Ten or twelve days after the events recorded in our last chapter, a very happy and pleasant party were assembled in the grand saloon of the Château Coulancourt. Madame Coulancourt, her son Julian, her daughter Mabel, and our hero, were now together; each had related to the other his or her various adventures, and now all their attention and object was directed to an escape to England. Madame de Coulancourt had arrived from Paris two days before; need we describe her rapture and joy, when Julian threw himself into her arms—the son so long lost, and so deeply lamented? Madame de Coulancourt was still a beautiful and fascinating woman, scarcely more than forty. Her ardent desire was to quit France for ever; she cared not for the loss of property. Coulancourt was all she could lose, having sold her other estates for nearly two hundred thousand francs. This Jean Plessis had managed, through the instrumentality of one of the directors, named Barras, a man of the most depraved and dissolute life, and of the most unbounded extravagance. At this time Barras had almost unlimited power; he was one of the three remaining directors. The other two, though men of stern integrity of purpose, were yet ruled by Barras, who alone of the three was capable of receiving foreign ambassadors, holding levées, and giving entertainments, for he was possessed of easy and polished manners, and put off the strange fantastic dress the directors at that period attired themselves in, assuming the graceful costume of the days of chivalry, the doublet and plumed bonnet of Francis I. Barras was totally unprincipled; he sold almost every office in his power to enable him to keep up his vain and luxurious career. The terrible depravity and licentiousness that prevailed in France at this era, it is well known, was the result of deplorable corruption. Barras permitted the sale of Madame de Coulancourt’s property, reserving for himself the half of whatever it produced; thus Jean Plessis managed to secure the other half, as well at to obtain permission for her to visit Château Coulancourt. The fearful state of France, and the horrid depravity of manners prevailing in Paris, had first excited in Madame Coulancourt the wish to attempt a flight to England. The only drawback that held her irresolute was the fear of dragging Jean Plessis and his family into trouble. But that gentleman was secure in the favour of Barras; and declared, if her escape was to be attempted, it was whilst Barras was in power. No human being could conjecture how long that power might last, so conflicting and evanescent was everything in those days.