A new dream arises, p.1
A New Dream Arises, page 1
A NEW DREAM ARISES
KOPP CHRONICLES
By Gregory Kopp
Copyright © 2021 Gregory Kopp
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events, with the exception of some well-known historical figures, are products of the author’s imagination or purely coincidental.
All rights reserved.
ISBN:9798745844676
Printed in the United States of America
BY GREGORY KOPP
KOPP CHRONICLES
AN IMMIGRANT AMERICAN (English edition)
A TRACE OF ROYALTY (English edition)
THE JOURNEY TO DELPHOS (English edition)
A CHILD’S BREATH (English edition)
THE HEIRESS IN KENT (English edition)
HER MAJESTY’S GOLD (English edition)
CRÓNICAS DE KOPP
UN INMIGRANTE AMERICANO (Spanish edition)
UN RASTRO DE LA REALEZA (Spanish edition)
EL VIAJE A DELPHOS (Spanish edition)
EL ALIENTO DE UN NIÑO (Spanish edition)
LA HEREDERA EN KENT (Spanish edition)
EL ORO DE SU MAJESTAD (Spanish edition)
KOPP CHRONIKEN
EIN IMMIGRANT AMERIKANER (German edition)
EINE SPUR VON KÖNIGSHAUS (German edition)
DIE REISE NACH DELPHOS (German edition)
EIN ATEM DES KINDES (German edition)
DIE ERBIN IN KENT (German edition)
IHRE MAJESTÄT GOLD (German edition)
CHRONIQUES DE KOPP
UN IMMIGRANT AMÉRICAIN (French edition)
UNE TRACE DE LA ROYAUTÉ (French edition)
LE VOYAGE À DELPHOS (French edition)
LE SOUFFLE D'UN ENFANT (French edition)
L'HERITIERE DANS LE KENT (French edition)
L'OR DE SA MAJESTE (French edition)
CRONACHE DI KOPP
L'ORO DI SUA MAESTÀ (Italian edition)
This book is dedicated to those medical professionals
who gave us hope that our dreams would arise again
after a devastating pandemic.
Cover Image courtesy of
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mary_Cassatt_-_Picking_flowers_in_a_field_—_1875.jpg
AN IMMIGRANT AMERICAN
A TRACE OF ROYALTY
THE JOURNEY TO DELPHOS
A CHILD’S BREATH
THE HEIRESS IN KENT
HER MAJESTY’S GOLD
A NEW DREAM ARISES
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Afterword
Appendix One – A Scottish Peer
Appendix Two – The End of War & Hunt for an Assassin
Appendix Three – Royalty & Rebuilding a Nation
Appendix Four – Reconstruction & Impeachment
Chapter One
July 8, 1863, Paris, France
A black carriage pulled up to the rear of La Maison Dorée restaurant on the Rue Laffite. A valet came out and opened the carriage door. The valet bowed as the Emperor of France Napoleon III and his aide stepped out of the carriage.
“Imperial Majesty; your guests are waiting,” the valet beamed.
La Maison Dorée is one of the most acclaimed restaurants in Paris. Inside the restaurant were two sections, one for ordinary French men and women, and a section made of cabinets or private rooms for royalty and the wealthy citizens of Paris. As the Emperor arrived, across the street at the Théâtre de l'Opéra-Comique, the opera “Lalla-Roukh” had finished and the audience came milling out of the theater. Most of them went directly into the front entrance of the restaurant unaware the French Emperor was being escorted inside through the back door. Being opposite the Théâtre de l'Opéra-Comique increased La Maison Dorée’s popularity with the middle class of Paris.
The French Emperor turned toward his companion and asked, “Is he here?”
General Roguet nodded his head, “Yes. I sent for him myself, Your Imperial Majesty.”
“And Madame DuVernay?”
General Roguet smiled and nodded his head, “Yes.”
Emperor Napoleon III grunted in satisfaction, “We’ll conclude this business tonight!”
General Roguet turned toward the carriage driver, “Wait here, we should not be long.” The driver saluted the Emperor's aide and drove the black carriage around the corner of the building to wait for his party to return.
The French Emperor and General Roguet had left the Tuileries Palace twenty minutes earlier under the cover of darkness. The black curtain covering the windows of the carriage was closed, and no one had noticed the Emperor of France as he traveled over the Boulevard des Italiens. Roguet requested only one soldier from the palace go with the Emperor to be more discreet.
La Maison Dorée’s Maître d' escorted Emperor Napoleon III into Cabinet #6 reserved exclusively for the palace. Within the cabinet, two men were smoking cigars and drinking champagne. They turned toward the French Emperor as he arrived and bowed to him. One of the men was a tall dark-haired Scotsman, the Duke of Hamilton. His wife, the Duchess of Hamilton was a cousin to the Emperor and an intimate friend of Empress Eugénie.
A server brought the Emperor a champagne flute glass filled with the finest French champagne which he gulped down as he strode across the room. Besides the men, two Parisian courtesans were standing in the rear of the room alongside the mysterious Madame DuVernay. She wore a black gown, had long dark hair, and was smoking a cigarette in a silver holder. She nodded at General Roguet when he entered the room.
The Emperor addressed the Duke after noticing the courtesans. “I trust you are enjoying Paris hospitality,” he smirked.
The Duke of Hamilton nodded, “Yes, Your Imperial Majesty. Would you care for a Cuban cigar? I purchased them from a Confederate Privateer.” He smiled as he handed the Emperor a fat cigar.
General Roguet rushed to the Emperor’s side to light it. A server addressed the Emperor, “Would His Imperial Majesty like dinner now or later?” General Roguet silenced the server with an icy stare for his impertinence. But Emperor Napoleon III ignored the server, took a puff on his cigar and spied the felt-covered card table in the center of the room.
“Ah, I see you are prepared,” he said to the Duke of Hamilton, who laughed when he turned towards the card table.
“Are you ready for a rematch of whist?” the Duke of Hamilton slyly asked the Emperor. Meanwhile, the man standing next to the Duke coughed slightly. “I am sorry, Your Excellency, forgive me. This is my associate Mr. Howard from London.” The man bowed to the Emperor who barely acknowledged him. But General Roguet noticed a revolver bulging out of the inside pocket of Mr. Howard’s jacket.
General Roguet scribbled a note on a small slip of paper, folded it, and handed it to a waiter, “Give this to my man outside!” he ordered under his breath. The waiter hurried out with the note. The note contained a request to his driver to verify the identity of the Duke of Hamilton’s associate with French Intelligence.
General Roguet held a chair for the Emperor as he sat down at the card table. The Duke of Hamilton gestured for a Parisian courtesan to bring him a new deck of cards. He inspected it and placed it down on the table in front of him before he took his seat.
The Duke’s associate took a seat across from him while General Roguet sat down directly across from the Emperor. Madame DuVernay pulled up a small upholstered chair. The Emperor smiled as Madame DuVernay caressed his back as a waiter placed a large plate heaped full of delicacies, meats, and pastries next to him. Meanwhile, the Paris courtesans sat behind the Duke and Mr. Howard wearing the latest fragrance in French perfumes by Pierre-François-Pascal Guerlain.
Emperor Napoleon III took a large drink of champagne and motioned to the server to refill his glass. The Duke of Hamilton lit another cigar and took several puffs before he began shuffling the deck of cards. “The same wagers as last time, Your Imperial Majesty?” he asked.
The Emperor nodded and began eating the food in front of him. He wiped his greasy fingers on his sleeves as he ate, ignoring the La Maison Dorée cloth napkin. When he finished, the waiter quickly replaced the Emperor’s plate with a new serving of meats and delicacies.
The Duke of Hamilton passed out cards to each player as General Roguet kept a close eye on him. The French Emperor picked up his cards and nodded at General Roguet who placed a 100,000-franc wager in the center of the table. The Duke of Hamilton looked at the cards in his hand, win
ked at his associate, and placed an equivalent wager on the table towards the Emperor. He had decisively beaten the Emperor in their previous whist game and could tell the Emperor was bluffing. Play proceeded as each man placed their cards on the table. The Duke and his partner began winning most of the card tricks which caused the Emperor to stop his eating and scrutinize the cards in his hand more closely. On the last play of the game, the Duke played his winning card.
“Game over, Your Imperial Majesty!” he laughed as he picked up the last trick. He took a large puff on his cigar, “We win.”
Emperor Napoleon III’s brow furrowed and his eyes became dark as he realized he lost again to the brash Scotsman. The Emperor stood up and pushed the card table over. The champagne glasses and food plates were shattered all over the floor. The other card players jumped up in surprise. General Roguet rushed to the Emperor’s side. “Shall we leave now Your Imperial Majesty?” Roguet inquired.
“I see your luck is continuing Hamilton!” Emperor Napoleon III fumed ignoring his aide, as Mr. Howard began fingering the revolver in his jacket.
Suddenly, the Emperor’s tone changed, and he smiled at the Duke, “Incidentally, how is my lovely cousin?” he asked.
The question surprised the Duke, and he put down his cigar and looked at the Emperor. His wife had warned him about the Emperor’s sudden fits of anger. He had brushed it off as nonsense but seeing the Emperor’s eyes grow dark a few moments ago caused him to shudder. “She is vacationing with my children in Baden, Your Imperial Majesty,” the Duke replied with an emphasis on the words, “Your Imperial Majesty” to ease the tension in the room.
Emperor Napoleon III smiled again, “Good. Roguet write him a check!” he commanded.
General Roguet wrote out a Crédit Lyonnais check for the Emperor’s gambling losses and gave it to Mr. Howard. Howard relaxed his hand off his revolver and put the Emperor’s check in his pocket.
Meanwhile, the waiter hurried in with a note for General Roguet. Roguet skimmed it which confirmed the Duke of Hamilton’s associate was a detective from Scotland Yard. He gestured for one of the Parisian courtesans to join him and Mr. Howard in a drink at the bar.
Emperor Napoleon III requested the Duke of Hamilton go with him for a walk and to get some fresh air. They walked out of Cabinet #6 towards the Grand Foyer of the restaurant. The Emperor began describing his plans for France. He proposed the Duke use his influence with Queen Victoria to encourage the United Kingdom to join France in an alliance against Germany. But the Duke was noncommittal as he smoked his cigar while they strolled to the front of the restaurant. The Emperor grew increasingly angry as he continued urging the Duke to champion an alliance between France and the United Kingdom. But it was to no avail. Emperor Napoleon III furtively placed his arm around the shoulders of the Duke of Hamilton when they approached the restaurant’s main staircase leading to the Boulevard des Italiens. He whispered in the Duke’s ear, “I know your wife has been spying on me for the British government, and you are too!”
The Duke stopped and protested, “No, Your Imperial Majesty! We would not do such a thing. We are loyal to you!”
The Emperor’s hand tightened around the neck of the Scottish Duke. “I don’t believe you!” he hissed. And In a swift move, he pushed the Duke down the staircase. A woman screamed when she turned and saw the Duke of Hamilton tumbling down the stairs towards the front of the restaurant.
General Roguet heard the scream and hurried to the Emperor’s side. He saw the Duke of Hamilton lying unconscious at the bottom of the stairs as blood began pooling on the floor around his head. The Duke’s associate ran down the stairs to be by his side.
The Maître d' in the front of the restaurant whirled around, took one look at the unconscious man, and shouted, “Is there a doctor in the house? Please help us!”
An older Frenchman sitting at a table by the window rushed to the stairs. “I am a Doctor, Monsieur,” he exclaimed.
The doctor examined the fallen Duke of Hamilton and said, “This man must go to the hospital.” The Duke’s breathing was shallow and he had a gaping wound on the side of his head.
Meanwhile, General Roguet grasped Emperor Napoleon III’s arm and steered him down the back stairs and out into the black carriage parked outside on the Rue Laffite. “Let’s go!” General Roguet ordered the driver.
The carriage driver whipped the horses and yelled, “Hurry boys!” as the black carriage careened down the Boulevard des Italiens. As the carriage driver tried unsuccessfully to avoid hitting pedestrians in his hurry to return to the Tuileries Palace.
Chapter Two
April 14, 1865, Huntsville, Alabama
“The war is over!” Private Isaac Smith from the 101st United States Colored Infantry shouted as Union Army cannons fired a salute with a resounding boom boom boom! The church bells began ringing and railroad train engines were blowing their whistles.
“Huzzah, Huzzah! Lee surrendered!” another soldier shouted as he read the headlines of the New York Tribune newspaper. It arrived earlier from Nashville on the morning train. A Union Army sergeant was next to him overseeing the work crew repairing the Memphis and Charleston railroad line to Decatur.
“Let me see that!” he ordered and grabbed the newspaper from the black soldier.
Several people on the street stopped and hurried over to the sergeant. “Is it true? Is it true?” they asked.
And an elderly man cried out, “Is the war over?”
The sergeant pointed to the large headline “Lee Surrenders!” “Yes, old Bobby Lee surrendered his sword to Grant at Appomattox in Virginny!” he exclaimed.
The Union Army sergeant continued to read the newspaper article out loud to the gathering crowd. Several women in the crowd began crying when they heard the news. “Our boys are coming home!” they said to each other.
Meanwhile, several black laborers stopped working on the railroad bed when they overheard the shouting and the cannon fire. “Are we free?” one black man said to another.
“Yes, I suppose so,” declared Abraham, a grizzled older black man.
“Then I quit!” the first black man said, and he tossed his shovel on the ground and walked away down the street.
Several other black laborers began putting their tools down and walking away with him. The Union Army sergeant lay the newspaper down and yelled after the black workers, “Where do you think you are going?”
“We are going home,” the first black man yelled back to the sergeant and then continued walking down the street.
You can’t leave! The sergeant insisted, “We are paying you good wages!” Black laborers in the Union Army performed back-breaking work on railroad beds, ditches, and earthworks. But they were paid substantially less than comparable white soldiers. The black man laughed and continued walking away.
Several Confederate Army prisoners observed the Union sergeant trying to prevent the black workers from leaving. Confederate soldiers captured in the surrounding area were detained on the second floor of the Huntsville railroad depot before they were sent to a Union Army prison camp in Ohio. But the news of Lee’s surrender prevented all of the prison trains from running.
Meanwhile, the Confederate prisoners had been confined in the depot for several weeks and were tired of it. Working on the Memphis and Charleston railroad tracks might provide them with an opportunity to escape. “We’ll work for you, Sergeant,” shouted Billy, a Confederate prisoner, from an open window in the railroad depot. The sergeant looked up and then gestured to a guard to bring the prisoners to him. The Confederate prisoners were escorted out of the depot to the railroad tracks. Their legs were shackled and all were wearing tattered grey Confederate uniforms. The Union sergeant looked at them suspiciously.
“All right, but don’t try to escape!” he said forcefully and pointed to the shovels and picks on the ground. The prisoners picked up the shovels and began working on the railroad bed, while the crowd was dispersing and going about their business in town.
A Union officer rode up on his horse. “Sergeant, how does it go?” he asked.
“Almost finished Sir!” replied the sergeant but as he saluted, he quickly hid a small flask of whiskey in his back pocket.
The officer dismounted and picked up the newspaper. “Did you read the good news Sergeant?” he noted as he began to read the front page.
