Frog & Fog (10)
"Madame Sèvres!"
Before Georgiana boarded the carriage, a postman called out to her and handed her a letter.
Georgiana accepted it but did not rush to read it. Madame Ségur and Mr. Martin boarded from the other side. Fiegel and the driver sat in front, while Alice, Bailier, and Matilda's carriage followed behind. Together with Laplace's daughter, Chaptal's wife, and the others, their party had no fewer than ten carriages. Including the Mamluk cavalry, it was already quite a sizable procession.
They did not have to inspect the soldiers with Napoleon, but they did need to visit the docks. As soon as the carriage door closed, Mr. Martin continued explaining the current situation to her.
Monroe had many reasons for bringing up imported whiskey. After the American Revolutionary War, America had been eager to repay its war debts. Hamilton's excise tax on whiskey had greatly displeased the farmers, especially the Irish and Scottish descendants in western Pennsylvania. They used whiskey not only as a drink, but also as currency, mainly because there was not enough money in circulation. It was somewhat like the Middle Ages, when goods such as silk, spices, and salt were used as money.
At the same time, distilling liquor was a way of preserving grain. Farmers turned surplus grain into alcohol, packed it into small barrels, and carried it by horse or floated it downstream along the Mississippi River to eastern markets.
Back when America was still a British colony, Britain had attempted to impose the Stamp Act. But was this stamp tax intended to regulate trade, or to fill Britain's treasury?
According to Britain's constitution, no British subject could legally be taxed without the consent of his representatives in Parliament. Yet a pamphlet circulated in England claimed that many places in