Spain, under the Duc d'Angouleme, and the countess had accompanied
him. At the siege of Cadiz the Comte de Soulanges obtained, as every
one knows, the marshal's baton, which he kept till 1826.

"Very true," cried Lupin. "Well, it is for you, papa," he added,
addressing Rigou, "to manoeuvre the matter so that we can get him to
the fair; once there, we ought to be able to entrap him."

The fair of Soulanges, which takes place on the 15th of August, is one
of the features of the town, and carries the palm over all other fairs
in a circuit of sixty miles, even those of the capital of the
department. Ville-aux-Fayes has no fair, for its fete-day, the
Saint-Sylvestre, happens in winter.

From the 12th to the 15th of August all sorts of merchants abounded at
Soulanges, and set up their booths in two parallel lines, two rows of
the well-known gray linen huts, which gave a lively appearance to the
usually deserted streets. The two weeks of the fair brought in a sort
of harvest to the little town, for the festival has the authority and
prestige of tradition. The peasants, as old Fourchon said, flocked in
from the districts to which labor bound them for the rest of the year.
The wonderful show on the counters of the improvised shops, the
collection of all sorts of merchandise, the coveted objects of the
wants or the vanities of these sons of the soil, who have no other
shows or exhibitions to enjoy exercise a periodical seduction over the
minds of all, especially the women and children. So, after the first
of August the authorities posted advertisements signed by Soudry,
throughout the whole arrondissement, offering protection to merchants,
jugglers, mountebanks, prodigies of all kinds, and stating how long
the fair would last, and what would be its principal attractions.