CHAPTER III.
A BOLD ADVENTURE.
Daumon had in no way exaggerated when he said that Norbert was spoken of as the "Young Savage of Champdoce," though no one used this appellation in an insulting form.

Public opinion had changed considerably regarding the Duke of Champdoce.

The first time that he had made his appearance, wearing wooden shoes and a leathern jacket, every one had laughed, but this did not affect him at all, and in the end people began to term his dogged obstinacy indomitable perseverance.

The gleam that shone from his hoarded millions imparted a brilliant lustre to his shabby garments.

Why should they waste their pity upon a man who would eventually come into a gigantic fortune, and have the means of gratifying all his desires?
Mothers, with daughters especially, took a great interest in the young man, for to get a girl married to the "Young Savage of Champdoce" would be a feat to be proud of; but unluckily his father watched him with all the vigilance of a Spanish duenna.