02274cam a22003013u 450000100060000000300070000600500170001300600020003000700050003200800410003704000110007804100170008905000070010610000380011324500100015126400510016130000470021233600260025933700260028533800360031150000310034750801350037852012930051353400450180665300610185185600430191299900170195520243UtSlPG20260610133452.0mcr n260607r2007||||utu|||||o|||||||||||||| d  aUtSlPG 7aen2iso639-1 4aPR1 aMerriman, Henry Seton,d1862-190310aDross 1aSalt Lake City, UT :bProject Gutenberg,c2007  a1 online resource :bmultiple file formats  atextbtxt2rdacontent  acomputerbc2rdamedia  aonline resourcebcr2rdacarrier  aRelease date is 2007-01-01  aE-text prepared by Barbara Tozier, Bill Tozier, Sankar Viswanathan, and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team  a"Dross" by Henry Seton Merriman is a novel set during the late 19th century. The story opens amidst the celebrations in Paris marking the centenary of Napoleon Bonaparte's birth, creating a backdrop of political intrigue, societal change, and personal struggles. The protagonist, Dick Howard, a man with a checkered past and complicated family ties, finds himself drawn to the world of the Vicomte de Clericy and his daughter Lucille, setting the stage for themes of love, deception, and a search for identity.  At the start of the novel, Dick Howard reflects on the spectacle of the commemorative event, mingling with various social classes and feeling out of place in the grandeur surrounding him. After an amusing yet revealing encounter with an old friend, John Turner, and a chance interaction with Monsieur and Mademoiselle de Clericy, he impulsively seeks employment as a secretary for the Vicomte. As Howard navigates his new life, he is introduced to the charming but naïve Lucille, who captivates him. The early chapters effectively establish the interplay between Dick's concealed motives, his growing feelings for Lucille, and the impending societal upheaval, suggesting a narrative rich in both personal and historical tension. (This is an automatically generated summary.)  nOriginal publication data not identified  aFrance -- History -- Second Empire, 1852-1870 -- Fiction40uhttps://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/20243  c61528d61528