SAVROLA A TALE OF THE REVOLUTION IN LAURANIA BY WINSTON SPENCER CHURCHILL AUTHOR OF "THE RIVER WAR: AN ACCOUNT OF THE RECOVERY OF THE SOUDAN" AND "THE STORY OF THE MALAKAND FIELD FORCE" LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO. 91 AND 93 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK LONDON AND BOMBAY 1900 COPYRIGHT, 1899, BY LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED TYPOGRAPHY BY J. B. CUSHING & CO., NORWOOD, MASS. THIS BOOK IS INSCRIBED TO THE OFFICERS OF THE IVTH (QUEEN'S OWN) HUSSARS IN WHOSE COMPANY THE AUTHOR LIVED FOR FOUR HAPPY YEARS PREFATORY NOTE This story was written in 1897, and has already appeared in serial form in _Macmillan's Magazine_. Since its first reception was not unfriendly, I resolved to publish it as a book, and I now submit it with considerable trepidation to the judgment or clemency of the public. WINSTON S. CHURCHILL. CONTENTS I. An Event of Political Importance II. The Head of the State III. The Man of the Multitude IV. The Deputation V. A Private Conversation VI. On Constitutional Grounds VII. The State Ball VIII. "In the Starlight" IX. The Admiral X. The Wand of the Magician XI. In the Watches of the Night XII. A Council of War XIII. The Action of the Executive XIV. The Loyalty of the Army XV. Surprises XVI. The Progress of the Revolt XVII. The Defence of the Palace XVIII. From a Window XIX. An Educational Experience XX. The End of the Quarrel XXI. The Return of the Fleet XXII. Life's Compensations CHAPTER I. AN EVENT OF POLITICAL IMPORTANCE. There had been a heavy shower of rain, but the sun was already shining through the breaks in the clouds and throwing swiftly changing shadows on the streets, the houses, and the gardens of the city of Laurania. Everything shone wetly in the sunlight: the dust had been laid; the air was cool; the trees looked green and grateful. It was the first rain after the summer heats, and it marked the beginning of that delightful autumn climate which has made the Lauranian capital the home of the artist, the invalid, and the sybarite.