Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796

After leaving Nancy, the group continued to head towards Paris. Prince Dolgorukov and his family still care about this city. When the prince sent his two sons to Strasbourg, he came to Paris on the way. Now, he has to stay for a while.

And they have a house to rent. They live in the country villa taken back by Mr. Lebrun. The environment there is also very good, and there are several children to raise together.

It just so happens that Ekaterina also wants to learn basic painting skills from her sister Julie, and she will say goodbye to Soloviev here.

"Brother Mishka, I will write to you."

"It's not far from Paris to the countryside, and where are you going?"

"Dad said it's Montargis, where Mrs. Lebrun lives recently."

Montarzh Soloviev felt that he could shut up. Montargis is not too far away. If he has time, he can go there.

Now he has to go to the embassy to meet Count Morkov.

Then, he knew that his rank had been promoted. Anyway, it was not obvious from the uniform he was wearing. The clothes of this era were more beautiful, after all, there was no way to distinguish them on the shoulder straps.

"Lieutenant Colonel, you can live on the second floor. We have plenty of space here."

"Thank you, Arkady Ivanovich, but I want to rent an apartment outside, and I won't take confidential documents out, not to mention that I don't have such documents."

"Then you have to hire a servant here, and it's best to find a companion from the country to live with you, so that you can take care of him."

However, it is not easy to find a follower when you go out of the second district of Paris.

Fortunately, Solovyov changed his clothes and he didn't look like a Russian. When he spoke, his accent was difficult to distinguish.

But if such a young and respectable man hired a follower or a maid, he couldn't handle things nearby after leaving the Russian Embassy at Hôtel de Lévis.

Moreover, Solovyov was a very cautious person. As soon as he left the embassy, ​​he found someone watching him at the door.

However, the Paris Police Department also had limited manpower, and the main focus should be on the ambassador himself and his long-term entourage.

Although Count Morkov and Mr. Talleyrand had a good chat and completed a peace agreement between the two sides in 1801, the First Consul did not like the ambassador very much. The two sides had different opinions and sometimes there were some minor frictions, but these were still minor matters for the First Consul.

Now Napoleon had no intention of driving Morkov away, and the two sides were in a state of peace, so any diplomatic gesture should be more cautious.

Solovyov turned around and quickly turned to the Italian Theater Street, which was a theater built in 1783.

It was just not a coincidence that when he turned here, he happened to catch up with an Italian drama. Many people came out from here, and some shields could be seen, which seemed to be some Italians.

Considering that the First Consul currently serves as the President of the "Italian Republic", it is not surprising that his supporters in Italy appear here.

Among them was Prince Borghese, who came from Rome. Soloviev recognized their family's coat of arms, which was mentioned in Sylvia's letter.

I don't know how Sylvia is doing. Although Soloviev pays a lot of attention to girls, he still has to pay more attention to things. Although he has some money in his position, it is not enough, and he still needs a career. After all, he is still young.

If Sylvia were here, he might have to meet her. I guess she has become a beautiful lady now. From last year's letter, I know that she is not married yet.

Of course, Soloviev is not very clear. Sylvia is working as a housekeeper for Prince Borghese's family. Moreover, the two brothers of this family often come to Paris. They are fanatical supporters of General Bonaparte, but they rarely bring their women with them.

After these people dispersed, Soloviev walked forward, but he saw a little girl curled up next to the crowd, and there was a float next to her.

"Little girl, what's wrong with you?"

"Sir, do you want to buy flowers? Come and see, the flowers from the flower market can be used to decorate your bedroom, put one in."

Although the child was disheveled, his eyes were very bright.

Poor girl, Solovyov thought so, but he also noticed that the child was barefoot in the hot summer, making herself dirty, and one foot seemed a little red and swollen.

Soloviev also had an old problem, that is, he was soft-hearted.

During the war, he was always fierce, but his character was relatively gentle and he was very generous to others.

"Little girl, how much are your flowers?"

"Only 10 centimes, sir, these are all yours." The little girl was still a little smart and picked up a large bunch of flowers from the flower cart next to her.

Solovyov sometimes puts flowers at home, but he has not yet decided where he will live. The embassy is the official residence of Tsar Paul and the current Queen Mother Maria when they stayed in Paris. If he wants to find a place to live, the two streets leading out of the embassy, ​​Rue de la Theatre Italia and Rue Gramont, do not seem appropriate.

"Sir, these are too many. If you give me 20 centimes, you can buy more flowers, but it's not appropriate to buy so many."

"No, little girl, I will give you 20 centimes. I want to ask you, where is the apartment around here with cheaper rent?"

"In the second district, there are some places on Montmartre Street where you can rent cheap apartments, and they are also very clean."

"Well, it should be cleaner. This is my first time in Paris. You can tell from my clothes that I am a decent person."

But Solovyov still felt a little pity when he looked at the child. She should have sprained her foot, but she still had to sell flowers here.

"If I want you to be a maid and clean my room for me? How about 1 franc for 2 days?"

"Sir, you give too much, and I have to sell flowers here."

"What's your name?"

"Adela, sir."

"Who is in your family?"

This girl named Adela, who sells flowers here, does have an aunt, but she doesn't seem to be very kind to her.

The mother died of disease, and the father was guillotined, so there was an extra set of tableware. However, the living conditions of children on the streets of Paris were not very good. She was still healthy, except for some malnutrition and a sprained foot.

Solovyov didn't know what he was thinking, but he waited here for a while. After all, it was almost time to close the stall, and the child lived at the corner of an alley on Montmartre Street.

"If you are like this, how can you pull this flower cart back? And you sprained your foot"

Solovyov was not helpless. He turned around and didn't walk far, but took a big job for this girl.

The ambassador's wife also came to Paris and lived in the embassy. Solovyov wanted to please the count and his wife, so he bought this cart of flowers.

Anyway, after he arrived in Paris, he also exchanged some francs for "Angel" silver coins, which were all in his wallet.

"This money is more than enough, even to buy your float."

"Sir, why are you doing this?"

"Can you tell I'm a foreigner?"

"Sir, from your behavior, you are indeed a foreigner. But what is more impressive is your green eyes. In Paris, some people spend a lot of money on flowers, but they don't buy so many at one time."

"I want you to be my maid, clean the room, look after the apartment, and help me with some things from time to time, such as delivering letters or doing other things. Although it may be a bit hard for a 12-year-old girl."

Soloviev thought that when renting an apartment, the landlady should help with cleaning, but he would not be suspected when hiring a child as a maid to do some things.

Moreover, he didn't know much about the situation in Paris. If the landlord didn't have good eyesight, this child looked smart and could actually be a helper in doing things.

"Sir, you are a very good person, but I think..."

It doesn't matter, I will take you back home and explain this matter to your aunt, and then take advantage of this time to rent a house, and you should also change your clothes and wash yourself. For me, a foreign baron as a servant, you should still dress cleanly.

Speaking of which, he sometimes does things very abstractly, not abstract and not Russian.

Adela twisted her foot and walked unsteadily. She limped on the road, but refused Solovyov's help. She was still a little girl with a bit of personality.

As for her aunt, things seemed very simple. Adela's aunt did not want to continue to take her in, and there was still some money left for buying flowers today, as if she had signed a contract to sell herself directly.

"Well, Adela, you are a little maid now. Let's go to 205 Montmartre Street first. Why there?"

"Sir, there was an injustice there, so the rent is very cheap. I heard it from my cousin who was a soldier before."

"Your cousin is good to you?"

"But he went to Italy and never came back. I don't know where he went."

Soloviev listened and didn't continue. It is very likely that he was killed by the Austrian or Russian army in Italy.

As for such an injustice, it has a lot to do with the robbery of the money transport car from Paris to Lyon in 1796 during the Directory period.

It's just that the real robbers hijacked the money transport car, not the Georgian banker.

In the end, when the Paris Police Department arrested people, they arrested the wrong person according to the description. After sending Joseph Lesouquis and others to the guillotine according to the resolution of the Council of Five Hundred, it was not until 1800 that they found out that they had arrested the wrong person and chopped off the wrong head. The criminal was someone else.

Adela's cousin probably knew that Citizen Le Suques was wronged, so he told his little cousin.

And the ending of this family was also quite tragic. The wife went crazy and died, the son joined the French army as a drummer, and in order to wash away the injustice of his father, only one daughter still lived there.

That is, in the apartment at No. 205, Montmartre Street, when Solovyov met the landlord, the other party also mentioned this girl.

"Sir, the rent here is very cheap, and it looks very clean. There is a little girl cleaning here. I just didn't expect that you hired a girl as a servant. Of course, the rent is easy to negotiate."

"I'm from abroad, Baron Max Otto von Stirlitz, from Augsburg. How much do you need to pay upfront?" The fake identity of Augsburg is still Austrian. The fake certificate you made for me can be used to fool you.

"It's an honor for us to have a decent person like you live here."

"I thought we had to address citizens when speaking here."

"Not everyone is called citizen. Now you can also call him sir, Baron Stilitz. The most turbulent time has passed, and everyone should enjoy life."

"Including that poor girl?"

"Yes, this child was originally the child of a businessman, but now his family has been ruined and his property has been confiscated. It is obviously an unjust case, but the Minister of Justice is very diligent. If you clean up this dirty little girl, what will happen? I need her help. Jeanne, come and clean the little servant brought by Mr. Baron."

"Thank you, sir."

"This is what should be done, and I know this child. Adela's aunt is not good to her. If there is a kind-hearted gentleman who can hire her as a maid, it is better than letting her sell flowers there all the time. You know, Dressed like this, you can’t sell flowers at the door of the theater. That’s why Adela met you.”

It seems that the landlord is not evil-minded, and Solovyov is also worried that in Paris, where people look down on provincials, and provincials look down on colonial residents, there will be some arrogance and contempt. Unseemly guy shows up.

As for Jeanne, she had the same name as her deceased mother. She looked about thirteen or fourteen years old. She was dressed neatly and her face looked very supple, but listless.

What a poor girl, the landlady was right, she took Adela to bathe and change clothes.

It was here that the king was replaced by the Public Safety Commission, the Directory, then the First Consul, and in the future it would be replaced by the Emperor. For some citizens, life did not change, and even a wealthy businessman family was quickly ruined.

This was the result of the suspicions that the judge in charge of the case file at the time, Mr. Doubanton, conducted afterward. However, the judge only brought the real criminal to justice, but he has never been able to redress the unjust case.

To reverse this case, in fact, all it takes is the Minister of Justice and the head of state to come forward and overturn the original resolution of the House of Five Hundred. However, this is often turned a blind eye in France.

PS: This case was not finally overturned until the Napoleon III period in 1868.