"Thou laughest!" cried the madman, in a hollow voice. "Well! thou art wrong to laugh. This alliance may alone save thee from the impending ruin of thyself, thy house, and all thy belongings. At this moment my armies are advancing. They are countless--they cover the earth. What can you do against me? You will be vanquished, annihilated, or reduced to slavery, as you have already been for centuries: for I, Luitprandt, King of Australasia and of Polynesia--I have decided that everything shall be as it once was. Remember!"--here the madman raised his finger solemnly--"remember what has passed! You have been beaten! And we, the old northern races--we have put our yokes upon you. We have burdened you with the largest stones for building our strong castles and our subterraneous prisons; we have harnessed you to our ploughs; you have been before us as the straw before the hurricane. Remember, remember, Triboque, and tremble!" "I remember very well," said Hullin, still laughing; "but we had our revenge. Thou knowest?" "Yes, yes," interrupted Yégof, frowning; "but that time has gone by. My warriors are more numerous than the leaves in the forests; and your blood flows like the water of the brooks. Thou, I know thee--I knew thee a thousand years ago!" "Bah!" said Hullin. "Yes, it was this hand--dost thou hear?--this hand that has vanquished thee, when, for the first time, we entered your forests. It has made thy head bow beneath the yoke--it will make it bend again! Because you are brave, you believe yourselves masters of this country and of all France forever. Well, you are wrong! We have spoiled you, and we will spoil you again. We will restore Alsace and Lorraine to Germany, Brittany and Normandy to the men from the North, with Flanders and the South to Spain. We will make France into a little kingdom around Paris--a very little kingdom--with a descendant of the ancient race at your head. And you will no longer agitate yourselves--you will be very tranquil. Ha, ha, ha!" Yégof began to laugh. Hullin, who had no knowledge of history, was astonished that he should know so many names. "Bah! stop that, Yégof," said he; "and come, take a little soup to warm thy inside." "I do not ask thee for soup; I ask thee for this girl in marriage--the most beautiful on my estates. Give her to me willingly, and I raise thee to the steps of my throne: else my armies shall take her by force, and thou shalt not have the merit of giving her to me." While thus speaking, the unhappy creature regarded Louise with an air of profound admiration. "How beautiful she is! I destine her to the greatest honors. Rejoice, young girl, rejoice! Thou shalt be queen of Australasia." "Listen, Yégof," said Hullin. "I am very much flattered by thy demand: it shows that thou canst appreciate beauty. It is well. But my daughter is already affianced to Gaspard Lefèvre."