loss of his case.

On the other hand, by avoiding personal service of the judgment he would
retain the right to claim a new trial at any moment he might find
convenient; and thus not only could he prevent his own case from being
closed against him and becoming a _chose jugee_, but he would contribute
powerfully towards keeping the whole Dreyfus affair open, pending
revelations which even then were foreseen. And, naturally, England which
so freely gives asylum to all political offenders, was chosen as his
proper place of exile.

The amusing story of the nightgown tucked under his arm and the bank
notes sewn up in his coat is, of course, pure invention. A few toilet
articles were pressed upon him, and his wife emptied her own purse into
his own. That was all. Then he set out for the Northern Railway Station,
where he caught the express leaving for Calais at 9 P.M. Fortunately
enough he secured a first-class compartment which had no other occupant.

M. Clemenceau had previously suggested to him that on his arrival at
London he might well put up at the Grosvenor Hotel, and it is quite
possible that the same gentleman handed him--as stated in the 'Times'
narrative--a slip of paper bearing the name of that noted hostelry. But,
at all events, this paper was never used by M. Zola. He has an excellent
memory, and when he reached Victoria Station at forty minutes past five
o'clock on the morning of July 19, the name of the hotel where he had
arranged to fix his quarters for a few days came readily enough to his
lips.

There was, however, one thing that he did not know, and that was the
close proximity of this hotel to the railway station. So, having secured