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THE BRANDING NEEDLE
THE FULL SERIES OF
The Mysteries of the People
: : OR : :
History of a Proletarian Family Across the Ages
By EUGENE SUE
_Consisting of the Following Works:_
THE GOLD SICKLE; or, _Hena the Virgin of the Isle of Sen_.
THE BRASS BELL; or, _The Chariot of Death_.
THE IRON COLLAR; or, _Faustine and Syomara_.
THE SILVER CROSS; or, _The Carpenter of Nazareth_.
THE CASQUE'S LARK; or, _Victoria, the Mother of the Camps_.
THE PONIARD'S HILT; or, _Karadeucq and Ronan_.
THE BRANDING NEEDLE; or, _The Monastery of Charolles_.
THE ABBATIAL CROSIER; or, _Bonaik and Septimine_.
THE CARLOVINGIAN COINS; or, _The Daughters of Charlemagne_.
THE IRON ARROW-HEAD; or, _The Buckler Maiden_.
THE INFANT'S SKULL; or, _The End of the World_.
THE PILGRIM'S SHELL; or, _Fergan the Quarryman_.
THE IRON PINCERS; or, _Mylio and Karvel_.
THE IRON TREVET; or, _Jocelyn the Champion_.
THE EXECUTIONER'S KNIFE; or, _Joan of Arc_.
THE POCKET BIBLE; or, _Christian the Printer_.
THE BLACKSMITH'S HAMMER; or, _The Peasant Code_.
THE SWORD OF HONOR; or, _The Foundation of the French Republic_.
THE GALLEY SLAVE'S RING; or, _The Family Lebrenn_.
Published Uniform With This Volume By
THE NEW YORK LABOR NEWS CO.
28 CITY HALL PLACE NEW YORK CITY
THE BRANDING NEEDLE
:: :: OR :: ::
THE MONASTERY OF CHAROLLES
A Tale of the First Communal Charter
By EUGENE SUE
TRANSLATED FROM THE ORIGINAL FRENCH BY
DANIEL DE LEON
NEW YORK LABOR NEWS COMPANY, 1908
Copyright, 1908, by theNEW YORK LABOR NEWS CO.
INDEX
PART I. THE VALLEY OF CHAROLLES.
CHAP. I. THE SIGNAL 5
II. THE ANNUAL CELEBRATION 15
III. ON THE WATCH AT THE RIVER 24
IV. FREDEGONDE AND BRUNHILD 27
V. THE ASSAULT 33
PART II. THE CASTLE OF BRUNHILD.
CHAP. I. THE TOWER-ROOM 47
II. QUEEN AND CONFIDANTE 56
III. THE ROYAL FAMILY 66
IV. QUEEN AND MAYOR OF THE PALACE 69
V. LOYSIK AND BRUNHILD 79
PART III. THE CAMP OF CLOTAIRE II.
CHAP. I. WEEDING KINGLETS 93
II. AT BAY 101
III. THE DEATH OF BRUNHILD 109
EPILOGUE 120
TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE
Semiramis, Brunhild, Catherine of Medicis constitute a trinity ofhistoric women unique in their greatness. Their ambition was boundless,their intellectual powers matchless, the depths of their immoralityunfathomable. As such they were the scourges of their respective ages.Queen Brunhild, a central figure in this superb story, may be said to bethe Sixth Century heiress of the Semiramis of over ten centuriesearlier, and the progenitor of the Catherine of nearly ten centurieslater, who figures later in the sixteenth story of this series of EugeneSue's of historic novels named by him _The Mysteries of the People; or,History of a Proletarian Family Across the Ages_.
This story--_The Branding Needle; or The Monastery of Charolles_--is theseventh of the series. Both in the tragic picture of Brunhild, and ofthe rustic, industrial and peaceful picture of the settlement ofCharolles, the story constitutes a connecting link between theturbulence of the previous story--_The Poniard's Hilt; or, Karadeucq andRonan_--and the renewed turbulence of the age depicted in the story thatfollows--_The Abbatial Crosier; or, Bonaik and Septimine_.
With much color of truth does Eugene Sue look upon the settlement ofCharolles as the remote yet initial step to the Communes which, a fewcenturies later, constituted a marked feature of the history of France,and ultimately led to historic events of world-wide importance. Thecircumstances under which the royal charter of Charolles was granted,described with historic accuracy, its perils and its vicissitudes,unfold a page of history of no slight value to the student of history,and of fascinating interest to the lover of historic narratives.
DANIEL DE LEON.
New York, February, 1908.
PART I
THE VALLEY OF CHAROLLES