIOLET
IN
_California, Sonora, and Western Texas_
BY
CAPTAIN MARRYAT
AUTHOR OF "KING'S OWN," "PACHA OF MANY TALES,"
"VALERIE," "SETTLERS IN CANADA," "MASTERMAN READY,"

"POOR JACK," ETC., ETC.
WITH ILLUSTRATIONS GEORGE ROUTLEDGE AND SONS
LONDON: BROADWAY, LUDGATE HILL NEW YORK: 9
LAFAYETTE PLACE
[Illustration: "Spying through an opera-glass at the majestic animals
which he could not approach."]

TRAVELS AND ADVENTURES
OF
MONSIEUR VIOLET

CHAPTER I
.
The Revolution of 1830, which deprived Charles the Tenth of the
throne of France, like all other great and sudden changes, proved the
ruin of many individuals, more especially of many ancient families
who were attached to the Court, and who would not desert the exiled
monarch in his adversity. Among the few who were permitted to share
his fortunes was my father, a noble gentleman of Burgundy, who at a
former period and during a former exile, had proved his unchangeable
faith and attachment to the legitimate owners of the crown of France.
The ancient royal residence of Holyrood having been offered, as a
retreat, to his unhappy master, my father bade an eternal adieu to his
country; and with me, his only son, then but nine years of age, followed
in the suite of the monarch, and established himself in Edinburgh.
Our residence in Scotland was not long. Charles the Tenth decided
upon taking up his abode at Prague. My father went before him to make
the necessary arrangements; and as soon as his master was established
there, he sought by travel to forget his griefs. Young as I was, I was his
companion. Italy, Sicily, Greece, Turkey, Egypt, and the Holy Land
were all visited in the course of three years, after which time we
returned to Italy; and being then twelve years old, I was placed for my
education in the Propaganda at Rome.

For an exile who is ardently attached to his country there is no repose.
Forbidden to return to his beloved France, there was no retreat which
could make my father forget his griefs, and he continued as restless and
as unhappy as ever.
Shortly after that I had been placed in the Propaganda, my father fell in
with an old friend, a friend of his youth, whom he had not met with for
years, once as gay and as happy as he had been, now equally suffering
and equally restless. This friend was the Italian Prince Seravalle, who
also had drank deep of the cup of bitterness. In his youth, feeling
deeply the decadence, both moral and physical, of his country, he had
attempted to strike a blow to restore it to its former splendour; he
headed a conspiracy, expended a large portion of his wealth in pursuit
of his object, was betrayed by his associates, and for many years was
imprisoned by the authorities in the Castle of San Angelo.
How long his confinement lasted I know not, but it must have been a
long while, as in after-times, when he would occasionally revert to his
former life, all incidents he related were for years "when he was in his
dungeon, or in the courtyard prison of the Capitol," where many of his
ancestors had dictated laws to nations.
At last the Prince was restored to freedom, but captivity had made no
alteration in his feelings or sentiments. His love for his country, and his
desire for its regeneration, were as strong as ever, and he very soon
placed himself at the head of the Carbonari, a sect which, years
afterwards, was rendered illustrious by the constancy and sufferings of
a Maroncelli, a Silvio Pellico, and many others.
The Prince was again detected and arrested, but he was not thrown into
prison. The government had been much weakened and the well-known
opinions and liberality of the Prince had rendered him so popular with
the Trasteverini, or northern inhabitants of the Tiber, that policy
forbade either his captivity or destruction. He was sentenced to be
banished for (I think) ten years.
During his long banishment, the Prince Seravalle wandered over
various portions of the globe, and at last found himself in Mexico.
After a residence at Vera Cruz, he travelled