Before he
got out of it again, the second reign of Napoleon, the Hundred Days of
feverish agitation and supreme effort, passed away like a terrifying
dream. The tragic year 1815, begun in the trouble and unrest of
consciences, was ending in vengeful proscriptions.
How General Feraud escaped the clutches of the Special Commission and
the last offices of a firing squad he never knew himself. It was partly
due to the subordinate position he was assigned during the Hundred Days.
The Emperor had never given him active command, but had kept him busy
at the cavalry depot in Paris, mounting and despatching hastily drilled
troopers into the field. Considering this task as unworthy of his
abilities, he had discharged it with no offensively noticeable zeal; but
for the greater part he was saved from the excesses of Royalist reaction
by the interference of General D'Hubert.
This last, still on convalescent leave, but able now to travel, had been
despatched by his sister to Paris to present himself to his legitimate
sovereign.
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