Batrix Author:Honoré de Balzac General Books publication date: 2009 Original publication date: 1895 Original Publisher: Roberts brothers Subjects: Brittany (France) Fiction / General Fiction / Classics Fiction / Literary History / Europe / France Literary Criticism / European / French Literary Criticism / European / German Notes: This is a black and whit... more »e OCR reprint of the original. It has no illustrations and there may be typos or missing text. When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. Excerpt: II. THE BARON, HIS WIFE, AND SISTER. Early in the month of May, in the year 1836, the period when this scene opens, the family of Guenic (we follow henceforth the modern spelling) consisted of Monsieur and Madame du Guenie, Mademoiselle da Guenic the baron's elder sister, and an only son, aged twenty-one, named, after an ancient family usage, Gaudebert-Calyste-Louis. The father's name was Gaudebert-Calyste-Charles. Only the last name was ever varied. Saint Gaudebert and Saint Calyste were forever bound to protect the Guenics. The Baron du Guenie had started from Guerande the moment that La Vendee and Brittany took arms; he fought through the war with Charette, with Cathe- lineau, La Rochejaquelein, d'Elbee, Bonchamps, and the Prince de London. Before starting he had, with a prudence unique in revolutionary annals, sold his whole property of every kind to his elder and only sister, Mademoiselle Zephirine du Guenie. After the death of all those heroes of the West, the baron, preserved by a miracle from ending as they did, refused to submit to Napoleon. He fought on till 1802, when being at last defeated and almost captured, he returned to Guerande, and from Guerande went to Croisic, whence he crossed to Ireland, faithful to the ancient Breton hatred for England. The people of Guerande feigned utter ignorance of the baron's existence. In the whole course of twenty years not ...« less