The clanging of the scabbard of a Prussian officer at Totes is the first sign of trouble for a group of travelers on a journey to Le Havre from Rouen.
One of the central characters in this work is a cotton merchant who has a resemblance to King Henry IV, while the main female character is said to have a crimson face and the tiniest of white teeth. Over dinner the stories of Judith and Holofernes and Lucrece and Sextus are offered as examples of self-sacrifice in which the "end justifies the means."  The clanging of the scabbard of a Prussian officer at Totes is the first sign of trouble for a group of travelers on a journey to Le Havre from Rouen. FTP, name this story which was adapted for film by John Ford as Stagecoach, a work by Guy de Maupassant centering on Elisabeth Rosset, the titular portly prostitute.
One of the central characters in this work is a cotton merchant who has a resemblance to King Henry IV, while the main female character is said to have a crimson face and the tiniest of white teeth.
"Boule de Suif" or "Ball of Fat" (or "Tub of Lard")