The Casque's Lark; or Victoria the Mother of the Camps Read online

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  THE CASQUE'S LARK

  THE FULL SERIES OF

  The Mysteries of the People

  " OR "

  History of a Proletarian Family Across the Ages

  By EUGENE SUE

  _Consisting of the Following Works:_

  THE GOLD SICKLE; or, _Hena the Virgin of the Isle of Sen._ THE BRASS BELL; or, _The Chariot of Death._ THE IRON COLLAR; or, _Faustina and Syomara._ THE SILVER CROSS; or, _The Carpenter of Nazareth._ THE CASQUE'S LARK; or, _Victoria, the Mother of the Camps._ THE PONIARD'S HILT; or, _Karadeucq and Ronan._ THE BRANDING NEEDLE; or, _The Monastery of Charolles._ THE ABBATIAL CROSIER; or, _Bonaik and Septimine._ THE CARLOVINGIAN COINS; or, _The Daughters of Charlemagne._ THE IRON ARROW-HEAD; or, _The Buckler Maiden._ THE INFANT'S SKULL; or, _The End of the World._ THE PILGRIM'S SHELL; or, _Fergan the Quarryman._ THE IRON PINCERS; or, _Mylio and Karvel._ THE IRON TREVET; or, _Jocelyn the Champion._ THE EXECUTIONER'S KNIFE; or, _Joan of Arc._ THE POCKET BIBLE; or, _Christian the Printer._ THE BLACKSMITH'S HAMMER; _or, The Peasant Code._ THE SWORD OF HONOR; or, _The Foundation of the French Republic._ THE GALLEY SLAVE'S RING; or, _The Family Lebrenn._

  Published Uniform With This Volume By

  THE NEW YORK LABOR NEWS CO.

  28 CITY HALL PLACE NEW YORK CITY

  THE CASQUE'S LARK

  :: OR ::

  VICTORIA, THE MOTHER OF THE CAMPS

  A Tale of the Frankish Invasion of Gaul

  By EUGENE SUE

  TRANSLATED FROM THE ORIGINAL FRENCH

  By DANIEL DE LEON

  NEW YORK LABOR NEWS COMPANY 1909

  Copyright, 1909, by the

  NEW YORK LABOR NEWS CO.

  INDEX

  TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE v INTRODUCTION 1

  PART I--FOREIGN FOES. I. SCHANVOCH AND SAMPSO 21 II. ON THE RHINE 26 III. THE HORDES OF THE FRANKS 46 IV. THE PRIESTESS ELWIG 55 V. NEROWEG THE TERRIBLE EAGLE 69 VI. THE FLIGHT 83 VII. SHADOWS ACROSS THE PATH 94 VIII. CAPTAIN MARION 99 IX. VICTORIA THE GREAT 107 X. TETRIK 114 XI. VICTORIN 127 XII. TO BATTLE 143 XIII. THE BATTLE OF THE RHINE 156 XIV. THE HOMEWARD RIDE 173

  PART II--DOMESTIC TRAITORS. I. GATHERING SHADOWS 185 II. THE CATASTROPHE 195 III. THE MORTUARY CHAMBER 208 IV. FUNERAL PYRES 229 V. ASSASSINATION OF MARION 233 VI. THE TRAITOR UNMASKED 247 VII. THE VISION OF VICTORIA 268 VIII. CRIME TRIUMPHANT 274 IX. KIDDA, THE BOHEMIAN GIRL 280

  EPILOGUE 288

  TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE

  The first four stories of Eugene Sue's series of historic novels--_TheMysteries of the People; or, History of a Proletarian Family Across theAges_--are properly introductory to the wondrous drama in which, asindicated in the preface to the first story of the series, "one family,the descendants of a Gallic chief named Joel, typifies the oppressed;one family, the descendants of a Frankish chief named Neroweg, typifiesthe oppressor; and across and adown the ages, the successive strugglesbetween oppressors and oppressed--the history of civilization--is thusrepresented in a majestic allegory." That wondrous drama opens withthis, the fifth of the stories--_The Casque's Lark; or, Victoria, theMother of the Camps_.

  Here, for the first time, does a descendant of Joel, the Breton chief,encounter a Neroweg, the representative of the conquering race. Herethey cross swords for the first time, their descendants meeting againand again in the course of the subsequent narratives, almost always indeadly encounter, each typical of the advancing stage of civilization inwhich the succeeding encounters occur.

  In point of time, the scene of this story is about the third century ofthe Christian era. The great historic epoch which it describes is thatin which, the star of the Roman Empire being in the decline and theEmpire's hold upon Gaul having been greatly relaxed, the flood of thebarbarian migration of nations flowed westward from the primevalforests and frozen fields of Germania, attempting to cross the Rhine andenter Gaul. Foremost among these hordes were the savage and warlikeFranks, led by a number of independent chiefs. The present storydescribes the two forces--Franks and Gauls, the latter supported by theRomans--facing each other, frequently crossing swords in bloodyencounters and holding each other in check. Out of this material, intowhich the thin thread of the initial introduction of Christianity inGaul is woven in the woof, Sue constructed the present superbnarrative--a fit overture for the following and successive fourteenacts.

  DANIEL DE LEON

  Milford, Conn. August, 1909.