24 NOVEMBER 1944, Page 10

The final scene in this remarkable Odyssey is intensely domestic.

Safe and sound at last, she walks out clutching the arm of her beloved Burghersh, and as they reach the Rue de Rivoli they see coming towards them a vast travelling carriage stained with dust and mud. Framed in the window is the beloved face of Uncle Arthur ; the Duke slops the carriage and descends to embrace them. Immediately a crowd gathers and an ovation follows. They bundle back into the carriage, and the story ends. It is salutary to reflect that in the coming months we also may be exposed to the same expectations, anxieties and delays as strained Priscilla Burghersh in the long dark months between October, 1813, and April, 1814.