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diff --git a/42681-0.txt b/42681-0.txt index 0c6c285..8e7fc78 100644 --- a/42681-0.txt +++ b/42681-0.txt @@ -1,29 +1,4 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Hero of the People, by Alexandre Dumas - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: The Hero of the People - A Historical Romance of Love, Liberty and Loyalty - -Author: Alexandre Dumas - -Translator: Henry Llewellyn Williams - -Release Date: May 10, 2013 [EBook #42681] -[Last updated: October 4, 2014] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HERO OF THE PEOPLE *** - - - +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 42681 *** Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net @@ -10551,364 +10526,4 @@ while her husaband rode off=> while her husband rode off {pg 211} End of Project Gutenberg's The Hero of the People, by Alexandre Dumas -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HERO OF THE PEOPLE *** - -***** This file should be named 42681-0.txt or 42681-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/2/6/8/42681/ - -Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Chuck Greif and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: The Hero of the People - A Historical Romance of Love, Liberty and Loyalty - -Author: Alexandre Dumas - -Translator: Henry Llewellyn Williams - -Release Date: May 10, 2013 [EBook #42681] -[Last updated: October 4, 2014] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HERO OF THE PEOPLE *** - - - - -Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Chuck Greif and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - -Many spelling and punctuation errors have been corrected. A list of the -etext transcriber's spelling corrections follows the text. Consistent -archaic spellings have not been changed. (Note of etext transcriber.) - - - - -PRICE, 25 CENTS. No. 80. - -THE SUNSET SERIES. -By Subscription, per Year, Nine Dollars. February 22, 1894. -Entered at the New York Post-Office as second-class matter. - -Copyright 1891, by J. S. OGILVIE. - -The Hero Of -The People. - -BY -Alex. Dumas. - -NEW YORK: -J. S. OGILVIE PUBLISHING COMPANY, -57 ROSE STREET. - -A WONDERFUL OFFER! - -70 House Plans for $1.00. - -[Illustration] - -If you are thinking about building a house don't fail to get the new -book - -PALLISER'S - -AMERICAN - -ARCHITECTURE, - -containing 104 pages, 1114 inches in size, consisting of large 912 -plate pages giving plans, elevations, perspective views, descriptions, -owners' names, actual cost of construction (=_no guess work_=), and -instructions =_How to Build_= 70 Cottages, Villas, Double Houses, Brick -Block Houses, suitable for city suburbs, town and country, houses for -the farm, and workingmen's homes for all sections of the country, and -costing from $300 to $6,500, together with specifications, form of -contract, and a large amount of information on the erection of buildings -and employment of architects, prepared by Palliser, Palliser & Co., the -well-known architects. - -This book will save you hundreds of dollars. - -There is not a Builder, nor anyone intending to build or otherwise -interested, that can afford to be without it. It is a practical work, -and the best, cheapest and most popular book ever issued on Building. -Nearly four hundred drawings. - -It is worth $5.00 to anyone, but we will send it bound in paper cover, -by mail, post-paid for only $1.00; bound in handsome cloth, $2.00. -Address all orders to - -_J. S. OGILVIE PUBLISHING CO., -Lock Box 2767. 57 Rose Street, New York._ - - - - -THE HERO OF THE PEOPLE. - -A HISTORICAL ROMANCE -OF -LOVE, LIBERTY AND LOYALTY. - -BY ALEX. DUMAS. -Author of "The Queen's Necklace," "The Three Musketeers," -"Balsamo the Magician," "Monte Cristo," "Taking the Bastile," -"Chicot the Jester," etc. - -TRANSLATED FROM THE AUTHOR'S REVISED -LATEST EDITION. - -BY -HENRY LLEWELLYN WILLIAMS - -NEW YORK: -J. S. OGILVIE PUBLISHING COMPANY, -57 ROSE STREET. - -_Entered according to act of Congress in the year 1892, by A. E. Smith & -Co., in the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington._ - - - - -THE HERO OF THE PEOPLE. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -LOCKSMITH AND GUNSMITH. - - -The French Revolution had begun by the Taking of the Bastile by the -people of Paris on the Fourteenth of July, 1789, but it seemed to have -reached the high tide by King Louis XVI, with his Queen Marie Antoinette -and others of the Royal Family, leaving Versailles, after some -sanguinary rioting, for the Capital, Paris. - -But those who think, in such lulls of popular tempests, that all the -mischief has blown over, make a mistake. - -Behind the men who make the first onset, are those who planned it and -who wait for the rush to be made and, then, while others are tried or -satisfied, glide into the crowds to stir them up. - -Mysterious agents of secret, fatal passions, they push on the movement -from where it paused, and having urged it to its farthest limit, those -who opened the way are horrified, at awakening to see that others -attained the end. - -At the doorway of a wine saloon at Sevres by the bridge, over the Seine, -a man was standing who had played the main part, though unseen, in the -riots which compelled the Royal Family to renounce an attempt to escape -out of the kingdom like many of their sycophants, and go from Versailles -Palace to the Tuileries. - -This man was in the prime of life: he was dressed like a workingman, -wearing velveteen breeches shielded by a leather apron with pockets such -as shinglers wear to carry nailes in, or blacksmith-farriers or -locksmiths. His stockings were grey, and his shoes had brass buckles; on -his head was a fur cap like a grenadier's cut in half or what is called -nowadays an artillerist's busby. Grey locks came straggling from under -its hair and mingled with shaggy eyebrows; they shaded large bulging -eyes, keen and sharp, quick, with such rapid changes that it was hard to -tell their true color. His nose was rather thick than medium, the lips -full, the teeth white, and his complexion sunburnt. - -Without being largely built, this man was well formed: his joints were -not course and his hands were small and might have seemed delicate but -for their being swart like those of workers in metal. - -Despite the vigor of the biceps muscle shown from his having rolled up -his shirt sleeves, the skin was remarkable for its whiteness, and almost -aristocratically fine. - -Within his reach was a richly gold-inlaid double-barrelled fowling -piece, branded with the name of Leclere, the fashionable gunsmith of -Paris. You may ask how could such a costly firearm come into the hands -of a common artisan? In times of riot it is not always the whitest hands -which grasp the finest weapons. - -This man had only arrived from Versailles since an hour, and perfectly -well knew what had happened there: for to the landlord's questions as he -supplied him with a bottle of wine which he did not touch, he had -answered as follows: - -"The Queen is coming along with the King and the Dauphin. They had -started at half afternoon, having at last decided to live at the -Tuileries; in consequence of which for the future Paris would no longer -want for bread, as it would have in her midst, the Baker, the Baker's -Wife and the Baker's Boy, as the popular slang dubbed the three -'Royals'." - -As for himself, he was going to hang round to see the procession go by. - -This last assertion might be true, although it was easy to tell that his -glance was more often bent on the side towards Paris than Versailles, -which led one to surmise that he did not feel obliged to tell Boniface -exactly what his intentions were. - -In a few seconds his attraction seemed gratified, for he spied a man, -garbed much like himself, and appearing of the same trade, outlined on -the ridge of the road. He walked heavily like one who had journeyed from -afar. - -His age appeared to be like his awaiter's, that is, what is called the -wrong side of forty. His features were those of a common fellow with low -inclinations and vulgar instincts. - -The stranger's eye was fastened on him with an odd expression as if he -wished with a single scrutiny to measure the gold, if any, and the alloy -in his composition. - -When the wayfarer from the town was within twenty steps of this man -lounging in the doorway, the latter stepped inside, poured the wine from -the bottle into two glasses and returning to the doorstep with one -tumbler held up, he hailed him: - -"Hello, mate! it is pretty cold weather, and the road is a long one. -What do you say to our having a drop of the red to cheer us up and warm -us?" - -The workman from town looked round to make sure that he was alone and -that the greeting was addressed to him. - -"Speaking to me, are you?" - -"Who else, as you are alone?" - -"And offering me a go of wine?" - -"Why not, as we are brothers of the file and bossing-hammer alike? or -some at nigh." - -"Anybody can belong to a trade," said the other looking hard at the -speaker; "but the point is, are you a greenhand or a master of the -craft?" - -"I reckon we shall tell how far we have learnt the trade while drinking -and chatting together." - -"All right then!" said the other, walking up to the door, while the -inviter showed the table set out with the wine. The man took the -tumbler, eyed the contents as if he had doubts, but they disappeared -when the stranger poured himself out a second brimmer. - -"Why, hang it all, are you getting so proud that you will not drink with -a shopmate?" - -"No, dash me if I am--here is Good Luck to the Nation!" - -The workman's grey eyes were fixed on the toast-giver's. - -He tossed off the glass at a draft, and wiped his lips on his sleeve. - -"Deuse take it, but it is Burgundy wine," he remarked. - -"And good liquor, too, eh? the vintage was recommended to me; and -happening along I dropped in, and I am not repenting it. But why not sit -down and be at home? there is some more in the bottle and more in the -cellar when that is gone." - -"I say, what are you working at here?" - -"I have knocked off for the day. I finished a job at Versailles and I am -going on to Paris with the royal procession as soon as it comes along." - -"What procession?" - -"Why, the King and the Queen and the little Prince, who are returning to -the city with the Fishmarket women and two hundred Assemblymen, all -under protection of Gen. Lafayette and the National Guard." - -"So the fat old gentleman has decided to come to town?" - -"They made him do it." - -"I suspected so when I started for Paris at three this morning." - -"Hello! did you leave Versailles at three without any curiosity about -what was going off?" - -"No, no, I itched to know what the gent was up to, being an -acquaintance, a chum of mine, by the way, though I am not bragging; but -you know, old man, one must get on with the work. I have a wife and -children to provide for, and it is no joke now. I am not working at the -royal forge." - -The listener let what he heard pass without putting any questions. - -"So, it was on a pressing job that you went back to Paris?" he only -inquired. - -"Just that, as it appears, and handsomely paid too," said the workman, -jingling some coin in his pocket, "though it was paid for by a kind of -servant, which was not polite, and by a German, too, which blocked me -from having any pleasant chatter during the work. I am not one for gab, -but it amuses one if no harm is spoken of others." - -"And it is no harm when harm is spoken of the neighbors, eh?" - -Both men laughed, the stranger showing sound teeth against the other's -snaggy ones. - -"So, then, you have knocked off a good job, wanted doing in a hurry, and -well paid?" said the former, like one who advances only a step at a -time, but still does advance. "Hard work, no doubt?" - -"You bet it was hard. Worse than a secret lock--an invisible door. What -do you think of one house inside of another? some one who wants to hide -away, be sure. What a game he could have--in or out, as he pleased. -'Your master in?' 'No, sir: just stepped out.' 'You are a liar--he came -in just now.' 'You had better look, since you are so cocksure.' So they -look round, but I defy them to find the gentleman. An iron door, you -will understand, which closes on a beading-framed panel, while it runs -on balls in a groove as on wheels. On the metal is a veneer of old oak, -so that you can rap with your knuckles on it and the sound is identical -with that of a solid plank. I tell you when the job was done, it would -take me in myself." - -"Where the mischief would you do a job like that? but I suppose you -would not tell even a pal?" - -"I cannot tell because I do not know." - -"What hoodwinked you?" - -"Guess again and you will be wrong. A hack was waiting for me at the -city turnpike bars. A chap came up and asked: 'Are you so and-so?' I -said 'I am.' 'Good, we are waiting for you: jump in.' So I got inside -the coach, where they bandaged my eyes, and after the wheels had gone -round for about half an hour, a big carriage-door was opened. They took -me out and up ten steps of a flight of stairs into a vestibule, where I -found a German servant who said to the others: 'Goot! make scarce of -yourseluffs; no longer want we you.' They slung their hook out of it, -while the blinders were taken me off, and I was shown what I had to do. -I had pitched into the work like a good hand, and was done in an hour. -They paid me in bran-new gold, tied up my eyes, put me back in the -carriage, dropped me on the same spot where I was taken up, wished me -safe home--and here I am." - -"Without your having seen anything, even out of the tail of the eye? -Deuse take me if ever I heard of a bandage which would stop a man -catching a glimpse on one side or t'other. Better own up that you had a -peep at something?" pursued the stranger. - -"Well, I did make a misstep at the first stone of the stairs so that, in -throwing up my hands to keep from falling, I got a peep from its -disarranging the handkerchief. I saw a regular row of trees on my left -hand which made me think that I was in some avenue. That is all, on my -honor." - -"I can't say it is much. For the main avenue is long and more than one -house has a carriage-doorway betwixt the St. Honore Coffeehouse and the -Bastile." - -"The fact is," said the locksmith, scratching his head, "I don't think I -am up to telling the house." - -The questioner appeared satisfied, although his countenance did not -usually betray his feelings. - -"But," exclaimed he, as if skipping to another topic, "are there no good -locksmiths at Paris that they have to send to Versailles for one?" - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -THE THREE ODDITIES. - - -The locksmith lifted his tumbler to his eye's level, admired the liquor -with pleasure, and said after sipping it with gratification: - -"Bless you, yes, plenty of locksmiths at Paris." - -He drank a few drops more. - -"Ay, and masters of the craft." He drank again. "Yes, but there is a -difference between them." - -"Hang me," said the other, "but I believe you are like St. Eloi, our -patron saint, master among the master-workmen." - -"Are you one of us?" - -"Akin, my boy: I am a gunsmith. All smiths are brothers. This is a -sample of my work." - -The locksmith took the gun from the speaker's hands, examined it with -attention, clicked the hammers and approved with a nod of the sharp -action of the lock: but spying the name on the plate, he said: - -"Leclere? this won't do, friend, for Leclere is scanty thirty, and we -are both a good forty, without meaning to hurt your feelings." - -"Quite true, I am not Leclere, but it is the same thing, only a little -more so. For I am his master." - -"Oh, capital!" chuckled the locksmith; "it is the same as my saying 'I -am not the King but I am the same thing, only more so, as I am his -master.'" - -"Oho," said the other rising and burlesquing the military salute, "have -I the honor of addressing Master Gamain, the King of Locksmiths?" - -"Himself in person, and delighted if he can do anything for you," -replied Gamain, enchanted at the effect his name had produced. - -"The devil! I had no idea I was talking to one of the high flyers in our -line," said the other. "A man so well considered." - -"Of such consequence, do you mean?" - -"Well, maybe I have not used the right word, but then I am only a poor -smith, and you are the master smith for the master of France. I say," he -went on in another tone, "it can't be always funny to have a king for a -'prentice, eh?" - -"Why not?" - -"Plain enough. You cannot eternally be wearing gloves to say to the mate -on your bench: 'Chuck us the hammer or pass the retail file along.'" - -"Certainly not." - -"I suppose you have to say: 'Please your gracious Majesty, don't hold -the drill askew.'" - -"Why, that is just the charm with him, d'ye see, for he is a -plain-dealer at heart. Once in the forge, when he has the anvil to the -fore, and the leathern apron tied on, none would ever take him for the -Son of St. Louis, as he is called." - -"Indeed you are right, it is astonishing how much he is like the next -man." - -"And yet these perking courtiers are a long time seeing that." - -"It would be nothing if those close around him found that out," said the -stranger, "but those who are at a distance are beginning to get an idea -of it." - -His queer laugh made Gamain look at him with marked astonishment. But he -saw that he had blundered in his pretended character by making a -witticism, and gave the man no time to study his sentence, for he -hastened to recur to the topic by saying: - -"A good thing, too; for I think it lowers a man to have to slaver him -with Your Majesty here and My Noble Sire there." - -"But you do not have to call him high names. Once in the workshop we -drop all that stuff. I call him Citizen, and he calls me Gamain, but I -ain't what you would call chummy with him, while he _is_ familiar with -me." - -"That is all very well; but when the dinner hour comes round I expect he -sends you off to the kitchen to have your bread and cheese with the -flunkeys." - -"Oh, Lor', No! he has never done that; quite the other way about, for he -gets me to bring in a table all set into the workshop and he will often -put his legs under the mahogany with me, particularly at breakfast, -saying: 'I shall not bother about having breakfast with the Queen, as I -should have to wash my hands.'" - -"I can't make this out." - -"You can't understand that when the King works like us, he has his hands -smeared with oil and rust and filings, which does not prevent us being -honest folks, and the Queen would say to him, with her hoity-toity -prudish air: 'Dirty beggar, your hands are foul.' How can a man have a -fop's hands if he works at the forge?" - -"Don't talk to me about that--I might have married high if I could have -kept my fingers nice," sighed the stranger. - -"Let me tell you that the old chap does not have a lively time in his -geographical study or his library; but I believe he likes my company the -best." - -"That is all very amusing for you, except having to endure so poor a -pupil." - -"Poor," repeated Gamain. "Oh, no, you must not say that. He is to be -pitied, to tell the truth, in his coming into the world as a king, for -he is but a man--and having to waste himself on a pack of nonsense -instead of sticking to our art, in which he makes good way. He will -never be but a third-rate king for he is too honest, but he would have -made an excellent locksmith. There is one man I execrate for stealing -away his time--that Necker fellow, who made him lose such a lot of -time!" - -"You mean with his accounts and financing." - -"Ay, his fine-Nancy-ing, indeed." - -"But you must make a fat thing out of such a lad to bring on." - -"No, that is just where you are in error: that is why I bear a grudge to -him, Louis the Father of the Kingdom, the Restorer of the French Nation! -People believe that I am rich as _Creases_, while I am as poor as Job." - -"You, poor? why, what does he do with all his money?" - -"He gives half to the poor and the other half is got away by his -parasites, so that he never has any brass. The Coigny, Polignac and -Vaudreuil families eat him up, poor dear old boy! One day he wanted to -cut down Lord Coigny's appointments, and the gentleman waylaid him at -our forge door: after going out for five minutes, the King came back, -pale as a ghost, muttering: 'Faith, I believe he would have caned me.' -'Did he get the appointments reduced, Sire?' I inquired. 'I let them -stand,' he said: 'what else could I do?' Another time he wanted to scold -the Queen for giving Duchess Polignac three hundred thousand francs for -the linen for her baby, and what do you think?" - -"It is a pretty sum for a baby!" - -"Right you are: but it was not enough: the Queen made him give her five -hundred thousand. You have only to look how these Polignacs have got on, -who had not a penny when they started in, but are running away from -France with millions. I should not have minded if they had any talent, -but just give those neerdowells a hammer or cold chisel; they could not -forge a horseshoe: give them file and screw-driver and see how they -would get on at a common lock! However, they can wag the tongue to some -purpose, since they hounded the King on so that they leave him in a -quagmire. He may flounder out as best he can, with the help of General -Lafayette and Mayor Bailly, and Lord Mirabeau. I gave him good advice, -but he would not listen to me, and he leaves me with fifteen hundred -livres a-year, though I am his trainer, who first showed him to hold a -file properly." - -"But I suppose that when you worked with him, there were some pickings?" - -"But am I working with him now? Since the Taking of the Bastile, I have -not set foot inside his palace. Once or twice I met him: the first time, -as there was a crowd about in the street, he just bobbed his head; the -next, on the Satory Road, he stopped the coach for the coast was clear. -'Good morning, my poor Gamain, how goes it?' he sighed. 'How goes it -with you, Sire? but I know it is rough--but that will be a lesson to -you.' 'Are your wife and children well?' he said to shift the talk. 'All -fine but with appetites like ogres.' 'You must make them a little -present from me.' He searched his pockets, but he could rake up only -nine louis. 'That is all I carry with me, my poor Gamain,' he said with -a kind of groan, 'and I am ashamed to do so little.' Of course, it was -small cash for a monarch to give, short of ten gold pieces, so paltry a -sum to a work-fellow--So----" - -"You refused them?" - -"Catch me? No, I said: 'I had better grab, for he will meet somebody -else not so delicate as me, who would take them.' Still, he need not -fret himself, I shall never walk into Versailles unless I am sent for, -and I do not know as I shall then." - -"What a grateful heart this rogue has," muttered the stranger, but all -he said aloud was: "It is very affecting, Master Gamain, to see devotion -like yours survive misfortune. A last glass to the health of your -'prentice." - -"Faith, he does not deserve it, but never mind! here's to his health, -all the same!" He drank. "Only to think that he had thousands of bottles -in his cellar which would beat this, and he never said to a footman: -Take a basket of this lush to my friend Gamain!' Not he--he would sooner -have it swilled by his Lifeguardsmen, the Swiss, or his Flanders -Regiment. They did him a lot of good, I do not think!" - -"What did you expect?" questioned the other, sipping his wine, "kings -are ungrateful like this one. But hush! we are no longer alone." - -In fact, three persons were entering the drinking saloon, two men of the -common sort and a fishfag, and they took seats at the table matching -that at which Gamain and his "treater" were sitting. - -The locksmith raised his eyes to them and stared with an attention -making the other smile. They were truly worthy of some remark. - -One of the two men was all body: the other all legs: it was hard to say -anything about the woman. - -All-Body resembled a dwarf: he was under five feet in hight: he may have -lost an inch or so from his knees knocking although when he stood up, -his feet kept apart. Instead of his countenance redeeming the deformity, -it seemed to highten it;--for his oily and dirty hair was flattened down -on his bald forehead; his eyebrows were so badly shaped as to seem -traced at random; his eyes were usually dull but when lighted up sheeny -and glassy as the toad's. In moments of irritation, they threw out -sparks like a viper's, from concentrated pupils. His nose was flat, and -deviated from the straight line so that his prominent cheek bones stood -out all the more. Lastly, to complete the hideous aspect, his yellow -lips only partly covered the few, black and loose teeth in his twisted -mouth. - -At first glance you would say that gall, not blood, flowed in his veins. - -The other was so opposed to the short-legged one that he seemed a heron -on its stilts. The likeness to the bird was the closer from his head -being lost between his humped shoulders so as to be distinguished solely -by the eyes, like blood-spots, and a long, pointed, beak-like nose. Like -the heron, too, he seemed to have the ability to stretch his neck, and -put out the eyes of one at a distance. His arms also were gifted with -this elasticity, and while seated, he might pick up a handkerchief -dropped at his feet without moving his body. - -The third person was ambiguous; it being difficult to divine the sex. If -a man, he was upwards of thirty-four, wearing a stylish costume of the -fishmarket stallkeepers, with lace kerchief and tucker, and gold -earrings and chain. His features, as well as could be made out through -layers of rouge and flake white, together with beauty-patches of -sticking plaster of all fancy shapes, were slightly softened as in -degenerated races. As soon as one caught sight of him one wanted to hear -him speak in the hope that the voice's sound would give his dubious -appearance a stamp by which he could be classed. But it was nothing to -the purpose: his soprano voice left the curious observer still deeper -plunged into doubt. - -The shoes and stockings of the trio were daubed in mud to show that they -had been tramping in the road for some time. - -"Lord save us, I seem to know that woman, from having met her before," -said Gamain. - -"Very likely at court," sneered the pretended workman "their manners -have been there quite a while and they have been visitors, the -fishmarket dames, of late. But," he went on, pulling his cap down on his -brow and taking up his gun, "they are here on business: consequently, we -had better leave them alone." - -"Do you know them?" - -"By sight. Do you?" - -"I say that I have met the woman before: tell me who the men are and I -may put my finger on her name." - -"Of the two men, the knock-kneed one is the surgeon, Jean Paul Marat; -while the humpback is Prosper Verrieres." - -"Aha!" - -"Does not that put you on the right track?" - -"My tongue to the dogs if it does!" - -"The fishwoman is----" - -"Wait, it is--but, no--impossible----" - -"I see that you will not name _him_--the fish_woman_ is the Duke of -Aiguillon." - -At this utterance of the title, the disguised nobleman started and -turned, as well as his companions. They made a movement to rise as men -do when in presence of a leader: but the pretended gunsmith laid a -finger on his lips and passed them by. - -Gamain followed him, believing he was in a dream. - -At the doorway he was jostled by a running man, who seemed to be pursued -by a mob, shouting: - -"Stop him--that is the Queen's hairdresser! stop the hairdresser!" - -Among the howling and racing men were two who carried each a human head -on a pikestaff. They were those of two Lifeguards, killed at Versailles -in defending the Queen from the mob. - -"Halloa, it is Leonard," said the strange workman, to the fugitive. - -"Silence, do not name me," yelled the barber, dashing into the saloon. - -"What do they chase him for?" inquired Gamain. - -"The Lord knows," was the response: "maybe they want him to curl the -hair of the poor soldiers. In Revolutionary times, fellows have such -quaint fancies!" - -He mixed in with the throng, leaving Gamain, from whom he had probably -extracted all he wanted, to make his way alone to his workshop at -Versailles. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -THE UNDYING MAN. - - -It was the more easy for the pretended gunsmith to blend with the crowd -as it was numerous. - -It was the advance guard of the procession around the King, Queen and -the Prince Royal, leaving the court suburb at half past one. - -In the royal coach were the Queen, her son, her daughter, called Madam -Royale though a child, Count Provence, the King's brother. Lady -Elizabeth his sister, and the Queen's favorite lady of the household, -Andrea Taverney Countess of Charny. - -In a hundred carriages came the National Assemblymen who had declared -they would henceforth be inseparable from the monarch. - -This mob was about a quarter of an hour ahead of the royal party, and -rallied round the two royal guardsmen's heads as their colors. All -stopped at the Sevres wine saloon. The collection was of tattered and -half-drunken wretches, the scum that comes to the surface whether the -inundation is water or lava. - -Suddenly, great stir in the concourse, for they had seen the National -Guards' bayonets and General Lafayette's white horse, immediately -preceding the royal coach. - -Lafayette was fond of popular gatherings: he really reigned among the -Paris people whose idol he was. But he did not like the lowest orders. -Paris, like Rome, had a grade under the mere mob. - -In particular, he did not approve of Lynch Law, and he had done his -utmost to try to save those aristocrats whom the crowd had executed. It -was to hide their trophies and preserve the bloody tokens of victory -that the multitude kept on ahead. But on being encouraged by the trio of -captains waiting at the Sevres saloon, they decided to keep the heads up -and wait for the King, so that he should not be parted from his faithful -guards. - -The mob was increased by the country folks flocking to the road from all -quarters to see the cortege go by. A few cheered, adding their uproar to -the howls, hoots and groans of the marching column, but the majority, -stood dull and quiet on both sides of the road. - -Did this mean that they were for the Royal Family? No: or at least -unless they belonged to the court party, everybody, even the upper -middle class, suffered more or less from the dreadful famine spreading -over the kingdom. If they did not insult the King and Queen, they -remained hushed, and the silence of an assemblage is often worse than an -insult. - -On the other hand the myriads roared with all their lung power: "Hurrah -for Lafayette!" who took off his hat now and then or waved the sword in -his right hand: and "Long live Mirabeau!" who thrust his head out of the -carriage window, where he was one of six, to get a whiff of the air -necessary for his broad chest. - -Hence, amid the silence for himself, the unfortunate Louis XVI. heard -applauded that Popularity which he had lost and that Genius which he had -never possessed. - -By the King's right side carriage-window walked a man in a black suit -whose dress pointed him out as one of the Philosophers, as they were -termed, or Revolutionists who worked intellectually for the amelioration -of the monarchy. This was the royal honorary physician, Dr. Honore -Gilbert. The crowd cheered him at times, for he was a hero of their own. -Born a Frenchman, of humble degree, a boy on the estate of the -ultra-royalist Baron Taverney, he had educated himself in democratic -learning. Falling in love with his master's lovely daughter, Andrea, -since Countess of Charny, he had followed her to court. At Paris he -became favorite pupil of Rousseau, the revolutionist, and this farther -confirmed him in his subversive principles. - -But having taken advantage of Andrea while she was powerless under the -influence of a mesmeric sleep, he fled the country. He had deposited in -sure hands the living evidence of his crime, a boy named Emile (In honor -of Rousseau, who wrote a book so called) Sebastian Gilbert, and fled the -country. But at the Azores Islands he came in contact with the young -lady's brother Philip, who shot him down and believed he left him dead. - -But, restored to life by his friend, the Baron Balsamo, otherwise -Cagliostro the Magician he accompanied him to America. - -The two formed part of the legion of Frenchmen who helped the revolted -Thirteen Colonies to throw off the British yoke. - -Returning to his country he was arrested at Havre and thown into the -Bastile. When that hated prison was stormed by the Parisians led by the -Farmer Billet, he was rescued. He had gone to court to learn who had -caused this arrest, and to his amazement discovered that its author was -the woman whom he had unutterably wronged. Yes, the baron's daughter had -married the Queen's favorite, thought by some to be her paramour, Count -George Charny, very rich, very brave and altogether fit to create her a -power in the realm. - -Gilbert had a sincere pity for royalty under a cloud. He was known to -the King as the author of certain articles on the way to steer the Ship -of State, and his offer to serve him was gladly accepted. - -The mob cheered at the remarkable shaking up of the sands in Time's box -by which the revolutionary advocate, fresh from the Bastile dungeons, -should walk at the side of the King's coach to shield his life from the -assassin. No mere touch of rhetoric, for on the royal visit to Paris -lately a bullet had cut a button off the doctor's coat and slain a woman -in the throng: this graceful gentlemen in black was then a better -safeguard than the soldiers whose heads were now garnishing the pikes -there in advance. - -Queen Marie Antoinette looked with wonder at this doctor, whose stoicism -she could not understand, while to it the American manner of forced -quiet added more sternness. Without love or devotion for his sovereigns, -he carried out what he considered duty towards them, as ready to die for -them as those who had the qualities of the loyalist he lacked. - -On both sides of the royal coach tramped men and women, in mud six -inches deep, while amid the ribbons and rags, the Fishmarket women and -porters of the Paris Markets swarmed round waves more compact than the -rest of the human sea. These clumps were cannon or ammunition wagons, on -which sat women singing at the top of their voices. An old song which -had been applied to King Louis XV.'s mistress Jeanne Dubarry, and was -now altered to suit Marie Antoinette and the situation of affairs, was -their choice. They roared: - - "The Baker's wife has got the cash, which costs her very little." - -They also kept reiterating: "We shall not want for bread any more, as we -have got the Baker, the Baker's Wife and the Baker's Little Boy along." - -The Queen seemed to listen to it all without understanding. Between her -knees she held her son, who looked at the multitude as frightened -princes stare when appalled. - -The King watched with a dull and heavy eye. He had little sleep in the -night; he had not made a good breakfast though usually a hearty eater; -he had no time to have his hair dressed and his beard had grown long. -His linen was limp and roughened, too--all things to his disadvantage. -Alas, Louis was not the man for emergencies, and this was a period of -emergencies. He bent his head when they came: save once when he held his -chin up--it was when he walked upon the scaffold. - -Lady Elizabeth was the angel of sweetness and resignation placed by -heaven beside those doomed creatures to console the King during the -Queen's absence; and the Queen after the King's death. - -Count Provence, here as everywhere, had the squinting glance of a false -man; he knew that he ran no present danger; he was the popular member of -the family--no one knew why--perhaps because he remained in France when his -brother Artois fled. - -Could the King have read his heart, he might not have felt any gratitude -to him for what he pledged in the way of devotion. - -Countess Andrea seemed of marble. She had recognized the man she most -hated in the King's new confidential adviser, and one whom the Queen -seemed bound to win to her side. Like a statue, the stir round her -seemed not to affect her, and she looked in attire as trim as if fresh -from a band-box. One thought was alive within her, fierce and -luminous--love for some unknown--perchance her husband, or hate for -Gilbert--at whom she darted lightnings involuntarily whenever their -glances crossed. But she felt that she might not defy his with impunity, -for he was a pupil of Balsamo Cagliostro, the arch-mesmerist, and might -sway her with the same art. - -A hundred paces on the other side of the little drinking saloon, the -royal train stopped. All along the line the clamor doubled. - -The Queen bent out of the window and as the movement looked like a bow -to the crowd, there was a long murmur. She called Dr. Gilbert. - -He went up to the window: as he had kept his hat off all the way, he -had no need to bare his head in respect. His attitude showed he was -entirely under her orders. - -"What are your people shouting and singing?" she requested to know. - -The Queen's form of putting the question showed that she had been -ruminating it for some time. He sighed as much as to say, it is the same -old story. - -"Alas, my lady," he proceeded with profound melancholy, "those you call -my people, were yours in former times, and it is less than twenty years -ago when Lord Brissac, a delightful courtier whom I look in vain for -here, showed you the same people shouting for the Dauphin under the City -Hall windows and said: 'You behold twenty thousand admirers there.'" - -The Queen bit her lips from the impossibility of catching this man in -want of a repartee or of respect. - -"That is true--it only proves that the many-headed change," she said. - -Gilbert bowed this time, without retort. - -"I asked you a question, doctor," persisted the lady, with the obstinacy -she had for even disagreeable matters. - -"Yes, and I answer since your Majesty insists. They are singing that the -Baker's Wife has plenty of money which it gave her no trouble to get. -You are aware that they style your Majesty the Baker's Wife?" - -"Just as they called me Lady Deficit before. Is there any connection -between the nicknames?" - -"So much also as the finances are concerned. They mean by your money -being easily come by that you had complaisant treasurers such as Calonne -in particular, who gave you whatever you asked; the people therefore -assume that you got your money readily for the asking." - -The Queen's hand was clenched on the red velvet carriage-window ledge. - -"So much for what they are singing. Now, for what they bellow out?" - -"They say that they shall no longer want for bread since they have the -Baker, the Baker's Wife and the Baker's Son among them." - -"I expect you to make this second piece of insolence clear." - -"You would see that they are not so much to blame as you fancy if you -were to look to the intention and not weigh the words of the people. -Wrongly or rightfully, the masses believe that a great Grain Trust is -carried on at Versailles. This prevents flour from coming freely into -the capital. Who feeds the Paris poor? the Baker. Towards whom does the -working man and his wife hold out their supplicating hands when their -children cry for food? the baker and the baker's wife. Who do they pray -to after the Sender of the harvest? the lady of the estate--that is, the -loaf-giver, as the name is derived. Are not you three the loaf-givers -for the country, the King, yourself and this august child? Do not be -astonished at the mighty, blessed name the people give you, but thank -them for cherishing the hope that as soon as the King, the Queen and -their son are in the midst of the famished thousands, they will no -longer be in want." - -For an instant the royal lady closed her eyes, and she made the movement -of swallowing as though to keep down her hatred as well as bitter saliva -which scorched her throat. - -"So we ought to thank these howlers for their songs and nick-names upon -us?" - -"Yes, and most sincerely: the song is but an expression of their good -humor as the shouts are of their expectations. The whole explains their -desire." - -"So they want Lafayette and Mirabeau to live long?" - -"Yes," returned Gilbert, seeing that the Queen had clearly heard the -cries, "for those two leaders, separated by the gulf over which you -hang, may, united, save the monarchy." - -"Do you mean that the monarchy has sunk so low that it can be picked up -by those two?" queried the lady. - -He was going to make some kind of reply when a burst of voices, in -dread, with atrocious peals of laughter and a great swaying of the -gathering, driving Gilbert closer to the vehicle, announced that he -would be needed in defense of the Queen by speech or action. It was the -two head-carriers, who, after having made Leonard barb and curl the -hair, wanted to have the fun of presenting them to Marie Antoinette--as -other roughs, or perhaps the same--had presented the dead heads of sons -to their fathers. - -The crowd yelled with horror and fell away as these ghastly things came -up. - -"In heaven's name, do not look to the right," cried Gilbert. - -The Queen was no woman to obey such an injunction without a peep to see -the reason. So her first movement was to turn her gaze in the forbidden -direction and she uttered a scream of fright. But, all of a sudden, as -she tore her sight from this horrible spectacle as if they were Gorgon -heads, they became fixed as though they met another view even more -awful, from which she could not detach it. - -This Medusa's head was the stranger's who had been drinking and chatting -with Locksmith Gamain in the wine-store: with folded arms, he was -leaning against a tree. - -The Queen's hand left the window cushion, and resting on Gilbert's -shoulder, he felt her clench her nails into its flesh. He turned to see -her pale, with fixed eyes and quivering, blanched lips. - -He would have ascribed the emotion to the two death's heads but for her -not looking at either. The gaze was in another direction, traveling -visually in which he descried the object and he emitted a cry of amaze. - -"Cagliostro!" both uttered at the same time. - -The man at the tree clearly saw the Queen, but all he did was beckon for -Gilbert to come to him. - -At this point of time the carriages started on once more. By a natural -and mechanical impulse the Queen gave Gilbert an outward push to prevent -his being run over by the wheel. It looked as though she urged him -towards the summoner. Anyhow, he was not sufficiently master of himself -not to obey the mandate. Motionless, he let the party proceed; then, -following the mock gunsmith who merely looked back to be sure he was -followed, he entered behind him a little lane going uphill to Bellevue, -where they disappeared behind a wall at the same time as the procession -went out of sight in a declivity of the hills, as though plunging into -an abyss. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -FATALITY. - - -Gilbert followed his guide half-way up the slope where stood a handsome -house. The foregoer pulled out a key and opened a side door intended for -the master to go in or come out without the servants knowing when he did -so. He left the door ajar to signify that the companion of the journey -was to use it. Gilbert entered and shut the door gently but it silently -closed itself tightly with a pneumatic arrangement at the hinges which -seemed the work of magic. Such an appliance would have been the delight -of Master Gamain. - -Through luxuriously fitted passages Gilbert finally came into a drawing -room, hung with Indian satin tapestry; a fantastic Oriental bird held -the lustre in its beak and it emitted a light which Gilbert knew was -electricity, though its application thus would have been a puzzle to -others than this specialist in advanced science. The lights represented -lily-blooms, which again was an anticipation of modern illuminators. - -One picture alone adorned this room but it was Raphael's Madonna. - -Gilbert was admiring this masterpiece when the host entered by a secret -door behind him from a dressing room. - -An instant had sufficed for him to wash off the stain and the -pencillings and to give his black hair, without any grey, a stylish -turn. He had also changed his clothes. Instead of the workman was an -elegant nobleman. His embroidered coat and his hands glittering with -rings in the Italian style, strongly contrasted with Gilbert's American -black coat and his plain gold ring, a keepsake from General Washington. - -Count Cagliostro advanced with a smiling open face and held out his hand -to Gilbert. - -"Dear Master," cried the latter rushing to him. - -"Stop a bit," interrupted the other, laughing: "since we have parted, -my dear Gilbert, you have made such progress in revolutionary methods at -all events, that you are the master at present and I not fit to undo -your shoestrings." - -"I thank you for the compliment," responded the doctor, "but how do you -know I have made such progress, granting I have progressed?" - -"Do you believe you are one of those men whose movement is not marked -although not seen? Since eight years I have not set eyes on you but I -have had a daily report of what you did. Do you doubt I have -double-sight?" - -"You know I am a mathematician." - -"You mean, incredulous? Let me show you, then. In the first place you -returned to France on family matters; they do not concern me, and -consequently----" - -"Nay, dear master, go on," interposed the other. - -"Well, you came to have your son Sebastian educated in a boarding school -not far from Paris in quiet, and to settle business affairs with your -farmer, an honest fellow whom you are now retaining in town against his -wishes. For a thousand reasons he wants to be home beside his wife." - -"Really, master, you are prodigious!" - -"Wait for something stronger. The second time you returned to France -because political questions drew you, like many others; besides you had -published several political treatises which you sent to King Louis XVI., -and as there is much of the Old Man in you--you are prouder for the -approval of the King than perhaps you would be of that of my predecessor -in your training, Rousseau--who would be higher than a king this day, -had he lived--you yearn to learn what is thought of Dr. Gilbert by the -descendant of St. Louis, Henry Fourth and Louis XIV. Unfortunately a -little matter has kept alive which you did not bear in mind, as a sequel -to which I picked you up in a cave in the Azores, where my yacht put in. -I restored you from the effects of a bullet in your breast. This little -affair concerned Mdlle. Andrea Taverney, become Countess Charny, which -she deserves, to save the Queen's reputation, compromised by the King -coming upon her and Count Charny by surprise. - -"As the Queen could refuse nothing to this saver, she got a blank -warrant and committal to prison for you, so that you were arrested on -the road out of Havre and taken to the Bastile. There you would be to -this day, dear doctor, if the people, prepared for a rising by a person -whom you may divine, had not in a day knocked the old building lower -than the gutter. I was not sorry, for I had a taste of the fare myself -before I was banished the Kingdom. This morning early, you contributed -to the rescue of the Royal Family, by running to arouse Lafayette, who -was sleeping the sleep of the virtuous; and just now, when you saw me, -you were about to make a breastwork of your body for the Queen who -seemed threatened--though, between ourselves, she detests you. Is this -right? Have I forgotten anything of note, such as a hypnotic seance -before the King when Countess Charny was made to disclose how she had -led to your imprisonment and how she obtained a certain casket of your -papers by one Wolfstep, a police agent? Tell me and if I have omitted -any point, I am ready to do penance for it." - -Gilbert stood stupefied before this extraordinary man, who knew so well -to prepare his march that his hearer was inclined to attribute to him -the faculty of comprising heavenly as well as mundane things, and to -read in the heart of man. - -"Yes, it is thus and you are still the magician, the fortune-teller, the -thaumaturgist, Cagliostro!" - -The wonder-worker smiled with satisfaction, for it was evident that he -was proud of having worked on Gilbert such an impression as the latter's -visage revealed. - -"And now," continued Gilbert, "as I love you as much as you do me, dear -master, and my desire to learn what you have been doing is equal to -yours and how I have fared, will you kindly tell me, if I am not -intruding too far, in what part of the globe you have exhibited your -genius and practiced your power?" - -"Oh, I?" said Cagliostro, smiling, "like yourself I have been rubbing -shoulders with kings, but with another aim. You go up to them to uphold -them; I to knock them over. You try to manufacture a constitutional -monarch and will not succeed; I, to make emperors, kings and princes -democratic, and I am coming on." - -"Are you really?" queried Gilbert with an air of doubt. - -"Decidedly. It must be allowed that they were prepared for me by -Voltaire, Alembert and Diderot, admirable Mecaenases, sublime contemners -of the gods, and also by the example of Frederick the Great, whom we -have the misfortune to lose. But you know we are all mortal, except the -Count of St. Germain and myself. - -"So long as the Queen is fair, my dear Gilbert, and she can recruit -soldiers to fight among themselves, kings who fret to push over thrones -have never thought of hurling over the altar. But we have her brother, -Kaiser Joseph II. who suppresses three-fourths of the monasteries, -seizes ecclesiastical property, drives even the Camelite nuns out of -their cells, and sends his sister prince of nuns trying on the latest -fashions in hats and monks having their hair curled. We have the King of -Denmark, who began by killing his doctor Struensee, and who, at -seventeen, the precocious philosopher, said: 'Voltaire made a man of me -for he taught me to think.' We have the Empress Catherine, who made such -giant strides in philosophy that--while she dismembered Poland, Voltaire -wrote to her: 'Diderot, Alembert and myself are raising altars to you. -We have the Queen of Sweden and many princes in the Empire and -throughout Germany.'" - -"You have nothing left you but to convert the Pope, my dear master, and -I hope you will, as nothing is beyond you." - -"That will be a hard task. I have just slipped out of his claws. I was -locked up in Castle Sanangelo as you were in the Bastile." - -"You don't say so? did the Romans upset the castle as the people of St. -Antoine Ward overthrew the Bastile?" - -"No, my dear doctor, the Romans are a century behind that point. But, be -easy: it will come in its day: the Papacy will have its revolutionary -days, and Versailles and the Vatican can shake hands in equality at that -era." - -"I thought that nobody came alive out of Castle Sanangelo?" - -"Pooh! what about Benvenuto Cellini, the sculptor?" - -"You had not wings such as he made, had you, and did you flit over the -Tiber like a new Icarus?" - -"It would be the more difficult as I was lodged for the farther security -in the blackest dungeon of the keep. But I did get out, as you see." - -"Bribed the jailor with gold?" - -"I was out of luck, for my turnkey was incorruptible. But, fortunately, -he was not immortal. Chance--the believers say, Providence--well, the -Architect of the Universe granted that he should die on the morrow of -his refusing to open the prison doors. He died very suddenly! and he had -to be replaced." - -"The new hand was not unbribable?" - -"The day of his taking up his office, as he brought me the soup, he -said: 'Eat heartily and get your strength, for we have to do some stiff -traveling this night.' By George, the good fellow told no lie. That same -night we rode three horses out dead, and covered a hundred miles." - -"What did the government say when your disappearance was known?" - -"Nothing. The dead and still-warm other jailer was clad in the clothes I -left behind; and a pistol was fired in his face; it was laid by his side -and the statement was given out that in despair at having no escape and -with the useless weapon which I had procured none could tell how, I had -blown out my brains. It follows that I am officially pronounced dead and -buried; the jailer being interred in my name. It will be useless, my -dear Gilbert, my saying that I am alive, for the certificate of my death -and burial will be produced to prove that I am no more. But they will -not have to do anything of the sort as it suits me to be thought passed -away at this date. I have made a dive into the sombre river, as the -poets say, but I have come up under another name. I am now Baron Zanone, -a Genoese banker. I discount the paper of princes--good paper in the -sort of Cardinal Prince Rohan's, you know. But I am not lending money -merely for the interest. By the way, if you need cash, my dear Gilbert, -say so? You know that my purse, like my heart, is always at your call." - -"I thank you." - -"Ah, you think to incommode me, because you met me in my dress as a -workman? do not trouble about that; it is merely one of my disguises; -you know my ideas about life being one long masquerade where all are -more or less masked. In any case, my dear boy, if ever you want money, -out of my private cash box here--for the grand cash box of the -Invisibles is in St. Claude Street--come to me at any hour, whether I am -at home or not--I showed you the little, side door; push this spring -so--" he showed him the trick--"and you will find about a million -ready." - -The round top of the desk opened of itself on the spring being pressed, -and displayed a heap of gold coin and bundles of banknotes. - -"You are in truth a wonderful man!" exclaimed Gilbert; "but you ought to -know that with twenty thousand a-year, I am richer than the King. But do -you not fear being disquieted in Paris?" - -"On account of the matter of the Queen's Necklace for which I was forbid -the realm? Go to! they dare not. In the present ferment of minds I have -only to speak one word to evoke a riot: you forget that I am friendly -with all the popular leaders--Lafayette, Necker, Mirabeau and yourself." - -"What have you come to do at Paris?" - -"Who knows? perhaps what you went over to the United States to do--found -a republic." - -"France has not a republican turn of mind," said the other, shaking his -head. - -"We shall teach her that way, that is all. It has taken fifteen hundred -years to rule with a monarchy; in one hundred the Republic will be -founded to endure--why not as long?" - -"The King will resist; the nobility fly to arms; and then what will you -do?" - -"We will make a revolution before we have the Republic." - -"It will be awful to do that, Joseph," said Gilbert, hanging his head. - -"Awful indeed, if we meet many such as you on the road." - -"I am not strong, but honest," said the doctor. - -"That is worse: so I want to bring you over." - -"I am convinced--not that I shall prevent you in your work, but will -stay you." - -"You are mad, Gilbert; you do not understand the mission of France in -Europe. It is the brain of the Old World, and must think freely so that -the world will be the happier for its thought. Do you know what -overthrew the Bastile?" - -"The people." - -"No: public opinion. You are taking the effect for the cause." - -"For five hundred years they have been imprisoning nobles in the Bastile -and it stood. But the mad idea struck an insane monarch one day to lock -up thought--the spirit which must be free, and requires space unto -immensity, and crack! it burst the walls and the mob surged in at the -breach." - -"True enough," mused the younger man. - -"Twenty-six years ago, Voltaire wrote to Chauvelin: 'All that I see is -sowing Revolution round us, and it will inevitably come though I shall -not have the bliss to see the harvest. The French are sometimes slow to -come into the battle but they get there before the fight is over. Light -is so spread from one to another, that it will burst forth in a mass -soon, and then there will be a fine explosion. The young men are happy -for they will behold splendors. What do you say about the flare-ups of -yesterday and what is going on to-day?'" - -"Terrible!" - -"And what you have beheld in the way of events?" - -"Dreadful!" - -"We are only at the beginning." - -"Prophet of evil!" - -"For instance, I was at the house of a man of merit, a doctor of -medicine and a philanthropist: what do you think he was busy over?" - -"Seeking the remedy for some great disease." - -"You have it. He is trying to cure, not death, but life." - -"What do you mean?" - -"Leaving epigrams aside, I mean that there not being means enough for -quitting life, he is inventing a very ingenious machine which he reckons -to present to his fellow countrymen, to put fifty or eighty persons to -death in an hour. Well, my dear Gilbert, do you believe that so human a -philanthropist, so distinguished a physician as Dr. Louis Guillotin, -would busy himself about such an instrument unless he felt the want of -it? - -"I know that this is not so much a novelty as a machine forgotten, as a -proof of which I showed it as an image in a glass of water to Marie -Antoinette. She was then espoused to the Dauphin of France, now its -sovereign, and it was down at Taverney where you were a dependent. The -old baron was alive then, and the lady of the manor was Mdlle. Andrea." - -"Ah," sighed Gilbert at this reminder of his boyhood. - -"But at the first you had eyes only for the servant-maid, Nicole, -afterwards Olive Legay, as the Dauphiness, to whom she bore an amazing -resemblance by the bye, is the Queen of France. Well I repeat that the -future Queen was shown by me this instrument to which I shall suggest no -name, though the olden ones are the Maiden, the Widow and the _Mannaya_ -in my country. The thing so alarmed her that she swooned dead away. It -was in limbo at the era, but you shall see it at work presently if it be -successful; and then you must be blind if you do not spy the hand of -heaven in it all, it being foreseen that the time would come when the -headsman would have his hands too full and that a new method must be -devised." - -"Count, your remarks were more consoling when we were in America." - -"I should rather think they were! I was in the midst of a people who -rose and here in society which falls. In our Old World, all march -towards the grave, nobility and royalty, and this grave is a bottomless -pit." - -"Oh, I abandon the nobility to you, count, or rather it threw itself -away in the night of the fourth of August; but the royalty must be saved -as the national palladium." - -"Big words, my dear Gilbert: but did the palladium save Troy? Do you -believe it will be easy to save the realm with such a king?" - -"But in short he is the descendant of a grand race." - -"Eagles that have degenerated into parrots. They have been marrying in -and out till they are rundown." - -"My dear sorcerer," said Gilbert, rising and taking up his hat, "you -frighten me so that I must haste and take my place by the King." - -Cagliostro stopped him in making some steps towards the door. - -"Mark me, Gilbert," he said, "you know whether I love you or not and if -I am not the man to expose myself to a hundred sorrows to aid you to -avoid one--well, take this piece of advice: let the King depart, quit -France, while it is yet time. In a year, in six months, in three, it -will be too late." - -"Count, do you counsel a soldier to leave his post because there is -danger in his staying?" - -"If the soldier were so surrounded, engirt, and disarmed that he could -not defend himself: if, above all, his life exposed meant that of half a -million of men--yes, I should bid him flee. And you yourself, Gilbert, -you shall tell him so. The King will listen to you unless it is all too -late. Do not wait till the morrow but tell him to-day. Do not wait till -the afternoon but tell him in an hour." - -"Count, you know that I am of the fatalist school. Come what come may! -so long as I shall have any hold on the King it will be to retain him in -France, and I shall stay by him. Farewell, count: we shall meet in the -action: perhaps we shall sleep side by side on the battlefield." - -"Come, come, it is written that man shall not elude his doom however -keen-witted he may be," muttered the magician: "I sought you out to tell -you what I said, and you have heard it. Like Cassandra's prediction it -is useless, but remember that Cassandra was correct. Fare thee well!" - -"Speak frankly, count," said Gilbert, stopping on the threshold to gaze -fixedly at the speaker, "do you here, as in America, pretend to make -folk believe that you can read the future?" - -"As surely, Gilbert," returned the self-asserted undying one, "as you -can read the pathway of the stars, though the mass of mankind believe -they are fixed or wandering at hazard." - -"Well, then--someone knocks at your door." - -"Yes." - -"Tell me his fate: when he shall die and how?" - -"Be it so," rejoined the sorcerer, "let us go and open the door to him." - -Gilbert proceed towards the corridor end, with a beating of the heart -which he could not repress, albeit he whispered to himself that it was -absurd to take this quackering as serious. - -The door opened. A man of lofty carriage, tall in stature, and with -strong-will impressed on his lineaments, appeared on the sill and cast a -swift glance on Dr. Gilbert not exempt from uneasiness. - -"Good day, marquis," said Cagliostro. - -"How do you do, baron?" responded the other. - -"Marquis," went on the host as he saw the caller's gaze still settled on -the doctor, "this is one of my friends, Dr. Gilbert. Gilbert, you see -Marquis Favras, one of my clients. Marquis, will you kindly step into my -sitting-room," continued he as the two saluted each other, "and wait for -a few seconds when I shall be with you." - -"Well?" queried Gilbert as the marquis bowed again and went into the -parlor. - -"You wished to know in what way this gentleman would die?" said -Cagliostro with an odd smile; "have you ever seen a nobleman hanged?" - -"Noblemen are privileged not to die by hanging." - -"Then it will be the more curious sight; be on the Strand when the -Marquis of Favras is executed." He conducted his visitor to the street -door, and said: "When you wish to call on me without being seen and to -see none but me, push this knob up and to the left, so--now, -farewell--excuse me--I must not make those wait who have not long to -live." - -He left Gilbert astounded by his assurance, which staggered him but -could not vanquish his incredulity. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -THE CANDLE OMEN. - - -In the meantime the Royal Family had continued their road to Paris. The -pace was so slow and delayed that it was six o'clock before the carriage -containing so much sorrow, hatred, passions and innocence, arrived at -the city bars. - -During the journey the Dauphin had complained of being hungry. There was -no want of bread as many of the pikes and bayonets were holding up -loaves and the Queen would have asked Gilbert to get one, if he had been -by. She could not ask the mob, whom she held in horror. - -"Wait till we are in the Tuileries Palace this evening," she said, -hugging the boy to her. - -"But these men have plenty," he protested. - -"But that is theirs, not ours. And they went all the way to Versailles -for it as there was none in Paris, these three days." - -"Have they not eaten for three days?" said the Prince. "Then they must -be awful hungry, mamma." - -Etiquet ordered him to address his mother as Madam, but he was hungry as -a poor boy and he called her mamma as a poor boy would his mother. - -Ceasing to grieve, he tried to sleep. Poor royal babe, who would cry -many times yet for bread before he died. - -At the bars a halt was made, not to repose but to rejoice over the -arrival. It was hailed with song and dance. A strange scene almost as -terrifying in this joy as the others had been for ghastliness. - -The fishmarket-women got off their horses, captured from the slain -Lifeguardsmen, hanging their swords and carbines to the horns. Other -women and the market-girls jumped off their cannon, which appeared in -their alarming smoothness. - -They all joined hands and danced around the royal carriage. Separating -it from the deputies and the National Guard, an omen of what was to -follow. This round dance had the good intention to set the enforced -guests at ease: the men and women capered, kissed, hugged and sang -together. The men lifted up their partners as in Teniers' pictures. - -This went on as night was falling, on a dark and rainy day, so that the -dancing by the light of torches and the gun-stocks and fireworks, took -fantastic effects of light and shade almost infernal. - -After half an hour all shouted a general hurrah; all the firearms were -shot off at risk of shooting somebody; and the bullets came down in the -puddles with a sinister plash. - -The prince and his sister wept; they were too frightened to feel -hungered. - -At the City Hall a line of troops prevented the crowd from entering the -place. Here the Queen perceived her foster-brother, and confidential -servant, Weber, an Austrian who had followed her fortunes from home, and -was trying to pass the cordon and go in with her. To be more useful to -the Queen he had put on a National Guard uniform and added the insignia -of a staff-officer. The Royal Groom had lent him a horse. Not to excite -suspicion he kept at a distance during the journey. Now he ran up at her -call. - -"What have you come for?" she demanded; "you will be useless here while -at the Tuileries you will be needed. If you do not go on before, nothing -will be ready for our accommodation." - -"Capital idea that," said the King. - -The Queen had spoken in German and the King had replied in English as he -did not speak the other tongue though understanding it. - -The bystanders held foreign tongues in horror, and they murmured and -this swelled to a roar when the square opened and let the coach roll -through. - -The welcoming speech was made by Billy, Mayor of Paris, who played the -King a scurvy trick by repeating his answer: "I always come with -pleasure and confidence among my good people of Paris," without the word -"confidence" which spoilt matters, and he was taken to task by the Queen -for it. - -It was not till ten o'clock that the royal carriage got back to the -Tuileries where Weber had done the best he could for them. - -Count Provence had gone to Luxembourg Palace. - -Weber had located the Royal Family in Countess Lamarck's rooms, but the -comforts were limited. For instance there was no room for Countess -Charny at supper and she talked of spending the night in a chair for -want of a bed. But knowing the great favor in which the Queen held the -countess, they placed a couch for her in the next room to the Queen's. - -The latter shuddered at this for she thought of the count being with his -wife, and Andrea saw the emotion. - -"There must be some corner for me elsewhere," said she; "I will go find -it." - -"You are right, countess," said the King while Marie Antoinette mumbled -something unintelligible. "We will do something better to-morrow." - -The King watched the stately countess go out, while he held the plate to -his mouth. - -"That lady is a delightful creature," he said, "and Charny ought to be -happy to find such a phoenix at court." - -The Queen leant back in her chair to hide her sensation, not from the -speaker, but from his sister Elizabeth, who was frightened lest she had -fallen ill. - -The Queen did not breathe at ease till alone in her room. - -She had heard her daughter say her prayers, speaking a little longer -than usual as she was pleading for her brother who had gone to rest -forgetting to say his. - -Sitting alone at a table, somehow she had the panorama of her life pass -before her. - -She recalled that she was born on the second of November, 1755, the day -of the Lisbon earthquake, which swallowed up fifty thousand souls and -extended five thousand miles. - -She recalled that the room she slept in, in France, at Strasburg, -represented the Massacre of the Innocents and so frightened her in the -flickering lamplight that she had always retained a terrible memory of -her first night on French soil. - -She recalled how, stopping at Taverney House, she had been shown in the -gardens by Baron Balsamo the image of an unknown instrument for -decapitation: this was the man who, under the name of Cagliostro, had -exercised a fatal influence on her destiny, as witness his hand in the -Queen's Necklace trial; though she was advised that he had perished in -the papal dungeons as a magician and atheist, had she not seen him this -day in the mob during the halt at Sevres? - -She recalled that in Madam Lebrun's portrait she had unwittingly made -her pose as the unfortunate Henrietta Maria of England, in her portrait, -as Wife of Charles I. the Beheaded. - -She recalled how, when she got out of her coach for the first time at -Versailles, in that Marble Court where so much blood lately flowed on -her behalf, a lightning stroke had flashed so extraordinarily that -Marshal Richelieu had said: "An evil omen!" albeit he was a cynic not -easily startled by superstition. - -She was recalling all this when a reddish cloud, from her eyes being -strained, thickened around her, and one of the four candles in the -candelabrum went out without evident cause. - -While she was looking at it, still smoking, it seemed to her that the -next taper to it paled sensibly, and turning red and then blue in the -flame, faded away and lengthened upward, as if to quit the wick, from -which it leaped altogether. It was extinguished, as though by an unseen -breath from below. - -She had watched the death of this with haggard eyes and panting bosom, -and her hands went out towards the candlestick proportionable to the -eclipse. When gone out, she closed her eyes, drew back in her armchair, -and ran her hand over her forehead, streaming with perspiration. - -When she opened them anew, after ten minutes, she perceived that the -flame of the third candle was affected like the rest. - -She believed it was a dream or that she was under some hallucination. -She tried to rise but seemed nailed to her chair. She wanted to call her -daughter, whom she would not have aroused a few minutes before for a -second crown, but her voice died away in her throat. She tried to turn -her head but it was rigid as if the third light expiring attracted her -eyes and breath. Like the other pair, it changed hue and swaying to one -side and the other, finally shot itself out. - -Then fear had such mastery that speech returned to her and that made her -feel restored in courage. - -"I am not going to distress myself because three candles happened to go -out," she said; "but if the fourth suffers the same fate, then woe is -me!" - -Suddenly, without going through the transitions of the others, without -lengthening or fluttering to left or right as if the death-angel wing -had wafted it, the fourth flame went out. - -She screamed with terror, rose, reeled and fell to the floor. - -At this appeal the door opened and Andrea, white and silent in her -night-wrapper appeared like a ghost on the sill. When she had revived -her mistress with the mechanical action of one impelled by sheer duty, -the Queen remembered all the presage, and aware that it was a woman -beside her, flung her arms round her neck, and cried: - -"Save me, defend me!" - -"Your Majesty needs no defense among her friends," said Andrea, "and you -appear free of the swoon in which you fell." - -"Countess Charny," gasped the other, letting go of her whom she had -embraced, and almost repelling her in the first impulse. - -Neither the feeling nor the expression had escaped the lady. But she -remained motionless to impassibility. - -"I shall undress alone," faltered the Queen. "Return to your room, as -you must require sleep." - -"I shall go back, not to sleep but to watch over your Majesty's -slumber," returned Andrea, respectfully curtseying to the other and -stalking away with the solemn step of a vitalized statue. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -THE REVOLUTION IN THE COUNTRY. - - -Our intention being to temporarily abandon the fortunes of our high and -mighty characters to follow those of more humble but perhaps no less -engaging heroes, we take up with Sebastian Gilbert whom his father, -immediately after his release from the Bastile, confided to a young -peasant named Ange Pitou, foster-brother of the youth, and despatched -them to the latter's birthplace, Villers Cotterets. - -It was eighteen leagues from the city, and Gilbert might have sent them -down by stage-coach or his own carriage; but he feared isolation for the -son of the mesmerists' victim, and nothing so isolates a traveler as a -closed carriage. - -Ange Pitou had accepted the trust with pride at the choice of the King's -honorary physician. He travelled tranquilly, passing through villages -trembling with the thrill from the shock of the events at Paris as it -was the commencement of August when the pair left town. - -Besides Pitou had kept a helmet and a sabre picked up on the battlefield -where he had shown himself more brave than he had expected. One does not -help in the taking of a Bastile without preserving some heroic touch in -his bearing subsequently. - -Moreover he had become something of an orator; he had studied the -Classics and he had heard the many speeches of the period, scattered out -of the City Hall, in the mobs, during lulls in the street fights. - -Furnished with these powerful forces, added to by a pair of ponderous -fists, plenty of broad grins, and a most interesting appetite for -loiters-on who did not have to pay the bill, Pitou journeyed most -pleasantly. For those inquisitive in political matters, he told the -news, inventing what he had not heard, Paris having a knack that way -which he had picked up. - -As Sebastian ate little and spoke hardly at all, everybody admired -Pitou's vigorous paternal care. - -They went through Haramont, the little village where the mother of one -and the nurse of the other had died and was laid in earth. - -Her living home, sold by Pitou's Aunt Angelique, her sister-in-law, had -been razed by the new owner, and a black cat snarled at the young men -from the wall built round the garden. - -But nothing was changed at the burying-ground; the grass had so grown -that the chances were that the young peasant could not find his mother's -grave. Luckily he knew it by a slip of weeping willow, which he had -planted; while the grass was growing it had grown also and had become in -a few years a tolerable tree. - -Ange walked directly to it, and the pair said their prayers under the -lithe branches which Pitou took in his arms as they were his mother's -tresses. - -Nobody noticed them as all the country folk were in the field and none -seeing Pitou would have recognized him in his dragoon's helmet and with -the sword and belt. - -At five in the afternoon they reached their destination. - -While Pitou had been away from Haramont three years, it was only as many -weeks since he quitted Villers Cotterets, so that it was simple enough -that he should be recognized at the latter place. - -The two visitors were reported to have gone to the back door of Father -Fortier's academy for young gentlemen where Pitou had been educated with -Sebastian, and where the latter was to resume his studies. - -A crowd collected at the front door where they thought Pitou would come -forth, as they wanted to see him in the soldier's appurtenances. - -After giving the doctor's letter and money for the schooling to Abb -Fortier's sister, the priest being out for a walk with the pupils, Pitou -left the house, cocking his helmet quite dashingly on the side of his -head. - -Sebastian's chagrin at parting was softened by Ange Pitou's promise to -see him often. Pitou was like those big, lubberly Newfoundland dogs who -sometimes weary you with their fawning, but usually disarm you by their -jolly good humor. - -The score of people outside the door thought that as Pitou was in battle -array he had seen the fights in Paris and they wanted to have news. - -He gave it with majesty; telling how he and Farmer Billet, their -neighbor, had taken the Bastile and set Dr. Gilbert free. They had -learnt something in the Gazettes but no newspaper can equal an -eye-witness who can be questioned and will reply. And the obliging -fellow did reply and explain and at such length that in an hour, one of -the listeners suddenly remarked that he was flagging and said: - -"But our dear Pitou is tired, and here we are keeping him on his legs, -when he ought to go home, to his Aunt Angelique's. The poor old girl -will be delighted to see him again." - -"I am not tired but hungry," returned the other. "I am never tired but I -am always sharpset." - -Before this plain way of putting it, the throng broke up to let Pitou -go through. Followed by some more curious than the rest, he proceeded to -his father's sister's house. - -It was a cottage where he would have been starved to death by the pious -old humbug of an old maid, but for his poaching in the woods for -something that they could eat while the superfluity was sold by her to -have the cash in augmentation of a very pretty hoard the miser kept in a -chair cushion. - -As the door was fastened, from the old lady being out gossiping, and -Pitou declared that an aunt should never shut out a loving nephew, he -drew his great sabre and opened the lock with it as it were an oyster, -to the admiration of the boys. - -Pitou entered the familiar cottage with a bland smile, and went straight -up to the cupboard where the food was kept. He used in his boyish days -to ogle the crust and the hunk of cheese with the wish to have magical -powers to conjure them out into his mouth. - -Now he was a man: he went up to the safe, opened it, opened also his -pocket-knife, and taking out a loaf, cut off a slice which might weigh a -fair two pounds. - -He seemed to hear Aunt Angelique snarl at him, but it was only the creak -of the door hinges. - -In former times, the old fraud used to whine about poverty and palm him -off with cheap cheese and few flavors. But since he had left she got up -little delicacies of value which lasted her a week, such as stewed beef -smothered in carrots and onions; baked mutton with potatoes as large as -melons; or calves-foot, decked with pickled shallots; or a giant omelet -sprinkled with parsley or dotted with slices of fat pork of which one -sufficed for a meal even when she had an appetite. - -Pitou was in luck. He lighted on a day when Aunt Angelique had cooked an -old rooster in rice, so long that the bones had quitted the flesh and -the latter was almost tender. It was basking in a deep dish, black -outside but glossy and attractive within. The coxcomb stuck up in the -midst like Ceuta in Gibraltar Straits. - -Pitou had been so spoilt by the good living at Paris that he never even -reflected that he had never seen such magnificence in his relative's -house. - -He had his hunk of bread in his right hand: he seized the baking dish -in his left and held it by the grip of his thumb in the grease. But at -this moment it seemed to him that a shadow clouded the doorway. - -He turned round, grinning, for he had one of those characters which let -their happiness be painted on their faces. - -The shadow was cast by Angelique Pitou, drier, sourer, bonier, not -bonnier, and more mean than ever. - -Formerly, at this sight, Pitou would have dropped the bread and dish and -fled. - -But he was altered. His helmet and sword had not more changed his aspect -than his mind was changed by frequenting the society of the -revolutionary lights of the capital. - -Far from fleeing, he went up to her and opening his arms he embraced her -so that his hands, holding the knife, the bread and the dish, crossed -behind her skeleton back. - -"It is poor Pitou," he said in accomplishing this act of nepotism. - -She feared that he was trying to stifle her because she had caught him -red-handed in plundering her store. Literally, she did not breathe -freely until she was released from this perillous clasp. - -She was horrified that he did not express any emotion over his prize and -at his sitting in the best chair: previously he would have perched -himself on the edge of a stool or the broken chair. Thus easily lodged -he set to demolishing the baked fowl. In a few minutes the pattern of -the dish began to appear clean at the bottom as the rocks and sand on -the seashore when the tide goes out. - -In her frightful perplexity she endeavored to scream but the ogre smiled -so bewitchingly that the scream died away on her prim lips. - -She smiled, without any effect on him, and then turned to weeping. This -annoyed the devourer a little but did not hinder his eating. - -"How good you are to weep with joy at my return," he said. "I thank you, -my kind aunt." - -Evidently the Revolution had transmogrified this lad. - -Having tucked away three fourths of the bird he left a little of the -Indian grain at the end of the dish, saying: - -"You are fond of rice, my dear auntie: and, besides, it is good for your -poor teeth." - -At this attention, taken for a bitter jest, Angelique nearly suffocated. -She sprang upon Pitou and snatched the lightened platter from his hand, -with an oath which would not have been out of place in the mouth of an -old soldier. - -"Bewailing the rooster, aunt?" he sighed. - -"The rogue--I believe he is chaffing me," cried the old prude. - -"Aunt," returned the other, rising majestically, "my intention was to -pay you. I have money. I will come and board with you, if you please, -only I reserve the right to make up the bill of fare. As for this snack, -suppose we put the lot at six cents, four of the fowl and two of bread." - -"Six? when the meat is worth eight alone and the bread four," cried the -woman. - -"But you did not buy the bird--I know the old acquaintance by his nine -years comb. I stole him for you from under his mother and by the same -token, you flogged me because I did not steal enough corn to feed him. -But I begged the grain from Miss Catherine Billet; as I procured the -bird and the food, I had a lien on him, as the lawyers say. I have only -been eating my own property." - -"Out of this house," she gasped, almost losing her voice while she tried -to pulverize him with her gaze. - -Pitou remarked with satisfaction that he could not have swallowed one -grain more of rice. - -"Aunt, you are a bad relative," he said loftily. "I wanted you to show -yourself as of old, spiteful and avaricious. But I am not going to have -it said that I eat my way without paying." - -He stood on the threshold and called out with a voice which was not only -heard by the starers without but by anybody within five hundred paces: - -"I call these honest folk for witnesses, that I have come from Paris -afoot, after having taken the Bastile. I was hungered and tired, and I -have sat down under my only relation's roof, and eaten, but my keep is -thrown up at me, and I am driven away pitilessly!" - -He infused so much pathos in this exordium that the hearers began to -murmur against the old maid. - -"I want you to bear witness that she is turning from her door a poor -wayfarer who has tramped nineteen leagues afoot; an honest lad, honored -with the trust of Farmer Billet and Dr. Gilbert; who has brought Master -Sebastian Gilbert here to Father Fortier's; a conqueror of the Bastile, -a friend of Mayor Bailly and General Lafayette." - -The murmuring increased. - -"And I am not a beggar," he pursued, "for when I am accused of having a -bite of bread, I am ready to meet the score, as proof of which I plank -down this silver bit--in payment of what I have eaten at my own folk's." - -He drew a silver crown from his pocket with a flourish, and tossed it on -the table under the eyes of all, whence it bounced into the dish and -buried itself in the rice. This last act finished the mercenary aunt; -she hung her head under the universal reprobation displayed in a -prolonged groan. Twenty arms were opened towards Pitou, who went forth, -shaking the dust off his brogans, and disappeared, escorted by a mob -eager to offer hospitality to a captor of the Bastile, and -boon-companion of General Lafayette. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -THE ABDICATION IN A FARMHOUSE. - - -After having appeased the duties of obedience, Pitou wished to satisfy -the cravings of his heart. It is sweet to obey when the order chimes in -with one's secret sympathies. - -Ange Pitou was in love with Catherine, daughter of farmer Billet who had -succored him when he fled from his aunt's and with whom he had taken the -trip to Paris which returned him a full-fledged hero to his -fellow-villagers. - -When he perceived the long ridge of the farmhouse roofs, measured the -aged elms which twisted to stand the higher over the smoking chimneys, -when he heard the distant lowing of the cattle, the barking of the -watchdogs, and the rumbling of the farm carts, he shook his casque on -his head to tighten its hold, hung the calvary sabre more firmly by his -side, and tried to give himself the bold swagger of a lover and a -soldier. As nobody recognized him at the first it was a proof that he -had fairly succeeded. - -The farmhands responded to his hail by taking off their caps or pulling -their forelocks. - -Through the dininghall window pane Mother Billet saw the military -visitor. She was a comely, kind old soul who fed her employes like -fighting cocks. She was, like other housewives, on the alert, as there -was talk of armed robbers being about the country. They cut the woods -down and reaped the green corn. What did this warrior's appearance -signify? attack or assistance? - -She was perplexed by the clodhopper shoes beneath a helmet so shining -and her supposition fluctuated between suspicion and hope. - -She took a couple of steps towards the new-comer as he strode into the -kitchen, and he took off his headpiece not to be outdone in politeness. - -"Ange Pitou?" she ejaculated. "Whoever would have guessed that you would -enlist." - -"Enlist indeed?" sneered Pitou, smiling loftily. - -As he looked round him, seeking someone, Mistress Billet smiled, -divining who he was after. - -"Looking for Catherine?" she asked unaffectedly. - -"To present her with my duty," said Pitou. - -"She is ironing," responded Mrs. Billet; "but sit ye down and talk to -me." - -"Quite willing, mother." And he took a chair. - -In all the doorways and windows the servants and laboring men flocked to -see their old fellow. He had a kindly glance for them all, a caress in -his smile for the most part. - -"So you come from town, Ange?" began Mother Billet. "How did you leave -the master?" - -"He is all right, but Paris is all wrong." - -The circle of listeners drew in closer. - -"What about the King?" inquired the mistress. - -Pitou shook his head and clacked his tongue in a way humiliating to the -head of the monarchy. - -"And the Queen?" - -Pitou said never a word. - -"Oh," groaned the crowd. - -Pitou was aching for Catherine's coming. - -"Why are you wearing a helmet?" - -"It is a trophy of war," rejoined the young peasant. "A trophy is a -tangible testimonial that you have vanquished an enemy." - -"Have you vanquished an enemy, Pitou?" - -"An enemy--pooh!" said the valiant one, disdainfully. "Ah, good Mother -Billet, you do not know that Farmer Billet and yours truly took the -Bastile between us." - -This speech electrified the auditory. Pitou felt the breath on his hair -and the helmet mane, while their hands grasped the back of his chair. - -"Do tell us what our master has done," pleaded Mrs. Billet, proud and -tremulous at the same time. - -Pitou was hurt that Catherine did not leave her linen to come and hear -such a messenger as he was. He shook his head for he was growing -discontented. - -"It will take a time," he observed. - -"Are you hungry, or thirsty?" - -"I am not saying no." - -Instantly all the men and maids bustled about so that Pitou found under -his hand goblets, mugs, bread, meat, cheese, without realizing the -extent of his hint. He had a hot liver, as the rustics say: that is, he -digested quickly. But he had not shaken down the Angelican fowl in rice; -he tried to eat again but had to give up at the second mouthful. - -"If I begin now," he said, "I should have to do it all over again when -Miss Catherine comes." - -While they were all hunting after the young girl, Pitou happened to look -up and saw the girl in question leaning out of a window on the upper -landing. She was gazing towards Boursonne Woods. - -"Oh," he sighed, "she is looking towards the manor of the Charnys. She -is in love with Master Isidor Charny, that is what it is." - -He sighed again, much more lamentably than before. - -Taking the farmer's wife by the hand as the searchers returned fruitless -in their search, he took her up a couple of the stairs and showed her -the girl, mooning on the window sill among the morning glories and -vines. - -"Catherine!" she called: "Come, Catherine, here is Ange Pitou, with news -from town." - -"Ah," said Catherine coldly. - -So coldly that Pitou's heart failed him as he anxiously waited for her -reply. - -She came down the stairs with the phlegm of the Flemish girls in the old -Dutch paintings. - -"Yes, it is he," she said, when on the floor. - -Pitou bowed, red and trembling. - -"He's wearing a soldier's helmet," said a servant-woman in her young -mistress's ear. - -Pitou overheard and watched for the effect. But her somewhat pallid -though evercharming face showed no admiration for the brazen cap. - -"What is he wearing that thing for?" she inquired. - -This time indignation got the upperhand in the peasant. - -"I am wearing helmet and sabre," he retorted proudly, "because I have -been fighting and have killed Swiss and dragoons: and if you doubt me, -Miss Catherine, you can ask your father, and that is all." - -She was so absent-minded that she appeared to catch the latter part of -the speech alone. - -"How is my father?" asked she; "and why does he not return home with -you? Is the news from Paris bad?" - -"Very," replied the young man. - -"I thought that all was settled," the girl objected. - -"Quite true, but all is unsettled again." - -"Have not the King and the people agreed and is not the recall of -Minister Necker arranged?" - -"Necker is not of much consequence now," said Pitou jeeringly. - -"But that ought to satisfy the people." - -"It falls so short of that, that the people are doing justice on their -own account and killing their enemies." - -"Their enemies? who are their enemies?" cried the girl astonished. - -"The aristocrats, of course," answered the other. - -"Whom do you call aristocrat?" she asked, turning paler. - -"Why, naturally, they that have grand houses, and big properties, and -starve the nation--those that have everything while we have nothing; -that travel on fine horses or in bright coaches while we jog on foot." - -"Heavens," exclaimed the girl, so white as to be corpselike. - -"I can name some aristo's of our acquaintance," continued he, noticing -the emotion. "Lord Berthier Sauvigny, for instance, who gave you those -gold earrings you wore on the day you danced with Master Isidore. Well, -I have seen men eat the heart of him!" - -A terrible cry burst from all breasts and Catherine fell back in the -chair she had taken. - -"Did you see that?" faltered Mother Billet, quivering with horror. - -"And so did Farmer Billet. By this time they have killed or burnt all -the aristocrats of Paris and Versailles. What do you call it dreadful -for? you are not of the higher classes, Mother Billet." - -"Pitou, I did not think you were so bloodthirsty when you started for -Paris," said Catherine with sombre energy. - -"I do not know as I am so, now; but----" - -"But then do not boast of the crimes which the Parisians commit, since -you are not a Parisian and did not do them." - -"I had so little hand in them that Farmer Billet and me were nigh -slaughtered in taking the part of Lord Berthier--though he had famished -the people." - -"Oh, my good, brave father! that is just like him," said Catherine, -excitedly. - -"My worthy man," said Mrs. Billet with tearful eyes. "What has he been -about?" - -Pitou related that the mob had seized Foulon and Berthier for being the -active agents for higher personages in the great Grain Ring which held -the corn from the poor, and torn them to pieces, though Billet and he -had tried to defend them. - -"The farmer was sickened and wanted to come home, but Dr. Gilbert would -not let him." - -"Does he want my man to get killed there?" sobbed poor Mother Billet. - -"Oh, no," replied Pitou. "It is all fixed between master and the doctor. -He is going to stay a little longer in town to finish up the revolution. -Not alone, you understand, but with Mayor Bailly and General Lafayette." - -"Oh, I am not so much alarmed about him as long as in the gentlemen's -company," said the good old soul with admiration. - -"When does he think of returning?" inquired the daughter. - -"I don't know in the least." - -"Then, what have you come back for?" - -"To bring Sebastian Gilbert to Father Fortier's school, and you, Farmer -Billet's instructions." - -Pitou spoke like a herald, with so much dignity that the farmer's wife -dismissed all the gapers. - -"Mrs. Billet," began the messenger, "the master wants you to be worried -as little as possible, so he thinks that while he is away, the -management of the farm should be in other hands, younger and livelier." - -"Oh!" - -"Yes, and he has selected Miss Catherine." - -"My daughter to rule in my house," cried the woman, with distrust and -inexpressible jealousy. - -"Under your orders," the girl hastened to say, while reddening. - -"No, no," persisted Pitou, who went on well since he was in full swing: -"I bear the commission entire: Master Billet delegates and authorizes -Miss Catherine to see to all the work and govern the house and household -in his stead." - -As Billet was infallible in his wife's eyes, all her resistance ceased -instantly. - -"Billet is right," she declared after a glance at her daughter; "she is -young but she has a good head, and she can even be headstrong. She can -get along outdoors better than me; she knows how to make folks obey. But -to be running about over field and hills will make a tomboy of her----" - -"Fear nothing for her," interposed Pitou with a consequential air; "I am -here and I will go around with her." - -This gracious offer, by which Ange probably intended to make an effect, -drew such a strange glance from Catherine that he was dumbfounded. - -Pitou was not experienced in feminine ways but he guessed by her blush -that she was not giving complete acquiescence, for he said with an -agreeable smile which showed his strong teeth between the large lips: - -"Even the Queen has a Lifeguard. Besides, I may be useful in the woods." - -"Is this also in my husband's instructions?" queried Madam Billet who -showed some tendency towards cutting sayings. - -"Nay," said Catherine, "that would be an idle errand and father would -not have set it for Master Pitou while he would not have accepted it." - -Pitou rolled his frightened eyes from one to the other: all his castle -in the air came tumbling down. A true woman, the younger one understood -his painful disappointment. - -"Did you see the girls in Paris with the young men tagging at their -gown-tails?" - -"But you are not a girl, after you become mistress of the house," -remonstrated Pitou. - -"Enough chatter," interrupted Mother Billet; "the mistress of the house -has too much work to do. Come, Catherine, and let me turn over things to -you, as your father bids us." - -As soon as the house was placed under the new ruler the servants and -workmen were presented to her as the one from whom in the future orders -would flow. Each departed with the alacrity shown by the new officials -at the beginning of a fresh term. - -"What about me?" inquired Pitou, left alone and going up to the girl. - -"I have no orders for you. What do you think of doing?" - -"What I did before I went away." - -"Then you worked for my father and mother. I have nothing in your line, -for you are a scholar and a fine Paris gentleman now." - -"But look at the muscle in my arms," protested the poor fellow in -desperation. "Why do you force me to die of hunger under the pretence -that I am a learned man? Are you ignorant that Epictetus the philosopher -was a tavern waiter to earn his bread, and that sop the fabulist had to -work for a living? and yet they were more learned than ever I shall be. -But Master Billet sent me down here to help on the farm." - -"Be it so; but my father can force you to do things that I should shrink -from imposing upon you." - -"Don't shrink, and impose on me. You will see that I can stand anything. -Besides you have books to keep and accounts to make out; and my strong -point is figuring and ciphering." - -"I do not think it enough for a man," rejoined Catherine. - -"Am I good for nothing, then?" groaned Pitou. - -"Well, live here a bit," she said; "I will think it over and we shall -see what turns up." - -"You want to think it over, about my staying. What have I done to you, -Miss Catherine? you do not seem to be the same as before." - -Catherine shrugged her shoulders very slightly. She had no good reasons -to fear Pitou and yet his persistency worried her. - -"Enough of this," she said, "I am going over to Fertemilon." - -"I will saddle a horse and go with you." - -"No; stay where you are." - -She spoke so imperiously that the peasant remained riveted to the spot, -hanging his head. - -"She thinks I am changed, but," said he, "it is she who is another sort -altogether." - -When he was roused by hearing the horse's hoofs going away, he looked -out and saw Catherine riding by a side path towards the highway. - -It occurred to him that though she had forbid him to accompany her, she -had not said he must not follow her. - -He dashed out and took a short cut through the woods, where he was at -home, till he reached the main road. But though he waited a half-hour, -he saw nobody. - -He thought she might have forgotten something at the farm and started -back for it; and he returned by the highway. But on looking up a lane he -spied her white cap at a distance. - -Instead of going to Fertemilon, as she distinctly stated, she was -proceeding to Boursonne. - -He darted on in the same direction but by a parallel line. - -It was no longer to follow her but to spy her. - -She had spoken a falsehood. In what end? - -He was answered by seeing her thrash her horse into the trot in order to -rejoin a horseman who rode to meet her with as much eagerness as she -showed on her part. - -On coming nearer, as the pair halted at meeting, Pitou recognized by his -elegant form and stylish dress the neighboring lord, Isidore Charny. He -was brother of the Count of Charny, lieutenant of the Royal Lifeguards, -and accredited as favorite of the Queen. - -Pitou knew him well and lately from having seen him at the village -dances where Catherine chose him for partner. - -Dropping to the ground in the brush and creeping up like a viper, he -heard the couple. - -"You are late to-day, Master Isidore," began Catherine. - -"To-day?" thought the eavesdropper; "it appears that he has been -punctual on other meetings." - -"It is not my fault, my darling Kate," replied the young noble. "A -letter from my brother delayed me, to which I had to reply by the -bearer. But fear nothing, I shall be more exact another time." - -Catherine smiled and Isidore pressed her hand so tenderly that Pitou -felt upon thorns. - -"Fresh news from Paris?" she asked. "So have I. Did you not say that -when something alike happens to two persons, it is called sympathy?" - -"Just so. Who brings you news?" - -"Pitou." - -"And pray who is Pitou?" asked the young noble with a free and easy air -which changed the red of the listener's cheek to crimson. - -"You know well enough," was her reply: "Pitou is the farmboy that my -father took on out of charity: the one who played propriety for me when -I went to the dance." - -"Lord, yes--the chap with knees that look like knots tied in a rope." - -Catherine set to laughing. Pitou felt lowered; he looked at his knees, -so useful lately while he was keeping pace with a horse, and he sighed. - -"Come, come, do not tear my poor Pitou to pieces," said Catherine; "Let -me tell you that he wanted to come with me just now--to Fertemilon, -where I pretended I was going." - -"Why did you not accept the squire--he would have amused you." - -"Not always," laughed the girl. - -"You are right, my pet," said Isidore, fixing his eyes, brilliant with -love, on the pretty girl. - -She hid her blushing face in his arms closing round it. - -Pitou closed his eyes not to see, but he did not close his ears, and the -sound of a kiss reached them. He tore his hair in despair. - -When he came to his senses the loving couple were slowly riding away. - -The last words he caught were: - -"You are right, Master Isidore; let us ride about for an hour which I -will gain by making my nag go faster--he is a good beast who will tell -no tales," she added, merrily. - -This was all: the vision vanished. Darkness fell on Pitou's spirit and -he said: - -"No more of the farm for me, where I am trodden on and made fun of. I am -not going to eat the bread of a woman who is in love with another man, -handsomer, richer and more graceful than me, I allow. No, my place is -not in the town but in my village of Haramont, where I may find those -who will think well of me whether my knees are like knots in a rope or -not." - -He marched towards his native place, where his reputation and that of -his sword and helmet had preceded him, and where glory awaited him, if -not happiness. But we know that perfect bliss is not a human attribute. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -ANOTHER BLOW. - - -As everybody in his village would be abed by ten o'clock, Pitou was glad -to find accommodation at the inn, where he slept till seven in the -morning. At that hour everybody had risen. - -On leaving the Dolphin Tavern, he noticed that his sword and casque won -universal attention. A crowd was round him in a few steps. - -Undoubtedly he had attained popularity. - -Few prophets have this good fortune in their own country. But few -prophets have mean and acrimonious aunts who bake fowls in rice for them -to eat up the whole at a sitting. Besides, the brazen helmet and the -heavy dragoon's sabre recommended Pitou to his fellow-villager's -attention. - -Hence, some of the Villers Cotterets folk, who had escorted him about -their town, were constrained to accompany him to his village of -Haramont. This caused the inhabitants of the latter to appreciate their -fellow-villager at his true worth. - -The fact is, the ground was prepared for the seed. He had flitted -through their midst before so rapidly that it was a wonder he left any -trace of memory: but they were impressed and they were glad of his -second appearance. They overwhelmed him with tokens of consideration, -begged him to lay aside his armor, and pitch his tent under the four -lime trees shading the village green. - -Pitou yielded all the more readily as it was his intention to take up -residence here and he accepted the offer of a room which a bellicose -villager let him have furnished. Settling the terms, the rent _per -annum_ being but six livres, the price of two fowls baked in rice, Ange -took possession, treated those who had accompanied him to mugs of cider -all round, and made a speech on the doorsill. - -His speech was a great event, with all Haramont encircling the doorstep. -Pitou had studied a little; he had heard Paris speechifying -inexhaustibly; there was a space between him and General Lafayette as -there is between Paris and Haramont, mentally speaking. - -He began by saying that he came back to the hamlet as into the bosom of -his only family. This was a touching allusion to his orphanage for the -women to hear. - -Then he related that he and Farmer Billet had gone to Paris on hearing -that Dr. Gilbert had been arrested and because a casket Gilbert had -entrusted to his farmer had been stolen from him by the myrmidons of the -King under false pretences. Billet and he had rescued the doctor from -the Bastile by attacking it, with a few Parisians at their back. At the -end of his story his helmet was as grand as the cupola of an -observatory. - -He ascribed the outbreak to the privileges of the nobility and clergy -and called on his brothers to unite against the common enemy. - -At this point he drew his sabre and brandished it. - -This gave him the cue to call the Haramontese to arms after the example -of revolted Paris. - -The Revolution was proclaimed in the village. - -All echoed the cry of "To arms!" but the only arms in the place were -those old Spanish muskets kept at Father Fortier's. - -A bold youth, who had not, like Pitou, been educated under his knout, -proposed going thither to demand them. Ange wavered, but had to yield to -the impulse of the mob. - -"Heavens," he muttered: "if they thus lead me before I am their leader, -what will it be when I am at their head?" - -He was compelled to promise to summon his old master to deliver the -firearms. Next day, therefore, he armed himself and departed for Father -Fortier's academy. - -He knocked at the garden door loud enough to be heard there, and yet -modestly enough not to be heard in the house. - -He did it to tranquilize his conscience, and was surprised to see the -door open; but it was Sebastian who stood on the sill. - -He was musing in the grounds, with an open book in his hand. - -He uttered a cry of gladness on seeing Pitou, for whom he had a line in -his father's letter to impart. - -"Billet wishes you to remind him to Pitou and tell him not to upset the -men, and things on the farm." - -"Me? a lot I have to do with the farm," muttered the young man: "the -advice had better be sent on to Master Isidore." - -But all he said aloud was: "Where is the father?" - -Sebastian pointed and walked away. Priest Fortier was coming down into -the garden. Pitou composed his face for the encounter with his former -master. - -Fortier had been almoner of the old hunting-box in the woods and as such -was keeper of the lumber-room. Among the effects of the hunting -establishment of the Duke of Orleans were old weapons and particularly -some fifty musketoons, brought home from the Ouessant battle by Prince -Joseph Philip, which he had given to the township. Not knowing what to -do with them, the section selectmen left them under charge of the -schoolmaster. - -The old gentleman was clad in clerical black, with his cat-o'-nine tails -thrust into his girdle like a sword. On seeing Pitou, who saluted him, -he folded up the newspaper he was reading and tucked it into his band on -the opposite side to the scourge. - -"Pitou?" he exclaimed. - -"At your service as far as he is capable," said the other. - -"But the trouble is that you are not capable, you Revolutionist." - -This was a declaration of war, for it was clear that Pitou had put the -abbe out of temper. - -"Hello! why do you call me a Revolutionist? do you think I have turned -the state over all by myself?" - -"You are hand and glove with those who did it." - -"Father, every man is free in his mind," returned Pitou. "I do not say -it in Latin for I have improved in that tongue since I quitted your -school. Those whom I frequent and at whom you sneer, talk it like their -own and they would think the way you taught it to be faulty." - -"My Latin faulty?" repeated the pedagogue, visibly wounded by the -ex-pupil's manner. "How comes it that you never spoke up in this style -when you were under my--whip--that is, roof?" - -"Because you brutalized me then," responded Pitou: "your despotism -trampled on my wits, and liberty could not lay hold of my speech. You -treated me like a fool, whereas all men are equal." - -"I will never suffer anybody to utter such rank blasphemy before me," -cried the irritated schoolmaster. "You the equal of one whom nature and -heaven have taken sixty years to form? never!" - -"Ask General Lafayette, who has proclaimed the Rights of Man." - -"What, do you quote as an authority that traitor, that firebrand of all -discord, that bad subject of the King?" - -"It is you who blaspheme," retaliated the peasant: "you must have been -buried for the last three months. This bad subject is the very one who -most serves the King. This torch of discord is the pledge of public -peace. This traitor is the best of Frenchmen." - -"Oh," thundered the priest, "that ever I should believe that the royal -authority should sink so low that a goodfornothing of this sort invokes -Lafayette as once they called on Aristides." - -"Lucky for you the people do not hear you," said Pitou. - -"Oho, you reveal yourself now in your true colors," said the priest -triumphantly: "you bully me. The people, those who cut the throats of -the royal bodyguard; who trample on the fallen, the people of your -Baillys, Lafayettes and Pitous. Why do you not denounce me to the people -of Villers Cotterets? Why do you not tuck up your sleeves to drag me out -to hang me up to the lamppost? where is your rope--you can be the -hangman." - -"You are saying odious things--you insult me," said Pitou. "Have a care -that I do not show you up to the National Assembly!" - -"Show me up? I will show you up, sirrah! as a failure as a scholar, as a -Latinist full of barbarisms, and as a beggar who comes preaching -subversive doctrines in order to prey upon your clients." - -"I do not prey upon anybody--it is not by _preying_ I live but by work: -and as for lowering me in the eyes of my fellow-citizens, know that I -have been elected by them commander of the National Guards of Haramont." - -"National Guards at Haramont? and you, Pitou, the captain? Abomination -of desolation! Such gangs as you would be chief of must be robbers, -footpads, bandits, and highwaymen." - -"On the contrary, they are organized to defend the home and the fields -as well as the life and liberties of all good citizens. That is why we -have [illegible]oc me to--for the arms." - -"Arms? oh, my museum?" shrieked the schoolmaster. "You come to pillage -my arsenal. The armor of the paladins on your ignoble backs. You are mad -to want to arm the ragamuffins of Pitou with the swords of the Spaniards -and the pikes of the Swiss." - -The priest laughed with such disdainful menace that Pitou shuddered in -every vein. - -"No, father, we do not want the old curiosities, but the thirty marines' -guns which you have." - -"Avaunt!" said the abbe, taking a step towards the envoy. - -"And you shall have the glory of contributing to deliver the country of -the oppressors," said Pitou, who took a backward step. - -"Furnish weapons against myself and friends," said the other, "give you -guns to be fired against myself?" He plucked his scourge from his belt. -"Never, never!" - -He waved the whip over his head. - -"But your refusal will have a bad effect," pleaded Pitou, retreating, -"you will be accused of national treason, and of being no citizen. Do -not expose yourself to this, good Father Fortier!" - -"Mark me a martyr, eh, Nero? is that what you intend?" roared the -priest, with flaring eye and much more resembling the executioner than -the victim. - -"No, father, I come as a peaceful envoy to----" - -"Pillage my house for arms as your friends gutted the Soldiers' Home at -Paris." - -"We received plenty of praise for that up there," said Ange. - -"And you would get plenty of strokes of the whip down here." - -"Look out," said Pitou, who had backed to the door, and who recognized -the scourge as an old acquaintance, "you must not violate the rights of -man!" - -"You shall see about that, rascal." - -"I am protected by my sacred character as an ambassador----" - -"Are you?" - -And just as Pitou had to turn after getting the street door open, for he -had backed through the hall, the infuriated schoolmaster let him have a -terrible lash where his backplate would have to be unusually long to -defend him. Whatever the courage of the conqueror of the Bastile, he -could not help emitting a shriek of pain as he bounded out among the -crowd expecting him. - -At the yell, neighbors ran forth from their dwellings and to the -profound general astonishment all beheld the young man flying with all -swiftness under his helmet and with his sabre, while Father Fortier -stood on the doorstep, brandishing his whip like the Exterminating Angel -waves his sword. - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -PITOU BECOMES A TACTICIAN. - - -Our hero's fall was deep. How could he go back to his friends without -the arms? How, after having had so much confidence shown in him, tell -them that their leader was a braggart who, in spite of his sword and -helmet, had let a priest whack him in the rear? - -To vaunt of carrying all before him with Father Fortier and fail so -shamefully--what a fault! - -To obtain the muskets, force or cunning was the means. He might steal -into the school and steal out the arms. But the word "steal," sounded -badly in the rustic's ears. There were still left some people in France -who would call this the high-handed outrage of brigands. - -So he recoiled before force and treachery. - -His vanity was committed to the task, and prompted a fresh direction for -his searches. - -General Lafayette was Commander-in-chief of the National Guards of -France; Haramont was in France and had a National Guards company. -Consequently, General Lafayette commanded the latter force. He could not -tolerate that his soldiers at Haramont should go unarmed when all his -others were armed. To appeal to Lafayette, he could apply to Billet who -would address Gilbert, and he the general. - -Pitou wrote to Billet but as he could not read, it must be Gilbert who -would have the letter placed before him. - -This settled, he waited for nightfall, returned to his lodgings -mysteriously and let his friends there see that he was writing at night. -This was the large square note which they also saw him post next day: - - "DEAR AND HONORED FRIEND BILLET: - - "The Revolutionary cause gains daily hereabouts and while the - aristocrats lose, the patriots advance. The Village of Haramont - enrolls itself in the active service of the National Guard; but it - has no arms. The means to procure them lies in those who harbor - arms in quantity should be made to surrender the overplus, so that - the country would be saved expense. If it pleases General Lafayette - to authorize that such illegal magazines of arms should be placed - at the call of the townships, proportionately to the number of men - to be armed, I undertake for my part to supply the Haramont Arsenal - with at least thirty guns. This is the only means to oppose a dam - to the contra-Revolutionary movements of the aristocrats and - enemies of the Nation. - -"Your fellow-Citizen and most humble Servant, - -"ANGE PITOU." - - -When this was written the author perceived that he had omitted to speak -to his correspondent of his wife and daughter. He treated him too much -in the Brutus style; on the other hand, to give Billet particulars -about Catherine's love affair was to rend the father's heart; it was -also to re-open Pitou's bleeding wounds. He stifled a sigh and appended -this P. S. - -"Mistress Billet and Miss Catherine and all the household are well, and -beg to be remembered to Master Billet." - -Thus he entangled neither himself nor others. - -The reply to this was not slow in coming. Two days subsequently, a -mounted express messenger dashed into Haramont and asked for Captain -Ange Pitou. His horse was white with foam. He wore the uniform of a -staff-officer of the Parisian National Guards. - -Judge of the effect he produced and the trouble and throbs of Pitou! He -went up to the officer who smiled, and pale and trembling he took the -paper he bore for him. It was a response from Billet, by the hand of -Gilbert. - -Billet advised Pitou to move moderately in his patriotism. - -He enclosed General Lafayette's order, countersigned by the War -Minister, to arm the Haramont National Guards. - -The bearer was an officer charged to see to the arming of cities on the -road. - -Thus ran the Order: - -"All who possess more than one gun or sword are hereby bound to place -the excess at the disposal of the chief officials in their cantons. The -Present Measure is to be executed throughout the entire country." - -Red with joy, Pitou thanked the officer, who smiled again, and started -off for the next post for changing horses. - -Thus was our friend at the high tide of honor: he had received a -communication from General Lafayette, and the War Minister. - -This message served his schemes and plans most timely. - -To see the animated faces of his fellows, their brightened eyes and -eager manner; the profound respect all at once entertained for Ange -Pitou, the most credulous observer must have owned that he had become an -important character. - -One after another the electors begged to touch the seal of the War -Department. - -When the crowd had tapered down to the chosen friends, Pitou said: - -"Citizens, my plans have succeeded as I anticipated. I wrote to the -Commander-in-chief your desire to be constituted National Guards, and -your choice of me as leader. Read the address on the order brought me." - -The envelope was superscribed: "CAPTAIN ANGE PITOU, Commander of the -National Guards. Haramont." - -"Therefore," continued the martial peasant, "I am known and accepted as -commander by the Chief of the Army. You are recognized and approved as -Soldiers of the Nation by General Lafayette and the Minister of War." - -A long cheer shook the walls of the little house which sheltered Pitou. - -"I know where to get the arms," he went on. "Select two of your number -to accompany me. Let them be lusty lads, for we may have a difficulty." - -The embryo regiment chose one Claude Tellier sergeant and one Desire -Maniquet lieutenant. Pitou approved. - -Accompanied by the two, Captain Pitou proceeded once more to Villers -Cotterets where he went straight to the mayor to be still farther -supported in his demand. - -On the way he was puzzled why the letter from Billet, written by -Gilbert, asked no news of Sebastian. - -On the way he fretted over a paragraph in the letter from Billet, -written as it was by Dr. Gilbert, which read: - -"Why has Pitou forgot to send news about Sebastian and why does not the -boy himself write news?" - -Meanwhile, Father Fortier was little aware of the storm he had aroused; -and nobody was more astounded when a thunderclap came to his door. When -it was opened he saw on the sill the mayor, his vice, and his secretary. -Behind them appeared the cocked hats of two gendarmes, and half-a-dozen -curious people behind them. - -"Father Fortier," said the mayor, "are you aware of the new decree of -the Minister of War?" - -"No, mayor," said he. - -"Read it, then." - -The secretary read the warrant to take extra arms from the domiciles. -The schoolmaster turned pale. - -"The Haramont National Guard have come for the guns." - -Fortier jumped as if he meant to fly at the guardsmen. - -Judging that this was the nick for his appearance, Pitou approached, -backed by his lieutenant and sergeant. - -"These rogues," cried the abbe, passing from white to red, "these -scums!" - -The mayor was a neutral who wanted things to go on quietly; he had no -wish to quarrel with the altar or the guard-house; the invectives only -called forth his hearty laugh. - -"You hear how the reverend gentleman treats the Haramont National -Guards," he said to Pitou and his officers. - -"Because he knew us when boys and does not think we have grown up," said -Ange, with melancholy mildness. - -"But we have become men," roughly said Maniquet, holding out towards the -priest his hand, maimed by a gun going off prematurely while he was -poaching on a nobleman's warren. Needless to say he was determined the -nobility should pay for this accident. - -"Serpents," said the schoolmaster in irritation. - -"Who will sting if trodden on," retorted Sergeant Claude, joining in. - -In these threats the mayor saw the extent of the Revolution and the -priest martyrdom. - -"We want some of the arms here," said the former, to conciliate -everybody. - -"They are not mine but belong to the Duke of Orleans," was the reply. - -"Granted," said Pitou, "but that does not prevent us asking for them all -the same." - -"I will write to the prince," said the pedagogue loftily. - -"You forget that the delay will avail nothing," interposed the mayor; -"the duke is for the people and would reply that they ought to be given -not only the muskets but the old cannon." - -This probability painfully struck the priest who groaned in Latin: "I am -surrounded by foes." - -"Quite true, but these are merely political enemies," observed Pitou; -"we hate in you only the bad patriot." - -"Absurd and dangerous fool," returned the priest, in excitement which -gave him eloquence of a kind, "which is of us the better lover of his -country, I who wish to keep cruel weapons in the shade, or you demanding -them for civil strife and discord? which is the true son, I who seek -palms to decorate our common mother, or you who hunt for the steel to -rend her bosom?" - -The mayor turned aside his head to hide his emotion, making a slight nod -as much as to say: "That is very neatly put." The deputy mayor, like -another Tarquin, was cropping the flowers with his cane. Ange was set -back, which caused his two companions to frown. - -Sebastian, a Spartan child, was impassible. Going up to Pitou he asked -him what was the to-do. - -"An order signed by General Lafayette, and written by my father?" he -repeated when briefly informed. "Why is there any hesitation in obeying -it?" - -He revealed the indomitable spirit of the two races creating him in his -dilated pupils, and the rigidity of his brow. - -The priest shuddered to hear the words and lowered his crest. - -"This is rebellion," continued Sebastian; "beware, sir!" - -"Thou, also?" cried the schoolmaster, draping himself in his gown after -the manner of Caesar. - -"And I," said Pitou, comprehending that his post was at stake. "Do you -style me a traitor, because I came to you with the olive branch in my -hand to ask the arms, and am forced this day to wrench them from you -under support of the authorities? Well, I would rather appear as a -traitor to my duties than give a favoring hand to the Anti-Revolution. -The Country forever and above all! hand over the arms, or we will use -ours!" - -The mayor nodded on the sly to Pitou as he had to the priest to signify: -"You have said that finely." - -The speech had thunderstricken the priest and electrified the hearers. -The mayor slipped away, and the deputy would have liked to follow his -example, but the absence of the two principal functionaries would look -bad. He therefore followed the secretary, who led the gendarmes along to -the museum, guided by Pitou who, instructed in the place was also -instructed on the place of deposit. - -Like a lion cub, Sebastian bounded with the patriots. The schoolmaster -fell half dead on a chair. - -The invaders wanted to pillage everything, but Pitou only selected -thirty-three muskets, with an extra one, a rifle, for himself, together -with a straight sword, which he girded on. - -The others, made up into two bundles, were carried by the joyous pair of -officers in spite of the weight, past the disconsolate priest. - -They were distributed to the Haramontese that evening, and in presenting -a gun to each, Pitou said, like the Spartan mother giving out the -buckler: "Come home with it, or go to sleep on it!" - -Thus was the little place set in a ferment by Pitou's act. The delight -was great to own a gun where firearms had been forbidden lest the lords' -game should be injured and where the long oppression of the gamekeepers -had infused a mania for hunting. - -But Pitou did not participate in the glee. The soldiers had weapons but -not only was their captain ignorant how to drill them but to handle them -in file or squad. - -During the night his taxed brain suggested the remedy. - -He remembered an old friend, also an old soldier, who had lost a leg at -the Battle of Fontenoy; the Duke of Orleans gave him the privilege to -live in the woods, and kill either a hare or a rabbit a-day. He was a -dead shot and on the proceeds of his shooting under this license he -fared very well. - -His manual of arms might be musty but then Pitou could procure from -Paris the new Drill-book of the National Guards, and correct what was -obsolete by the newest tactics. - -He called on old Clovis at a lucky moment as the old hunter was saddened -by his gun having burst. He welcomed the present of the rifle which Ange -brought him and eagerly embraced the opportunity of paying him in -kindness by teaching him the drill. - -Each day Pitou repeated to his soldiery what he had learnt overnight -from the hunter, and he became more popular, the admired of men, -children and the aged. Even women were quieted when his lusty voice -thundered: "Heads up--eyes right! bear yourselves nobly! look at me!" -for Pitou looked noble. - -As soon as the manoeuvres became complicated, Pitou went over to a large -town where he studied the troops on the parade grounds, and picked up -more in a day from practice than from the books in three months. - -Thus two months passed by, in fatigue, toil and feverish excitement. - -Pitou was still unhappy in love, but he was satiated with glory. He had -run about so much, so moved his limbs, and whetted his mind, that you -may be astonished that he should long to appease or comfort his heart. -But he was thinking of that. - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -THE LOVER'S PARTING. - - -Many times after drill, and that followed nights spent in learning the -tactics, Pitou would wander in the skirts of Boursonne Wood to see how -faithful Catherine was to her love-trysts. - -Stealing an hour or two from her farm and house duties, the girl would -go to a little hunting-box, in a rabbit warren belonging to Boursonne -Manor, to meet the happy Isidore, the mortal more than ever proud and -handsome, when all the country was in suffering around him. - -What anguish devoured poor Pitou, what sad reflections he was driven to -make on the inequality of men as regards happiness. - -He whom the pretty maids were ogling, preferred to come and mope like a -dog whipped for following the master too far from home, at the door of -the summerhouse where the amorous pair were billing and cooing. - -All because he adored Catherine and the more as he deemed her vastly -superior to him. He did not regard her as loving another, for Isidore -Charny had ceased to be an object of jealousy. He was a lord, handsome -and worthy of being loved: but Catherine as a daughter of the lower -orders ought not for that reason disgrace her family or drive Pitou to -despair. - -Meditation on this cut him with sharp edges and keen points. - -"She showed no proper feeling in letting me go from the farm," he mused, -"and since I went off, she has not inquired whether I starved to death -or not. What would Father Billet say if he knew how his friends are thus -cast off, and his business neglected? What would he say if he heard -that, instead of looking after the working people, his daughter goes to -keep appointments with the aristocrat, Lord Charny? He would not say -much, but he would kill her. It is something to have the means of -revenge in one's hand," thought Pitou. - -But it is grander not to use them. - -Still, Pitou had learnt that there is no benefit in doing good unless -the actions are known to the person befriended. - -Would it be possible to let Catherine know that he was helping her? - -He knew that she came through the woods to go to the hunting-box, and it -was very easy for him to plant himself under the trees, a book in hand -as if he were studying, where she would be sure to come along. - -Indeed, as he was pretending to pore over the "Perfect National -Guardsman," after having watched her to her rendezvous, he heard the -soft shutting of a door. The rustle of a dress in the brush came next. -Catherine's head appeared above the bushes, looking with an apprehensive -air all round for fear somebody would see her. - -She was ten paces from her rustic worshipper, who kept still with the -book on his knee. But he no longer looked on it but at the girl so that -she should mark that he saw her. - -She uttered a slight faint, stifled scream, recognized him, became pale -as though death had flitted by and grazed her, and, after a short -indecision betrayed in her trembling and the shrug of her shoulders, she -flew wildly into the underwood and found her hitched-up horse in the -forest. She mounted and fled. - -Pitou's plot was well laid and she had fallen into it. - -He went home, half-frightened, half delighted. - -He perceived a number of details most alarming in the accomplished -trick. - -The following Sunday was appointed for a grand military parade at -Haramont. Sufficiently drilled, the Haramontese meant to give warlike -exercises. Several rival villages also making military studies, were to -contest with them in the career of arms. - -The announcement drew a great crowd, and the people in holiday attire -gathered on the green, where they feasted frugally on homemade cake and -fruit, washed down with spring water. - -Some of the spectators were the gentry and squires, come to laugh at the -clowns playing at soldiers. - -Haramont had become a centre, for four corps of other Guards came -hither, headed by fife and drum. - -Among the farmers, came Catherine and Mother Billet on horseback. - -This was at the same time as the Haramont National Guard marched up, -with fife and drum, with Commander Pitou on a borrowed white horse, in -order that the likeness should be complete to General Lafayette -reviewing the National Guards at Paris. - -Without joking, if he did not look stylish and aristocratic, he was -noble and valiant and pleasant to behold. - -This company of Guards had shining muskets, the national cockades, and -marched with most satisfactory time in two files. It had won the tribute -before reaching the parade ground. - -Out of the corner of his eye, Pitou saw that Catherine changed color. -From that moment the review had more interest to him than anything in -the world. - -He passed his men through the simple manual of arms, and they did it so -smartly and neatly that it elicited applause. - -Not so with the competitors, who were irregularly armed and had not been -trained steadily. Others exaggerated from their conceit what they could -have done properly. - -On the whole imperfect results. - -For the grand array, Pitou was outranked in seniority by an army -sergeant who took the general command; but unhappily he had grasped more -than he could hold: he bunched his men, lost grip of some files, let a -company meander under the surrounding trees, and finally lost his head -so that his own soldiers began to grumble. - -From the Haramont side rose a shout: - -"Let Pitou try!" - -"Yes, yes Pitou!" caught up the other villagers, furious at their -inferiority being manifested through their own instructors. - -Pitou jumped on his white charger, and replacing himself at the head of -his troop, become the rallying point of the little army, uttered a word -of command so superbly that the oaks shivered. On the instant, and as by -miracle, order was re-established: the movements fitted in with one -another with such uniformity that the enthusiasm did not disturb the -regularity. Pitou so well applied the theory of the instruction books -and the practice of old Clovis that he obtained immense success. - -Formed into a hollow square, the whole army raised but one voice and -proclaimed him Colonel on the spot. - -Bathed in perspiration and drunk with glory, Pitou got down off his -horse and received the people's felicitations when he alighted. - -But at the same time he glanced round for Catherine. He heard her voice -by his side; he had no need to hunt for her, as she had come to him. -Great was this triumph. - -"Have you not a word for us, Captain Pitou?" she demanded, with a -laughing air belied by her pale face; "I suppose you have grown proud -since you are a great general?" - -"Oh, no," responded he, saluting, "I am not that, but just a poor fellow -who loves his country and desires to serve her." - -This reply was carried away on the waves of the multitude and was -proclaimed sublime by the acclamation in unison. - -"Ange, I want to speak with you," whispered Catherine. "Do come back to -the farm with mother and me." - -"All right." - -Catherine had already arranged that they should be alone together on the -road. She had switched her mother into the train of several neighbors -and gossips who held her in talk so that the girl could walk through -the woods with the National Guardsman. - -"Why have you kept aloof from the farm so long?" began Catherine when -they were beneath the hoary oaks. "It is bad behavior on your part." - -Pitou was silent, for it hurt him to hear Catherine tell lies. - -"But, I have something else to speak about," she continued, seeing that -he was avoiding her with his usually straight and loyal glance. "The -other day I saw you in the copse. Did you know me?" - -"Not at first, but I did know you." - -"What were you doing there in hiding?" - -"Why should I be in hiding? I was studying a military book." - -"I only thought that curiosity----" - -"I am not a Peeping Tom." - -She stamped testily with her small foot. - -"You are always stuck there and it is not a regular place for students." - -"It is very secluded--nothing disturbs one there." - -"Nothing? do you stay there any length of time?" - -"Sometimes whole days." - -"And have you been in the habit of making that your resort?" she -inquired quickly. - -"Since a good while back." - -"It is astonishing that I should not have seen you before," she said, -lying so boldly that Pitou was almost convinced. - -But he was ashamed for her sake; he was timid from being in love and -this led him to be guarded. - -"I may have dozed off," he replied; "it has happened when I have taxed -my brain too much." - -"Then in your sleep you would not have noticed where I strayed for -shade--I would go as far as the walls of the old shooting-lodge." - -"What lodge?" questioned Pitou. - -"The Charny Hunting-lodge," replied she, blushing from his innocence -being too thickly laid on not to be suspicious. "It is there grow the -finest houseleeks in the section. I burnt myself while ironing and -wanted to make a poultice of them." - -As if willing to believe her, he looked at her hands. - -"No, not my hand, my foot," she said quickly. "I--I dropped the iron: -but it has done me good; you see, that I do not limp." - -"She did not limp either when she scampered through the wood like a -fawn," thought Ange. - -She imagined she had succeeded and that Pitou had seen and heard -nothing. Giving way to delight, mean in so fine a spirit, she said: - -"So Captain Pitou is riding his high horse; proud of his new rank, he -scorns us rustics from being a military officer." - -Pitou felt wounded. Even a dissimulated sacrifice almost requires some -reward, and as Catherine only mystified Pitou or jested at him, no doubt -contrasting him with the intelligent Charny, all his good intentions -vanished. Self-esteem is a charmed serpent, on which it is perillous to -step unless you crush it once for all. - -"It seems to me that you are the haughty one," he returned, "for you -drove me off the farm on the grounds that there was no work for me. I -haven't told Master Billet so far I have arms for earning my bread, -thank God! However, you are the mistress under your own roof. In short, -you sent me away. Hence, as you saw me at the Charny Lodge, and we were -not enemies, it was your place to speak to me instead of running away -like a boy stealing apples." - -The viper had bitten; Catherine dropped out of her calm. - -"I, run away?" she exclaimed. - -"As though fire had broken out on the farm. I had not time to shut up my -book before you were on the back of Younker, where he was concealed in -the foliage, after barking an ashtree, and ruining it." - -"What do you mean by ruining?" - -"That is right enough," continued Pitou: "while you were gathering -houseleeks, Younker was browsing, and in an hour a horse eats a heap of -stuff. It must have taken quite an hour for him to strip that sized tree -of bark. You must have collected enough plants to cure all the wounds -inflicted in taking the Bastile--it is a great thing for poultices!" - -Pale and in despair, Catherine could not find a word to speak. Pitou was -silent also, as he had said quite enough. - -Mother Billet, stopping at the road forks, was bidding adieu to her -cronies. - -"What does the officer say?" queried the woman. - -"He says goodnight to you, Mother Billet." - -"Not yet," cried Catherine with a desperate tone. "Tell me the -truth--are we no longer friends?" - -Pitou felt his secret well up to his lips: but it was all over with him -if he spoke; so he bowed mutely with respect which touched her heart; -gave Mother Billet a pleasant smile, and disappeared in the dense wood. - -"Is that what is called love?" Pitou monologued to himself; "it is sweet -at times and then again bitter." - -He returned to Haramont, singing the most doleful of rural ballads to -the mournfullest tunes. - -Luckily he did not find his warriors in any such mood. On the contrary, -they were preparing for a feast and they had set aside the chair of -honor for their Caesar who had overcome the other villages' Pompeys. - -Dragged by his officers into the banquet room, he saluted in silence in -return for the greetings, and with the calmness we know as his, attacked -the roast veal and potatoes. His action lasted so long that his -"digester" was filled while his heart was freed of gall. At the end of a -couple of hours he perceived that his grief was no worse. - -He stood up when his brother revellers could not stand, while the ladies -had fled before the dessert. He made a speech on the sobriety of the -Spartans--when all were dead drunk. He said that it was healthier to -take a stroll than sleep under the table. - -Alone he set the example; he asked of the shadows beneath the glades, -why he should be so stern towards a young woman, made for love, grace -and sweetness; one who might also cherish a fancy at the outset of life? -Alas, why had she not fancied him? - -Why should an ugly, uncouth bear like him inspire amorous sentiments in -a pretty girl, when a handsome young nobleman--a very peacock beside -him--was there to glitter and enchant? - -He reasoned that, dazzled by Charny's brilliancy, she would not see -Pitou's real value if he acted harshly towards her. Consequently, he -ought to behave nicely to her. - -The good soul, heated white hot by wine and love, vowed to make -Catherine ashamed of having scorned the affection of such a sterling -lover as he was. - -He could not admit that the fair, chaste and proud Catherine was -anything like a plaything to the dashing gallant, or a bright flirt, -smiling on the lace ruffles and spurred boots. - -Some day Master Isidore would go to the city to marry a countess, and -the romance would end by his never looking at Catherine again. - -To prove to the maid that he was not ugly, he resolved to take back any -harsh words he had used; to do which it was necessary for him to see -her. - -He started through the woods for the Billet Farm, slashing the bushes -with his stick--which blows the shrubs returned with usury. - -During this time Catherine was pensively following her mother. - -A few steps from the farm was a swamp. The road narrows there so that -two horses can hardly go abreast. Mother Billet had gone through and the -girl was about to follow when she heard a whistle. - -In the shadow she spied the laced cap of Isidore's groom. She let her -mother ride on and waited for the messenger. - -"Master wants to see you very particular this evening at eleven, -wherever you like," said the man. - -"Good gracious, has anything bad happened to him?" she said. - -"I do not know; but he had a letter from town sealed with black wax. I -have been waiting an hour for you." - -Ten o'clock struck on the village church bell. Catherine looked round -her. - -"This place is dark and out of the way," she said; "I will await your -Master here." - -At the fixed time she ran out to the spot, warned by the sound of a -galloping horse. It was Isidore, attended by the groom, who stood at a -space while the noble advanced, without getting off his horse. - -He held out his arms to her, lifted her on the stirrup, kissed her and -said: - -"My brother Valence was killed yesterday at Versailles and my brother -the count calls me. I am off, Catherine!" - -"Oh," she moaned painfully, as she furiously embraced him, "if they have -killed him, they will kill you as well." - -"Catherine, whatever betides, my eldest brother awaits me; Catherine, -you know that I love you." - -"Oh, stay, stay," she cried, only knowing one thing--that her beloved -talked of leaving her. - -"But, honor, Catherine--my murdered brother! vengeance!" - -"Oh, what an unhappy girl I am," moaned she, collapsing, palpitating but -rigid in the horseman's arms. - -Resigned, for she at last comprehended that the brother's summons was an -order, she glided to the ground after a farewell kiss. - -He turned his eyes, sighed and wavered for a time; but, attracted by the -imperative order received, he set his horse to the gallop, and flung -Catherine a final farewell. - -The lackey followed him across the country. - -Catherine remained on the ground, where she had dropped, barring the way -with her body. - -Almost immediately a man appeared on the hill, striding towards the -farm. In his rapid course he could not fail to stumble on the body. He -staggered and rolled in the fall, and his groping hands touched the -inert form. - -"Catherine--dead!" he yelled so that the farm dogs' took up the howling. -"Who has killed Catherine?" - -He knelt down, pale and ice-cold, beside the inanimate body with its -head across his knee. - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - -THE ROAD TO PARIS. - - -On this same evening, a no less grave event set the college of Father -Fortier in an uproar. Sebastian Gilbert had disappeared about six -o'clock and had not been found up to midnight by the most active search. - -Nobody had seen him save Aunt Angelique, who, coming from the church, -where she let out the chairs, had thought to see him going up a lane. -This report added to the schoolmaster's disquiet. He knew that the youth -had strange delusions, during which he believed he was following a -beautiful lady; more than once when on a walk he had seen him stare at -vacancy and if he plunged too deeply into the copse, he would start the -best pedestrians of the class after him. - -But he had never gone off in the night. - -This time, he had taken the road to Haramont, and Angelique had really -seen him. He was going to find Pitou. But the latter left the village by -one end, to go and see Catherine, at the same time as the doctor's son -quitted it by the other. - -Pitou's door was open, for the captain was still simple in his habits. -He lit the candle and waited: but he was too fretful. He found a sheet -of paper, half of that on which Pitou had inscribed the name of his -company of soldiers, and wrote as follows: - - "MY DEAR PITOU: I have come to tell you of a conversation I - overheard between Father Fortier and the Villers Cotterets Vicar. - Fortier is in connivance with the aristocratic party of Paris and - says that a counter-revolutionary movement is hatching at - Versailles. The cue was given when the Queen wore the black cockade - and trampled the tricolor under-foot. This threat already made me - uneasy about my father, who is the aristocrats' enemy, as you know: - but this time it is worse. - - "The vicar has returned the priest's visit, and as I feared for my - father, I listened to their talk to hear the sequel to what I - overheard by accident last time. It appears, my dear Pitou, that - the people stormed Versailles and killed a great many royalists, - among them Lord Valence Charny. - - "Father Fortier said: 'Speak low, not to startle little Gilbert, - whose father has gone to Versailles and may be killed in the lot!' - - "You understand, Pitou, that I did not wait for more, but I have - stolen away and I come to have you take me back to Paris. I will - not wait any longer, as you may have gone to lay snares in the - woods and would not be home till to-morrow. So I proceed on my road - to Paris. Have no anxiety as I know the way and besides I have two - gold pieces left out of the money my father gave me, so that I can - take a seat in the first conveyance I catch up with. - - "P. S.--I make this rather long in order to explain my departure, - and to delay me that you may return before I finish. But no, I have - finished, and you have not come, so that I am off. Farewell, until - we meet again! if nothing has happened to my father and he runs no - danger, I will return. If not, I shall ask his leave to stay beside - him. Calm Father Fortier about my absence; but do not do so until - it is too late for him to overtake me. Good-bye, again!" - -Knowing his friend's economy, he put out the candle, and set off. - -He went by the starlight at first till he struck through byways the main -road at Vauciennes. At the branch of the Paris and Crespy roads, he had -to stop as he did not know which to take. They were both alike. He sat -down discouraged, partly to rest, partly to reflect, when he heard the -galloping of horses from Villers Cotterets way. - -He waited to ask the riders the information he wanted. Soon he saw two -shadows in the gloom, one riding at a space behind the other so that he -judged the foremost to be the master and the other his groom. - -He walked out three steps from the roadside to accost him when the -horseman clapped his hand to his holster for a pistol. - -"I am not a thief, sir," cried Sebastian, interpreting the action -correctly, "but a boy whom recent events at Versailles calls thither to -seek his father. I do not know which of these roads I ought to take to -get to Paris--point it out, please, and you will do me a great service." - -The speaker's stylish language and his juvenile tone did not seem -unknown to the rider, who reined in his steed, albeit he seemed in -haste. - -"Who are you, my boy, and how comes it you are out on the highway at -such an hour?" he inquired. - -"I am not asking you who you are--only my road--the way for a poor boy -to reach his father in distress." - -In the almost childish voice was firmness which struck the cavalier. - -"My friend, we are on the road to Paris," he replied: "I have only been -there twice and do not know it very well, but I am sure this is the -right one." - -Sebastian drew back a step offering his thanks. The horses had need of -getting their wind and started off again not very rapidly. - -"My Lord Viscount," said the lackey to his master, "do you not recognize -that youth?" - -"No: though I fancied----" - -"It is young Sebastian Gilbert, who is at boarding school, at Abb -Fortier's; and who comes over to Billet's Farm with Ange Pitou." - -"You are right, by Jove!" Turning his horse and stopping, he called out: -"Is this you, Sebastian?" - -"Yes, my lord," returned the boy, who had known the horseman all the -time. - -"Then, come, and tell me how I find you here?" - -"I did tell you--I want to learn that my father in Paris is not killed -or hurt." - -"Alas, my poor boy," said Isidore with profound sadness, "I am going to -town on the like errand: only I have no doubt; one of my brothers, -Valence, was slain at Versailles yesterday." - -"Oh, I am so sorry," said the youth, holding out his hand to the -speaker, which the latter took and squeezed. - -"Well, my dear boy, since our fate is akin," said the cavalier, "we must -not separate; you must like me be eager to get to Paris." - -"Oh, dear, yes!" - -"You can never reach it on foot." - -"I could do it but it would take too long; so I reckon on taking a place -in a stage going my way, and get what lift I can do the journey." - -"Better than that, my boy; get up behind my man." - -Sebastian plucked his hands out of the other's grasp. - -"I thank you, my lord," said he in such a tone that the noble understood -that he had hurt the youth's feelings by offering to mount him behind -his inferior. - -"Or, better still, now I think of it," he went on, "take his place. He -can come on afterwards. He can learn where I am by asking at the -Tuileries Palace." - -"I thank you again, my lord," replied the adolescent, in a milder voice, -for he had comprehended the delicacy of the offer: "I do not wish to -deprive you of his services." - -It was hard to come to an arrangement now that the terms of peace were -laid down. - -"Better again, my dear Sebastian. Get up behind me. Dawn is peeping: at -ten we shall be at Dammartin, half way; there we will leave the two -horses, which would not carry us much farther, under charge of -Baptistin, and we will take the post-chaise to Paris. I intended to do -this so that you do not lead to any change in my arrangements." - -"If this be true, then, I accept," said the young man, hesitating but -dying to go. - -"Down with you, Baptistin, and help Master Sebastian to mount." - -"Thanks, but it is useless," said the youth leaping up behind the -gentleman as light as a schoolboy. - -The three on the two horses started off at the gallop, and disappeared -over the ridge. - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - -THE SPIRIT MATERIALIZED. - - -At five next afternoon, Viscount Charny and Sebastian reached the -Tuileries Palace gates. The name of his brother passed Isidore and his -companion into the middle courtyard. - -Young Gilbert had wanted to go to the house in Honore Street where his -father dwelt, but the other had pointed out that as he was honorary -physician to the Royal Household, he might be at the palace, where the -latest news of him could be had. - -While an usher made inquiries, Sebastian sat on a sofa and Isidore -walked up and down the sitting-room. - -In ten minutes the man returned: Count Charny was with the Queen; Dr. -Gilbert had had nothing happen to him; he was supposed to be with the -King, as a doctor was with his Majesty. If it were so, he would be -informed on coming out that a person was waiting to see him. - -Isidore was much affected in parting with him as his joy at recovering -his father made the loss of his brother more painful. - -At this the door opened for a servant to call: "The Viscount of Charny -is asked for in the Queen's apartments." - -"You will wait for me," said Isidore; "unless your father comes, promise -me, Gilbert, for I am answerable for you to the doctor." - -"Yes, and receive my thanks in the meantime," rejoined Sebastian, -resuming his place on the sofa as the Viscount left the room with the -domestic. - -Easy about his father's fate, and himself, certain that the good intent -would earn his forgiveness for the journey, he went back in memory to -Father Fortier, and on Pitou, and reflected on the trouble which his -flight and his note would cause them severally. - -And naturally, by the mechanism of ideas, he thought of the woods around -Pitou's home, where he had so often pursued the ghost in his reverie. -The White Lady seen so oft in visions, and once only in reality, he -believed in Satory Wood, appearing and flitting away in a magnificent -carriage drawn by a galloping pair. - -He recalled the profound emotion this sight had given him and half -plunged in dreams anew, he murmured: - -"My mother?" - -At this juncture, a door in the wall over against him opened. A woman -appeared. This appearance was so much in harmony with what happened in -his fancy, that he started to see his ghost take substance. In this -woman was the vision and the reality--the lady seen at Satory. - -He sprang up as though a spring had acted under his feet. - -His lips tightened on one another, his eyes expanded, and the pupils -dilated. His heaving breast in vain endeavored to form a sound. - -Majestic, haughty and disdainful, the lady passed him without any heed. -Calm as she was externally, yet her pale countenance, frowning brow and -whistling respiration, betrayed that she was in great nervous -irritation. - -She crossed the room diagonally, opened another door, and walked into a -corridor. - -Sebastian comprehended that she was escaping him, if he did not hasten. -He still looked as if apprehensive that it was a ghost, but then darted -after her, before the skirt of her silken robe had disappeared round the -turning of the lobby. - -Hearing steps behind her, she walked more briskly as if fearing pursuit. - -He quickened his gait as much as he could, fearing as the corridor was -dark that he might miss her. This caused her to accelerate her pace -also, but she looked round. - -He uttered a cry of joy for it was clearly the vision. - -Seeing but a boy with extended arms and understanding nothing why she -should be chased, the lady hurried down a flight of stairs. But she had -barely descended to one landing than Sebastian arrived at the end of the -passage where he called out: - -"Lady, oh, lady!" - -This voice produced a strange sensation throughout the hearer; she -seemed struck in the heart by a pain which was half delight, and from -the heart a shudder sent by the blood through all her veins. - -Nevertheless, as all was a puzzle to her; she doubled her speed, and the -course resembled a flight. - -They reached the foot of the stairs at the same time. - -It was the courtyard into which the lady sped. A carriage was waiting -for her, for a servant was holding the door open. She stepped in swiftly -and took her seat. - -Before the door could be closed, Sebastian glided in between it and the -footman, and seizing the hem of her dress, kissed with frenzy and cried: - -"Oh, lady!" - -Looking at the pretty boy who had frightened her at first, she said in a -sweeter voice than she usually spoke, though it was yet shaken with fear -and emotion: - -"Well, my little friend, why are you running after me? why do you call -me? what do you want?" - -"I want to see you, and kiss you," replied the child. "I want to call -you 'Mother,'" he added in so low a voice that only she could hear him. - -She uttered a scream, embraced him, and approaching him as by a sudden -revelation, fastened her ardent lips on his brow. Then, as though she -dreaded someone coming to snatch away this child whom she had found, she -drew him entirely into the vehicle, pushed him to its other side, shut -the door with her own hand, and lowering the glass to order: "Drive to -No. 9 Coq-Heron Street, the first carriage-doorway from Plastriere -Street," she shut the window instantly. - -Turning to the boy she asked his name. - -"Sebastian? come, Sebastian, come here, on my heart." - -She threw herself back as if going to swoon, muttering: "What new -sensation is this? can it be what is called happiness?" - -The journey was one long kiss of mother and son. - -She had found this son by a miracle, whom the father had torn from her -in a terrible night of anguish and dishonor; he had disappeared with no -trace but the abductor's tracks in the snow; this child had been -detested until she heard its first wail, whereupon she had loved him; -this child had been prayed for, called for, begged for. Her brother had -uselessly hunted for him over land and ocean. For fifteen years she had -yearned for him, and despaired to behold him again; she had begun to -think no more of him but as a cherished spirit. Here he was, running and -crying after her, seeking her, in his turn, calling her "Mother!" - -He was pillowed on her heart, pressing on her bosom, loving her filially -although he had never seen her, as she loved him with maternal -affection. Her pure lips recovered all the joys of a lost life in this -first kiss given her son. - -Above the head of mankind is Something else than the void in which the -spheres revolve: in life there is Another Thing than chance and -fatality. - - -After fourteen years she was taken back to the house where he was born, -this offspring of the union of the mesmerist Gilbert and the daughter of -the House of Taverney, his victim. There he had drawn the first breath -of life and thence his father had stolen him. - -This little residence, bought by the late Baron Taverney, served as -lodging for his son when he came to town, which was rarely, and for -Andrea, when she slept in town. - -After her conflict with the Queen, unable to bear meeting the woman who -loved her husband, Andrea had made up her mind to go away from the -rival, who visited on her retaliation for all her griefs, and whom the -woes of the Queen, great though they were, always remained beneath the -sufferings of the loving woman. - -All concurred then in making this evening a happy one for the ex-Queen's -maid of honor. Nothing should trouble her. Instead of a room in a palace -where the walls are all ears and eyes, she was harboring her child in -her own little, secluded house. - -As soon as she was closeted with Sebastian in her boudoir, she drew him -to a lounge, on which were concentrated the lights from both candles and -fire. - -"Oh, my boy, is it really you?" she exclaimed with a joy which still -quivered with lingering doubt. - -"Mother!" ejaculated Sebastian with an outburst of the heart, flowing -like refreshing dews on Andrea's burning heart and enfevered veins. - -"And the meeting to be here," said she, looking round with terror -towards the room whence he had been stolen. - -"What do you mean by 'Here?'" - -"Fifteen years ago, my boy, you were born in this room, and I bless the -mercy of the Almighty that you are miraculously restored to me." - -"Yes, miraculously indeed," said the youth, "for if I had not feared for -my father----" - -Andrea closed her eyes and leaned back, so sharp was the pang shooting -through her. - -"If I had not set out alone in the night, I should not have been -perplexed about the road: and then I should not have been recognized by -Lord Isidore Charny, who offered his help and conducted me to the -Tuileries----" - -Her eyes re-opened, her heart expanded and her glance thanked heaven: -for it increased the miracle that Sebastian should be led to her by her -husband's brother. - -"I should not have seen you passing through the palace and not following -you might never have called you 'Mother!' the word so sweet and tender -to utter." - -Recalled to her bliss, she hugged him again and said: - -"Yes, you are right, my boy; it is most sweet: but there is perchance -another one more sweet and tender; 'My son!' which I say to you as I -press you to my heart. But in short," she suddenly said, "it is -impossible that all should remain mysterious around us. You have -explained how you come here, but not how you recognized me and ran after -me, calling me your mother." - -"How can I tell? I do not myself know," replied Sebastian, looking at -her with love unspeakable. "You speak of mysteries? all is mysterious -about you and me. List to me, and I will tell you what seems a prodigy." - -Andrea bent nearer. - -"It is ten years since I knew you. You do not understand. I have dreams -which my father calls hallucinations." - -At the reminder of Gilbert, passing like a steel point from the boyish -lips, Andrea started. - -"I have seen you twenty times, mother. In the village, while playing -with the other schoolboys, I have followed you as you flitted through -the woods and pursued you with useless calls till you faded away. -Crushed by fatigue I would drop on the spot, as if your presence alone -had sustained me." - -This kind of second existence, this living dream, too much resembled -what the medium herself experienced for her not to understand him. - -"Poor darling," she said as she pressed him more closely, "it was vainly -that hate strove to part us. Heaven was bringing us together without my -suspecting it. Less happy than you, I saw my dear child neither in dream -nor reality. Still, when I passed through that Green Saloon I felt a -shiver; when I heard your footsteps behind mine, giddiness thrilled my -heart and brain; when you called me 'Lady' I all but stopped; when you -called me 'Mother!' I nearly swooned; when I embraced you, I believed." - -"My mother," repeated Sebastian, as if to console her for not having -heard the welcome title for so long. - -"Yes, your mother," said the countess, with a transport of love -impossible to describe. - -"Now that we have found each other," said the youth, "and as you are -contented and happy at our union, we are not going to part any more, -tell me?" - -She shuddered: she was enjoying the present to the exclusion of the past -and totally closing her eyes on the future. - -"How I should bless you, my poor boy, if you could accomplish this -miracle!" she sighingly murmured. - -"Let me manage it; I will do it. I do not know the causes separating you -from my father,"--Andrea turned pale--"but they will be effaced by my -tears and entreaties, however serious they may be." - -"Never," returned the countess, shaking her head. - -"I tell you that my father adores you," said Sebastian, who believed -that the woman was in the wrong from the way his father had forbidden -him ever to mention her name. - -Her hands holding the speaker's relaxed but he did not notice this, as -he continued: - -"I will prepare him to greet you; I will tell him all the happiness you -give me; one of these days, I will take you by the hand and lead you to -him, saying: 'Here she is, father--look, how handsome she is!'" - -Repulsing Sebastian, she sprang up. - -"Never," repeated she, while he stared with astounded eyes for she was -so white as to alarm him. This time her accent expressed a threat rather -than fright. - -She recoiled on the lounge; in that face he had seen the hard lines -which Raphael gives to irritated angels. - -"Why do you refuse to receive my father?" he demanded, in a sullen -voice. - -At these words, the lightning burst as at the contact of two clouds. - -"Why? do you ask me why? well, never shall you know." - -"Still, I ask why," said Sebastian, with firmness. - -"Because, then," said Andrea, incapable of self-restraint under the -sting of the serpent gnawing at her heart, "because your father is an -infamous villain!" - -He bounded up from the divan and stood before her. - -"Do you say that of my father," he cried, "of Dr. Gilbert, who brought -me up and educated me, the only friend I ever knew? I am making a -mistake--you are no mother of mine!" - -She stopped him darting towards the door. - -"Stay," she said, "you cannot know, ought not understand, may not -judge." - -"No; but I can feel, and I feel that I love you no more." - -She screamed with pain. - -Simultaneously, a diversion was given to the emotion overwhelming her by -the sound of a carriage coming up to the street doorway. Such a shudder -ran over her that he thrilled in sympathy. - -"Wait, and be silent," she said so that he was subjugated. - -"Who am I to announce?" she heard the old footman demand in the -ante-room. - -"The Count of Charny; and inquire if my lady will do me the honor to -receive me?" - -"Into this room, child," said Andrea, "he must not see you--he must not -know that you exist!" - -She pushed the frightened youth into the adjoining apartment. - -"Remain here till he shall have gone, when I will relate to--No, nothing -of that can be said? I will so love you that you will not doubt that I -am your own loving mother." - -His only reply was a moan. - -At this moment the door opened and the servant, cap in hand, acquitted -himself of the errand entrusted to him. - -"Show in the Count of Charny," she said in the firmest voice she could -find. - -As the old man retired, the nobleman appeared on the sill. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - -HUSBAND AND WIFE. - - -Count Charny was clad in black, mourning for his brother slain two days -before. - -This mourning was not solely in his habit, but in the recesses of his -heart, and his pallid cheeks attested what grief he had undergone. Never -are handsome faces finer than after sorrow, and the rapid glance of his -wife perceived that he had never looked more superb. - -She closed her eyes an instant, slightly held back her head to draw a -full breath and laid her hand on her heart which seemed about to break. - -When she opened them, after a second, Charny was in the same place. - -"Is the carriage to wait?" inquired the servant, urged by the footman at -the door. - -An unspeakable look shot from the yearning eyes of the visitor upon his -wife, who was dazed into closing her own again, while she stood -breathless as though she had not noticed the glance or heard the -question. Both had penetrated to her heart. - -Charny sought in this lovely living statue for some token to indicate -what answer he should make. As her shiver might be read both ways, he -said: "Bid the coachman wait." - -The door closed and perhaps for the first time since their wedding the -lord and his lady were alone together. - -"Pardon me," said the count, breaking the silence, "but is my unexpected -call intrusion? I have not seated myself and the carriage waits so that -I can depart as I came." - -"No, my lord, quite the contrary," quickly said Andrea. "I knew you were -well and safe, but I am not the less happy to see you after recent -events." - -"You have been good enough then to ask after me?" - -"Of course; yesterday, and this morning, when I was answered that you -were at Versailles; and this evening, when I learnt that you were in -attendance on the Queen." - -Were those last words spoken simply or did they contain a reproach? Not -knowing what to make of them, the count was evidently set thinking by -them. But probably leaving to the outcome of the dialogue the lifting of -the veil lowered on his mind for the time, he replied almost instantly: - -"My lady, a pious duty retained me at Versailles yesterday and this day; -one as sacred in my eyes brought me instantly on my arrival in town -beside her Majesty." - -Andrea tried in her turn to discover the true intent of the words. -Thinking that she ought to respond, she said: - -"Yes, I know of the terrible loss which--_you_ have experienced." She -had been on the point of saying "we," but she dared not, and continued: -"You have had the misfortune to lose your brother Valence de Charny." - -The count seemed to be waiting for the clue, for he had started on -hearing the pronoun "Your." - -"Yes, my lady. As you say, a terrible loss for me, but you cannot -appreciate the young man, as you little knew poor Valence, happily." - -In the last word was a mild and melancholy reproach, which his auditor -comprehended, though no outward sign was manifested that she gave it -heed. - -"Still, one thing consoles me, if anything can console me; poor Valence -died doing his duty, as probably his brother Isidore will die, and I -myself." - -This deeply affected Andrea. - -"Alas, my lord," she asked, "do you believe matters so desperate that -fresh sacrifices of blood are necessary to appease the wrath of heaven?" - -"I believe that the hour comes when the knell of kings is to peal; that -an evil genius pushes monarchy unto the abysm. In short I think, if it -is to fall, it will be accompanied, and should be so, by all those who -took part in its splendor." - -"True, but when comes that day, believe that it will find me ready like -yourself for the utmost devotion," said Andrea. - -"Your ladyship has given too many proofs of that devotion in the past, -for any one to doubt it for the future--I least of all--the less as I -have for the first time flinched about an order from the Queen. On -arriving from Versailles, I found the order to present myself to her -Majesty instantly." - -"Oh," said Andrea, sadly smiling; "it is plain," she added, after a -pause, "like you, the Queen sees the future is sombre and mysterious and -wishes to gather round her all those she can depend on." - -"You are wrong, my lady," returned Charny, "for the Queen summoned me, -not to bid me stand by her, but to send me afar." - -"Send you away?" quickly exclaimed the countess, taking a step towards -the speaker. "But I am keeping you standing," she said, pointing to a -chair. - -So saying, she herself sank, as though unable to remain on foot any -longer, on the sofa where she had been sitting with Sebastian shortly -before. - -"Send you away? in what end?" she said with emotion not devoid of joy at -the thought that the suspected lovers were parting. - -"To have me go to Turin to confer with Count Artois and the Duke of -Bourbon, who have quitted the country." - -"And you accepted?" - -"No, my lady," responded Charny, watching her fixedly. - -She lost color so badly that he moved as if to assist her, but this -revived her strength and she recovered. - -"No? you have answered No to an order of the Queen's, my lord?" she -faltered, with an indescribable accent of doubt and astonishment. - -"I answered that I believed my presence here at present more necessary -than in Italy. Anybody could bear the message with which I was to be -honored; I had a second brother, just arrived from the country, to place -at the orders of the King, and he was ready to start in my stead." - -"Of course the Queen was happy to see the substitute," exclaimed Andrea, -with bitterness she could not contain, and not appearing to escape -Charny. - -"It was just the other way, for she seemed to be deeply wounded by the -refusal. I should have been forced to go had not the King chanced in and -I made him the arbiter." - -"The King held you to be right?" sneered the lady with an ironical -smile: "he like you advised your staying in the Tuileries? Oh, how good -his Majesty is!" - -"So he is," went on the count, without wincing: "he said that my brother -Isidore would be well fitted for the mission and the more so as it was -his first visit to court, so that his absence would not be remarked. He -added that it would be cruel for the Queen to require my being sent away -from you at present." - -"The King said, from me?" exclaimed Andrea. - -"I repeat his own words, my lady. Looking round and addressing me, he -wanted to know where the Countess of Charny was. 'I have not seen her -this evening,' said he. As this was specially directed to me, I made -bold to reply. 'Sire,' I said, 'I have so seldom the pleasure of seeing -the countess that I am in the state of impossibility to tell where she -is; but if your Majesty wishes to know, he might inquire of the Queen -who, knowing, will reply!' I insisted as I judged from the Queen looking -black, that some difference had arisen between you." - -Andrea was so enwrapt in the listening that she did not think of saying -anything. - -"The Queen made answer that the Countess of Charny had gone away from -the palace with no intention to return. 'Why, what motive can your best -friend have in quitting the palace at this juncture?' inquired the King. -'Because she is uncomfortable here,' replied the Queen who had started -at the title you were given. 'Well, that may be so; but we will find -accommodation for her and the count beside our own rooms,' went on the -King. 'You will not be very particular, eh, my lord?' I told him that I -should be satisfied with any post as long as I could serve him in it. 'I -know it well: so that we only want the lady called back from--' the -Queen did not know whither you had departed. 'Not know where your friend -has gone?' exclaimed the King. 'When my friends leave me I do not -inquire after them.' 'Good, some woman's quarrel,' said Louis; 'my Lord -Charny, I have to speak a while with the Queen. Kindly wait for me and -present your brother who shall start for Turin this evening. I am of -your opinion that I shall require you and I mean to keep you by me.' So -I sent for my brother who was awaiting me in the Green Saloon, I was -told." - -At the mention, Andrea, who had nearly forgotten Sebastian in her -interest in her husband's story, was made to think of all that had -passed between mother and son, and she threw her eyes with anguish on -the bedroom door where she had placed him. - -"But you must excuse me for talking of matters but slightly interesting -you while you are no doubt wishful to know why I have come here." - -"No, my lord, what you say does engage me," replied the countess; "your -presence can only be agreeable on account of the fears I have felt on -your account. I pray you to continue. The King asked you to wait for him -and to bring your brother." - -"We went to the royal apartments, where he joined us in ten minutes. As -the mission for the princes was urgent he began by that. Their -Highnesses were to be instructed about what had happened. A quarter of -an hour after the King came, my brother was on the road, and the King -and I were left alone. He stopped suddenly in pacing the room and said: -'My lord, do you know what has passed between the Queen and the -countess?' I was ignorant. 'Something must have happened,' he went on, -'for the Queen is in a temper fit to massacre everybody, and it appears -to me unjust to the countess--which is odd, as the Queen usually defends -her friends through thick and thin, even when they are wrong.' 'I repeat -I know nothing, but I venture to assert that the countess has done no -wrong--even if we cannot admit that a queen ever does so.'" - -"I thank your lordship for having so good an opinion of me," said -Andrea. - -"'I suppose as the countess has a house in town that she has retired -there,' I suggested. 'Of course! I will give you leave of absence till -to-morrow on condition that you bring back the countess,' said the -King." - -Charny looked at his wife so fixedly that she was unable to bear the -glance and had to close her eyes. - -"Then, seeing that I was in mourning, he stayed me to say that my loss -was one of those which monarchs could not repair; but that if my brother -left a widow or a child he would help them, and would like them -presented to him, at any rate; the Queen should take care of the widow -and he would of the children." - -Charny spoke with tears in his voice. - -"I daresay the King was only repeating what the Queen had said," -remarked the lady. - -"The Queen did not honor me with a word on the subject," returned -Charny, "and that is why the King's speech affected me most deeply. He -ended by bidding me 'Go to our dear Andrea; for though those we love -cannot console us they can mourn with us, and that is a relief!' Thus it -is that I come by the King's order, which may be my excuse, my lady," -concluded the count. - -"Did you doubt your welcome?" cried the lady, quickly rising and holding -out both hands to him. - -He grasped them and kissed them; she uttered a scream as though they -were redhot iron, and sank back on the divan. But her hands were -clinging to his and he was drawn down so as to be placed sitting beside -her. - -But it was then that she thought she heard a noise in the next room, and -she started from him so abruptly that he rose and stood off a little, -not knowing to what to attribute the outcry and the repulsion so -suddenly made. - -Leaning on the sofa back, he sighed. The sigh touched her deeply. - -At the very time when the bereaved mother found her child, something -like the dawn of love beamed on her previously dismal and sorrowful -horizon. But by a strange coincidence, proven that she was not born to -happiness, the two events were so combined that one annulled the other: -the return of the husband thrust aside the son's love as the latter's -presence destroyed the budding passion. - -Charny could not divine this in the exclamation and the starting aloof, -the silence full of sadness following, although the cry was of love and -the retreat from fear, not repulsion. - -He gazed upon her with an expression which she could not have mistaken -if she had been looking up. - -"What answer am I to carry to the King?" he inquired emitting a sigh. - -"My lord," she replied, starting at the sound and raising her clear and -limpid eyes to him, "I suffered so much while in the court that I -accepted the leave to go when accorded by the Queen, with thankfulness. -I am not fitted to live in society, and in solitude I have found repose -if not happiness. My happiest days were those spent as a girl at -Taverney and in the convent of St. Denis with the noble princess of the -House of France, the Lady Louise. But, with your lordship's permission, -I will dwell in this summerhouse, full of recollections which are not -without some sweetness spite of their sadness." - -Charny bowed at this suggestion of his permission being sought, like a -man who was obeying an order, far more than granting a request. - -"As this is a fixed resolve," he said, marking how steady she was with -all her meekness, "am I to be allowed to call on you here?" - -She fastened her eyes on him, usually clear but now full of astonishment -and blandness. - -"Of course, my lord," was her response, "and as I shall have no company, -you can come any time that your duties at the palace allow you to set -aside a little while to me." - -Never had Charny seen so much charm in her gaze, or such tenderness in -her voice. Something ran through his veins, like the shudder from a -lover's first kiss. He glanced at the place whence he had risen when -Andrea got up; he would have given a year of life to take his seat there -again if she would not once more repel him. But the soldier was timid, -and he dared not allow himself the liberty. - -On her part, Andrea would have given ten years, sooner than only one, to -have him in that place, but, unfortunately, each was ignorant of the -other's mood, and they stood still, in almost painful expectation. - -"You were saying that you had to endure a great deal at court. Was not -the Queen pleasant towards you?" - -"I have nothing to blame her Majesty for," replied the ex-lady of honor, -"and I should be unjust if I did not acknowledge her Majesty's kind -treatment." - -"I hinted at this, because I have lately noticed that the friendship -seemed to show a falling off," continued the count. - -"That is possible, and that is why I am leaving the court." - -"But you will live so lonely?" - -"Have I not always lived so, my lord?" sighed Andrea, "as maid--wife--" -she stopped, seeing that she was going too far. - -"Do you make me a reproach?" - -"What right have I in heaven's name to make reproaches to your -lordship?" retorted the countess: "do you believe I have forgot the -circumstances under which we were plighted? Just the opposite of those -who vow before the altar reciprocal love and mutual protection, we swore -eternal indifference and complete separation. The blame would be to the -one who forgot that oath." - -Charny caught the sigh which these words had not entirely suppressed, -from the speaker's heart. - -"But this is such a small dwelling," he said: "a countess in one sitting -room with only another to eat in, and this for repose----" - -She sprang in between him and the bedroom, seeing Sebastian behind the -door, in her mind's eye. - -"Oh, my lord, do not go that way, I entreat you," she exclaimed, barring -the passage with her extended arms. - -"Oh, my lady," said he, looking at her so pale and trembling, with -fright never more plain on a human face, "I knew that you did not like -me: but I had no idea you hated me to this degree." - -Incapable of remaining any longer beside his wife without an outburst, -he reeled for a space like an intoxicated man; recovering himself, he -rushed out of the room with an exclamation of pain which echoed in the -depths of the hearer's heart. - -She watched him till he was out of sight; she listened till she could no -longer hear his departing carriage, and then with a breaking heart, -dreading that she had not enough motherly love to combat with this other -passion, she darted into the bedroom, calling out: - -"Sebastian," but no voice replied. - -By the trembling of the night-lamp in a draft she perceived that the -window was open. It was the same by which the child was kidnapped -fifteen years before. - -"This is justice," she muttered; "did he not say that I was no more his -mother?" - -Comprehending that she had lost both husband and child at the period -when she had recovered them, Andrea threw herself on the couch, at the -end of her resignation and her prayers exhausted. - -Suddenly it seemed to her that something more dreadful than her -sorrowful plight glided in between grief and her tears. - -She looked up and beheld a man, after climbing in at the open window, -standing on the floor. - -She wished to shriek and ring for help; but he bent on her the -fascinating gaze which caused her the invincible lethargy she remembered -Cagliostro could impose upon her: but in this mesmerist and his -spell-binding look and bearing, she recognized Gilbert. - -How was it the execrated father stood in the stead of his beloved son? - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. - -IN SEARCH OF THEIR SON. - - -It was Dr. Gilbert who was closeted with the King when the usher -inquired after him on the order of Isidore and the entreaty of -Sebastian. - -The upright heart of Louis XVI. had appreciated the loyalty in the -doctor's. After half an hour, the latter came forth and went into the -Queen's ante-chamber, where he saw Isidore. - -"I asked for you, doctor, but I have another with me who wants still -more to see you. It will be cruel to detain you from him: so let us -hasten to the Green Saloon." - -But the room was empty and such was the confusion in the palace that no -servant was at hand to inform them what had become of the young man. - -"It was a person I met on the road, eager to get to Paris and coming -here on foot only for my giving him a ride." - -"Are you speaking of the peasant Pitou?" - -"No, doctor--of your son, Sebastian." - -At this, the usher who had taken Isidore away returned. - -He was ignorant of what had happened but, luckily, a second footman had -seen the singular disappearance of the boy in the carriage of a court -lady. - -They hastened to the gates where the janitor well recalled that the -direction to the coachman was "No. 9 Coq-Heron Street, first carriage -entrance from Plastriere Street." - -"My sister-in-law's," exclaimed Isidore, "the countess of Charny!" - -"Fatality," muttered Gilbert. "He must have recognized her," he said in -a lower tone. - -"Let us go there," suggested the young noble. - -Gilbert saw all the dangers of Andrea's son being discovered by her -husband. - -"My lord," he said, "my son is in safety in the hands of the Countess of -Charny, and as I have the honor to know her, I think I can call by -myself. Besides it is more proper that you should be on your road; for I -presume you are going to Turin, from what I heard in the King's -presence." - -"Yes, doctor." - -"Receive my thanks for your kindness to Sebastian, and be off! When a -father says he is not uneasy, you need feel no anxiety." - -Isidore held out his hand which the revolutionist shook with more -heartiness than he had for most of his class; while the nobleman -returned within the palace, he went along to the junction of the streets -Coq-Heron and Plastriere. - -Both were painful memories. - -In the latter he had lived, a poor boy, earning his bread by copying -music, by receiving instruction from the author Rousseau. From his -window he had contemplated Andrea at her own casement, under the hands -of her maid, Nicole, his first sweetheart, and to that window he had -made his way by a rope and by scaling the wall, to view more closely and -satisfy his passion for the high-born lady who had bewitched him. - -Rousseau was dead, but Andrea was rich and nobler still; he had also -attained wealth and consideration. - -But was he any happier than when he walked out of doors to dip his crust -in the waters of this public fountain? - -He could not help walking up to the door where Rousseau had lived. It -was open on the alley which ran under the building to the yard at the -back as well as up to the attic where he was lodged. - -He went up to the first floor back, where the window on the landing gave -a view of the rear house where Baron Taverney had dwelt. - -No one disturbed him in his contemplation; the house had come down in -the world; no janitor; the inhabitants were poor folk who did not fear -thieves. - -The garden at Taverney's house was the same as a dozen years before. The -vine still hung on the trellis which had served him as ladder in his -night clamberings within the enclosure. - -He was unaware whether Count Charny was with his wife, but he was so -bent on learning about Sebastian that he meant to risk all. - -He climbed the wall and descended on the other side. In the garden -nothing obstructed him, and thus he reached the window of Andrea's -Bedroom. - -In another instant, as related, the two enemies stood face to face. - -The lady's first feeling was invincible repugnance rather than profound -terror. - -For her the Americanized Gilbert, the friend of Washington and -Lafayette, aristocratic through study, science and genius, was still the -hangdog Gilbert of her father's manor house, and the gardener's boy of -Trianon Palace. - -Gilbert no longer bore her the ardent love which had driven him to crime -in his youth, but the deep and tender affection, spite of her insults -and persecutions, of a man ready to do a service at risk of his life. - -With the insight nature had given him and the justice education -implanted, Gilbert had weighed himself: he understood that Andrea's -misfortunes arose from him, and he would never be quits with her until -he had made her as happy as he had the reverse. - -But how could he blissfully affect her future. - -It was impossible for him yet to comprehend. - -On seeing this but to so much despair, again the prey to woe, all his -fibres of mercy were moved for so much misery. - -Instead of using his hypnotic power to subdue her, he spoke softly to -her, ready to master her if she became rebellious. - -The result was that the medium felt the ethereal fluid fade away like a -dissolving fog, by Gilbert's permission, and she was able to speak of -her own free will. - -"What do you want, sir? how came you here?" - -"By the way I used before," replied the doctor. "Hence you can be -easy--no one will know of it. Why? because I come to claim a treasure, -of no consequence to you, but precious to me, my son. I want you to tell -what has become of my son, taken away in your carriage and brought -here." - -"How do I know? taught by you to hate his mother, he has fled." - -"His mother? are you really a mother to him?" - -"Oh, you see my grief, you have heard my cries, and looking on my -despair, you ask me if I am his mother?" - -"How then are you ignorant what has become of him?" - -"But I tell you he has fled; that I came into this room for him and -found the window open and the room vacant." - -"Where could he have gone--good God!" exclaimed Gilbert. "It is past -midnight and he does not know the town." - -"Do you believe anything evil has befallen him?" asked she, approaching. - -"We shall hear, for it is you who shall tell me." - -And with a wave of the hand he began anew to plunge her into the -mesmeric sleep. - -She uttered a sigh and fell off into repose. - -"Am I to put forth all my will power or will you answer voluntarily?" -asked Gilbert when she was under control. - -"Will you tell the boy again that I am not his mother?" - -"That depends. Do you love him?" - -"Ardently, with all my soul." - -"Then you are his mother as I am his father, for it is thus I love him. -Loving him, you shall see him again. When did you part from the boy?" - -"About half an hour ago, when Count Charny called. I had pushed him into -this room." - -"What were his last words?" - -"That I was no more his mother: because I had told him that you were a -villain." - -"Look into the poor boy's heart and see what harm you wrought." - -"Oh, God forgive me," said Andrea: "forgive me, my son." - -"Did Count Charny suspect the boy was here?" - -"No, I am sure." - -"Why did he not stay?" - -"Because he never stays long with me. Oh, wretch that I am," she -interrupted herself, "he was returning to me after refusing that -mission--because he loves me--he loves me!" - -Gilbert began to see more clearly into this drama which his eye was -first to penetrate. - -"But do you love him?" he demanded. - -"I see your intention is good: you wish to make up to me for the grief -you have caused: but I refuse the boon coming from you. I hate you and -wish to continue in my hatred." - -"Poor mortality," muttered the philosopher, "have you had so much -happiness that you can dally with a certain amount offered you? so you -love him?" - -"Yes. Since first I saw him, as the Queen and I sat with him in a -hackney-carriage in which we returned from Paris to Versailles one -night." - -"You know what love is, Andrea," queried Gilbert, mournfully. - -"I know that love has been given as a standard by which we can measure -how much sadness we can endure," replied she. - -"It is well: you are a true woman and a true mother: a rough diamond, -you were shaped by the stern lapidary known as Grief. Return to -Sebastian." - -"Yes, I see him leaving the house with clenched hands and knit brow. He -wanders up the street--he goes up to a woman and asks her for St. Honore -Street----" - -"My street: he was seeking for my house. Poor child! he will be there -awaiting me." - -"Hold! he has gone astray--he is in New St. Roch Street. Oh, he does not -see that vehicle coming down Sourdiere Street, but I see the -horses--Ah!" - -She drew herself up with an awful scream, maternal anguish depicted on -her visage, down which rolled tears and perspiration. - -"Oh, if harm befalls him, remember that it will recoil on your head," -hissed Gilbert. - -"Ah," sighed Andrea in relief, without hearing or heeding him, "God in -heaven be praised! it is the horse's breast which struck him, and he is -thrown out of the rut of the wheel. There he lies, stunned, but he is -not killed. Only swooned. Hasten to help him. It is my son! They form a -crowd round him: is there not a doctor or surgeon among them all?" - -"Oh, I shall run," said Gilbert. - -"Wait," said Andrea, stopping him by the arm, "they are dividing to let -help come. It is the doct--oh, do not let that man approach him--I -loathe him--he is a vampire, he is hideous!" - -"Oh, for heaven's sake, do not lose sight of Sebastian," said Gilbert, -shuddering. - -"This ghoul carries him away--up the street--into the blind alley, -called St. Hyacinthe: where he goes down some steps. He places him on a -table where books and printed papers are heaped. He takes off his coat -and rolls up his sleeve. He ties the arm with bandages from a woman as -dirty and hideous as himself. He finds a lance in a case--he is going to -bleed him. Oh, I cannot bear to see my son's blood flow. Run, run, and -you will find him as I say." - -"Shall I awaken you at once with recollection: or would you sleep till -the morning and know nothing of what has happened?" - -"Awaken me at once with full memory." - -Gilbert described a double curve with his hands so that his thumbs came -upon the medium's eyelids; he breathed on her forehead and said merely: - -"Awake!" - -Instantly her eyes became animated; her limbs were supple; she looked at -Gilbert almost without terror, and continuing, though aroused, the -impulse in her vision, she cried: - -"Oh, run, run, and snatch the boy from the hands of that man who causes -me so much fright!" - - - - -CHAPTER XV. - -THE MAN WITH THE MODEL. - - -With no need to be spurred in his quest, Gilbert darted through the -rooms and as it would have taken too long to climb the walls, he made -for the front door, which he opened himself and bounded out on the -street. - -Knowing Paris intimately, he reached the spot indicated by Andrea in her -vision without delay and his first question to a storekeeper, who had -witnessed the accident to the boy, confirmed the statement. - -He proceeded straightway to the door in the alley, and knocked. - -"Who knocks?" challenged a woman's voice. - -"I, the father of the wounded child whom you succored," replied the -knocker. - -"Open, Albertine," said a man's voice: "it is Dr. Gilbert." - -He was let into a cellar, or rather cavern, down some moldering steps, -lighted by a lamp set on the table cumbered with printed papers, books -and manuscripts as Andrea had described. - -In the shadow, and on a mattress, young Gilbert lay, but held out his -arms to his father, calling him. However powerful the philosophical -command in Gilbert, paternal love overruled decorum, and he sprang to -the boy whom he pressed to his breast, with care not to hurt his bruised -chest or his cut arm. After a long, fond kiss, he turned to thank the -good Samaritan. He was standing with his feet far apart, one hand on the -table, the other on his hip, lit by the lamp of which he had removed the -shade the better to illumine the scene. - -"Look, Albertine," said he, "and with me thank the chance enabling me to -do a good turn for one of my brothers." - -The speaker was a green and sallow man, like one of those country clowns -whom Latona's wrath pursued and who was turning to a frog. Gilbert -shuddered, thinking that he had seen this abortion before as through a -sheet of blood. - -He drew nearer to Sebastian and hugged him once more. But triumphing -over his first impulse, he went back to the strange man who had so -appalled Andrea in the second-sight vision, and said: - -"Receive all the thanks of a father, sir, for having preserved his son: -they are sincere and come right from his heart." - -"I have merely done my duty as prescribed by nature and recommended by -science," replied the other. "I am a man, and as Terence says, nothing -human is foreign to me; besides, I have a tender heart, and cannot see -even an insect suffer; consequently still less my fellow man." - -"May I learn to what fervent philanthropist I have the honor to speak?" - -"Do you not know your brother-physician?" said the surgeon, laughing in -what he wanted to seem benevolence though it was ghastly. "I know you, -Dr. Gilbert, the friend of the American patriots, and of Lafayette!" He -laid peculiar stress on this name. "The republican of America and -France, the honorable Utopist who has written magnificent articles on -constitutional government, which you sent to Louis XVI. from the States, -and for which he lodged you in the Bastile, the moment you touched -French soil. You wanted to save him by clearing the road to the future, -and he opened that into jail--regular royal gratitude!" - -He laughed again, this time terribly and threateningly. - -"If you know me it is a farther reason for me to insist on learning to -whom I am indebted." - -"Oh, it is a long while since we made acquaintance," said the surgeon. -"Twenty years, sir, on the dreadful night of the thirtieth of May, 1770; -the night when the fireworks exploded by accident among the people in -the Paris square, and injured and killed many who came to rejoice over -the wedding of the Archduchess and our Prince Royal, but who had to -curse their names. You were but a boy whom Rousseau brought to me, -wounded and crushed almost to death, and I bled you on a board amid the -dead and the cut-off limbs. Yet that awful night is a pleasant memory to -me for I was able to save many existences by my steel knowing where to -dissever to preserve life and where to cut to spare pain." - -"You are Jean Paul Marat, then," cried Gilbert, falling back a step -despite himself. - -"Mark, Albertine, that my name makes some effect," said Marat with a -sinister laugh. - -"But I thought you were physician to Count Artois; why are you in this -cave, why lighted by this smoky lamp?" - -"I was the Prince's veterinary surgeon, you mean. But he emigrated? no -prince, no stables; no stables, no vet. Besides, I gave in my -resignation, for I would no longer serve the tyrants." - -The dwarf drew himself up to the full extent of his form. - -"But, in short, why are you in this hole?" - -"Because, Master Philosopher, I am a sound patriot writing to decry the -ambitious; Bailly fears me, Necker detests me, and Lafayette sets the -National Guard on to hunt me down and has put a price on my head--the -aspiring dictator! but I brave him! out of my hole, I pursue him, and -denounce the Caesar. Do you know what he has done? He has had fifteen -thousand snuffboxes made with his portrait on them, which hides some -trick. So I entreat all good citizens to smash them when found. It is -the rallying sign for the great Royalist Plot, for you cannot be -ignorant that Lafayette is conspiring with the Queen while poor Louis is -blubbering scalding tears over the blunders the Austrian is leading him -into. - -"The Queen," said Gilbert pensively. - -"Yes; don't tell me that she is not plotting: lately she gave away so -many white cockades that white ribbon went away up in the market. It is -a fact, for I had it from one of the workgirls of Bertin the dressmaker, -her Prime Minister in Fashions, who used to say: 'I have been discussing -matters this morning with her Majesty.'" - -"And how do you denounce such things?" inquired the doctor. - -"In my newspaper, the one I have just started, twenty numbers having -appeared. It is 'The Friend of the people or the Parisian Publicist,' an -impartial political organ. To pay for the paper and the printing--look -behind you--I have sold the sheets and blankets off my bed." - -Turning, Gilbert indeed saw that Sebastian lay on the mattress -absolutely bare, but he had fallen asleep, overcome with pain and -fatigue. He went up to him to see that it was not a swoon, but reassured -by the regular breathing he, returned to this journalist, who -irresistibly inspired him with the interest we feel for a hyena, tiger -or other wild beast. - -"Who help you in this gigantic work?" he inquired. - -"My staff?" sneered Marat. "Ha, ha, ha! the geese fly in files: the -eagle soars alone. My helpers are these," and he showed his head and -hands. "I write the whole paper single handed--I can show you the copy, -though it runs into sixteen pages octavo sometimes, and often I use -small type though I commenced with large. So, it is not merely a -newspaper--but a personality--it is Marat!" - -"Enormous labor--how do you manage it?" asked the other doctor. - -"It is the secret of nature--a compact I have made with death. I have -given ten years of my life, so that I need no rest by day and no sleep -by night. My existence is summed up in writing: I do it day and night. -Lafayette's police coop me up in this cell, where they chain me body and -soul to my work: they have doubled my activity. It was heavy on me at -first but I am inured to it. It delights me now to see poor humanity -through this airhole, by the narrow and slanting beam. From my gloomy -den I judge mankind living, and science and politics without appeal. -With one hand I demolish the savants, with the other the politicians. I -shall upset the whole state of things, like Samson destroying the -Temple, and under the ruins perhaps crushing me, I shall bury the -throne!" - -In spite of himself the hearer shuddered: in his rags and the -poverty-stricken vault this man repeated very nearly what Cagliostro had -said in his palace under his embroidered clothes. - -"But when you are so popular, why do you not try for a nomination in the -National Assembly?" he asked. - -"Because the day has not come for that," replied the demagogue; -expressing his regret, he continued, "Oh, were I a tribune of the -masses, sustained by only a few thousand of determined men, I answer for -the Constitution being perfectly safe in six weeks: the political -machine should move better: no villain would dare play ticks with it: -the Nation should be free and happy: in less than a year, it should be -flourishing and redoubtable: and thus would it remain while I was -erect." - -The vain creature was transformed under Gilbert's eyes: his eyes became -bloodshot; his yellow skin shone with sweat; the monster became great in -his hideousness as another is grand in his beauty. - -"Yes, but I am not a representative," he proceeded, resuming his train -of ideas from where he had interrupted himself: "I have not the -thousands of followers. No, but I am a journalist, and have my weapons -and ammunition, my subscribers and readers, for whom I am an oracle, a -prophet and a diviner. I have my following for whom I am a friend, and I -lead them on, trembling, from treachery to treachery, discovery to -discovery, from one dreadful thing to another. In the first number of -The Friend of the People, I denounced the upper classes saying that -there were six hundred guilty wretches in France and that number of -ropes-ends would do the job: but I made a mistake, ha, ha! The deeds of -the fifth and sixth of October opened my eyes and I see that we must -hang twenty thousand of the patricians." - -Gilbert smiled, for fury elevated to this point, seemed madness to him. - -"Why, there is not enough hemp in France to do this work, and rope would -go up in price," he said. - -"That is why I am looking round for some other means," returned Marat, -"more expeditious and novel. Do you know whom I expect this evening? one -of our brother medicos, a member of the National Assembly whom you must -know by name, Dr. Guillotin----" - -"The one who moved that the Assembly, expelled from the Session Hall at -Versailles, should meet in the Tennis Court a learned man?" - -"Do you know what this able citizen has discovered? a marvellous machine -which kills without pain, for death must be punishment not torture; he -has invented it and we shall try it one of these mornings." - -Gilbert started: this was the second time that this brother Invisible -reminded him of the Chief, Cagliostro; no doubt this death-machine was -the same he had spoken of. - -"But you are lucky--a knock! it is he. Run and open the door, -Albertine." - -The hag, who was the wife--rather the female mate of Marat--rose from -the stool on which she was squatting, and staggered half asleep towards -the door. - -Giddy with terror, Gilbert went instinctively towards Sebastian, ready -to take him in his arms and flee. - -"Just think of an automatic executioner," said Marat, enthusiastically, -"with no need of a man to set it going; which can, if the knife is -changed a couple of times, cut off three hundred heads a-day!" - -"And add," said a bland, melodious voice, behind Marat, "which can cut -off these heads without other sensation than a slight coolness around -the neck." - -"Oh, is this you, doctor?" exclaimed Marat, turning towards a dapper -little man of forty or so, whose gentle demeanor and spruce dress made a -marked contrast with his host: in his hand he carried a small box such -as children's toys are kept in. "What are you bringing us?" - -"A model of my machine, my dear Marat. But I see Dr. Gilbert here, -unless I mistake," said the little dandy, trying to pierce the -obscurity. - -"The same, sir," said the other visitor bowing. - -"Enchanted to meet you, sir; you are only too welcome, and I shall be -happy to have the opinion of so distinguished a man on my invention. I -must tell you, my dear Marat, that I have found a skillful carpenter, -named Guidon, to make my machine on the working scale. He is dear, -though, wanting five thousand five hundred francs; but no sacrifice is -too great for me to make for humanity. In two months it will be built, -and we can try it: I shall propose it to the Assembly. I hope you will -approve of it in your excellent new paper, though, in sober earnest, the -machine recommends itself, as you will see with your own eyes, Dr. -Gilbert. But a few lines in the People's Friend will do no harm." - -"Be easy on that score; it is not a few lines but a whole number that I -shall dedicate to it." - -"You are too good, Marat; but I am not going to let you puff a pig in a -poke." - -He took out of his pocket a much smaller box, in which a sound indicated -that some little live thing or several such were fidgeting in their -prison. This noise did not escape Marat's subtle hearing. - -"What have you got there?" he asked, putting out his hand towards the -box. - -"Mind," said the doctor, drawing it back, "do not let them escape as we -could not catch them again; they are mice whose heads we are going to -nick off with the machine. What, are you going to leave us, Dr. -Gilbert?" - -"Alas, yes, sir, to my great regret; but my son, wounded by being run -over by a horse just now, has been relieved by Friend Marat, to whom I -also owe my own life in an almost similar affair. I have to thank him -again. The boy needs a fresh bed, cares and repose: so that I cannot -witness your interesting experiment." - -"But you will come and see the one with the real machine, in two months, -you promise, doctor?" - -"I pledge my word." - -"Doctor," said Marat, "I need not say, keep my abode secret. If your -friend Lafayette were to discover it he would have me shot like a dog, -or hung like a thief." - -"Shooting, hanging," exclaimed Guillotin. "But we shall put an end to -these cannibal deaths. We shall have a death, soft, easy, instantaneous, -such as old people, disgusted with their life and wishful to pass away -like sages and philosophers, will prefer to a natural one. Come and see -how it works, Marat!" - -And without troubling any farther about Dr. Gilbert, the enthusiast -opened his larger box and began to set up on the table a model -apparatus which the surgeon regarded with curiosity equal to his -enthusiasm. - -Gilbert profited by their being so engaged, to carry away Sebastian, -guided by Albertine who fastened up the outer door after him. - -Once in the street, he felt the night wind chill the perspiration -gathered on his brow. - -"Heavens," he muttered, "what will happen to a city where the cellars -perhaps hide five hundred lovers of mankind who are occupied with such -work as we have a sample of there? one day they will perform in broad -daylight before the crowd." - -It was little distance to his house in St. Honore Street. - -The cold revived Sebastian but his father would not let him walk. When -he knocked at his door, a heavy step was heard approaching. - -"Is that you, Dr. Gilbert?" challenged one within. - -"That is Pitou's voice," said the boy. - -"Praise heaven, Sebastian is found," shouted Pitou on opening the door. -"Master Billet," he shouted still more loudly, "Sebastian is found, and -all right, I hope, doctor?" - -"Without any serious hurt, anyway," replied the other, "Come, -Sebastian." - -He carried his son up to his bed. - -Pitou followed with the light; by his mud-bespattered shoes and -stockings it was plain that he had come a long journey. - -Indeed, after taking the broken-hearted Catherine home and learning from -her lips that her deep sorrow came from Isidore Charny being called away -to Paris, he took leave of her and Mother Billet, weeping by her -bedside, and went home to Haramont. He walked so slowly that he did not -get there until daybreak. - -He fell off to sleep so that it was not till he awoke, that he found the -youth's letter. Immediately he started to overtake him. - -He girded up with a leather strap, took some bread and with a walking -stick in his fist, proceeded to town, where he arrived at eight that -night. - -He found neither the doctor nor his son at home--only Farmer Billet. - -This hearty, robust man, unnerved by the bloody scenes witnessed since -the Taking of the Bastile, of which enterprise he was the leader, had no -news for Pitou. - -Their sad waiting was rewarded by the double arrival. - -Though tranquil about Sebastian, Pitou, when sent to bed had his budget -to unfold to the farmer. Let no reader think that he revealed -Catherine's secrets and spoke of her amour with the young noble. The -honest soul of the Commander of the Haramont National Guard would not -stoop to that story. But he told Billet that the harvest was bad, the -barley a failure, part of the wheat wind-laid, and the barns but a third -full--and that he had found Catherine on the road. - -Billet was little vexed about the grain, but the illness of his daughter -distressed him. - -He ran to Dr. Gilbert with a sad face as the latter was finishing this -note to Andrea: "Be of good heart; the child is found, with no one -hurt." - -"Dr. Gilbert, you were right to retain me in town where I might be -useful; but everything has been going wrong in the country while the -good man is away." - -Gilbert agreed with his friend that a hearty buxom girl like Catherine -should not faint on the public road. Feeling with a parent, he -responded: - -"Go home, my dear Billet, since land and family call you. But do not -forget that I shall claim you in the name of the country." - -Thus Billet returned home after an absence of three months, although he -had intended to be away only a week. - -Pitou followed him, bearing twenty-five louis destined from Gilbert for -the equipment and maintenance of the Haramont National Guard. - -Sebastian stayed with his father. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI. - -THE PORTRAIT OF CHARLES FIRST. - - -A week has passed since the events related. Everybody was saying: The -Revolution is finished; the King is delivered from Versailles, and his -courtiers and evil counsellors. The King is placed in life and -actuality. He had heretofore the license to work wrong; now he has full -liberty to do good. - -The dread from the riots had brought the conservatives over to the -royalty. The Assembly had been frightened, too, and saw that it depended -on the King. A hundred and fifty of its members took to flight. - -The two most popular men, Lafayette and Mirabeau, became royalists. The -latter wanted the other to unite with him to save the crown, but while -honorable Lafayette had a limited brain, he did not see the orator's -genius. - -Mirabeau was all for the Duke of Orleans, whom Lafayette advised, nay, -ordered to quit the kingdom. - -"But suppose I come back without your permission?" said the prince. - -"Then, I hope you will do me the honor to cross swords with me at the -first battle," replied the marquis. - -He was the veritable ruler and the duke had to depart; he did not return -until called to be King of the French. - -Lafayette had saved the Queen and protected the King; he was perfectly a -royalist. - -But still, like Gilbert, he was not so much the friend of the King as of -the crown. - -The monarch had too just a mind not to see this clearly. - -Although he had not seen the doctor lately he remembered that this was -his day of duty and he called him. - -The King was pacing the bedroom, but stopping now and then to look at -the Vandyke picture of Charles First, now in the Louvre. - -The sovereign of England is painted as a Cavalier, with his horse, as -ready for flight as for battle. - -This picture seemed fatally the goal of the King's wanderings. - -At the step, Louis turned round. - -"Oh, is it you, doctor?" he said. "Come in, I am glad to see you." -Leading him up to the painting he said: "Do you know this? where did you -see it?" - -"In Lady Dubarry's house, when I was a boy, but it deeply struck me." - -"Yes, she pretended to be descended from the page who holds the horse. -Jeanne Dubarry was the woman chosen by Marshal Richelieu to be the sole -feminine ruler over the worn-out monarch Louis XV. and to induce him to -shut up the infamous Deerpark, which was the harem ruining the old man. -She was an adroit actress and played her part marvellously. She -entertained while making sport of him, and he became manly because she -persuaded him he was so." - -He stopped as if blaming himself for his imprudence in speaking of his -grandfather thus openly before a stranger; but one glance at Gilbert's -frank face encouraged him, for he saw that he could speak all to a man -who understood every thing. - -"This melancholy, lofty face," went on the King, referring to the -portrait, "was placed in the strange Egeria's boudoir, where it heard -her impudent laughs and saw her lascivious gambols. Merrily she would -take Louis by the arm and show him Charles, saying: 'Old gossip, this -King had his neck cut through because he was too weak towards his -Parliament. Take warning about your own!' Hence Louis broke up his -Parliament and died peacefully on his throne. Thereupon we exiled the -poor woman, for whom we ought to have been most indulgent. The picture -was packed away in the lumber room of Versailles and I never thought -about it. Now, how comes it here, in my bedroom? why does it haunt me?" -He shook his head. "There is some fate in this." - -"Fatality, if the portrait reads no lesson, Sire; Providence if it does. -What does it say to your Majesty?" - -"That Charles lost his throne from having made war on his subjects, and -James the Second for having tired his own." - -"Like me, then, it speaks the truth." - -"Well?" inquired the sovereign, questioning the doctor with his glance. - -"Well, I beg to ask for your answer to the portrait." - -"Friend Gilbert, I have resolved on nothing: I will take the cue from -circumstances." - -"The people fear that your Majesty purposes war upon them." - -"No, sir," he rejoined, "I cannot make war on them without foreign -support and I know the state of Europe too well to rely on that. The -King of Prussia offers to enter France at the head of a hundred thousand -men; but I too well know his ambitious and intriguing spirit--a petty -monarchy which wishes to become a great one, thriving on turmoil and -hoping to catch some fish like another Silesia. On her part, Austria -places a hundred thousand men at my call; but I do not like my -brother-in-law Leopold, a two-faced Janus, whose mother, Marie Theresa, -had my father poisoned. - -"My brother Artois proposes the support of Sardinia and Spain, but I do -not trust those powers, led by Artois. Beside him is Calonne, in other -words, the Queen's worst enemy, the one who annotated with his own hand -the pamphlet of the Countess Lamotte Valois anent the conspiracy of the -Queen's Necklace, for which she was branded. I know all that is going on -yonder. In their last council a debate ensued about deposing me and -appointing a regent who would be probably my dear, very dear brother -Count Provence. Prince Conde suggested marching with an enemy upon -Lyons, 'whatever happened me at Paris!' - -"It is another thing with the Great Empress Catherine; she confines -herself to advice, bless her! you can understand that when you reflect -that she is at table digesting Poland and cannot rise until she has -finished her feast. She gives me advice which aims to be sublime but is -only ridiculous, considering what has lately occurred. She says: -'Monarchs ought to proceed on their course like the moon in her orbit, -without being disturbed by the baying of curs!'--that is, the protests -of the common people. It appears that the Russian curs merely bark; -ours do some biting, as you may learn of my poor Lifeguardsmen, torn to -pieces by them." - -"The people thought that your Majesty was going to quit the country." - -"Doctor," said the King after hesitating, and he laid his hand on the -other's shoulder, "I have promised you the truth and you shall have it -thoroughly. Such a matter has been broached; it is the opinion of many -faithful servitors surrounding me that I ought to flee. But on the sixth -of October night, when weeping in my arms, the Queen besought me never -to flee without her, and that we should all depart together, to be saved -or die in company. I shall keep my word; and as I do not think that we -could flee in such a number without being stopped, a dozen times before -we got to the frontier, I conclude that we shall never get away." - -"Well, Sire, there is indeed no need of the foreigners. What would be -the use until you shall exhaust your own resources? My advice is that we -are only beginning the fight and that the Taking of the Bastile and the -attack on the Palace at Versailles are only the two first acts in the -tragedy to be played by France under the eyes of Europe." - -"I hope you are mistaken, sir," replied Louis, slightly turning pale: -"My police tell me nothing like this." - -"I have no police or information to check them; but in my position I am -the natural conductor between the heavens and what is still concealed in -the bowels of the earth. Sire, what we have experienced is merely the -rumble that runs before the earthquake; we have yet to meet the lava, -the fire and the smoke. I fear that the Revolutionary torrent will run -ahead of us. There are only two methods to save yourself. One is to -place yourself on the foremost breaker and be carried on with it." - -"I do not wish to go where it would carry me." - -"The second is to place a barrier across the tide. It is Genius and -Popularity in one dam: and it is named Mirabeau." - -"The King looked Gilbert in the face as though he had misunderstood him; -then turning to the portrait, he said: - -"What would you have replied, Charles Stuart, if when you felt the -ground quake beneath your feet, some one had suggested your leaning on -Cromwell?" - -"He would have refused, and rightly; for there is no likeness between -Cromwell and Mirabeau." Such was Gilbert's answer. - -"They were both traitors." - -"Sire," replied the other with profound respect but invincible firmness; -"neither were traitors: Cromwell was a rebellious subject, and Mirabeau -is a discontented nobleman." - -"What is he discontented with?" - -"With his father, who locked him up in prison; the courts which -condemned him to death; with the King who miscomprehended and still -miscomprehends his genius." - -"The spirit of a public man is honesty," said the King quickly. - -"The reply is fine, worthy of Titus, Trajan or Marcus Aurelius, -unluckily many examples arise to the contrary." - -"How can you ask me to confide in a man who has a price?" - -"Because he is a man of his price. If he will sell himself for a -million, it is a bargain. Do you think he is worth twice a Polignac?" - -"You are pleading for a friend." - -"I have not that honor: but he has a friend who is of the Queen's party, -too." - -"Count Lamarck? We cast it up to him every day." - -"On the contrary, your Majesty ought to dissuade him breaking the -friendship with him, under pain of death. Mirabeau is a noble, an -aristocrat, a King's-man above all. He was elected by the people because -the nobles scorned him and he had sublime disdain of the means to attain -an end which genius thirsted for. You may say that he will never quit -the party of his constituents to join the court party? Why is there not -union of the court and plebeians? Mirabeau could make them one. Take -him, my lord! To-morrow, rebuffed by your despisal, he may turn against -you, and then you will say, as the portrait of your Martyr King will -say: All is lost!" - -"I will talk this over with the Queen, sir," said the monarch, having -turned pale and hesitatingly glanced at the royal portrait. "She may -decide on speaking with Mirabeau: but I will not. I like to be able to -shake hands with those I confer with, and I could never take the hand of -a Mirabeau, though my life, my liberty, and my throne were at -stake--After she shall have seen him, we will see----" - -"I pray God that it will not be too late." - -"Do you believe the peril so imminent?" - -"Sire, do not let the portrait of Charles First be removed from your -room," said Gilbert; "it is a good adviser." - -Bowing, he went forth as another visitor appeared on the sill. He could -not restrain from a cry of surprise. This gentleman was Marquis Favras, -whom he had met at Cagliostro's a week or so before and to whom the -magician had predicted a near and shameful death. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII. - -THE KING ATTENDS TO PRIVATE MATTERS. - - -Louis the King displayed the usual irresolution in dealing with Favras' -proposition, approved by the Queen, to make a rush out of the kingdom. -He reflected all the night and at breakfast called for Count Charny. - -He was still at table when the officer walked in. - -"Won't you take breakfast with me, count?" - -Charny was obliged to excuse himself from the honor as he had broken his -fast. - -"I must ask you to wait a while as I never care to speak of important -matters while at meals and I have something to talk over with your -lordship. Let us speak of other matters for the moment. Of yourself, for -instance. I hear that you are badly lodged here; somewhere in the -garret, my lord, while the countess is lodging in Paris." - -"Sire, I am in a room of my own choice: the countess is dwelling in her -own house in Coq-Heron Street." - -"I must confess my ignorance; is it near the palace?" - -"Tolerably, Sire." - -"What does this mean that after only three years of married life, you -have separate establishments?" - -"Sire, I have no answer to make than that my lady wishes to live alone. -I have not had the pleasure of seeing her since your Majesty sent me for -news. That is, better than a week ago." - -The King understood grief more readily than melancholy and noticed the -difference in the tone. - -"Count, there is some of your fault in this estrangement," said the -monarch, with the familiarity of the family man, as he called himself. - -"The man must be to blame when so charming a woman keeps aloof from him. -Do not tell me that this is none of my business: for a king can do a -great deal by speaking a word. You must treat the lady ungratefully, for -she loves you dearly--or did when Lady Taverney." - -"Sire, you know that one must not dispute with a king." - -"I do not know that the signs were visible to me alone; but this I know -very well that on that dreadful October night, when she came to join us, -she did not lose sight of you throughout, and her eyes expressed all her -soul's anguish, so much so that I saw her make a movement to fling -herself between you and danger when the Bullseye Saloon door was beaten -down." - -Count Charny was not softened; he believed he had seen something of this -sort: but the details of his recent interview with his wife were too -distinct for him to have his opinion shaken. - -"I was paying all the more attention to her," went on Louis, "from the -Queen having said when you were sent to the City Hall while I was on my -journey to Paris, that she almost died of distress in your absence and -of joy at your return." - -"Sire," replied Charny with a sad smile, "God had allowed those who are -born above us to receive in birth as a privilege of their rank, the gift -of seeing deeper into one's heart than oneself can do; the King and the -Queen have perceived secrets unrevealed to me: but my limited vision -prevents me seeing the same. Therefore I beg to be employed on any -dangerous errand or one that would take me to a distance without -considering the great love of the Countess of Charny. Absence or danger -will be equally welcome, coming at least for my part." - -"Nevertheless, a week ago, you appeared wishful to stay in town when the -Queen desired to despatch you to Italy." - -"I deemed my brother adequate for the position and reserved myself for a -mission more difficult or dangerous." - -"Then count, this is the very time when I have a difficult task to -entrust to you, that with danger to you in the future, that I spoke of -the countess's isolation and wished her to have a lady friend's company -while I took away her husband." - -"I will write to the countess, yes, write: for from the way she last -received me, I ought in that manner acquaint her with my movements." - -"Say no more on this head; I will talk it over with the Queen during -your absence," said Louis, rising. "Faith, the medical lights are right -to say that things look differently as you handle them before or after a -hearty meal. Come into my study, count; I feel in a mood to talk -straight out to you." - -Charny followed, thinking how much Majesty lost by this material side, -for which the proud Marie Antoinette was always carping at him. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII. - -THE KING ATTENDS TO PUBLIC MATTERS. - - -Though the King had been only a fortnight in the Tuileries he had two -places fitted out completely for him. The forge was one, the study the -other. - -Charny walked up to the desk at which his royal master seated himself -without looking round at the papers with which he was familiar. - -"Count Charny," began the King at last, yet seeming to halt, "I noticed -one thing, on the night of the attack by the rioters, you stood by me -while you set your brother on guard over the Queen." - -"Sire, it was my right as head of my family, as you are chief of the -realm, to die for you." - -"That made me think, that if ever I had a secret errand, difficult and -dangerous, I could rely on your loyalty as a Frenchman, and on your -heart as a friend's." - -"Oh, Sire, however the King may raise me, I have no pretension to -believe that I shall be more than a faithful and thankful subject." - -"My lord, you are a grave man though but thirty-six; you have not passed -through recent events without drawing some conclusion from them. What do -you think of the situation and what would be your means to relieve me, -if you were my Premier?" - -"Sire, I am a soldier and a seaman," returned Charny, with more -hesitation than embarrassment, "these high social questions fly over my -head." - -"Nay, you are a man," said the sovereign with a dignity in holding out -his hand which sprang from the quandary; "another man, who believes you -to be his friend, asks you, purely and simply, what you, with your -upright heart and healthy mind, would do in his place." - -"Sire, in a no less serious position, the Queen asked my opinion: the -day after the Taking of the Bastile, when she wanted to fling the -foreign legions upon the mobs. My reply would have embroiled me with her -Majesty had I been less known to her and my respect and devotion less -plain. I said that your Majesty must not enter these walls as a -conqueror if he could not as a father of his people." - -"Well, my lord, is not that the counsel I followed? The question is was -I right? am I here as a King or a captive?" - -"Speaking in full frankness, I disapproved of the banquet at Versailles, -supplicating the Queen not to go there; I was in despair when she threw -down the tricolor and set up the black cockade of Austria." - -"Do you believe that led really to the attack on the palace?" - -"No, Sire; but it was the cover for it. You are not unjust for the lower -orders; they are kindly and love you--they are royalist. But they are in -pain from cold and hunger; beneath and around them are evil advisers, -who urge them on, and they know not their own strength. Once started -they become flood or fire, for they overwhelm or they consume." - -"Well, what am I to do? supposing, as is natural enough, I do not want -to be drowned or burned." - -"We must not open the sluices to the flood or windows to the flame. But -pardon me forgetting that I should not speak thus, even on a royal -order----" - -"But you will on a royal entreaty. Count Charny, the King entreats -you--to continue." - -"Well, Sire, there are two strata of the lower orders, the soil and the -mud; the one which may be reposed upon and the other which will yield -and smother one. Distrust one and rest on the other." - -"Count, you are repeating at two hours' interval, what Dr. Gilbert told -me." - -"Sire, how is it that after taking the advice of a learned man, you ask -that of a poor naval officer like me?" - -"Because there is a wide difference between you, I believe. Dr. Gilbert -is devoted to royalty and you to the King. If the principle remains -safe, he would let the King go." - -"Then there is a difference between us, for the King and the principle -are inseparable for me," responded the nobleman; "under this head it is -that I beg your Majesty to deal with me." - -"First, I should like to hear to whom you would apply in this space of -calm between two storms perhaps, to efface the wreck made by one and -soothe the coming tempest." - -"If I had the honor and the misfortune to be the wearer of the crown, I -should remember the cheers I heard round my carriage, and I should hold -out my hands to General Lafayette and Member Mirabeau." - -"Can you advise this when you detest one and scorn the other?" - -"My sympathies are of no moment, the whole question is the safety of the -crown and the salvation of the monarchy." - -"Just what Dr. Gilbert says," muttered the hearer as though speaking to -himself. - -"Sire, I am happy to be in tune with such an eminent man." - -"But if I were to agree to such a union and there should be failure, -what think you I ought to do?" - -"Think of your safety and your family's." - -"Then you suggest that I should flee?" - -"I should propose that your Majesty should retire with such regiments as -are reliable and the true nobles to some fortified place." - -"Ah," said the King with a radiant face: "but among the commanders who -have given proof of devotion, you knowing them all, to which would you -confide this dangerous mission, of guarding and removing the King?" - -"Sire," replied Charny, after hesitation, "it is not because ties of -friendship--almost of family--attach me to a certain nobleman that I -name him, but because he is known for his steadfast devotion; as -Governor of the Leeward Islands, he not only protected our possessions -in the Antilles, but captured some islands from the British: he had been -charged with various commands, and at present he is General Governor, I -believe, at Metz--this is the Marquis of Bouille. Were I a father, I -should trust my son to him; a subject, I would confide the King!" - -At the name the hearer could not repress an outcry of joy. He held out a -letter, saying: - -"Read this address, my lord, and see if Providence itself did not -inspire me to apply to you." - -The address ran: "To Lord Franois Claude Amour, Marquis of Bouille, -General Commander at Metz." - -"After what has happened, I do not feel that I ought to keep anything -back from you. I have thought of this flight before, but in all the -propositions was the hand of Austria beckoning me into a trap, and I -have recoiled. I do not love Austria more than you do yourself." - -"Sire, you forget that I am the faithful subject of the King and the -Queen of France." He emphasized the second title. - -"I have already told you, count," went on the King, "that you are a -friend, and I can speak the more frankly as the prejudice I cherished -against the Queen is completely effaced from my mind. But it was against -my will that I received into my house the double enemy of my line, as an -Austrian and a Lorrainer. After ten years' struggle it was despite my -will that I had to charge Lord Breteuil with the management of my -household and the government of Paris; make the Premier of the -Archbishop of Toulouse, an atheist; lastly, pay to Austria the millions -she extorted from the Low Countries. At present speaking, who succeeds -the dead Maria Theresa, to counsel and direct the Queen? Her brother -Joseph II., who is luckily dying. He is advised by old women of -councillors who sway the Queen of France through her hairdresser Leonard -and her dressmaker Bertin. - -"They are pensioned by us while they are leading her to alliance with -Austria. Austria has always been fatal to France, either as foe or -friend, as when she put the dagger in Jacques Clement's or Ravaillac's -or Damien's to slay our kings. Formerly it was Catholic and devout -Austria, but she is abjuring now and is partly philosophical under -Joseph; rashly, she runs against her own sword, Hungary: without -foresight, she lets the Belgian priesthood rob her of the finest jewels -in her crown, the Low Countries; become the vassal of Russia, she wears -out her troops in fighting for it against the Turks, our allies. No, my -lord, I hate Austria and I will not trust to her. But I was saying that -her overtures of flight were not the only ones. I have had one proposed -by Marquis Favras. Do you know him?" - -"He was the captain in the Belgunze Regiment, and lieutenant in the -Count of Provence's own Guards." - -"You have hit it with the latter shot. What think you of him?" - -"He is a brave soldier and a loyal gentleman. Unfortunately he has no -means and this makes him restless and fit for mad projects and hazardous -attempts. But he is a man of honor who will die without retreating a -step, or uttering a complaint in order to keep his word. He may be -trusted to make a dash but not to manage an enterprise." - -"He is not the leader," said the King, with marked bitterness; "that is -Provence, who finds the means and manages all; devoted to the end, he -will remain while Favras bears me hence. This is not the plot of Austria -but of the fugitive princes and peers." - -"But why should not your Majesty's brother go with you? why would he -remain?" - -"Through devotion, and also to be at hand in case the people should be -tired of revolution and seek a regent. I tell you what all know, my dear -count, and what your brother wrote me yesterday from Turin. They debate -about deposing me and ruling by a regent. You see that unless in an -extremity I can no sooner accept the Favras plan than the Austrian. This -is what I have said to nobody, my dear count, but yourself, and I do it -in order that nobody, not even the Queen," he laid stress on the last -three words, "can make you more devoted to them than to me, since they -cannot show more confidence." - -"Sire, am I to keep the journey a secret from everybody?" inquired -Charny, bowing. - -"It little matters, count, that it should be known whither you go, as -long as the design is unknown. You know the situation, my fears and -hopes, better than my Minister Necker and my adviser Gilbert. Act -accordingly; I put the scissors and the thread in your hands--disentangle -or cut, as you see fit." - -He held the letter open for him to read: - -TUILERIES PALACE, Oct. 29th. - - "I hope, my lord, that you continue contented with your post as - Governor of Metz. Count Charny, Lieutenant of my Lifeguards, - passing through your city, will inquire if among your desires are - any I can gratify. In that event I will take the opportunity to be - agreeable to you as I do this one to renew the assurance of my - feelings of esteem for your lordship. - -"LOUIS." - -"Now, my Lord Charny," said the King, "you have full power to make -promises to Bouille if you think he needs any; only do not commit me -farther than I can perform." - -For the second time he held out his hand. - -Charny kissed it with emotion forefending any fresh pledges, and went -forth, leaving his master convinced that he had acquired by his trust, -the heart of the servitor, better than by offerings of wealth and -favors such as he had lavished in the days of his power. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX. - -A LOVING QUEEN. - - -Charny left the King with his heart full of opposing feelings. - -The primary one, mounting to the surface over the tumultuous waves of -turbulent thoughts, was deep gratitude for the boundless confidence -testified to him. - -This imposed duties the more holy from his conscience not being dumb. He -remembered his wrongs towards this worthy monarch who laid his hand on -his shoulder as on a true friend at the time of danger. - -The more Charny felt guilty towards his master, the more ready he was to -devote himself to him. - -The more this respectful allegiance grew the lesser became the less pure -emotion which he had cherished for the Queen during years. - -This is the reason why he--having lost the vague hope which led him -towards Andrea for the test, as if she was one of those flowering shrubs -on the precipice edge by which a falling man can save himself--grasped -with eagerness this mission diverging him from the court. Here he felt -the double torment of being still loved by the woman whom he was ceasing -to love and of not being loved by her whom he was beginning to adore. - -Profiting by the coldness lately introduced into his relations with the -Queen, he went to her rooms with the intention of leaving a note to tell -of his departure when he found Weber awaiting him. - -The Queen wished to see him forthwith, and there is no eluding the -wishes of crowned heads in their palace. - -Marie Antoinette was in the opposite mood to her visitor's, she was -recalling her harshness towards him and his devotion at Versailles; at -the sight of the count's brother laid dead across her threshold she had -felt a kind of remorse; she confessed to herself that had this been the -count she would have badly paid him for the sacrifice. - -But had she any right to expect aught else than devotion of Charny? - -She admitted that she was stern and unfair towards him, when the door -opened and the gentleman appeared in the irreproachable costume of the -military officer on duty. - -But there was in his deeply respectful bearing something chilly which -repelled the magnetic flow from the Queen's heart, to go and seek in his -the tender, sweet and sad memories collected during four years. - -The Queen looked round her as though to try to ascertain why he remained -on the sill, and when assured it was a matter of his will, she said: - -"Come, my lord: we are alone." - -"I see that, but I do not see what in that fact should alter the bearing -of a subject to his sovereign." - -"When I sent Weber for you I thought that fond friends were going to -speak with one another." - -Charny smiled bitterly. - -"I understand that smile and that you say, inwardly, the Queen was -unjust at Versailles and is capricious here." - -"Injustice or caprice, a woman is allowed anything," returned Charny: "a -queen more than all." - -"Whatever the caprice, my friend," said Marie with all the witchingness -she could put in a voice or smile, "the Queen cannot do without you as -adviser or the woman without you as loved friend." - -She held out her hand, a little thinned but still worthy of a lovely -statue. He kissed it respectfully and was about to let it fall when he -felt her retain his. - -"I ought to have wept with you over the loss of your brother, slain for -my sake: well, I have been weeping these ten days since I have not seen -you: they are falling yet." - -Ah, if Charny could have surmised what a quantity of tears would follow -those, no doubt the immense grief would have made him fall at her feet, -and ask pardon for any grievances she had against him. - -But the future is enveloped in mystery which no human hand can unveil -before the hour and the black garb which Marie Antoinette was to wear to -the scaffold, was too thickly embroidered with gold for one to spy the -gloom of it. - -"Believe, my lady," he said, "that I am truly grateful for your -remembrance of me and sorrow for my brother? unfortunately I must be -brief as the King has entrusted me with a mission so that I leave in an -hour." - -"What, do you abandon us like the others?" - -"I repeat it is a mission." - -"But you refused the like a week ago!" - -"In a week much happens in a man's existence to alter his -determination." - -"Do you depart alone?" she asked, making an effort. - -She breathed again when he answered: "Alone." - -"Where do you go?" she asked, recovering from her weakness. - -"It is the King's secret, but he has none from you." - -"My lord, the secret is ours alike," said Marie Antoinette haughtily. -"But is it abroad or in the kingdom?" - -"The King alone can give your Majesty the desired information." - -"So you go away," said she, with profound sorrow overcoming the -irritation from Charny's reserve, "to run into dangers afar, and I am -not to know what they are!" - -"Wheresoever I go, you will have a devoted heart daring all for you: and -the dangers will be light since I expose my life in the service of the -two sovereigns whom I most venerate on earth." - -The Queen uttered a sob which seemed to tear out her heart; and she said -with a hand on her throat as if to keep down her gorge. - -"It is well--go! for you love me no longer." - -Charny felt a thrill run through him; it was the first time this haughty -woman and ruler had bowed unto him. - -At any other time and under any other circumstances, he must have fallen -at her feet if only to crave pardon; but the remembrance of what had -happened between him and the King recalled all his strength. - -"My lady," he said, "I should be a scoundrel if, after all the tokens of -kindness and confidence the King has showered on me, I were to assure -your Majesty of anything but my respect and devotion." - -"It is very well," said she; "you are free to go." - -But when he departed without looking behind him, she waited till she -heard him, not returning, but continuing his departure, in the carriage -which rolled out of the courtyard. - -She rang for her foster-brother. - -"Weber," she ordered, "go to the Countess of Charny's residence and say -I must speak with her this evening. I had an appointment with Dr. -Gilbert, but I postpone that till the morning." - -She dismissed him with a wave of the hand. - -"Yes, politics to-morrow," she mused: "besides my conversation with -Andrea may influence me on the course I take." - - - - -CHAPTER XX. - -WITHOUT HUSBAND--WITHOUT LOVER. - - -The Queen was wrong for Charny did not go to his wife's house. He went -to the Royal Post to have horses put to his own carriage. But while -waiting, he wrote a farewell to Andrea which the servant who took his -horses home, carried to her. - -She was still dwelling over it, having kissed it with profound feeling, -when Weber arrived. Her answer to him was simply that she would conform -to her Majesty's orders. And she proceeded to the palace without dread -as without impatience. - -But it was not so with the Queen. Feverish, she had welcomed Count -Provence coming to see how Favras had been received, and she committed -the King more deeply than he had pledged himself. - -Provence went away delighted, thinking that the King would be removed, -thanks to the money he had borrowed from the Genoese banker Zannone, and -to Favras and his Hectors. Then he stood a chance of becoming Regent of -the realm, perhaps foreseeing that he would yet be King as Louis XVIII. - -If the forced departure of the King failed, he would take to flight with -what was left of the loan, and join his brothers in Italy. - -On his leaving, the Queen went to Princess Lamballe, on whom she made it -a habit to pour her woes or her joys in the absence of her other -favorites, Andrea or the Polignacs. - -Poor martyr! who dares grope in the darkness of alcoves to learn if this -friendship were pure or criminal, when inexorable History was coming -with feet red-shod in blood, to tell the price you paid for it? - -Then she went to dinner for an hour, where both chief guests were absent -in thought, the King thinking of Charny's quest, the Queen of the Favras -enterprise. - -While the former preferred anything to being helped by the foreigners, -the Queen set them first: for of course they were her people. The King -was connected with the Germans, but then the Austrians are not German to -the Germans. - -In the flight she was arranging she saw no such crimes as she was -afterwards taxed with: she felt justified in calling in the mailed hand -to avenge her for the slights and insults with which she was deluged. - -The King, as we have shown him, distrusted kings and princes. He relied -on the priests. He approved of all the decrees against nobles and -classes but not of the decree against the priests, which he vetoed. For -them he risked his greatest dangers. Hence the Pope, unable to make a -saint of him, made him a martyr. - -Contrary to her habit, the Queen gave little time to her children this -day; untrue to her husband in heart, she had no claim on their -endearments. Such odd contradictions are known only to woman's heart. - -The Queen retired early to her own rooms, where she shut herself up with -Weber as door-ward. She alleged that she had letters to write. - -The King little noticed her going, as some minor events engrossed him; -the Chief of Police was coming to confer with him. - -The Assembly had changed the old form in public documents of "King of -France and Navarre" to "King of the French": and it was debating on the -Rights of Man, when it had better be seeing to the Bread Question, more -pressing than ever. The arrival of the "Baker" and his family from -Versailles had not fed the famished people and the bakeries had strings -of customers at their doors. - -But the Assemblymen did not have to dance attendance for a loaf, and -they had a special baker, one Franois in Marchepalu Street, who set -aside rolls for them out of every baking. - -The head of the police was discussing the bread riots with the ruler -when Weber ushered Andrea into his mistress's presence. - -Though she expected her, Marie Antoinette started when her visitor was -announced. - -When they were girls together, at Taverney, they had made a kind of -agreement of love and duties exchanged in which the higher personage had -always had the advantage. - -Nothing annoys rulers so much as senses of obligation, particularly in -matters of affection. - -While thinking she had reproaches to cast on her friend, the Queen felt -under a debt to her. - -Andrea was always the same: pure and cool as the diamond but cutting and -invulnerable like it, too. - -"Be welcome, Andrea, as ever," said the Queen to this cold, walking -ghost. - -The countess shivered for she recognized some of the tone the Queen used -to speak with when the Dauphiness. - -"Needs must I tell your Majesty that she should not have had to send for -me without the royal residence, if I had always been spoken to, in that -tone?" said the countess. - -Nothing could better help the Queen than this opening: she greeted it as -facilitating her course. - -"Alas, you ought to know that all womankind have not your immutable -serenity," she said; "I, above all, who had to ask your aid so -generously accorded----" - -"The Queen speaks of a time forgotten by me and I believed gone from her -memory." - -"The reply is stern," said the other: "you might naturally hold me as -ungrateful: but what you took for ingratitude was but impotence." - -"I should have the right to accuse you, if ever I had asked you for -anything and my wish were opposed," said the countess, "but how can your -Majesty expect me to complain when I have sought nothing?" - -"Shall I tell you that it is just this indifference which shocks me; -yes, you seem a supernatural being brought from another sphere in some -whirlwind, and thrown among us like the crystal aerolites. One is -daunted by her weakness beside the never-weakening; but in the end -assurance returns, for supreme indulgence must be in perfection: it is -the purest source in which to lave the soul, and in profound grief, one -sends for the superhuman being for consolation, though her blame is -dreaded." - -"Alas, if your Majesty sends for me for this, I fear the expectation -will be disappointed." - -"Andrea, you forget in what awful plight you upheld me and comforted -me," said the Queen. - -Her hearer turned visibly paler. Seeing her totter and close her eyes -from losing strength, the Queen moved to support her but she resisted -and stood steady. - -"If your Majesty had pity on your faithful servant, you would spare her -memories which she had almost banished from her: she is a poor comforter -who seeks comfort from nobody, not even heaven, from doubt that even -heaven hath power to console certain sorrows." - -"Then you have others to tell of than what you have entrusted to me? the -time has come for you to explain, and that is why I sent for you. You -love Count Charny?" - -"I do," replied Andrea. - -"Oh!" groaned the Queen like a wounded lioness. "I thought as much. How -long since?" - -"Since I first laid eyes on him." - -Marie Antoinette recoiled from this statue which confessed it was -animated by a spirit. - -"And yet you said nothing?" - -"You perceived it, because you loved him." - -"No; but you mean that you loved him more than I, because you perceived -my love. If I see it now, it is because he loves me no longer say?" and -she clutched her arm. - -Andrea replied not by word, or sign. - -"This is enough to drive one mad," cried the royal lady. "Why not kill -me outright by telling me that he loves me not." - -"Count Charny's love or indifference to other women than his wife are -secrets of Count Charny. They are not for me to reveal," observed -Andrea. - -"His secrets? I dare say he has made you his bosom friend, indeed," -sneered the Queen with bitterness. - -"The count has never spoken to me of his love or indifference towards -your Majesty." - -"Not even this morning?" She fixed a soul penetrative glance upon her. - -"Not even this morning. He announced his departure to me by letter." - -"Ah, he wrote to you?" exclaimed the Queen in a burst which, like King -Richard's cry: "My kingdom for a horse!" implied that she would give her -crown for that letter. - -Andrea comprehended her absorbing desire but she wished to enjoy her -anxiety for a space, like a woman. At last, drawing the letter from her -corsage, warm and perfumed, she held it out to her royal mistress. The -temptation was too strong, and the latter opened it and read: - - "MY LADY: I am leaving town on a formal order from the King. I - cannot tell even you whither I go, wherefore, or how long I am to - stay away: these are matters probably little in import to you, but - I ought none the less to wish I were authorized to tell you. - - "I had the intention to take farewell of you: but I dared not - without your permission----" - -The Queen had learnt what she wanted to know, and was about to return -the writing, but Andrea bade her read to the end as if she had a claim -to command. - - "I refused the last mission offered me because, poor madman! I - believed that affection retained me in Paris: but I have - unfortunately acquired proof to the contrary, and I accept with joy - this opportunity to depart from hearts to which I am indifferent. - - "If, during this journey, that happens me which befel poor Valence, - all my measures are taken for you, my lady, to be _the first_ to - know of the misfortune visiting me and the liberty restored to you. - Then, only, will you learn what profound admiration was born in my - heart from your sublime devotion, so poorly recompensed by her to - whom you sacrificed youth, beauty and bliss. - - "All I beseech of heaven and you is your according me a remembrance - for having too late perceived the treasure he possessed. - - "With all the respect in my heart, - -"GEORGE OLIVER DE CHARNY." - -The reader returned the letter to Andrea, and let her hand fall inert by -her side, with a sigh. - -"Have I betrayed you," murmured the countess: "have I failed in the -faith you put me in, for I made no promises?" - -"Forgive me, for I have suffered so much," faltered Marie. - -"You, suffered," exclaimed the ex-lady of honor, "do you dare to talk to -me of suffering? what has happened me, then? Oh, I shall not say that I -suffered, for I would not use the word another did for painting the same -idea. I need a new one to sum up all griefs, pangs and pains,--you -suffer? but you have not seen the man you loved indifferent to that -love, and paying court on his bended knees to another woman! you have -not seen your brother, jealous of this other woman whom he adored in -silence as a pagan does his goddess, fight with the man you loved! you -have not heard this man, wounded it was thought mortally, call out in -his delirium for this other woman, whose confidential friend you were: -you have not seen this other prowling in the lobbies, where you were -wandering to hear the revelations of fever which prove that if a mad -passion does not outlive life it may follow one to the grave-brink! you -have not seen this beloved one, returning to life by a miracle of nature -and science, rising from his couch to fall at the rival's feet.---- I -say, rival, and one, from the standard of love being the measure of -greatness of ranks. In your despair you have not gone into the nunnery -at the age of twenty-five, trying to quiet at the cold crucifix your -scorching love: then, one day when you hoped to have damped with tears -if not extinguished the flame consuming you, you have not had this -rival, once your friend, come to you in the name of the former -friendship to ask you to be the wife of this very man whom you had -worshipped for three years--for the sake of her salvation as a wife, her -royal Majesty endangered----! - -"She was to be a wife without a husband, a mere veil thrown between the -crowd and another's happiness, like the shroud between the corpse and -the common eye: overruled by the compulsory duty, not by mercy, for -jealous love knows no pity--you sacrificed me--you accepted my immense -devotion. You did not have to hear the priest ask if you took for -helpmate the man who was not to be your husband: you did not feel him -pass the ring over your finger as the pledge of eternal love, while it -was a vain and meaningless symbol; you did not see your husband quit you -at the church door within an hour of the wedding, to be the gallant of -your rival! oh, madam, these three years has been of torture!" - -The Queen lifted her failing hand to seek the speaker's but it was -shunned. - -"I promised nothing, but see what I have done," said she. "But you -promised two things--not to see Count Charny, the more sacred as I had -not asked it; and, by writing, to treat me as a sister, also the more -sacred as I never solicited it. - -"Must I recall the terms of that pledge? I burnt the paper but I -remember the words; and thus you wrote: - - "'Andrea: You have saved me! my honor and my life are saved by you. - In the name of that reputation which costs you so dear, I vow that - you may call me sister; do it, and you will not see me blush. I - place this writing in your hands as pledge of my gratitude and the - dower I owe you. Your heart is the noblest of boons and it will - value aright the present I offer. - -'MARIE ANTOINETTE.'" - -"Forgive me, Andrea, I thought that he loved you." - -"Did you believe it the law of the affections that when one loves a -woman less he loves another woman more?" - -She had undergone so much that she became cruel in her turn. - -"So you too perceive his love falling off?" questioned the Queen -dolefully. - -Without replying Andrea watched the despairing sovereign and something -like a smile was defined on her lips. - -"Oh heaven, what must I do to retain this fleeting love? my life that -ebbs? Oh, if you know the way, Andrea, my friend and sister, tell me, I -supplicate you!" She held out both hands from which the other receded -one step. - -"How am I to know, who have never loved?" - -"Yes, but he may love you. Some day he will come to your arms for -forgiveness and to make amends for the past, asking your pardon for all -he has made you suffer: suffering is quickly forgotten, God be thanked! -in loving arms, pardon is soon granted to the beloved who gave pain." - -"This misfortune coming--and it would be that for both of us, madam, do -you forget the secret which I confided in you, how--before I became the -wife of Count Charny--I was mother of a son?" - -The Queen took breath. - -"You mean you will do nothing to bring Charny back to you?" she asked. - -"Nothing; no more in the future than in the past." - -"You will not tell him--will not let him suspect that you love him?" - -"No, unless he comes to tell me that he loves me." - -"But, if he should----" - -"Oh, madam," interrupted Andrea. - -"Yes, you are right, Andrea, my sister and friend; and I am unjust, -exacting and cruel. But when all falls away from me, friends, power and -fame, I may wish that at least this passion to which I have sacrificed -friendship, power and reputation, should be left to me." - -"And, now," went on the lady of honor, with the glacial coldness she had -laid aside only for a moment, when she spoke of the torments she had -undergone, "have you anything more to ask me--or fresh orders to -transmit?" - -"No, nothing, I thank you. I wished to restore you my friendship but you -will not accept it. Farewell; at least take my gratitude with you." - -Andrea waved away this second feeling as she had the former, and making -a cold and deep reverence, stole forth silently and slowly as a ghost. - -"Oh, body of ice, heart of diamond and soul of fire, you are right not -to wish either my friendship or my gratitude; for I feel--though the -Lord forgive me! that I hate you as I never hated any one--for if he -does not love you now, I foresee that he will love you some day." - -She called Weber to ask if Dr. Gilbert was coming next day. - -"At ten in the morning." - -Pleading that she was ailing and wearied, she forbade her ladies to -disturb her before ten, the only person she intended to see being -Gilbert. - - - - -CHAPTER XXI. - -WHAT A CUT-OFF HEAD MAY COUNSEL. - - -When Gilbert appeared before the Queen, she uttered a scream, for his -ruffles and part of his coat were torn and drops of blood stained his -shirt. - -"I ask pardon for presenting myself to your Majesty in this attire," he -said, "but your trusty servant who came to learn why I was late to the -appointment, will tell you that he found me in the midst of a mob, -trying to save a baker who was done to death for withholding bread. They -cut the poor fellow to pieces: and to make matters worse, in parading -his head on a pike it was shown to his wife who fell down and alas! has -been prematurely confined." - -"Poor woman," cried the Queen, "if she does not die I will see her -to-morrow and, any way, her child shall be maintained out of my private -purse." - -"Ah, madam," exclaimed Gilbert, "why cannot all France see these tears -in your eyes and hear these words from your lips!" - -But almost instantly the monarch returned to master the woman. She said -with a change of tone: - -"And are these, sir, the fruits of your revolution? after slaying the -great lords, the officials and the soldiery, the people are killing one -another; is there no means of dealing out justice to these cutthroats?" - -"We will try to do so; but it would be better to prevent the murders -than wait and punish the murderers." - -"How? the King and I ask nothing more fervently." - -"All these woes come from the people having lost confidence in those set -above them. Nothing of the kind would occur if they were ruled by men -with the public confidence." - -"You allude to this Mirabeau and Lafayette?" - -"I hoped that your Majesty had sent to tell me that the King was no -longer hostile to the Cabinet I proposed." - -"In the first place, doctor," replied the royal lady, "you fall into a -grave error shared with many more, I admit: you think that I have -influence over the King. You believe that he follows my inspirations? -You mistake: if any body has a sway over him, it is Lady Elizabeth; the -proof is that she yesterday sent one of my servitors, Count Charny, on -an errand without my knowing whither he goes or what is its aim." - -"Still, if your Majesty will surmount her repugnance to Mirabeau, I can -answer for bringing the King round to my views." - -"Is not such repugnance based on a motive, tell me?" counterqueried the -lady. - -"In politics, there should be neither sympathy nor antipathy; only the -meetings of principles and combinations of gains, and I ought to say -that gains are surer than principles." - -"Do you believe that this man who has publicly insulted me, would -consent to join us?" - -"He is entirely yours: when a Mirabeau turns from monarchy, it is like a -horse that shies; reminded of his allegiance by whip or spur, he will -resume his place in the right road." - -"But he is for the Duke of Orleans?" - -"So far from him is he, that on hearing of the duke going over to -England when Lafayette threatened him, he said: 'They say I am in his -pay! I would not have him for my lackey.'" - -"That reconciles him some with me," said the lady, trying to smile: "if -I could believe he might be relied on----" - -"Well?" - -"Perhaps I should be nearer him than the King." - -"Madam, I saw him at Versailles when the mob stormed the palace: then he -thought the Royal Family ought to flee but I have had a note from him -this day." - -He took out a slip of rough paper. - -"Excuse the writing--it is on paper found in a wine saloon and written -on the counter." - -"Never mind that: it is in keeping with the present style of politics." - -Taking the paper, the Queen read: - - "This bread riot changes the face of things. A great deal can be - drawn from this cut-off head. The Assembly will be frightened and - call for martial law. If there be a Mirabeau-Lafayette Cabinet, - Mirabeau will answer for all?" - -"It is not signed," objected the Queen. - -"He handed it to me himself. My advice is that he is perfectly right and -that this alliance alone can save France." - -"Be it so, let the gentleman put the project on paper and I will lay it -before the King, as well as support it." - -"Then I will go to the Assembly and see him. In two hours I shall -return." - -The Queen waited in impatience, always fond of plotting and agitation as -she was. His answer was that Mirabeau had become the spokesman of the -court. - -In fact, after a hot discussion, martial law was voted by the Assembly. -The crime of treason was to be tried at the Chatelet Royal Court, which -meant that royalty still held three fourths of the active power. - -Gilbert did not go near the Queen until the cases were tried here which -would test the alliance. - -The triumph was great to have them tried under the Royal party's thumb. -The first trial was of three men who had killed the baker of the -Assemblymen, Franois; two of whom were hanged on the mere accusation -and public notoriety; the third was tried and sent to the gallows -likewise. - -Two other cases were on the docket. - -Both the accused prisoners were on the court side, the contractor -Augeard and Inspector General Pierre Victor Benzenval, of the Swiss -Guards. - -Augeard was suspected of supplying the funds for the Queen's -_camerailla_ to pay the troops gathered in July to fight the Parisians: -the contractor was not much known and the people bore him no grudge so -that he was acquitted without protest. - -It was not so with Benzenval, who was notorious. He had commanded the -Swiss regiments during the riots and the week of the attack on the -Bastile. It was remembered that he had charged the crowds, who wanted to -pay him out. - -But the most precious orders had been sent out by the King and the -court; under no pretext must Benzenval be punished. It took at least -this two-fold protection to save him. He had acknowledged himself guilty -by taking to flight after the Bastile fell: caught half way to the -frontier, he had been brought back to the capital. - -Nevertheless he was acquitted. - -Amid the hooting, angry crowd, leaving the court, was a man, dressed -like a plain storekeeper who familiarly laid his hand on the shoulder of -a gentleman dressed better than he, and said: - -"Well, what does Dr. Gilbert think of these acquittals?" - -The other started, but recognized the speaker by sight as well as by the -voice, and replied: - -"The Master!--you ought to be asked that, not me, for you know all, -present, past and future!" - -"Well, I should say: The third prisoner will catch it severely, even -though he be innocent." - -"Why should the innocent, if coming next, be wrongfully punished?" -inquired the doctor. - -"For the simple reason that in this world the good pay for the bad," -returned the Chief of the Invisibles with the irony natural to him. - -"Good-bye, Master," said Gilbert, offering his hand; "for I have -business." - -"With whom? Mirabeau, Lafayette or the Queen?" - -Gilbert stopped and eyed Cagliostro uneasily. - -"Let me tell you that you ofttimes frighten me," he said. - -"On the contrary, I want to encourage you," said the magician. "Am I not -your friend? You may be sure of that: I will afford you a proof if you -will come with me home. I will give you such hidden particulars of this -negociation which you believe secret, that you who fancy you are -managing it, will confess ignorance of it." - -"Listen," said Gilbert; "perhaps you are jesting with me by one of those -marvellous funds of information familiar to you; but no matter! -circumstances amid which we are treading are so grave that I would -accept enlightenment though from Old Harry himself. I am following you -therefore whithersoever you lead me." - -"Be easy, it will not be far and to a place not unknown to you; only let -me hail this passing hack; the dress I came out in did not allow me to -use my carriage and horses." - -They got into the hackneycoach which came on at a sign. - -"Where am I to drive you, master?" inquired the Jehu, to Cagliostro as -though, somehow, he saw that he was the leader of the pair, though the -more plainly dressed. - -"Where you know," answered the Chief, making a masonic sign, "The -Temple." - -The driver looked at the Grand Copt with amazement. - -"Excuse me, Thou Supreme, I did not know you," he said, replying with -another sign. - -"It is not thus with me," replied Cagliostro, with a firm and lofty -voice, "innumerable as are those whom the uninitiated eyes see not, I -know all from the topmost to the lowest of those who bring the bricks -and hew the stones." - -The coachman shut the door, got upon the box, and took the carriage at a -gallop to St. Claude Street. The carriage was stopped and the door -opened with a zeal which testified to the man's respect. - -Cagliostro motioned for Gilbert to alight first and as he descended, he -said to the jarvey: - -"Any news?" - -"Yes, Master," said the knight of the whip, "and I should have made my -report this evening if I had not the luck to meet you." - -"Speak." - -"My news is not for outsiders." - -"Oh, the bystander is not an outsider," returned Cagliostro, smiling. - -But Gilbert moved off a little, though he could not help glancing and -listening partially. He saw a smile on the hearers's face as the man -told his story. He caught the name of Favras and Count Provence, before -the report was over, when the magician took out a goldpiece and offered -it. - -"The Master knows that it is forbidden to receive pay for giving -information," he objected. - -"I am not paying for your report, it is plain, but for your bringing -us," said the conspirator. - -"That I can accept. Thank you," he said, taking the coin, "I need not -work any more to-day." - -He drove away, leaving Gilbert amazed at what he had witnessed, and he -crossed the threshold reeling like a tipsy man. - -He knew this house from having traversed it years ago under impressive -circumstances; little was changed in it, even to the same servant Fritz, -only he had aged sixteen years. - -Ushered into a sitting room, the count bade his guest take a seat. - -"I am entirely yours, doctor," said he. - -The younger man forgot his present curiosity in the memories evoked by -this room. Cagliostro looked at him like Mephistopheles regarding Faust -in his brown studies. - -"This room seems to set you thinking, doctor," he said audibly. - -"It does, of the obligations I am under to you." - -"Pooh, bubbles!" - -"Really, you are a strange man," said Gilbert, speaking as much to -himself as to the other, "and if reason allowed me to put faith in what -we learn from legends, I should be inclined to take you for a magician." - -"This am I for the world, Gilbert: but not for you. I have never tried -to dazzle you with jugglery. You know I have always let you see the -bottom of the well and if you have seen Truth come up not so scantily -clothed as the painters represent her, it is because I am a Sicilian and -cannot help decorating my lady-love." - -"It was here, count, that you gave me a large sum of money that I might -be rich in offering my hand to Andrea de Taverney, with the same ease as -I might give a penny to a beggar." - -"You forget the most extraordinary part of it: the beggar brought back -the sum, except for a couple of coins which he spent for clothes." - -"He was honest but you were generous." - -"Who tells you that it was not more easy for him who handled millions to -give a hundred thousand crowns than for him who was penniless to bring -back so large a sum as that was to him? Besides, all depends on the -man's state of mind. I was under the blow of the loss of the only woman -I ever loved--my darling wife was murdered, and I believe you might have -had my life for the asking." - -"Do you feel grief, and experience it like other men," inquired Gilbert, -eyeing him with marked astonishment. - -"You speak of memories this room gives you," sighed the other. "Were I -to tell you--your hair would whiten--but let it pass; leave those events -in their grave. Let us speak of time present, and of that to-come if you -like." - -"Count, you returned to realism just now; again you turn to pretence, -for you speak of the future with the voice of a conjurer asserting the -power to read indecipherable hieroglyphics." - -"You forget that having more means at my beck and call than other men, I -see more clearly and farther than they. You shall see that the pretence -is but a veil--solid are the facts beneath. Come, doctor, how is your -Fusion Cabinet getting on? the Mirabeau-Lafayette Ministry?" - -"It is in the skies; you are trying to learn the facts by pretending to -know more than the rumors." - -"I see that you are doubt incarnate, or wish not to see what you do not -doubt. After telling you of things you do know I must tell of those -beyond your ken. Well, you have recommended Mirabeau to the King as the -only man who can save the monarchy. He will fail--all will fail, for the -monarchy is doomed. You know that I will not have it saved. You have -achieved your end; the two rulers will welcome your advocate: and you -flatter yourself that the royal conversion is due to your irrefutable -logic and irresistible arguments." - -Gilbert could not help biting his lip on hearing this ironical tone. - -"Have you invented a stethoscope by which you can read the heart of -kings? pass the wonderful instrument on to me, count: only an enemy of -mankind would want to keep it to himself alone." - -"I told you I keep nothing back from you, dear doctor. You shall have my -telescope and may look as you please through the small end which -diminishes or the other which magnifies. The Queen gave way for two -reasons: first, she met a great sorrow the night before and she must -have some mental distraction; next, she is a woman and having heard -Mirabeau spoken of as a tiger, she wants to see him and try to tame him. -She thinks: 'It will be fine revenge to bring him to lick my feet: if -some good follows for France and the crown, so much the better.' But you -understand, this idea is quite secondary." - -"You are building on hypothesis and I want facts." - -"I see you refuse my glass and I must come back to material things: such -as can be seen with the naked eye, Mirabeau's debts, for instance." - -"What a chance you have to exhibit your generosity, by paying his debts -as you once did Cardinal Rohan's." - -"Do not reproach me with that speculation, it was one of my greatest -successes. The Queen's Necklace was a pretty affair, I think, and ruined -the Queen in the general eye. At the same price I would pay Mirabeau's -debts. But you know that he is not looking to me for that, but to the -future Generalissimo, Lafayette, who will make him caper for a beggarly -fifty thousand francs, which he will not get any more than the dog gets -the cake for which he has danced. - -"Poor Mirabeau, how all these fools and conceited dunces make your -genius pay for the follies of your youth! Yet all this is providential -and heaven is obliged to proceed by human methods. All these politicians -and wirepullers blame him for some virtue which is not theirs, and yet, -if he dies to-morrow, the masses will award him an apotheosis, and all -these pigmies, over whom he stands head and shoulders, will follow as -mourners and howl: 'Woe to France which has lost her greatest -orator--woe to royalty which has lost its supporter!'" - -"Are you going to foretell the death of Mirabeau?" cried Gilbert, almost -frightened. - -"Frankly, doctor, do you see any length of life for a man whose blood -stews him, whose heart swells to suffocate him and whose genius eats him -up? do you believe that even such powers will not be worn out in -stemming the tide of mediocrity? his enterprise is the rock of Sisyphus. -For two years they have been holding him down with the cry of -Immorality. As if God moulded all men in the same form, and as if the -circle enlarged for a great mind should not enclose greater vices. -Mirabeau will not be Premier because he owes a hundred thousand francs -debt, which would be settled were he a rich contractor's son, and -because he is condemned to death for having run away with an old -imbecile's wife--who smothered herself in charcoal fumes for the love of -a strapping military captain! What a farce the tragedy of human life is! -How I should weep over it if I had not made up my mind to laugh!" - -"But your prediction?" cried Gilbert. - -"I tell you," said the diviner, in the prophet's tone which was his -alone, and allowed no reply, "Mirabeau will wear out his life without -becoming Prime Minister. So great a bar is mediocrity. Go to the -Assembly to-morrow and see. Meanwhile, come with me to the Jacobins -Club, for these night-birds will hold their session in an hour. Do you -belong?" - -"No: Danton and Desmoulins entered me at the Cordeliers. We will go -after dinner." - -Two hours subsequently, two man in gentlemanly black suits were set -down from a plain private carriage at the door of St. Roch's church, -where the throng was great. They were Dr. Gilbert and Baron Zannone, as -Cagliostro chose to call himself at this epoch. - -"Will you come into the nave or sit in the gallery?" asked the magician. - -"I thought the nave was kept for the members?" said the other. - -"Just so, but am I not a member of all societies?" returned the -Arch-master laughing. "Besides, this club is but the seat of the -Invisibles, and you can enter as one of the Rosicrucians. We are sixty -thousand strong in France alone in three months since foundation as -Jacobins, and will be four hundred thousand in a year." - -"Though I am a Rose-Croix, I prefer to be in the gallery where I can see -over the crowd and you can better tell me of the persons whom I descry." - -The seats were roughly knocked up in tiers and a wooden staircase led up -them. Cagliostro made a sign and spoke a word to two who were sitting in -the already filled seats and they got up to give them their places as if -they had been sent before to keep them. - -The place was ill lighted in the growing gloom but it was clear that -these were the best sort of the revolutionists, while the uniforms of -officers of the army and navy abounded. For the common brothers held -their meetings in the crypt. Here the literati and artists were in the -majority. - -Casting a long look around, Gilbert was encouraged by seeing that most -were not so very hostile to the royal cause. - -"Whom do you see here hostile to royalty?" he inquired of his guide. - -"In my eyes there are but two." - -"Oh, that is not many among four hundred men." - -"It is quite enough when one will be the slayer of Louis XVI. and the -other his successor." - -"A future Brutus and a future Caesar here?" exclaimed the doctor -starting. - -"Oh, apostle with scales over your eyes," said Cagliostro; "you shall -not only see them but touch them. Which shall I commence with?" - -"By the overthrower; I respect chronology: let us have Brutus first." - -"You know that men do not use the same means to accomplish a like work," -said Cagliostro, animated as by inspiration. "Therefore our Brutus will -not resemble the antique one." - -"That makes me the more eager to see ours." - -"There he is." - -He pointed to a man leaning against the rostrum in such a position that -his head alone was in the light. Pale and livid, this head seemed -dissevered from the trunk. The eyes seemed to shine with a viper's -expression, with almost scornful hatred, knowing his venom was deadly. -Gilbert felt a creeping of the flesh. - -"You were right to warn me," he said; "this is neither Brutus nor -Cromwell." - -"No, it is rather Cassius the pale-faced and leaned man whom the Emperor -dreaded most. Do you not know him?" - -"No; or rather I have seen him in the Assembly. He is one of the -longest-winded speechifyers of the Left, to whom nobody listens. A -pettifogger from Arras----" - -"The very man." - -"His name is Maximilian Robespierre." - -"Just so. Look at him. You are a pupil of Lavater the physiognomist." - -"I see the spite of mediocrity for genius as he watches Barnave." - -"In other words you judge like the world. I grant that he cannot expect -to make a hit among all these proven orators; but at least you cannot -accuse him of immorality; he is the Honest Man: he never steps outside -of the law, or only to act within a new law which he legally makes." - -"But what is this Robespierre?" asked the other. - -"You ask that as Strafford did of the future Lord Protector: 'What is -this Cromwell? a brewer!' But he cut off his head, mark, you aristocrat -of the Seventeenth Century!" - -"Do you suggest that I run the same risk as Charles First's Minister," -said Gilbert, trying to smile, but it was frozen on his lips. - -"Who can tell?" replied the diviner. - -"The more reason for me to inquire about him." - -"Who is Robespierre? he was born in Arras, of Irish extraction, in 1758. -He was the best pupil in the Jesuits' College and won a purse on which -he came to study at Paris. It was at the same college where your young -Sebastian had an experience. Other boys went out sometimes from those -sombre aisles which bleach the pallid, and had holidays with their -families and friends; young Robespierre was cooped up and breathed the -bad air of loneliness, sadness and tedium; three bad things which rob -the mind of its bloom and blight the heart with envy and hatred. The boy -became a wilted young man. His benefactor had him appointed judge, but -his tender heart would not let him dispose of the life of a man; he -resigned and became a lawyer. He took up the case of peasants disputing -with the Bishop of Arras and won their just claim; the grateful boors -sent him up to the Assembly. There he stood between the clergy's -profound hatred for the lawyer who had dared speak against their bishop -and the scorn of the nobles for the scholar reared by charity." - -"What is he doing?" - -"Nothing for others but much for the Revolution. If it did not enter -into my views that he should be kept poor, I would give him a million -francs to-morrow. Not that I should buy him, for he is joked with as the -Incorruptible! Our noble debaters have settled that he shall be the butt -of the House, for all assemblies must have one. Only one of his -colleagues understands and values him--it is Mirabeau. He told me the -other day, 'that man will go far for he believes what he says!'" - -"This grows serious," muttered Gilbert. - -"He comes here for he gets an audience. The Jacobin is a young minotaur: -suckling a calf, he will devour a nation in a while. I promised to show -you an instrument for lopping off heads, did I not? Well, Robespierre -will give it more work than all those here." - -"Really, you are funereal, count," said Gilbert; "if your Caesar does -not compensate for your Brutus, I may forget what I came here for." - -"You see my future Emperor yonder, talking with the tragic actor Talma, -and with another whom he does not know but who will have a great -influence over him. Keep this befriender's name in mind--Barras, and -recall it one of these days." - -"I do not know how right you are, but you choose your typical characters -well," said Gilbert; "this Caesar of yours has the brow to wear a crown -and his eyes--but I cannot catch the expression----" - -"Because his sight is diverted inwards--such eyes study the future, -doctor." - -"What is he saying to Barras?" - -"That he would have held the Bastile if he were defending it." - -"He is not a patriot, then?" - -"Such as he are nothing before they are all in all." - -"You seem to stick to your idea about this petty officer?" - -"Gilbert," said the soothsayer, extending his hand towards Robespierre, -"as truly as that man will re-erect the scaffold of Charles Stuart, so -truly will 'this one'"--he indicated the lieutenant of the line -regiment--"will re-erect the throne of Charlemagne." - -"Then our struggle for liberty is useless," said Gilbert discouraged. - -"Who tells you that he may not do as much for us on his throne as the -other on his scaffold?" - -"Will he be the Titus, or Marcus Aurelius, the god of peace consoling us -for the age of bronze?" - -"He will be Alexander and Hannibal in one. Born amid war, he will thrive -in war-fare and go down in warring. I defy you to calculate how much -blood the clergy and nobles have made Robespierre lose by his fits of -spite against them; take all that these nobles and priests will lose, -multiply upon multiplications, and you will not attain the sea of blood -this man will shed, with his armies of five hundred thousand men and his -three days' battles in which hundreds of cannon-shots will be fired." - -"And what will be the outcome of all this turmoil--all this chaos?" - -"The outcome of all genesis, Gilbert. We are charged to bury this Old -World. Our children will spring up in a new one. This man is but the -giant who guards the door. Like Louis XIV., Leo X. and Agustus, he will -give his name to the era unfolding." - -"What is his name?" inquired Gilbert, subjugated by Cagliostro's -convinced manner. - -"His name is Buonaparte; but he will be hailed in History as Napoleon. -Others will follow of his name, but they will be shadows--the dynasty of -the first Charlemagne lasted two hundred years; of this second one, a -tithe: did I not tell you that in a hundred years the Republic will have -the empire of France?" - -Gilbert bowed his head. He did not notice that the debates were opened. -An hour passed when he felt a powerful hand grip his shoulder. - -He turned: Cagliostro had disappeared and Mirabeau stood in his -place--after the eagle, the lion. - -Mirabeau's face was convulsed with rage as he roared in a dull voice: - -"We are flouted, deceived, betrayed! the court will not have me and you -have been taken for a dupe as I for a fool. On my moving in the House -that the Cabinet Ministers should be invited to be present at the -Assembly sessions, three friends of the King proposed that no member of -the House should be a minister. This laboriously managed combination -dissolves at a breath from the King; But," concluded Mirabeau, like -Ajax, shaking his mighty fist at the sky, "by my name, I will pay them -for this, and if their breath can shake a minister, mine shall overthrow -the throne. I shall go to the Assembly and fight to the uttermost; I am -one of those who blow up the fort and perish under the ruins." - -He rushed away, more terrible and handsomer for the divine streak which -lightning had impressed on his brow. - -Gilbert did not go to the House to witness his companion's defeat--one -very like a victory. He was musing at home over Cagliostro's strange -predictions. How could this man foresee what would be Robespierre and -Napoleon? I ask those who put this question to me how they explain -Mdlle. Lenormand's prediction to the Empress Josephine? One often meets -inexplicable things; doubt was invented to comfort those who cannot -explain them but will not believe them. - - - - -CHAPTER XXII. - -THE SMILE AND THE NOD. - - -As Cagliostro had said and Mirabeau surmised, the King had upset the -scheme. - -Without much regret the Queen saw the constitutional platform fall which -had wounded her pride. The King's policy was to gain time and profit by -circumstances; besides he had two chances of getting away into some -stronghold, which was his favorite plan. These two plans, we know, were -his brother Provence's, managed by Favras; the other his own, managed by -Charny. - -The latter reached Metz in a couple of days where the faithful royalist -Bouille did not doubt him, but resolved to send his son Louis to Paris -to be more exactly informed on the matter. Charny remained as a kind of -hostage. - -Count Louis Bouille arrived about the middle of November. At this period -the King was guarded closely by Lafayette whose cousin the young count -was. - -To keep him in ignorance of Charny's negociations, the latter worked to -be presented to the King by his kinsman. - -Providence answered the envoy's prayer for Lafayette, who had been -informed of his coming but swallowed his excuse that it was on a visit -to a sweetheart in Paris, offered to take him with him on his morning -call on the monarch. - -All the palace doors opened to the general. The sentinels presented arms -and the footmen bowed, so that Count Louis could see that his relative -was the real King of Paris. - -The King was in his forge so that the visitors had to see the Queen -first. - -Bouille had not seen her for three years. The sight of her at -thirty-four, a prisoner, slandered, threatened, and hated, made a deep -impression on the chivalric heart of the young noble. - -She remembered him at a glance and with the same was sure this was a -friendly face. Without busying about General Lafayette she gave her hand -for the young man to kiss, which was a fault such as she plentifully -committed; without this favor she had won Louis Bouille, and by doing -him it before the general she slighted the latter who had never been so -gratified; she wounded the very man she most wanted as a friend. - -Hence with a faltering in the voice but with the courtesy never leaving -him, Lafayette said: - -"Faith, my dear cousin, you want me to present you to the Queen: but it -seems to me that you were better fitted to present me." - -The Queen was so enraptured at meeting a friend on whom she could rely, -and as a woman so proud of the effect produced on the young nobleman, -that she turned round on the general with one of the beams of youth -which she had feared forever extinct. - -"General," she said with one of the smiles of her sunnier days, "Count -Bouille is not a severe republican like you: he comes from Metz, not -from America; he does not come to bother about Constitutions but to -present his homage. Do not be astonished at the favor shown him by a -nearly dethroned Queen, which this country squire may esteem a boon----" - -She completed her sentence by a playful smile as much as to say: "You -are a Scipio and think nothing of such nonsense." - -"It is a pity for me, and a great misfortune for your Majesty," returned -Lafayette, "that I pass without my respect and devotion being noticed." - -The Queen looked at him with her clear, searching eye. This was not the -first time that he had spoken in this strain and set her thinking: but -unfortunately, as he had said, she entertained an instinctive repugnance -for him. - -"Come, general, be generous and pardon me, my outburst of kindness -towards this excellent Bouille family, which loves me with a whole heart -and of which this youth is the chain of contact. I see his whole family -in him, coming to kiss my hand. Let us shake hands, as the American and -English do, and be good friends." - -The marquis touched the hand coldly. - -"I regret that you do not bear in mind that I am French. The night of -the attack on the Royal Family at Versailles ought to remind you." - -"You are right, general," responded the lady, making an effort and -shaking his hand. "I am ungrateful. Any news?" - -Lafayette had a little revenge to take. - -"No; merely an incident in the House. An old man of one hundred and -twenty was brought to the bar by five generations of descendants to -thank the Representatives for having made him free. Think of one who was -born a serf under Louis XIV. and eighty years after." - -"Very touching," retorted the Queen; "but I could not well be there as I -was succoring the widow and child of the baker murdered for supplying -bread to the Assembly." - -"Madam, we could not foresee that atrocity but we have punished the -offenders." - -"That will do her no good, as she is maddened and may give birth to a -still-born babe; if it should live, do you see any inconvenience to -standing godmother to it at the Cathedral of Notre Dame?" - -"None: and I take this opportunity of meeting your allusion, before my -kinsman, to your pretended captivity. Nothing prevents your going to -church or elsewhere, and the King may go hunting and out riding, as much -as he likes." - -The Queen smiled, for this permission might be useful as far as it went. - -"Good-bye, count," she said to Bouille; "the Princess of Lamballe -receives for me and you will be welcome any evening with your -illustrious kinsman." - -"I shall profit by the invitation," said Lafayette, "sure that I should -be oftener seen there and elsewhere by your Majesty if the request had -not been heretofore omitted." - -The Queen dismissed them with a smile and a nod, and they went out, the -one with more bitterness because of the nod, the other with more -adherence because of the smile. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII. - -THE ROYAL LOCKSMITH. - - -As the King had undertaken a very important piece of locksmith work, he -sent his valet Hue to beg General Lafayette to come into his smithy. - -It was on the second floor above his bedroom, with inner and outer -stairs. - -Since morning he had been hammering away at the work for which Master -Gamain gave him praise and so much regret that the politicians should -take him away from it to trouble about foreign countries. - -Perhaps he wanted to show the Commander of the National Guard that -however weak as a monarch, he was mighty as a Tubal Cain. - -On the road Count Louis had time to meditate; and he concluded that the -Queen knew nothing of his errand. He would have to study the King's -reception and see if he did not give some sign of better understanding -what brought him to Paris than his cousin the marquis. - -The valet did not know Bouille so that he only announced the general. - -"Ah, it is you, marquis," said the King, turning. "I must ask pardon for -calling you up here, but the smith assures you that you are welcome in -his forge. A charcoal-burner once said to my ancestor Henry IV.: 'Jack -is king in his own castle.' But you are master in the smithy as in the -palace." - -Louis spoke much in the same way as Marie Antoinette. - -"Sire, under whatever circumstances I present myself to your Majesty," -said Lafayette, "and whatever costume your Majesty is in, the King will -be ever the sovereign and I the faithful subject and devoted servant." - -"I do not doubt that, my lord; but you are not alone. Have you changed -your aid-de-camp?" - -"This young officer, Sire, whom I ask leave to introduce, is my cousin, -Count Louis Bouille, captain in the Provence Dragoons." - -"Oh, son of Marquis Bouille, commander of Metz?" said the King, with a -slight start not escaping the young man. - -"The same, Sire," he spoke up quickly. - -"Excuse me not knowing you, but I have short sight. Have you been long -in town?" - -"I left Metz five days ago; and being here without official furlough but -under special permission from my father, I solicited my kinsman the -marquis for the honor of presentation to your Majesty." - -"You were very right, my lord, for nobody could so well present you at -any hour, and from no one could the introduction come more agreeably." - -The words "at any hour" meant that Lafayette had the public and private -entry to the King. The few words from the sovereign put the young count -on his guard. The question about his coming signified that he wanted to -know if Charny had seen his father. - -Meanwhile Lafayette was looking round curiously where few penetrated; he -admired the regularity with which the tools were laid out. He blew the -bellows as the apprentice. - -"So your Majesty has undertaken an important work, eh?" queried -Lafayette, embarrassed how to talk to a King who was in a smutty apron, -with tucked up sleeves and had a file in his hand. - -"Yes, general, I have set to making our magnus opus a lock. I tell you -just what I am doing or we shall have Surgeon Marat saying that I am -forging the fetters of France. Tell him it is not so, if you lay hold of -him. I suppose you are not a smith, Bouille?" - -"At least I was bound apprentice, and to a locksmith, too." - -"I remember, your nurse's husband was a smith and your father, although -not much of a student of Rousseau acted on his advice in 'Emile' that -everybody should learn a craft, and bound you to the workbench." - -"Exactly; so that if your Majesty wanted a boy----" - -"An apprentice would not be so useful to me as a master," returned the -King. "I am afraid I have ventured on too hard a job. Oh, that I had my -teacher Gamain, who used to say he was a crafts-master above the -masters." - -"Is he dead, my lord?" - -"No," replied the King, giving the young gentleman a glance for him to -be heedful; "he lives in Versailles, but the dear fellow does not dare -come and see me at the Tuileries for fear he will get an ill name. All -my friends have gone away, to London, Turin or Coblentz. Still, my dear -general, if you do not see any inconvenience in the old fellow coming -with one of his boys to lend me a hand, I might ask him to drop in some -day." - -"Your Majesty ought to know perfectly that he can see and send for -anybody." - -"Yes, on condition that you sentries search them as the revenue officers -do those suspected of smuggling; poor Gamain will believe he is to be -hanged, drawn and quartered if they found his bag of tools on him and -took his three-cornered file for a stiletto!" - -"Sire, I do not know how to excuse myself to your Majesty, but I am -answerable for your person to the Powers of Europe, and I cannot take -too many precautions for that precious life to be protected. As for the -honest fellow of whom we are speaking, the King can give what orders he -pleases." - -"Very well; thank you, marquis; I might want him in a week or ten -days--him and his 'prentice," he added, with a glance at Bouille; "I -could notify him by my valet Durey, who is a friend of his." - -"He has only to call to be shown up to the King; his name will suffice. -Lord preserve me from getting the title of your jailer, Sire; never was -the monarch more free; and I have even desired your Majesty to resume -hunting and riding out." - -"Thank you, but no more hunts for me! Besides, you see I have something -to keep me in doors, in my head. As for traveling, that is another -matter; the last trip from Versailles to Paris cured me of the desire to -travel, in such a large party at all events." - -He threw a glance to Bouille who ventured to blink to show that he -understood. - -"Are you soon going back to your father?" inquired the King of the -latter. - -"Sire, I am leaving Paris in a couple of days to pay a visit to my -grandmother, living in Versailles; I am bound to pay my respects. Then I -am charged by my father to attend to a rather important family matter, -for which I expect to see the person who will give me the directions in -about a week. So I shall hardly be with my father before the first week -in December, unless the King has particular reasons for me to see him -sooner." - -"No, my lord, take your time; go to Versailles and transact your -business and when done, go and tell the marquis, that I do not forget -him as one of my faithful lieges, and that I will speak of him one of -these days to General Lafayette for him to advance him." - -Lafayette smiled faintly at this allusion to his omnipotence. - -"Sire," he said, "I should have long ago recommended Marquis Bouille to -your Majesty had he not been my kinsman. The fear of raising the cry -that I am looking after my family alone prevented me doing him this -justice." - -"This chimes in nicely, then; we will speak of this matter again." - -"The King will kindly allow me to say that my father would consider any -change of a post a disgrace that robbed him of the chance to serve your -Majesty particularly." - -"Oh, that is fully understood, count," responded Louis the King, "and -Marquis Bouille shall not be moved without it being according to his -desires and mine. Let General Lafayette and I manage this, and you run -to your pleasure-making without altogether forgetting business. Good -bye, gentlemen!" - -He dismissed them with a majestic manner in singular contrast with the -vulgar attire. - -"Come, come," he said to himself, when the door was shut. "I believe the -young blade has comprehended me, and that in a week or so we shall have -Master Gamain coming to aid me, _with his 'prentice_." - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV. - -HAPPY FAMILY. - - -On the evening of this same day, about five, a scene passed in the third -and top flat of a dirty old tumbledown house in Juiverie Street which we -would like our readers to behold. - -The interior of the sitting-room denoted poverty, and it was inhabited -by three persons, a man, a woman, and a boy. - -The man looked to be over fifty; he was wearing an old uniform of a -French Guards sergeant, a habit venerated since these troops sided with -the people in the riots and exchanged shots with the German dragoons. - -He was dealing out playing cards and trying to find an infallible means -of winning; a card by his side, pricked full of pinholes, showed that he -was keeping tally of the runs. - -The woman was four-and-thirty and appeared forty; she wore an old silk -dress; her poverty was the more dreadful as she exhibited tokens of -splendor; her hair was built up in a knot over a brass comb once gilded: -and her hands were scrupulously cared for with the nails properly -trimmed in an aristocratic style. The slippers on her feet, over -openwork stockings, had been worked with gold and silver. - -Her face might pass in candlelight for about thirty; but, without paint -and powder it looked five years older than reality. - -Its resemblance to Queen Marie Antoinette's was still so marked that one -tried to recall it in the dusty clouds thrown up by royal horses around -the window of a royal coach. - -The boy was five years of age; his hair curled like a cherub's; his -cheeks were round as an apple; he had his mother's diabolical eyes, and -the sensual mouth of his father--in short, the idleness and whims of the -pair. - -He wore a faded pearl velvet suit and while munching a hunk of cake -sandwiched with preserves, he frayed out the ends of an old tricolored -scarf inside a pearl gray felt hat. - -The family was illuminated by a candle with a large "thief in the -gutter," stuck in a bottle for holder, which light fell on the man and -left most of the room in darkness. - -"Mamma," the child broke the silence by saying, as he threw the end of -the cake on the mattress which served as bed, "I am tired of that kind -of cake--faugh! I want a stick of red barley sugar candy." - -"Dear little Toussaint," said the woman. "Do you hear that, Beausire?" - -As the gamester was absorbed in his calculations, she lifted her foot -within snatch of her hand and taking off the slipper, cast it to his -nose. - -"What is the matter?" he demanded, with plain ill-humor. - -"Toussaint wants some candy, being tired of cheap cake." - -"He shall have it to-morrow." - -"I want it to-day--this evening--right now!" yelled the innocent in a -tearful voice which threatened stormy weather. - -"Toussaint, my boy, I advise you to give us quiet or papa will take you -in hand," said the parent. - -The boy yelled again but more from deviltry than from fear. - -"You drunken sot, you just touch my darling, and I will attend to you," -said the mother, stretching out the white hand towards the bully which -her care of the nails made to become a claw at need. - -"Who the deuse wants to touch the imp? you know it is only my style of -speaking, my dear Oliva, and that though I may dust your skirt now and -then I have always respected the kid's jacket. Tut, tut, come and -embrace your poor Beausire who will be rich as a King in a week; come, -my little Nicole." - -"When you are rich as a king, it will be another matter: but up to that -time no fooling." - -"But I tell you that it is as safe as if I had a million. You might be -kind for a little while. Go and get credit of the baker." - -"A man rolling in millions wants a baker to let him have a loaf on -trust, ha, ha!" - -"I want some red barely sugar," howled the child. - -"Come, you king with the millions, give some sugar sticks to your -prince." - -Beausire started to put his hand to his fob but stopped half way. - -"You know I gave you my last piece yesterday." - -"Then, if you have the money," said the child to the woman whom Beausire -called indifferently Nicole or Oliva, "give me a penny to buy candy." - -"There are two cents, you naughty boy, and mind you do not fall in -sliding down the bannisters." - -"Thank you, dear mother," said the boy, capering for joy and holding out -his hand. - -"Come here till I set your hat on and adjust your sash: it must not be -said that Captain Beausire let his son race about the streets in -disorder--though it is all the same to him, the heartless fellow! I -should die of shame!" - -At the risk of whatever the neighbors might say against the heir to the -Beausire name, the boy would have dispensed with the hat and band, of -which he recognized the use before the other urchins did the freshness -and beauty. But as the arrangement of his dress was a condition of the -gift, the young Hector had to yield to it. - -He consoled himself by taunting his father with the coin by thrusting it -up under his nose; absorbed in his figuring the parent merely smiled at -the pretty freak. - -Soon they heard his timid step, though quickened by gluttony, descending -the stairs. - -"Now then, Captain Beausire," snapped the woman after a pause, "your -wits must lift us out of this miserable position, or else I must have -recourse to mine." - -She spoke with a toss of the head as much as to say: "A lady of my -lovely face never dies of starvation, never fear!" - -"Just what I am busy about, my little Nicole," responded Beausire. - -"By shuffling the cards?" - -"Did I not tell you that I have found the infallible coup?" - -"At it again, eh? Captain Beausire, I warn you that I am going to hunt -up my old acquaintances and see if one of them cannot have you shut up -in the madhouse. Dear, dear, if Lord Richelieu were not dead, if -Cardinal Rohan were not ruined, if Lady Lamotte Valois were not in -London dodging the sheriff's officers----" - -"What are you talking about?" - -"I should find means and not be obliged to share the misery of an old -swashbuckler like this one." - -With a queenly flirt of the hand Oliva _alias_ Nicole Legay, -disdainfully indicated the gambler. - -"But I keep telling you that I shall be rich to-morrow," he repeated, -himself at any rate convinced. - -"Show me the first gold piece of your million and I shall believe the -rest." - -"You will see ten gold pieces this evening--the very sum promised me. -You can have five to buy a silk dress and a velvet suit for the -youngster: with the balance I will bring you the million I promised." - -"You unhappy fellow, you mean to gamble again?" - -"But I tell you again that I have lit on an infallible sequence." - -"Own brother to the one with which you threw away the sixty thousand -livres from the amount you stole at the Portuguese Ambassador's?" - -"Money got over the devil's back goes under his belly," replied Beausire -sententiously. "I always did think that the way I got that cash brought -bad luck." - -"Is this fresh lot coming from an inheritance? have you an uncle who has -died in the Indies or America and left you the ten louis?" - -"Nicole Legay," rejoined Beausire with a lofty air, "these ten will be -earned not only honestly but honorably, for a cause which interests me -as well as the rest of the nobility of France." - -"So you are a nobleman, Friend Beausire?" jeered the lady. - -"You may say so: we have it stated so in the birth entry on the register -of St. Paul's, and signed by your servitor, Jean Baptiste Toussaint de -Beausire, on the day when I gave my name to our boy----" - -"A handsome present that was," gibed Nicole. - -"And my estate," added the so-called captain emphatically. - -"If kind heaven does not send him something more solid," interposed -Nicole, shaking her head, "the poor little dear is sure to live on air -and die in the poorhouse." - -"Really, Nicole, this is too much to endure--you are never contented." - -"Endure? good gracious, who wants you to endure?" exclaimed the reduced -gentlewoman, breaking down the dam to her long-restrained ire: "Thank -God, I am not worried about myself or my little pet, and this very night -I shall go forth and seek my fortune." - -She rose and took three steps towards the door, but he strode in between -them and opened his arms to bar the way. - -"You naughty creature, did I not tell you that my fortune----" - -"Go on," said Nicole. - -"Is coming home to-night: though the coup were a mistake--which is -impossible, it would only be five louis lost." - -"There are times when a few pieces of money are a fortune, sir. But you -would not know that, who have squandered a pile of gold as high as this -house." - -"That proves my merit: I made it at the cards, and if I made some once I -shall make more another time: besides, there is a special providence -for--smart rogues." - -"That is a fine thing to rely on!" - -"Do you not believe in Providence? are you an atheist, Nicole? of the -school of Voltaire who denies all that sort of thing?" - -"Beausire, no matter what I am, you are a fool." - -"Springing from the lower class, as you do, it is not surprising that -you nourish such notions. I warn you that they do not appertain to my -caste and political opinions." - -"You are a saucebox," returned the beauty of the past. - -"But I have faith. If anyone were to say, 'Beausire, your son who has -gone out to buy a sugar stick, will return with a lump of gold,' I -should answer: 'Very likely, if it be the will of Allah!' as a Turkish -gentleman of my acquaintance says." - -"Beausire, you are an idiot," said Nicole, but she had hardly spoken the -words before young Toussaint's voice was heard on the stairs calling: - -"Oh, papa--mamma!" - -"What is the matter?" cried Nicole, opening the door with true maternal -solicitude. "Come, my darling, come." - -The voice drew near like the ventriloquist doing the trick of the man in -the cellar. - -"I should not be astonished if he had lit on the streak of good luck I -feel promised," said the gambler. - -The boy rushed into the room, holding a sugarstick in his mouth, hugging -under his left arm a bag of sugarplums, and showing in his right hand a -gold coin which shone in the candle glimmer like the North Star. - -"Goodness of heaven, what has occurred?" cried Nicole, slamming the door -to. - -She covered his gluey face with kisses--mothers never being disgusted, -from their caresses seeming to purify everything. - -"The matter is a genuine louis of gold, worth full value of twenty-four -livres," said Beausire, skillfully obtaining the piece. - -"Where did you pick that up that I may go for the others, my duck?" he -inquired. - -"I never found it, papa: it was give to me," replied the boy. "A kind -gentleman give it me." - -Ready as Beausire to ask who this donor was, Nicole was prudent from -experience on account of Captain Beausire's jealousy. She confined -herself to repeating: - -"A gentleman?" - -"Yes, mamma dear," rejoined the child, crunching the barley-sugar -between his teeth: "a gentleman who came into the grocer's store where I -was, and he says: 'God bless me, but, master, do I not behold a young -gentleman whose name is De Beausire, whom you have the honor of -attending to at the present time?'" - -Beausire perked up and Nicole shrugged her shoulders. - -"What did the grocer say to that, eh?" demanded the card-sharper. - -"Master Grocer says: 'I don't know whether he is a gentleman or not, but -his name is Beausire,' 'Does he live by here?' went on the gentleman. -'Top-floor, next house on the left.' 'Give anything the young master -wants to him--I will foot the bill,' said the gentleman. Then he gave me -the money saying: 'There a louis for you, young sir: when you have eaten -your candy, that will buy you more. He put the money in my hand; the -grocer stuck this bag under my arm and I came away awfully glad. Oh, -where is my money-piece?" - -Not having seen Beausire's disappearing trick, he began to look all -round for the louis. - -"You clumsy little blockhead, you have lost it," said the captain. - -"No, I never!" yelled the child. - -The dispute would have become warm but for the interruption which came -to put an end to it. - -The door opened slowly and a bland voice made these words audible: - -"How do you do, Mistress Nicole? good evening, Captain Beausire! How are -you, little Toussaint?" - -All turned: on the threshold was an elegantly attired man, smiling on -the family group. - -"Oh, here's the gentleman who gave me the candy," cried young Toussaint. - -"Count Cagliostro," exclaimed Beausire and the lady at the same time. - -"That is a winning little boy, and I think you ought to be happy at -being a parent, Captain Beausire," said the intruder. - -He advanced and with one scrutinizing glance saw that the couple were -reduced to the last penny. - -The child was the first to break the silence because he had nothing on -his conscience. - -"Oh, kind sir, I have lost the shining piece," said he. - -Nicole opened her mouth to state the case but she reflected that silence -might lead to a repetition of the godsend and she would inherit it; her -expectation was not erroneous. - -"Lost your louis, have you, my poor boy?" said Cagliostro, "well, here -are two; try not to lose them." - -Pulling out a purse of which the plumpness kindled Beausire's greedy -glances, he dropped two coins into Toussaint's little sticky paw. - -"Look, mamma," said he, running to Nicole; "here's one for you and one -for me." - -While the child shared his windfall with his mother, the new-comer -remarked the tenacity with which the former-soldier watched his purse -and tried to estimate the contents before it was pocketted again. On -seeing it disappear, he sighed. - -"Still glum, captain?" said the visitor. - -"And you, count, always rich?" - -"Pooh! you are one of the finest philosophers I have ever known, as well -at the present as in antiquity, and you are bound to know the axiom to -which man does honor in all ages. 'Riches are not contentment.' I have -known you to be rich, relatively." - -"That's so: I have owned as much as a hundred thousand francs." - -"It is possible; only when I met you again, you had spent nearly forty -thousand of it so as to have but sixty, but that is a round sum for a -corporal in the army." - -"What is that to the sums you dispose of?" he sighed. - -"I am only the banker, the trustee, Captain Beausire, and if I were -obliged to settle up I daresay you could play St. Martin and I the -beggar who would be glad to have half your cloak. But, my dear Beausire, -do you not remember the circumstances of our last meeting? As I said, -just now, you had sixty thousand left of the hundred thousand: were you -happier than now?" - -The ex-corporal heaved a retrospective sigh which might pass for a moan. - -"Would you exchange your present position though you possessed nothing -but one poor louis you 'nicked' from young Toussaint?" - -"My lord!" - -"Do not let us get warm, sir: we quarrelled once and you were obliged to -go out and pick up your sword which I threw out of the window. You will -remember?" went on the count, seeing that the man made no reply: "it is -a good thing to have a memory. I ask you again would you change your -actual position, though down to the solitary louis you 'extracted' from -young Toussaint"--this time the allegation passed without protest--"for -the precarious scrape from which I relieved you?" - -"No, my lord, you are right--I should not change. At that epoch, alas! I -was parted from my darling Nicole." - -"To say nothing of being hunted by the police, on account of your -robbing the Portuguese Embassy. What the mischief has become of that -case, a villainous one, as I remember it, Captain B.?" - -"It has been dropped, my lord," was the reply. - -"So much the better: though I would not reckon on its not being picked -up again. The police are awful for raking up past grievances, and the -ruling powers might want to be on good terms with Portugal. However, -that apart, in spite of the hard lines to which you are reduced, you are -happy. If you had a thousand louis, your felicity would be complete, -eh?" - -Nicole's eyes glittered and her partner's flashed flames. - -"Lord be good to us," cried the latter: "with half I would buy a lot in -the country and live a rural life on the rest like a country squire!" - -"Like Cincinnatus!" - -"While Nicole would educate the boy." - -"Like Cornelia! Death of my life, Captain Beausire! not only would this -be exemplary but touching: do you hope to earn as much as that in the -piece of business you have in hand?" - -"What business?" queried the other, starting. - -"That you are carrying on as sergeant of the Guards; for which you are -to meet a man, this evening, under the Palais Royal arcades." - -"Oh, my lord," moaned Beausire, turning pale as a corpse and wringing -his hands. "Do not destroy me!" - -"Why, you are going distracted now? Am I the Chief of Police to ruin -you?" - -"There, I told you, you are getting into a pretty pickle," exclaimed -Nicole. "I know nothing about it, my lord, but whenever he hides any -game from me, I know it is a bad one." - -"But you are wrong, my dear lady, for this is an excellent speculation." - -"Is it not?" cried the gambler. "The count, as a nobleman, understands -that all the nobility are in this scheme----" - -"For it to succeed. It must be allowed though, that the people are -interested in its failure. If you will believe me, captain--you -understand that a friend is giving advice--you will take no part in it -for the peers or the people. Better act for yourself." - -"Certainly, for yourself," said Nicole. "Blest if you have not toiled -long enough for others: so that it is high time you looked after Number -One." - -"You hear the lady, who speaks like a born orator. Bear this in mind, -Friend Beausire, all spec's have a good and a bad side, one for the -winners, one for the losers: no affair however good, can benefit -everybody; the whole trouble is to hit on the right side." - -"And you do not think I am there, eh?" - -"Not at all; I would even add, if you are willful--for you know I dabble -in telling fortunes--that you will not only risk your honor, and the -fortune you seek--but your life. You will most likely be hanged!" - -"They do not hang noblemen," objected Beausire, wiping the perspiration -streaming from his brow. - -"That is so: but to avoid the gallows-tree and have your head cut off, -you would have to prove your family-tree; it would take so long that the -court would lose patience, and string you up for the time being--leaving -your widow to demand compensation if you turned out to have deserved -decapitation. Still you may say that it does not matter, as it is the -crime that casts shame and not the scaffold, to quote a poet. Still -again, I dare say you are not so attached to your opinions that you -would lay down your life for them; I understand this. Deuse take us, but -we have only one life, as another poet says, not so great as the other, -but as truthful." - -"My lord," faltered the ex-guardsman, "I have remarked in my too brief -acquaintance with your lordship, that you have a way of speaking of -some things which would make the hair of a more timid man than me -bristle on his head." - -"Hang me if that is my intention," responded Cagliostro; "Besides you -are not a timid man." - -"No: yet there are circumstances," began Beausire. - -"I understand; such as when one has the jail for theft behind one and -the gallows for high treason before one--for I suppose they give that -name to the crime of kidnapping the King." - -"My lord," cried Beausire, terrified. - -"Wretch, is it on kidnapping that you build your fortune?" demanded -Oliva. - -"Oh, he was not wrong to dwell in golden dreams, my dear lady; only, as -I have already said, each affair has a dark side and a bright one and -Beausire has the misfortune to take the dark one; all he has to do is to -shift." - -"If there is time, what must I do?" asked the bully. - -"Suppose one thing," said the gentleman; "that your conspiracy fails. -Suppose that the accomplices of the masked man and the one in the brown -cloak are arrested; we may suppose anything in these times--suppose they -are doomed to death! Suppose--for Augeard and Bezenval have been -acquitted, so that anything unlikely may come round nowadays--suppose -that you are one of these accomplices; you have the halter round your -neck, when--say what they like--a man always shows a little of the white -feather about then----" - -"Do have done, my lord! I entreat you, for I seem to feel the rope -throttling me!" - -"That is not astonishing as I am supposing it is round your neck! -Suppose, then, that they say to you: 'Poor old Beausire, this is your -own fault. Not only might you have dodged this Old Bony who clutches you -in his claws, but gain a thousand louis to buy the pretty cottage under -the green trees where you long to live with ever-lovely Oliva and merry -little Toussaint, with the balance of what was partly spent for the -purchase of your homestead. You might live, as you said, like a squire, -in high boots in the winter and easy shoes the rest of the year; while, -instead of this delicious lookout, you have the Execution-place, -planted with two or three one or two-armed trees, of which the highest -holds out its ugly branch unto you. Faugh! my poor Captain Beausire, -what a hideous prospect!'" - -"But how am I to elude it--how make the thousand to ensure my peace and -that of dear Nicole and little Toussaint?" - -"Your good angel would say: 'Why not apply to the Count of Cagliostro, a -rich nobleman who is in town for his pleasure and who is weary of -nothing to do. Go to him and tell him----" - -"But I do not know where he lives! I did not even know he is in town; I -did not know he was still alive!" protested Beausire. - -"He lives ever. It is because you would not know these facts that he -comes to you, my dear Beausire, so that you will have no excuse. You -have merely to say to him: 'Count, I know how fond you are of hearing -the news. I have some fresh for you. The King's brother is conspiring -with Marquis Favras. I speak from full knowledge as I am the right-hand -man of the marquis. The aim of the plot is to take the King away to -Peronne. If your lordship likes to be amused, I will tell him step by -step how the moves are played.' Thereupon the count, who is a generous -lord, would reply: 'If you will really do this, Captain Beausire, as all -laborers are worthy of their hire, I put aside twenty-four thousand -livres for a charitable act; but I will balk myself in this whim, and -you shall have them on the day when you come and tell me either that the -King shall be taken off or Marquis Favras captured--in the same way as -you are given these ten louis--not as hand-money or as an advance, or a -loan, but as a pure gift." - -Like an actor rehearsing with the "properties," Cagliostro pulled out -the weighty purse, stuck in finger and thumb and with a dexterity -bearing witness to his experience in such actions, whipped out just ten -pieces, neither more nor less, which Beausire--we must do him -justice--thrust out his hand with alacrity to receive. - -"Excuse me, captain," said the other, gently fencing off the hand, "we -are only playing at Supposes." - -"Yes, but through suppositions one arrives at the fact," responded the -cardplayer, whose eyes glowed like burning coals. - -"Have we reached this point?" - -Beausire hesitated; let us hasten to say that it was not honor, fidelity -to plighted word, or a pricked conscience which caused the wavering. Did -our readers know Beausire, they would not want this denial. It was the -simple fear that the count would not keep his word. - -"I see what you are passing through," said the tempter. - -"Ay, my lord, I shrink from betraying the trust a gentleman puts in me," -replied the adventurer. "It is very hard," he seemed to say as he raised -his eyes heavenward. - -"Nay, it is not that, and this is another proof of the old saw that 'No -man knows himself'," said the count. "You are afraid that I will not pay -you the sum stated. The objection is quite natural; but I shall give -security." - -"My lord certainly need not." - -"Personal security, Madam Legay." - -"Oh, if the count promises, it is as good as done," said the lady. - -"You see, sir, what one gains by scrupulously keeping one's promises. -One day when the lady was in the same quandary as yourself, I mean the -police were hunting after her, I offered her an asylum in my residence. -The lady hesitated, fearing that I was no Joseph--unless so christened. -I gave her my word to respect her, and this is true, eh?" - -"I swear it, on my little Toussaint," said Oliva-Nicole. - -"So you believe that I will pay the sum mentioned on the day when the -King shall have been abducted or Marquis Favras arrested, to say nothing -of my serving the running knot strangling him a while ago. For this -affair, at all events, there shall be no halter or gibbet, for I cannot -bind myself any farther. You understand: The man who is born to -be--ahem!" - -"My lord, it is as if the courts had awarded us the money," said the -woman. - -"Well, my beauty," said Cagliostro, putting the ten gold pieces on the -table in a row, "just imbue the captain with this belief of yours." - -He waved his hand for the gambler to confer with his partner. Their -parley lasted only five minutes, but it was most lively. Meanwhile -Cagliostro looked at the cards and the one by which tally was kept. - -"I know the run," he observed, "it is that invented by John Law who -floated the Mississippi Bubble. I lost a million on it." - -This remark seemed to give fresh activity to the dialogue of Beausire -and his light-o-love. At last Beausire was decided; he came forward to -offer his hand to Cagliostro like a horse-dealer about to strike a -bargain. But the other frowned. - -"Captain, between gentlemen the parole suffices. Give me yours." - -"On the faith of Beausire, it shall be done." - -"That is enough for me," said the other, drawing out a diamond-studded -watch on which was a portrait of Frederick the Great. "It is now a -quarter to nine. At nine precisely you are expected under the Royale -Place arcades, near Sully House. Take these ten pieces, pocket them, put -on your coat and buckle on your sword--and do not keep them waiting." - -"Where am I to see your lordship next?" inquired Beausire, obeying the -instructions, without asking reiteration. - -"In St. Jean's Cemetery, if you please. When we have such deadly matters -to discuss the company of the dead is better than the living. Come when -you are free; the first to arrive waits for the other. I have now to -chat with the lady." - -The captain stood on one foot. - -"Be easy; I did not make bold when she was a single woman; I have the -more reason to respect her since she is a mother of a family. Be off, -captain." - -Beausire threw a glance at his wife, by courtesy, at all events, -tenderly hugged little Toussaint, saluted the patron with respect mixed -with disquiet, and left the house just as Notre Dame clock bell was -striking the three-quarters after eight. - - - - -CHAPTER XXV. - -DOWN AMONG THE DEAD - - -It was nearly midnight when a man hesitatingly walked up to the iron -gateway of St. Jean's burying-ground, in Croix Blanche Street. - -As midnight boomed, he saw a spectre cross the grounds under the yews -and cypresses, and, approaching the grating, turn a key harshly in the -gatelock to show that, if he were a ghost and had the leave to quit his -grave, he also had that to go beyond the cemetery altogether. - -"Do you not recognize me, Captain B.?" queried the jesting voice of -Cagliostro, "or did you forget our appointment?" - -"I am glad it is you," said the man in the French Guards sergeant dress, -breathing as if his heart were relieved of great weight. "These devilish -streets are so dark and deserted that I do not know but it is better to -run up against any body than not to meet a soul." - -"Pshaw," returned the magician, "the idea of your fearing any thing at -any hour of the day or night! You will never make me believe that of a -man like you who would go anywhere with a sword by his side. However, -step on this side of the railings, and you will be tranquil, my dear -Captain Beausire, for you will meet no one but me." - -Beausire acted on the invitation, and the key grated again in the lock, -to fasten the gate behind him. - -"Keep to this little path," continued Cagliostro, "and at twenty paces -you will come upon a little broken altar, on the steps of which we can -nicely manage our little business." - -"Where the mischief do you see any path?" he grumbled, after starting -with a good will. "I meet nothing but nettles tearing my ankles and -grass up to my knees." - -"I own that this cemetery is as badly kept as any I know of; but it is -not astonishing, for here are buried only the condemned prisoners -executed in the City, and no one plants flowers for such poor fellows. -Still we have some undeniable celebrities here, my dear Beausire. If it -were daylight I would show you where lies Bouteville Montmorency, -decapitated for having fought a duel; the Knight of Rohan who suffered -the same fate for conspiring against the Government; Count Horn broken -on the wheel for murdering a Jew; Damiens who tried to kill Louis XVI., -and lots more. Oh, you are wrong to defame St. Jean's; it is badly kept -but it well keeps its famous ones." - -Beausire followed the guide so closely that he locked steps with him -like a soldier in the second rank with the predecessor so that when the -latter stopped suddenly he ran up against him. - -"Ah! this is a fresh one; the grave of your comrade Fleurdepine, one of -the murderers of Franois the Assemblymen's baker, who was hanged a week -ago by sentence at the Chatelet; this ought to interest you, as he was, -like you, a corporal, a sergeant by his own promotion, and a crimp--I -mean a recruiter." - -The hearer's teeth chattered; the thistles he walked among seemed so -many skeleton fingers stretched up to trip him, and make him understand -that this is the place where he would have his everlasting sleep. - -"Well, we have arrived," said the cicerone, stopping at a mound of -ruins. - -Sitting down on a stone he pointed out another to his companion, as if -placed for a conversation. It was time, for the ex-soldier's knees were -knocking together so that he fell rather than sat on the elevation. - -"Now that we are comfortable for a chat," went on the magician, "let us -know what went on under the Royale Place arches. The meeting must have -been interesting?" - -"To tell the truth, count, I am so upset that I really believe you will -get a clearer account by questioning me." - -"Be it so, I am easy going, and the shape of news little matters -provided I get it. How many of you met at the arches?" - -"Six, including myself." - -"I wonder if they were the persons I conjecture to be there? _Primo_, -you, no doubt." - -Beausire groaned as though he wished there could be doubt on that head. - -"You do me much honor in commencing by me, for there were very great -grandees compared with me." - -"My dear boy, I follow the Gospel: 'The first shall be last.' If the -first are to be last, why, the last will naturally lead. So I begin with -you, according to Scripture. Then there would be your comrade Tourcaty, -an old recruiting officer who is charged to raise the Brabant Legion?" - -"Yes, we had Tourcaty." - -"Then, there would be that sound royalist Marquie, once sergeant in the -French Guards, now sub-lieutenant in a regiment of the centre line. -Favras, of course? the Masked Man? Any particulars to furnish about the -Masked Man?" - -The traitor looked at the inquirer so fixedly that his eyes seemed to -kindle in the dark. - -"Why, is it not--" but he stopped as if fearing to commit a sacrilege if -he went farther. - -"What's this? have you a knot in your tongue? Take care of being -tongue-tied. Knots in the tongue lead to knots round the neck, and as -they are slip ones, they are the worst kind." - -"Well, is it not the King's b-b-brother?" stammered the other. - -"Nonsense, my dear Beausire, it is conceivable that Favras, who wants it -believed that he clasps hands with a royal prince in the plot, should -give out that the Mask hides the King's brother, Provence, but you and -your mate, Tourcaty, recruiting-sergeants, are men used to measure men -by their height in inches and lines, and it is not likely you would be -cheated that way." - -"No, it is not likely," agreed the soldier. - -"The King's brother is five feet three and seven lines," pursued the -magician, "while the Masked Man is nearly five feet six." - -"To a T.," said the traitor, "that occurred to me; but who can it be if -not the King's brother?" - -"Excuse me, I should be proud and happy to teach you something," -retorted Cagliostro: "but I came here to be taught by you." - -"But if your lordship knows who this man is," said the ex-corporal, -becoming more at home, "might I ask his name?" - -"A name is a serious thing to divulge," responded the strange man: "and -really I prefer you should guess. Do you know the story of OEdipus and -the Sphinx?" - -"I went to see a tragedy of that title and fell asleep, unfortunately, -in the fourth act." - -"Plague take me, but you ought not to call that a misfortune!" - -"But I lose by it now." - -"Not to go into details, suffice it that OEdipus, whom I knew as a boy -at one royal court and as a man at another, was predicted to be the -murderer of his father and the husband of his mother. Believing King -Polybius this father, he departed from his realm, but would not take a -hint from me about the road. The result was that he met his own sire on -the road where, as neither would turn out, a fight ensued in which he -slew his father. Some time after he met the Sphinx. It was a monster -with a woman's head on a lion's body which I regret never to have seen, -as it was a thousand years after her death that I travelled that road. -She had the habit of putting riddles to the wayfarers and eating those -who could not read them aright. To my friend OEdipus she put the -following: - -"'What animal goes upon four legs at morning, two at noon and three at -night?'" - -"OEdipus answered off-hand: 'Man, who in the morning of life as a -child crawls on all fours; as an adult walks upright; as an old man -hobbles with a stick.'" - -"That is so," exclaimed Beausire: "it crossed the sphinx!" - -"She threw herself down a precipice and the winner went on to where he -married his father's widow to accomplish the prophecy." - -"But what analogy between the Sphinx and the Masked Man?" - -"A close one. I propose an enigma; only I am not cruel like the Sphinx -and will not devour you if you fail to guess. Listen: Which lord at the -court is grandson of his father, brother of his mother and uncle of his -sisters?" - -"The devil!" burst forth Beausire, falling into a reverie. "Can you not -also help me out here, my lord?" - -"Let us turn from pagan story to sacred history, then. Do you know the -tale of Lot?" - -"Lot and the Pillar of Salt, and his daughters?" - -"The same." - -"Of course, I do. Wait a bit, do they not say that old King Louis XIV, -and his daughter the Lady Adeliade----" - -"You are getting warm, captain----" - -"In that case the Masked Man would be Count Louis Narbonne!" - -"Now that we are no longer in doubt about this conspirator, let us -finish with the aim of the plot. The object is to carry off the King? -And take him to Peronne? what means have you?" - -"For money we have two millions cash----" - -"Lent by a Genoese banker? I know him. Any other funds?" - -"I know of none." - -"So much for the money: now for the men." - -"General Lafayette has authorized the raising of a legion to fly to the -help of Brabant revolting against the Empire." - -"Under cover of which you form a royalist legion? I see the hand of -Lafayette in this," muttered Cagliostro. "But you will want more than a -legion to carry out this plan--an army." - -"Oh, we have the army. Two hundred horsemen are gathered at Versailles -ready to start at the appointed hour: they can arrive in three columns -at Paris by two in the morning. The first gets in to kill General -Lafayette: the second to settle old Necker; the third will do for Mayor -Baily." - -"Good!" exclaimed the listener. - -"This done, the cannons are spiked, and all rally on the Champs Elyses, -and march on the Tuileries where our friends will be masters." - -"What about the National Guards there?" - -"The Brabant Column attends to them: it joins with it part of the Guards -which has been bought over: four hundred Swiss, three hundred country -friends, and so on. These will have taken possession of all the gates -by help within. We rush in on the King, saying: 'Sire, the St. Antoine -ward is in insurrection; a carriage is ready--you must be off!' if he -consents, all right: if he resists, we hustle him out and drive him to -St. Denis." - -"Capital!" - -"There we find twenty thousand infantry, with all the country royalists, -well armed, in great force, who conduct the King to Peronne." - -"Better and better. What do you do there?' - -"The gathering there brings our whole array up to one hundred and fifty -thousand men." - -"A very pretty figure," commented the Chief of the Invisibles. - -"With the mass we march on Paris, cutting off supplies above and below -on the river. Famished Paris capitulates; the Assembly is kicked to -pieces, and the King enjoys his own again on the throne of his fathers." - -"Amen!" sang Cagliostro. "My dear Beausire," he went on, rising, "your -conversation is most agreeable; but as they say of the greatest orators, -when they have spoken all that is in them, nothing more is to be got. -You are done?" - -"Yes, my lord, for the moment." - -"Then, good-night: when you want another ten louis call for them at my -home, at Bellevue." - -"At the Count of Cagliostro's?" - -"No; they would not know who you meant. Ask for Baron Zannone." - -"But that is the banker who cashed up the two millions on the King's -brother's notes!" ejaculated Beausire. - -"That is not unlikely; only I do such a large business that I have -confounded it with the others. That is why it was not clear in my mind -but now you remind me, I believe I did something of the kind." - -Beausire went his way, stupefied that a banker could forget a matter of -two millions, and beginning to believe that he was quite right in siding -with the lender rather than with the borrower. He bowed lowly while the -count favored him with a slight nod at the cemetery gateway. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVI. - -GAMAIN PROVES HE IS THE MASTER. - - -The reader will not be much surprised, after the permission Lafayette -gave for the King to have his locksmith call to relieve him of a trouble -in lockmaking, that Gamain should present himself at the palace with his -apprentice who gave the name of Louis Lecomte. - -Though there was nothing in the pair aristocratic, King Louis ran to the -forge door on hearing the announcement and bade them enter. - -"Here I am," returned Gamain, with the familiarity of a crony. - -Whether he was less used to royal company, or endowed by more respect -for crowned heads under whatever attire they appeared, the boy kept on -the sill, at a space from his master, with his cap in his hand near the -door closed by the valet behind both. - -He may have been better placed there to catch the gleam of glee in the -King's dull eye, and to give unseen a respectful nod. - -"Glad to see you, my old Gamain," said Louis; "I really did not look for -you--I thought you had forgotten old times." - -"And that is why you have taken on a 'prentice," said Gamain. "You did -right enough to have help when I was not on hand, but unfortunately an -apprentice is not a master." - -"How could I help it? I was assured that you did not care to come near -me from fear of injuring yourself." - -"Faith, it was not hard to learn at Versailles that it was not healthy -to be friend of yours--as witness that brace of your Lifeguardsman whom -they cut off the heads of! ay, and by the same token had the Queen's -barber Leonard dress them in the latest fashion, which I saw in a saloon -at Secres." - -A cloud passed over the royal brow and the apprentice hung his head. - -"But folks say that you are getting on nicely since you came back to -town, and that you can make the Parisians do anything you like; not that -it is astonishing, for the Parisians are ninnies and the Queen is such a -weedler when she likes to be." - -Louis made no remark, but his cheeks were colored. The young man seemed -pained by the locksmith's familiarity. After wiping his forehead with a -handkerchief, rather fine for a locksmith's help, he approached the King -to whom he said: - -"Does your Majesty allow me to tell how we have Master Gamain here and -how I am in your employment?" - -"Yes, my dear Louis," said the King. - -"That is the style! 'My dear Louis!' as long as your arm. To a -fortnight's acquaintance, a workman, a 'prentice! why, what are you -going to call me, who has known you these five and twenty years? who put -the file in your fist? who am the master? this is the advantage of -having white hands and a glib tongue." - -"I will call you 'My good Gamain' if you like. I speak to the lad -affectionately because I owe to him the joy of seeing my old master -again: not because he speaks prettily or keeps his hands smooth, for you -know I think nothing of these fine ways--but I like him for proving it -was false what they said about my never seeing you any more." - -"Well, it was not me that held back, but that wife of mine. She was -always saying: 'Gamain, you have bad acquaintances, those who fly too -high for you. It is not good to hobnob with aristocrats nowadays. We -have a little property--look after it. Let us rear our young ones: and -let the Dauphin learn locksmithing from others than you, if he wants to, -like his father before him. There are plenty of smiths in France.'" - -Louis glanced at the apprentice, and stifling a sigh, partly sad and -partly rallying, said: - -"No doubt, but there are few like you." - -"Just what I said to the master when I called on him," said the young -man, "I told him the King was making a hidden-bolt lock; and that he had -got along very well till he came to the sliding bolt itself----" - -"I should think so," interrupted Gamain: "bless you, the bolt is the -backbone of a lock. It is not given to everybody to get over that -difficulty." - -"No, nor mine in passing the examination you put me through to be -convinced I came from the King," replied the young man, laughing. "You -said it was a trap laid by your enemies; but the twenty-five yellow boys -sent by his Majesty convinced you. So off we started, and here we are." - -"And welcome," said the royal smith, thanking the speaker with a glance; -"and now, Master Gamain, as you appear in a hurry, let us tackle the -job." - -"You have hit it. I promised the mistress that I should be home by -evening. Let us see this puzzler of a lock." - -The King put in his hands a lock three-parts finished. - -"Lord help us," said the man, grinning: "this is not a secret bolt but a -trunk lock. You have three wards on it and the second ought to catch -while the first is released by the key." - -He was using the key as he spoke and the others contemplated his -demonstration with awe for his learning. - -"But the second ward catches, like the Assembly when you want it to do -something your way and says: 'I won't budge.'" - -"But there must be some way of getting over the fix," said the King. - -"Of course; it would be a day's work to an ordinary workman but I will -knock it off in a couple of hours. Only," said he, with the suspicious -air of an artisan jealous of the secrets of the craft; "I want no -fussing round me." - -What Gamain desired was the yearning of the King. His loneliness would -allow him a dialogue apart with the Apprentice. - -"But you may need something?" - -"I will set the footman trotting." - -The King went himself to the door to acquaint Franois with the -arrangement, and then led away the apprentice, Louis Lecomte, in whom -the reader will have recognized Louis Bouille. - -They went by a secret stairway into the royal study, where a table was -covered by a large map of France, showing the King had been studying the -route of the flight. - -"Now that we are alone, count," said he, "let me compliment you on your -skill and thank you for your dedication of services to me." - -"And I ask to be excused for my apparel and the language I have had to -use before you." - -"You speak like a brave gentleman and your apparel covers a loyal heart -in any case. But we have no time to lose. Even the Queen is ignorant of -your presence here; nobody is listening; so to the point." - -"Did not your Majesty send us a naval officer, the count of Charny, who -brought a letter----" - -"Insignificant," interrupted the monarch, "a mere introduction to a -verbal communication." - -"He fulfilled it and it was to make its performance certain that my -father sent me to town to try to have an interview alone with your -Majesty. The King can have the certainty of leaving France. My father is -proud and happy of the honor done him." - -"Now for the principal point; what says he of the project?" - -"That it is hazardous and requires great precautions but is not -impossible." - -"Firstly, will not your father want the command over the adjoining -districts?" - -"It is his advice, but he would not like it to be thought personal -ambition----" - -"Pooh, do I not know his disinterestedness? did he explain about the -best road to take?" - -"In the first place he fears one thing: that many projects of flight -have been proposed and that all these getting entangled, this one will -meet some block which will be ascribed to fatality, when it will be the -spite or the rashness of the other parties." - -"I promise, my dear Louis, to let the parties intrigue around me; it is -their want and a necessity of my position. While they are following -these threads which will end in nothing but leading them astray we will -follow our own route with no other confidants, with more security from -our greater secresy. But I do not want to leave the kingdom altogether. -It is hard for a sovereign to get back if he does so. I have decided on -Montmedy as the place of retirement, which is in the centre of your -father's command and at a suitable distance." - -"Has your Majesty planned out the flight or is this but a sketch?" -queried the count. - -"Nothing is settled," replied Louis, "and all depends on circumstances. -If I see the Queen and the Family running fresh dangers from the -ruffians I will take an irrevocable decision." - -"My father thinks the dangers of the journey will be diminished by -dividing the passengers." - -"Yes, but it is useless to discuss this point. In a solemn hour the -Queen and I resolved to go together or not at all." - -The envoy bowed. - -"At the meet moment the King has but to issue the orders to have them -executed," he said. "Now, for the route. There are three ways to -Montmedy." - -"I have marked them on the map. The best is through Reims, but I was -consecrated there and would be recognized by many. I choose the Chalons -Road _via_ Vacennes and going round Verdun. Let the regiments be posted -in the petty towns between Chalons and Montmedy: I see no inconvenience -in the first detachment awaiting me in the former place." - -"Sire, the location of the regiments will have to be settled. By the -way, the King should know that there is no posting-house at Varennes." - -"I am glad you are so well informed," observed the King, merrily; "it -shows you have deeply studied the plans. But do not worry about such -matters. Charny is my engineer, who has drawn up the maps and he will -see to the supply of horses." - -"And now, Sire, that all is arranged on the main lines," said the young -conspirator, "will your Majesty allow me to quote some lines from an -Italian author, which my father thought appropriate to the situation? -They are: - -"Delay is always prejudicial, and there is no wholly favorable time in -any business; hence if one were to wait for a perfect chance, nothing -would ever be done, or if done be bungled." - -"That is Machiavelli," said the King. "I will remember the advice of -that secretary to the Magnificent Republic of Venice. But hush! I hear -steps--it is Gamain; let us go to meet him so that he may not think we -were busy about something else than the cupboard the lock is for." - -He opened the secret door, in time, for the master locksmith was there, -with the lock in his hand and a grin on his face. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVII. - -THE FRIEND OF THE FALLEN. - - -At eight that same evening, a workingman, holding his hand to his -waistcoat pocket as though it contained money in larger quantity than -usual, staggered out of the Tuileries Palace and meandered along the -road to the Soapworks Wharfside. It was there a strolling ground with -drinking resorts along the line. On Sundays and holidays, it was -thronged; on other days lonesome. - -This man passed the wine-stores with much difficulty but for a period -temperance triumphed; but when it came to the twentieth saloon on the -route, it was too much, and he entered the next one for--only one glass. - -The demon of drink, against whom he had valiantly struggled, seemed -embodied in a stranger who followed him closely and even went into the -saloon with him, sitting opposite and apparently watching him succumb -with glee. - -Five seconds after the workman had resumed his road, this watcher was on -his track. - -But how can the drinkingman stop going downhill when he has taken a -whet, and perceives with the amazement of the toper that nothing makes -one so thirsty as taking a drink? Scarcely had he tottered a hundred -paces before his thirst was so sharp that he had to slack it once more. - -The result of these lapses from the path he had previously trod was that -he reached deviously the highway beyond the Passy bars, where he -felicitated himself on the road being tolerably free from temples of the -God of Wine. - -In his gladness he set up singing. Unfortunately the delight was -ephemeral and the song of short duration. - -He fell to muttering and then talking to himself, and the soliloquy was -in the form of imprecations on unknown persecutors of whom the unsteady -sot complained. - -"Oh, the scoundrel! to give an old friend, a master, doctored wine--ugh! -So, just let him send again for me to fix his locks, let him send his -traitor of a workmate who gives me the go-by and I will tell him: 'It -won't work this trip! let your Majesty fix up your own locks.' We shall -see then if a lock is to be turned out as sleek as a decree. Oh, I'll -give you all you want of locks, with three wards, confound the villain! -the wine was salted, peppered--by heaven, it was poisoned! Hope I may be -saved, but the wine was poisoned!" - -So howling, overcome by the force of the poison, of course, the -unfortunate victim laid himself at full length, not for the first time, -on the road, mercifully carpetted thickly with mud. - -On other occasions the drunkard had scrambled up alone; difficult to do -but he had got through the difficulty with honor; but this third time, -after desperate efforts, he had to confess that the task was beyond him. -With a sigh, much resembling a groan, he seemed decided to sleep for -this night on the bosom of our common Mother Earth. - -No doubt the follower had waited for this period of doubt, -disheartenment and weakness, for he approached him warily, went all -round fallen greatness, and calling a hack, said to the driver: - -"Old man, here's my friend who has shipped too heavy a cargo. Take this -piece for yourself, help me to put the poor fellow in the straw of your -coach where he will not soil the elegant cushions, and take him to your -wine saloon at Sevres Bridge. I will get up beside you." - -There was nothing surprising that the customer should sit up with the -driver, as he appeared to be one of his sort. So, with the touching -confidence men of the lower classes have for one another, the jarvey -said: - -"All right, but let us have a look at the silver, see!" - -"Here you are, old brother," ventured the man without being in the least -offended and handing over a six-livre crownpiece. - -"But will there be a little bit beyond the fare for myself, my master?" -inquired the coachman, mollified by the money. - -"That depends how we get along. Let us get the poor chap in; shut the -blinds, try to keep your pair of skeletons on their hoofs, and we will -see when we get to Sevres, how you _conducted_ us!" - -"Now, I call this speaking to the purpose," returned the knight of the -whip. "Take it easy, master! A nod is as good as a wink. Get upon the -box and keep my Arabian steeds from bolting up the road; no jokes, they -feel the want of a supper and are chafing to race home to the stables. I -will manage the rest." - -The generous stranger did as he was bid; the driver, with all the -delicacy of which he was susceptible, dragged the sot up by the arms, -jabbed him down between the seats, slammed the door, drew down the -blinds, mounted the box again, and whipped up the barbs. With the -funeral gait of night hack-horses they stumbled through the village of -Point-du-Jour and reached the Sevres Saloon in an hour. - -The house was shut up for the night, but the new-comer jumped down and -applied such blows of the fist to the door that the inhabitants, however -fond of slumber, could not enjoy it long under so much racket. The host, -who was alone, finally got up in his night dress, to see the rioter and -promised to pack him off smartly if the game were not worth the candle. - -Apparently though the value of the game was clear, for, at the first -whisper by the irreverent arouser to the landlord, he plucked off his -cotton nightcap and made bows which his scanty costume rendered -singularly grotesque. He hastened to pilot the coachman, lugging -Gamain, into the little taproom where he had once filled himself with -his favorite burgundy. - -As the driver and his steeds had done their best, the stranger gave the -former a piece of money as extra. - -Then seeing that Master Gamain was stuck up in a chair, with his head on -the table before him, he hastened to have the host bring him two bottles -of wine and a decanter of water, and opened the windows and blinds to -change the mephitic air which the common people like to breathe in such -resorts. - -After bringing the wine, with alacrity, and the water, with reluctance, -the host respectfully retired and left the stranger with the drunkard. - -Having renewed the air, as stated, the former clapped smelling salts to -Gamain's nose which ceased to snore and gave a sneeze. This awakened him -a little from that disgusting sleep of drunkards the sight of which -would cure them--if by a miracle, they could see what they look like at -such periods. - -Gamain opened his eyes widely, and muttered some words, unintelligible -for anybody but the philologist who distinguished by his profound -attention these words: - -"The scoundrel--he--poisoned--poisoned wine----" - -The good Samaritan seemed to see with satisfaction that his ward was -under the same impression: he gave him another sniff of the hartstorn -which permitted the son of Noah to complete the sense of his phrase in -an accusation pointing to an abuse of trust and wanton heartlessness. - -"To poison a friend--an old friend!" - -"That's so--it is horrible," observed the other. - -"Infamous," faltered Gamain. - -"What a good thing I was handy to give you an antidote," suggested the -hearer. - -"It was lucky," said the locksmith. - -"But as one dose is not enough, have another," said the stranger, -putting a few drops from the smelling bottle in a glass of water; it was -ammonia and the man had hardly swallowed the compound than he opened his -eyes immeasurably and gurgled between two sneezes: - -"Ah, monster, what are you giving us there? augh, augh!" - -"My dear fellow, I am giving you stuff that will save your life," -returned the kind friend. - -"If it is physic, that is all right," said Gamain: "but it is a beastly -failure if you call it a drink." - -The stranger profited by his sneezing again and twitching his features, -shut the blinds though not the windows. - -Looking round him the master locksmith recognized with the profound -gratitude of drinking men for old haunts, the saloon where he had -feasted before. In his frequent trip to town from Versailles, he had not -seldom halted here. It might be thought necessary, as the house was -halfway. - -This gratitude produced its effect: it gave him a great confidence to -find himself on friendly ground. - -"Hurrah, it looks as though I were halfway home anyway," he exclaimed. - -"Yes, thanks to me," said the stranger. - -"Thanks to you? why, who are you?" stammered Gamain, looking from still -life to animated things. - -"My dear Gamain, your question shows that you have a poor memory." - -"Hold on," said the smith, giving him more attention: "it strikes me -that I have seen you before." - -"You don't say so? that is a blessed thing." - -"Ay, but where--that is the rub." - -"Look around you, then; something may remind you; or had you better have -some more of the counterbane to refresh you?" - -"No, thank 'ee, I have had enough of that remedy," said Gamain, -stretching his arms out. "I am so nearly brought round that I will do -without it. Where did I see you? why, in this very spot, of course. And -when? the day I was coming back from doing a special job at Paris--I -seem to be in for this sort of thing," added he, chuckling. - -"Very well: but who am I?" - -"A jolly honest mate who paid for the liquor. Shake hands!" - -"Good, good, you remember now." - -"With all the more pleasure as it is but a step from Master locksmith to -master gunsmith," said the other. - -"Ah, good, good, I remember now. Yes, it was the sixth of October, when -the King went to Paris: we talked about him." - -"And I found your conversation interesting, Master Gamain; so that, as -your memory comes home and I want to enjoy it again, I should like to -know, if I am not too inquisitive, what the deuse you were doing across -the road where a vehicle might have cut you in two? Have you sorrows, -old blade, and had you screwed up your mind to suicide?" - -"Faith, no! What was I doing flat across the road, eh? Was I in the -road?" - -"Look at your clothes." - -"Whew!" whistled Gamain after the inspection. "Mother Gamain will kick -up a hullabaloo for she said yesterday: 'Don't put on your new coat; any -old thing will do for the Tuileries.'" - -"Hello? been to the Tuileries? were you coming from the Tuileries when I -picked you up?" asked the kind soul. - -"Why, yes, that's about the size of it," responded Gamain, scratching -his head and trying to collect his entangled ideas; "certainly I was -coming home from the Tuileries. Why not? It is no mystery that I am -master locksmith to Master Veto." - -"Who is he?" - -"Why, have you come from China? not to know old Veto?" - -"What do you want? I am obliged to stick to my trade, and that is not -politics." - -"You are blamed lucky! I have to mix up with these high folk--more's the -pity! or rather, they force me to mix with them. It will be my ruin." He -sighed as he looked up to heaven. - -"Pshaw! were you called to Paris again to do another piece of work in -the style of that other one?" asked the friend. - -"But this time I was not blindfolded but taken with my eyes open." - -"So that you knew it was the Tuileries this time?" - -"The Tuileries? who said anything about the Tuileries?" - -"Why, you, of course, just now. How would I know where you had been -carousing had you not told me?" - -"That is true," muttered Gamain to himself; "how should he, unless I -told him? Perhaps," he said aloud, "I was wrong to let you know; but you -are not like the rest. Besides I am not going to deny that I was at the -Tuileries." - -"And you did some work for the King, for which he gave you twenty five -louis," went on the other. - -"Indeed, I had twenty-five shiners in my pouch," said Gamain. - -"Then, you have got them now, my friend." - -The smith quickly plunged his hand into his pocket and pulled it out -full of gold mixed with small change in silver and bronze. - -"To think that I had forgot it! twenty-five is a good bit, too--and it -is right to the 'broken' louis--one does not pick up such a lot under -the horse's foot. Thank God the account is correct." And he breathed -more freely. - -"My dear Master Gamain, I told you I found you on the King's highway, -not twenty paces from a heavy wagon which would have cut you in twain. I -shouted for the carrier to pull up; I called a passing cab; I unhooked -one of the lamps and as I looked at you by its light, I caught sight of -a gold piece on the ground; as they were near your pocket, I judged that -you had dropped them. I put my finger in the pocket and as there were a -score of their brothers in bed there I guessed that these were of the -same brood. Thereupon the hack driver shook his head. 'I ain't going to -take this fare,' said he: 'he is too rich for his dress. Twenty louis in -gold in a cotton waistcoat suggests that the gallows will be his end.' -'What,' says I, 'do you take him for a thief?' The word struck you, for -you says. 'Thief? you are another!' says you. 'So you must be a prig,' -returned the coachman, 'or how would the likes of you have a pocket -gold-lined, say?' - -"'I have money because my pupil the King of France gave it me,' said -you. By these words I thought I recognized you, and clasping the lamp to -your nose, I cried: 'Bless us and save us: all is clear; this is Master -Gamain, master locksmith at Versailles. He has been working in the royal -forge and the King has given him twenty-five mint-drops for his trouble. -All right: I will answer for him.' From the moment that I answered for -you, the driver raised no objections. I replaced the coins in your -pocket; we laid you snugly in the hack; and we set you down in this -retreat so that you have nothing to complain of except that your -'prentice left you in the lurch." - -"Did I speak of my 'prentice? that he left me in the lurch?" questioned -Gamain, more and more astonished. - -"Why, hang it all, are you going back on what you said? Did you not -growl that it was all the fault of--of--dash me if I can remember the -name you used." - -"Louis Lecomte?" - -"I guess that was it. Did you not say: 'Louis Lecomte is in fault! for -he promised to see me safe home and at the last moment he dropped me -like a hot roll?'" - -"I daresay I did so, for it is the blessed truth." - -"Then, why do you deny the truth? let me tell you, that with another -than me, such chatter would be dangerous?" - -"But with you, one is safe, eh? with a regular friend," said the smith, -coaxingly. - -"Lord, you have lots of trust in your friend. You say yes and you say -no; you wiggle and waver so that none knows how to have you. It is like -your fable t'other day about the secret door that a nobleman had you fit -on the strict quiet." - -"Then you will not believe this tale either, for it also hangs upon a -door." - -"In the palace?" - -"In the King's palace. Only instead of its being a clothes-press door, -or rather that of a safe in the wall, it is a cupboard door this time." - -"Are you gaming me that the King, while he certainly dabbles in -locksmithery, sent for you to do up a door?" - -"He did, though. Poor fellow, he thought he was smart enough to get on -without me, and began to make a lock. 'What good is Gamain anyhow?' but -he got mixed up with the works in the lock and had to fall back on -Gamain after all." - -"So you were hunted up by one of his trusty flunkeys, Hue, or Durey or -Weber, eh?" - -"That is just where you make a mistake. He has taken a green hand on to -help him, who is as much of an amateur as himself; a young sprig who -popped in upon me one morning at Versailles, and says he: 'Look here, -Daddy Gamain, the King and me tried to make a lock, and by Jove we have -made a muddle of it. The old thing won't work! 'What have I to do with -it?' I wanted to know. 'You are wanted to set it right,' says he, and as -I said that it was a plant and he did not come from the King, he slaps -some gold on the bench and says: 'Is not this earnest enough? here are -twenty-five louis which the King sends you to remove any doubts.' He -gave me them, too." - -"So these are what you are sporting round with you?" - -"No: these are another lot. These were for traveling expenses and a sort -of a payment on account!" - -"Fifty louis for filing up an old lock? there is a snake in the grass, -Friend Gamain." - -"Just what I said to myself: particularly as the 'prentice does not seem -a regular craftsman but dodged my question about work and where you stop -when you are on tramp in France, as well as who is Mother Marianne." - -"But you are not the man to be taken in when you see a boy at work." - -"I do not say so much as that. The lad plied the file and the chisel -handily. I have seen him cut a rod of iron through velean at a blow, and -put a hole in a band with a rattail file as if using a gimlet on a lath. -But there is more theory than practice about his style: he no sooner -finishes the job than he washed his hands, and what hands? so white that -never did a locksmith boast the like. You don't see me scrubbing my -hands till they are white!" - -With pride he showed his grubby, black and callous hands which indeed -seemed to defy all the cosmetics and skin-bleaches in the world. - -"But in short what did you do when you got to the King's?" asked the -other, bringing the man to the point most interesting to him. - -"It looked as though we were expected: in the forge the King showed me a -lock commenced not badly, but he had got in a corner. It was one with -three wards, d'ye see, which few locksmiths can grapple with and royal -ones least of all. I looked at it and saw where the key caught. 'All -right,' I says; 'let me alone with it for an hour and it will work as if -greased,' 'Go ahead,' said the King, 'consider yourself at home; call -for anything you like while we get the cupboard ready on which the lock -goes.' On which he went out with the imp of a 'prentice." - -"By the main stairs?" queried the gunsmith carelessly. - -"No: by a secret one leading to his study. When I got through, I had -done something, too; I said to myself: 'It is all bosh about this here -cupboard; they are laying their heads together for some mischief.' So I -crept down softly and opening the study door, I got a glimpse of what -they were up to." - -"And what were they up to?" inquired the gunsmith. - -"Well, I did not catch them in the act, for they must have heard me -coming, for I have not the light step of a dancer. They pretended to be -up and coming to me, and the King said, 'Oh this is you, and you have -finished? Come along for I have something else for you to do.' So he -hurried me through the study, but not so fast that I did not spy spread -out on a table a big map which I believe to be France on account of a -lily-flower printed in one corner. From the midst three rows of pins ran -out to the edges like files of soldiers, for they were stuck in at -regular spaces." - -"Really, you are wonderfully sharp," said the stranger in affected -admiration: "So you believe that instead of bothering about their -cupboard, they were busy with this map?" - -"I am sure of it: the pins had wax heads of different colors, black, -blue and red; and the King was using a red one to pick his teeth with, -without thinking what he was about." - -"Gamain, if I discovered some new kind of gun, hang me if I would let -you come into my workshop, even to pass through it, or I would bandage -your eyes as on the day you were taken to the great nobleman's house -though you did perceive that the house had ten steps to the stoop and -that it fronted on the main avenue." - -"Wait a bit," said the smith, enchanted at the eulogies; "you have not -heard all--there is really a safe in the wall." - -"What wall?" - -"Of the inner corridor running from the royal alcove to the young -prince's room." - -"What you say is very queer. And was this safe open?" - -"Is it likely? I squinted round in all ways but it was no use my asking -myself: 'Where on earth is this secret press?' Then the King gave me a -look and says he: 'Gamain, I have always had trust in you. So I would -not let anybody but you know the secret.' While speaking, the King -lifted a panel, while the boy held a light, for the corridor has no -windows, and showed me a two foot round hole. Seeing my astonishment, he -winked to our companion and said: 'Do you see that hole, my friend; I -made it to keep money in; this young fellow helped me during the four or -five days he has been staying in the palace. Now we want the lock put on -the panel so that it will be hidden and not interfere with its sliding. -Do you want an aid, in which case this young man will help you? or can -you do without? if so I will set him to work elsewhere. 'Tut,' I said, -'you know that I like to go alone when I am the job. It is four hour's -work for a good hand but I am a master and will be through in three. Go -and attend to your work, young fellow; and your Majesty may stick to -his. And in three hours fetch along anything you want kept in this -meat-safe.' - -"We may believe the young chap had other fish to fry, for I saw nothing -more of him: but when the time was up, the King came back. 'U. P., it is -all UP!' said I, and I made him see that the door slid without the lock -being in the way as neat as the Automatons of Vaucanson. 'Good,' said -he; 'just help me count the cash I am going to bestow here.' A valet -brought four fine bags of coin and we reckoned a million a-piece; there -were twenty-and-five over. 'There you are, Gamain,' said the King, 'Take -them for your trouble!' as though it was not disgraceful to give an old -mate a beggarly twenty-five--a man with five children, and he has been -handling two millions! What do you think of that?" - -"The truth is that this is mean," said the other, shrugging his -shoulders. - -"Wait, this is not all. I put the coin in my pocket and said. 'I thank -your Majesty: but Lord love you, I have not had sup or bite since -morning and I am ready to burst!' I had barely finished before the Queen -walked in by a secret door, so that she was on the top of us without -saying Lookout! She had a platter in her hand with a cake and a glass on -it. - -"'My dear Gamain, as you are hungry and thirsty, try our wine and cake!' -'Sorry to trouble you, Royal Madam,' I said, but just think of a drop -like that and a mouthful of wine like that fancy cake for a man. What do -you expect sensible in that line from a Queen, though? it is plain that -such folks are never really hungry and athirst. A glass of wine--oh, -dear!" - -"So you refused it?" - -"It would have been better if I had; but I drank. As for the cake I -rolled it up in my handkerchief, saying 'What is no good for the father -will do for the children.' Then I thanked his Majesty, as though it were -worth thanks, and I started off, saying that they will not catch me in -their old palace in a hurry again." - -"And why do you say you had better have refused the drink?" - -"Because they had put poison in it! Hardly had I got over the bridge -before I was seized by thirst, such a raging thirst that between the -liquor saloons and the river, I balanced myself. I could tell it was -queer stuff they gave me for the more I took the thirstier I was. This -kept on with my trying to correct that dose till I lost my senses. They -may be easy on this score: if ever they come to me for a good character, -I will say they gave me twenty-five louis for four hours' work and -counting a million, and for fear I should tell where they keep their -treasure, they poisoned me like a dog!" - -"And I, my dear Gamain," said the hearer, rising as though he had all -the information he wanted: "I will support your evidence by swearing -that I saved you with the antidote." - -"That is why we are sworn comrades till death do us part," exclaimed the -smith, grasping the speaker's hands. - -Refusing with Spartan sobriety the wine which his friend offered him for -the third or fourth time--for the amoniacal dose had sobered him as well -as disgusted him with drink for a time, Gamain took the road for -Versailles where he arrived safely at two in the morning with the -King's coin in his pocket and the Queen's cake in another. - -Left behind in the saloon, the pretended gunsmith drew out a set of -tablets mounted in diamonds and gold, and wrote with fluid-ink pencil -these two notes: - - "An iron safe behind the King's alcove, in the unlighted passage - leading to the prince's rooms. Make sure whether Louis Lecomte, - locksmith's boy, is not really Count Louis, son of Marquis Bouille, - arrived eleven days ago from Metz." - - - - -CHAPTER XXVIII. - -THE FIRST GUILLOTINE. - - -On Christmas Eve, a party was given at the Princess Lamballe's, which -the Queen's presiding over made it really her own reception. - -Isidore Charny had returned from Italy that morning and he had found -King and Queen very kind to him. Two reasons influenced the latter: one -his being the brother of Count Charny, which was a charm in his absence, -and his bringing back news from the fugitive princes which suited her -wishes. - -They backed the Favras scheme and urged her to flee for Turin. - -He left her only to go and acquaint Favras with the encouragement. The -Queen had said nothing positive about the flight: but he took enough to -the conspirator to fill him with joy. For the rest, the cash was in -hand, the men notified to stand ready, and the King would only have to -nod to have the whole plot set in motion. - -The silence of the royal couple was the only thing which worried him. -The Queen broke this by sending Isidore, and vague as were the words he -repeated, they acquired weight from coming out of a royal mouth. - -At nine the young viscount went to Lady Lamballe's. - -Count Provence was uneasy; Count Louis Narbonne walked about with the -ease of a man quite at home among princes. Isidore was not known to any -of the circle of the princes' bosom friends, but his well-known name and -the partiality accorded him by the princess led to all hands being held -out to him. - -Besides, he brought news from the foreign refuge where so many had -relatives. - -When he had delivered his budget, the conversation returned to its -former channel; the young men were laughing about a machine for -executing criminals which Dr. Guillotin had shown in a full size working -model and had proposed to the National Assembly. - -When an usher announced the King, and another the Queen, of course all -the merriment and chatter ceased. - -The more the revolutionary spirit stripped majesty of its eternals the -more the true royalists vied with each other to pour evidences of -respect upon the august chiefs. 1789 saw great ingratitude, but 1793 -great devotion. - -To talk over the Favras scheme in secret a whist party was made up of -the two rulers, Provence and Charny for the fourth hand. Respect -isolated the table. - -"Brother," said the Queen, "Lord Charny, who comes from Turin, says that -our kinsfolk there are begging us to join them." - -The King gave a stamp with impatience. - -"I entreat you to listen," whispered Lady Elizabeth, who sat on a stool. - -"Listen to what?" - -"That Lord Charny has also seen the Marquis Favras since he came home, a -gentleman whose lealty we know, and he says that the King has but to say -a word," went on the Queen, "or make a sign, and this very night, you -will be at Peronne." - -The King kept still. His brother twisted a jack of hearts all to rags. - -"Repeat this as the marquis put it," said he to Isidore. - -"Your Majesty, thanks to measures taken by Marquis Favras, he declares -that the King has but the cue to give to be in safety in Peronne this -blessed night." - -Turning sharply on his brother, the King said as he fixed his eyes on -him: - -"Are you coming if I go?" - -"I" said the other, turning pale and trembling. "I have not been -notified, and I have made no preparations." - -"You know nothing about it, and yet you found the money for Favras?" -exclaimed the monarch. "You not notified, and the moves in the game have -been reported to you hour by hour?" - -"The game?" faltered the prince. - -"The plot; for it is one of those plots for which, if discovered, Favras -will be tried and doomed to death--unless by money and other means we -save him as we did Bezenval." - -"Then you will save Favras." - -"No; for I might not be able to do as much for him. Besides, Bezenval -was my liege as Favras is yours. Let each save his own man, and both of -us shall have done our duty." - -He rose, but the Queen retained him by the skirt of the coat. - -"Sire, whether you accept or refuse, you owe the marquis an answer. What -is Viscount Charny to answer for the King?" - -"That the King does not allow himself to be spirited away like a slave -for the Louisiana plantations." He disengaged his coat. - -"This means," said Provence, "that the King will not allow of the -abduction but if it be executed in spite of his permission, it will be -welcome. In politics success condones the crime and blunderers deserve -double punishment." - -"Viscount," said the Queen, "tell the marquis what you heard and let him -act as he thinks it points. Go." - -The King had gone over to where the younger men were so hilariously -chatting; but the deepest silence fell at his approach. - -"Is the King so unhappy that he casts melancholy around him?" he -demanded. - -"Sire!" muttered the gentlemen. - -"You were very merry when the Queen and I came in. It is a bad thing for -kings when no one dares laugh before them. I may say the converse: -'Happy are the kings before whom laughter resounds.'" - -"Sire," returned one, "the subject is not one for a comic opera." - -"Of what were you talking?" - -"Sire, I yield the guilty one to your Majesty," said another, stepping -forward. - -"Oh, it is you, Editor Suleau," said the King. "I have read the last -number of your journal the Acts of the Apostles. Take care that you do -not offend Master Populus." - -"I only said that our Revolution is going so slowly that it has to help -on that in Brabant. We are lamenting the dulness of the session of the -Assembly where they had to take up the motion of Dr. Guillotin upon--of -all things--a new machine for public executions." - -"Are you making fun of Dr. Guillotin--a philanthropist? remember that I -am one myself." - -"There are various kinds; the sort I approve of has a representative at -the head of the French Nation--the one who abolished torture before -trial: we venerate, nay, we love him." - -The hearers bowed with the same impulse. - -"But," proceeded Suleau, "there are others who try to find means to kill -the hale while they had a thousand to send the ailing out of this life. -I beg your Majesty to let me deal with them?" - -"What would you do? decapitate them painlessly, or at least merely give -a slight coolness round the neck?" inquired the King, quoting Dr. -Guillotin's recommendation of his invention. - -"Sire, I should like all of these inventors to have the first experiment -tried on themselves. I do not complain that Marigny was hanged on the -Gibbet of Montfaucon which he built. I am not asking, I am not even a -judge; the probability is that I shall have to take my revenge on Dr. -Guillotin in the columns of my paper. I will give him a whole number and -propose that the machine shall bear his name for eternity, the -Guillotine!" - -"Ha, ha, the Guillotine!" exclaimed the men, without waiting for express -permission to laugh. - -"I shall assert, also, that life is divided not extinguished by this -process," continued Suleau; "why may not the sufferer feel pain in the -head and the trunk after being cut in two?" - -"This is a question for medical men. Did none of us here witness the -experiment this very morning at Bicetre madhouse?" asked the King. - -"No, no, no!" cried many voices. - -"Sire, I was there," said one grave voice. - -"Oh; it is you? Dr. Gilbert," said the sovereign, turning. - -"Yes, Sire." - -"And how did the experiment succeed?" - -"Perfectly in two instances; but at the third the instrument, though it -severed the spine, did not detach the head. They had to finish with a -knife." - -The young gentlemen listened with frightened eyes and parted lips. - -"Three executions this morning?" exclaimed Charles Lameth, who with his -brother had not yet turned against the Queen. - -"Yes, gentlemen," said the King; "but they were three corpses furnished -by the hospitals. What is your opinion of the instrument?" - -"An improvement on such machines; but the accident at the third -experiment proves that it stands in need of improvement still." - -"What is it like?" asked the royal locksmith who had a bias for -machines. - -Gilbert helped his explanation out by drawing a sketch on a sheet of -paper at a table. The King saw how curious the bystanders were and -allowed them to come near. - -"Who knows," said Suleau obeying, "but that one of us may make the -acquaintance of Lady Guillotine?" - -Laughing, they pressed round the board where the King, taking the pen -from Dr. Gilbert, said: - -"No wonder the experience failed, particularly after awhile. The cutting -blade is crescent-shaped whereas it ought to be triangular to sever a -resisting substance. See here: shape your knife thus, and I wager that -you would cut me off twenty-four heads one after another without the -edge turning up." - -He had scarcely finished the words before a heart-rending scream was -heard. The Queen had been attracted to the group of which the King and -his corrected sketch were the centre. She beheld the same instrument -which had been presented her in its likeness in a glass of water by -Balsamo the Magician twenty years before! - -At the view she had no strength to do more than scream, and life -abandoning her as though she were under the blade, she swooned in the -arms of Dr. Gilbert. - -It is easily understood that this incident broke up the party. - -Gilbert attended to the royal patient who was given the bed of the -princess. When the crisis was over, which he rightly attributed to a -mental cause, he was going out but she bade him stay. - -"Therese," she added to Lady Lamballe, "tell the King that I have come -to: and do not let us be interrupted: I must speak with the doctor. -Doctor," she pursued when they were alone, "are you not astonished that -chance seems to place us face to face in all the crises moral or -physical of my life?" - -"As I do not know whether to be sorry or to be glad for it, since I read -in your mind that the contact is not through your wish or your will." - -"That is why I said chance. I like to be frank. But the last time we -were in contiguity, you showed true devotion and I thank you and shall -never forget it." - -He bowed. - -"I am also a physiognomist. Do you know that you have said without -speaking: 'That is over; let us change the subject.'" - -"At least I felt the desire to be put to the test." - -"Doctor, what do you think of the recent event?" inquired Marie -Antoinette as though this was interlinked with what she had spoken. - -"Madam, the daughter of Maria Theresa is not one of the women who faint -at trifles." - -"Do you believe in forewarnings?" - -"Science repels all phenomena tending to upset the prevailing order of -things; still, facts offtimes give the lie to science." - -"I ought to have said; do you believe in predictions?" - -"I believe that the Supreme Being has benevolently covered the future -with an impenetrable veil. Still," he went on as if making an effort -over himself to meet questions which he wished relegated into doubt, "I -know a man who sometimes confounds all the arguments of my intelligence -by irrefutable facts. I dare not name him before your Majesty." - -"It is your master, the immortal, the all-powerful, the divine -Cagliostro, is it not, Dr. Gilbert?" - -"Madam, my only master is Nature. Cagliostro is but my saver. Pierced by -a bullet in the chest, losing all my blood by a wound which I, a -physician, after twenty years study, must pronounce incurable, he cured -me in a few days by a salve of which I know not the composition: hence -my gratitude to him, I will almost say my admiration." - -"And this man makes predictions which are accomplished?" - -"Strange and incredible ones; he moves in the present with a certainty -which makes one believe in his knowledge of the future." - -"So that you would believe if he forecast to you?" - -"I should at least act as though it might happen." - -"Would you prepare to meet a shameful, terrible and untimely death if he -foreshowed it?" - -"After having tried to escape it by all manner of means," rejoined -Gilbert, looking steadily at her. - -"Escape? No, doctor, no! I see that I am doomed," said the Queen. "This -revolution is a gulf in which will be swallowed up the throne: this -people is a lion to devour me." - -"Yet it depends on you to have it couch at your feet like a lamb." - -"Doctor, all is broken between the people and me; I am hated and -scorned." - -"Because you do not really know each other. Cease to be a queen and -become a mother to them; forget you are daughter of Maria Theresa, our -ancient enemy, the sister of Joseph our false friend. Be French, and -you will hear the voices rise to bless you, and see arms held out to -fondle you." - -"I know all this," she replied contemptuously; "fawning one day, they -tear the next." - -"Because aware of resistance to their will, and hatred opposed to their -love." - -"Does this destructive element know whether it loves or hates? it -destroys like the wind, the sea and fire, and has womanly caprices." - -"Because you see it from on high, like the man in the lighthouse views -the ocean. Did you go down in the depths you would see how steady it is. -What more obedient than the vast mass to the movement of the tides. You -are Queen over the French, madam, and yet you know not what passes in -France. Raise your veil instead of keeping it down, and you will admire -instead of dreading." - -"What would I see so very splendid?" - -"The New World blooming over the wreck of the Old; the cradle of Free -France floating on a sea wider than the Mediterranean--than the ocean. O -God protect you, little bark--O God shield you, babe of promise, -France!" - -Little of an enthusiast as Gilbert was he raised his eyes and hands -heavenward. - -The Queen eyed him with astonishment for she did not understand. - -"Fine words," she sneered. "I thought you philosophers had run them down -to dust." - -"No, great deeds have killed them," returned Gilbert. "Whither tends old -France? to the unity of the country. There are no longer provinces, but -all French." - -"What are you driving at? that your united thirty millions of rebels -should form a universal federation against their King and Queen?" - -"Do not deceive yourself: it is not the people who are rebels but the -rulers who have rebelled against them. If you go to one of the feasts -which the people hold, you will see that they hail a little child on an -altar--emblem of the new birth of liberty. Italy, Spain, Ireland, -Poland, all the down-trodden look towards this child and hold out their -enchained hands, saying: 'France, we shall be free because of you.' -Madam, if it be still time, take this child and make yourself its -mother." - -"You forget that I am the mother of others, and I ought not do as you -suggest--disinherit them in favor of a stranger." - -"If thus it be," replied Gilbert with profound sorrow, "wrap your -children up in your royal robe, in the war-cloak of Maria Theresa, and -carry them with you far from France; for you spoke the truth in saying -that the people will devour you and your offspring with you. But there -is no time to lose--make haste!" - -"You will not oppose?" - -"I will further you in the departure." - -"Nothing could fall more timely," said the Queen, "for we have a -nobleman ready to act in this escape----" - -"Do you mean Marquis Favras?" demanded Gilbert, with apprehension. - -"Who breathed you his name--who communicated to you his project?" - -"Oh, have a care, for a bloody prediction pursued him also." - -"Of the same Prophet? what fate awaits him?" - -"Untimely, terrible and infamous like that you mentioned." - -"Then you speak truly--no time must be lost in giving the lie to this -prophet of evil." - -"You were going to tell Favras that you accepted his aid?" - -"He was advised and I am awaiting his reply." - -She had not long to wait, for Isidore Charny was ushered in by the -Princess Lamballe. - -"I am told that I may speak before Dr. Gilbert," said he. "Then, know -that Marquis Favras was arrested an hour ago and imprisoned in the -Chatelet." - -Bright but despairing and full of ire, the Queen's glance crossed that -of the doctor. All her wrath seemed spent in that flash. - -"Madam," said Gilbert with deep pity, "if I can be useful in any way, -make use of me. I lay at your feet my mind, my life, my devotion." - -"Dr. Gilbert," she said in a slow and resigned voice, "is it your -opinion that the death given by this dread engine is as sweet as the -inventor asserts?" - -He sighed and hid his face in his hands. - -As the news of Favras' arrest had circulated over the palace in a few -seconds, Count Provence went to his brother. His advice was that Favras -should be repudiated and the King take the oath to the Constitution. - -"But how can I swear fidelity to an incomplete Constitution?" - -"The more easily," replied the schemer, with his false squint which came -from the darkest sinuosities of his soul. - -"I will," said the King: "this does not prevent my writing to Marquis -Bouille that our plan is postponed. This will give Charny time to -regulate the route." - -For his part, Provence acted on part of his own suggestion: he -repudiated Favras and received the thanks of the Assembly. - -Favras was left alone save for Cagliostro who perhaps felt a little -remorse that he had let the bravest in the conspiracy go so far in a -mission which he had foredoomed to failure. But Favras would not accept -rescue and met his death by hanging with unblemished courage and honor. - -The King took the oath, as he had promised his brother, to the -Constitution, yet in embryo. If he loved it so dearly already, what -would he do when it was in shape? - -The ten days following were days of rejoicing; joy in the Assembly; calm -in Paris; altars built all over the town for passers to take oath after -the royal precedent. - -The Assembly commanded a Te Deum to be chanted in the Cathedral, where -all gathered to renew the oath in solemnity. - -"Why did you not go to the church?" sneered the Queen to her husband. - -"Because I do not object to lying for a purpose, but I do not mean to -perjure myself," said Louis XVI. - -The Queen breathed again for until then she had believed in the -monarch's honesty. She felt empowered by this perfidy to take the same -path and it was after giving her hand for Mirabeau to kiss that this new -leader for the court party vowed that the monarchy was saved. - -Her forehead was swathed in a wet bandage, her eyes were wandering and -her face flushed with fever. Amongst the incoherent words, the farmer -thought he could distinguish the name of Isidore. - -"I see that it is good time that I came home," he muttered. - -He went forth, and was followed by Pitou, but Dr. Raynal detained the -latter. - -"I want you my lad," he said, "to help Mother Clement hold the patient -while I bleed her for the third time." - -"The third time?" cried Mrs. Billet, awaking from her dulness. "Do you -hear that, my man, they bleed her for the third time." - -"Woman, this would not have happened had you looked after your daughter -closer," said the farmer in a stern voice. - -He went to his room, from which he had been absent three months while -Pitou entered the sick room. - -Pitou was astonished but he would have felt more so if he had guessed -that the doctor called him in as a moral remedy. - -The doctor had noticed two names as used by the girl in her frenzy, Ange -Pitou and Isidore Charny, and he soon distinguished that one was a -friend's and the other a dearer one. He concluded that Pitou was the -lovers' confidant and that there would be no inconvenience in the -gallant's friend being there to speak with the patient on the mutual -acquaintance. - -Everybody knew down here that Valence Charny had been killed at -Versailles and that his eldest brother had called away Isidore on the -next evening. - -That night Pitou found Catherine fainted on the high road. When she -revived on the farm, it was to be in a fever, and she raved of some one -riding away whom the doctor judged to be Isidore Charny. - -The greatest need to a brain-stricken invalid is calm. To learn about -her lover would best calm Catherine, and she would ask the news of their -friend, Pitou. - -On seeing the good effect of the bleeding, the doctor stationed Mother -Clement by her side, with the strange recommendation for her to get some -sleep, and beckoned Pitou to follow him into the kitchen. - -Her forehead was swathed in a wet bandage, her eyes were wandering and -her face flushed with fever. Amongst the incoherent words, the farmer -thought he could distinguish the name of Isidore. - -"I see that it is good time that I came home," he muttered. - -He went forth, and was followed by Pitou, but Dr. Raynal detained the -latter. - -"I want you my lad," he said, "to help Mother Clement hold the patient -while I bleed her for the third time." - -"The third time?" cried Mrs. Billet, awaking from her dulness. "Do you -hear that, my man, they bleed her for the third time." - -"Woman, this would not have happened had you looked after your daughter -closer," said the farmer in a stern voice. - -He went to his room, from which he had been absent three months while -Pitou entered the sick room. - -Pitou was astonished but he would have felt more so if he had guessed -that the doctor called him in as a moral remedy. - -The doctor had noticed two names as used by the girl in her frenzy, Ange -Pitou and Isidore Charny, and he soon distinguished that one was a -friend's and the other a dearer one. He concluded that Pitou was the -lovers' confidant and that there would be no inconvenience in the -gallant's friend being there to speak with the patient on the mutual -acquaintance. - -Everybody knew down here that Valence Charny had been killed at -Versailles and that his eldest brother had called away Isidore on the -next evening. - -That night Pitou found Catherine fainted on the high road. When she -revived on the farm, it was to be in a fever, and she raved of some one -riding away whom the doctor judged to be Isidore Charny. - -The greatest need to a brain-stricken invalid is calm. To learn about -her lover would best calm Catherine, and she would ask the news of their -friend, Pitou. - -On seeing the good effect of the bleeding, the doctor stationed Mother -Clement by her side, with the strange recommendation for her to get some -sleep, and beckoned Pitou to follow him into the kitchen. - -"Cheer up, mother," said he to Mrs. Billet who was mooning in the -chimney corner, "she is going on as well as possible." - -"It is very hard that a mother cannot care for her child," said the -farmer's wife. - -"You are too fragile--we should only have you ill. She will get along -finely with Mother Clement and Ange to look after her." - -"Ange?" - -"Yes, he has a leaning toward medicine and I shall make him my -assistant. He is coming over to my place now to get a soothing potion -made up. He will bring it back and direct the administration of it. He -will remain on duty here, to run over to me with the news of any -change." - -"You know best, doctor; but give the poor father a word of your hope." - -"Where is he?" - -"In the next room." - -"Useless," said a voice on the threshold, "I have heard all." - -As though this was all he wanted, the pale-faced farmer withdrew and -offered no opposition to this ruling of the house by the medical -adviser. - -The latter was not a light of science but he was a keen observer. - -He had seen that Pitou would be the best confidant to place before his -patient's eyes as soon as they opened to life and reason. - -He was able with the first words to reassure her upon Isidore's health. -There was no rioting in Paris and the young noble had gone off to Italy -as a messenger. - -He was sure to write to Catherine, she said, and she authorized him to -go to the post for the letter. - -As Pitou on the farm ate and drank with his accustomed appetite Billet -did not suspect the treacherous part he was playing. - -Consoled by the progress the girl made after the receipt of the beloved -letter, Pitou was enabled to proceed with his public work. - -With the money Gilbert gave him, he equipped the Haramont National -Guards with new suits; this was for the ceremony of the Federation of -Villers Cotterets and other villages of the canton, to be held on a -following Sunday. - -At this prospect of uniforms, the Guards assembled with their two -minstrels and gave their liberal leader a serenade, interspersed with -fire-crackers and cheers, among which was to be heard a voice or two, -slightly tipsy, shouting: - -"Long live Pitou, the Hero of the People!" - -Remembering the impression the Haramont National Guard had created when -they had hats alike, you can appreciate the justice in the roar of -admiration when they appeared in uniforms, and what a dashing air the -captain must have worn, with his little cap cocked over one ear, his -gorget shining on his breast, his catspaws, as the epaules were -irreverently called, and his sword. - -Aunt Angelique could hardly identify her nephew who almost rode her down -on his white horse. - -But he saluted her with a wave of the sword and left her crushed by the -honor. - -Recalling that the tailor had boasted of the order which Pitou had paid, -she thought he had come home a millionaire. - -"I must not quarrel with him," she mumbled: "aunts inherit from -nephews." - -Alas! he had forgotten her by this time. Among the girls wearing -tricolored sashes and carrying green palm boughs, he recognized -Catherine. She was pale, her beauty more delicate, but Raynal had -fulfilled his word. - -She was happy, for Pitou had managed to find a hollow tree where he -deposited letters for her to take them out in a stroll, and that morning -one was there. - -Pitou came up and saluted her with his sword. He would have only touched -his hat for General Lafayette. - -"How grand you look in your uniform," she said loudly. "I thank you, my -dear Pitou," she added in a voice for him alone; "how good you are. I -love you!" - -She took his hand and pressed it in hers. Giddiness passed into poor -Pitou's head; he dropped his hat from the free hand, and would have -fallen at her feet like the hat only for a great tumult with menacing -sounds being heard towards Soissons. - -Whatever the cause, he profited by it to get out of the awkward -situation. - -He disengaged his hand from Catherine's, picked up his hat and put it on -as he ran to the head of his thirty-three men, shouting: - -"To arms!" - -It was an old enemy of his who was causing a block to the festivities. - -Father Fortier had been designated to perform the office of celebrating -the Federation Mass on the Altar of the Country, for which the holy -vessels were to be carried from the church. The mayor, Longpre, was to -superintend the transfer. Like everybody he knew the schoolmaster's -temper and thought he would not bear him good will for the part he took -in the turning over the muskets. - -So, rather than face him, he had sent him an order in writing to be -present for the mass at ten. - -At half past nine he sent his secretary to see how things looked. The -gentleman brought bad news. The church was locked up. The church -officials were all laid up with various complaints. It had the air of a -conspiracy. - -At ten the crowd gathered and talked of beating in the church doors and -taking out the church plate. - -As a conciliator, Longpre quieted them as well as he could and went to -knock at Fortier's housedoor. - -In the meantime he sent for the armed forces. The gendarmes officers -came up. They were attended by additions to the mob. - -As they had no catapult to force the door, they summoned the locksmith. -But when he was going to insert a picklock, the door opened and Abb -Fortier appeared, with fiery eye and hair bristling. - -"Back," he cried with a threatening gesture, "back, heretics, impious -relapsers! avaunt ye from the sill of the man of God!" - -The murmur receiving his outburst was not flattering to him. - -"Excuse me," said the unctuous mayor, "but we only wanted to know -whether you would serve the mass on the altar of the country, or not?" - -"Sanction revolt, rebellion and ingratitude," yelled the holy man in one -of the fits of passion habitual to him: "curse virtue and bless sin? you -cannot have hoped it, mayor. I will not say your sacrilegous mass!" - -"Very well; this is a free country now--you need not unless you like." - -"Free? ha, ha, ha!" and with a most exasperating laugh he was going to -slam the door in their faces when a man burst through the throng, pushed -the door nearly open again and all but overturned Fortier though he was -a stout man. - -It was Billet. - -There was profound silence as all divined that not two mere men, but two -forces were opposing each other. - -Though Billet had displayed so much strength to open the door, he spoke -in a calm voice: - -"Pardon me, mayor, but I think I heard you say that the father might say -the mass or not, at his pleasure? this is an error and it is no longer -the time when errors are allowed to flourish. Every man who is paid to -do work is bound to do it. You are paid by the country to say mass and -you shall say it." - -"Blasphemer, Manichean," roared the priest. - -"You ought to set the example of obedience and here you are doing the -other thing. If you are a citizen and a Frenchman, obey the nation." - -"Bravo, Billet!" cried the multitude. "To the altar, with the priest." - -Encouraged by the acclamations, Billet lugged out from his hall the -first priest who had given the signal for counter-revolution. - -"I am a martyr," groaned the priest, comprehending that resistance was -impossible in the farmer's vigorous hands, "I call for martyrdom!" And -as he was hurried along he sang "Good Lord, deliver us!" - -This crowd conducting him was the cause of the turbulence towards which -Pitou was marching his cohort. But on seeing the reason, he and -Catherine appealed to the farmer with the same voice. - -Untouched, the latter carried the prize up to the altar where he let him -fall. - -"I proclaim you unworthy to serve at this altar which you disdained," -said Billet: "no man should go up these steps unless his head is filled -with these feelings, the desire of liberty, devotion to the country and -love of mankind. Priest, have you these sentiments? if so, go up boldly -and invoke our Maker. But if you do not feel you are the foremost of us -all as a citizen, give place to the more worthy, and be off!" - -"Madman, you do not know what you are declaring war upon," hissed the -priest, retiring with uplifted finger. - -"I do know, if they are like you, vipers, foxes, wolves," returned -Billet: "all that sneak and poison and tear in the shade. Come at me, -then--I can face ye, in the open!" he concluded, smiting his broad -chest. - -During a silent moment the throng parted to let the priest skulk -through, and, closing, remained mute and admiring the vigorous man who -offered himself as target to the terrible power to which half the world -was enslaved at that era. - -There was no longer mayor, town councilmen or gendarmes, only the Hero -of the People, Billet. - -"But we have no priest now," said Mayor Longpre. - -"We do not want him," replied Billet who had never been in church but -twice, for his wedding and his child's baptism. "We will read the -Declaration of the Rights of Man from the altar. That is the Creed of -Liberty and the Gospel of the Future." - -Billet could not read but he had his manifesto by heart. When he had -finished and with a noble movement embraced the Law and the Sword by -taking the mayor's and Pitou's hands, the multitude appreciated the -grandeur of what they were doing in shouting: - -"Long live the Nation!" - -It was one of the scenes of which Gilbert had spoken to the Queen -without her understanding him. - -From that time forward, France became one great family, with one heart -and one language. - - - - -CHAPTER XXX. - -UNDER THE WINDOW. - - -On the surface all was calm and almost smiling on the Billet Farm. - -As before, Billet, on his strong horse, trotted all over the land -keeping his hands up to the mark. But a sharp observer would have -noticed that on whatever part he was he tried to get a look at his -daughter's room window. - -Though his face had a little softened toward her, Catherine felt that -paternal distrust hovered over her. - -Mother Billet was vegetating as formerly; she did not know that her -husband harbored suspicion in his bosom, and her daughter anguish in -hers. - -Pitou, after his glory as captain of the uniformed National Guards, had -fallen back into his habitual state of sweet and kindly melancholy. By -the postmark on Isidore's letters he noticed that he had returned to -Paris. - -He concluded that he would not be long before returning to his estate. -Pitou's heart shrank at this prospect. - -Under pretence of snaring rabbits to give his friend more succulent food -than farm fare, he haunted the wood until he saw Catherine. She was -seeking him, too, for she had a word for him. - -He need not trouble about her letters as she would not be receiving any -for some days. - -He guessed that the writer was coming in person to repeat his vows. - -"Have you noticed," he said, "how gloomy the master has become of late?" - -Catherine turned pale. - -"I tell you as a sure thing that whoever is the cause of this change in -such a hearty good fellow, will have an unpleasant time with him when he -meets him." - -"You say, 'him,'" said Catherine; "why may he not have quarrelled with -a woman, against whom he nurses this sullen rage?" - -"You have seen something? have you any reason to fear?" - -"I have to fear all that a girl may fear when she loves above her -station and has an irritated father." - -"It seems to me that in your place," Pitou ventured to give advice, "I -should--no, it nearly killed you to part with him, and to give him up -altogether would be your death. Oh, all this is very unfortunate!" - -"Hush, speak of something else--here comes father." - -Indeed, seeing his daughter with a man, the farmer rode up at speed: but -recognizing Pitou, he asked him in to dinner with less gloom on his -face. - -"Gracious," muttered Catherine at the door, "can he know?" - -"What?" whispered Pitou. - -"Nothing," replied the girl, going up to her room and closing the -shutters. - -When she came down, dinner was ready, but she ate little. - -"You might tell us what brought you our way to-day," asked the morose -farmer of Pitou. - -The latter showed some brass wire loops. - -"The rabbits over our way are getting shy of me. I am going to lay some -snares on your farm, if you do not mind. Yours are so tender from the -grain they get." - -"I did not know you had so sweet a tooth." - -"Oh, not for me but for Miss Catherine." - -"Yes, she has no appetite, lately, that is a fact." - -At this moment, Pitou felt a touch to his foot. It was Catherine -directing his attention to the window past which a man was making for -the door where he entered with the farmer's gun on his shoulder. - -"Father Clovis," he was hailed by the master. - -Clovis was the old soldier who had taught Pitou to drill. - -"Yes, Papa Billet, a bargain is a bargain. You paid me to pick out a -dozen bullets to suit your rifle and here they are." - -He handed the farmer his gun and a bag of bullets. Calm as the veteran -was, he inspired terror in Catherine as he sat at table. - -"By the way I cast thirteen bullets instead of a dozen so I squandered -one on the hare you see. Your gun carries fine." - -"Is there a prize for shooting offered anywhere?" asked Pitou simply. -"You will win it, I guess like you did that silver cup and the bowl you -are drinking of, Miss Catherine. Why, what is the matter?" - -"Nothing," replied the girl opening her eyes which she had half closed -and leaning back in her chair. - -"All I know is," said Billet, "that I am going to lay in wait. It is a -wolf, I think." - -Clovis turned the bullets out on a plate. Had Pitou looked from them to -Catherine he would have seen that she nearly swooned. - -"Wolf?" repeated he. "I am astonished that before the snowfalls we -should see them here." - -"The shepherd says one is prowling round, out Boursonne way." - -Pitou looked from the speaker to Catherine. - -"Yes, he was spied last year, I was told; but he went off, and it was -thought forever; but he has turned up again. I mean to turn him down!" - -This was all the girl could endure; she uttered a cry and staggered out -of the door. Pitou followed her to offer his arm and found her in the -kitchen. - -"What ails you?" - -"Can you not guess? he knows that Isidore has arrived at Boursonne this -morning, and he is going to shoot him." - -"I will put him on his guard----" - -The voice of Billet interrupted the pair. - -"If you are going to lay snares, Master Pitou, it seems to me it is time -you were jogging. Father Clovis is going your way." - -"I am off," and he went out by the kitchen door, while Catherine went up -to her room, where she bolted the door. - -The forest was Pitou's kingdom and when he had left Clovis to go home, -he felt easy about what he had undertaken to do. - -He thought of running to Boursonne and warning Viscount Isidore; but he -might not be believed and the warning might not be heeded. - -He considered he had better wait. - -He had not a doubt that at the windows of Billet's room and of his -daughter's, they two were on the alert. All the tragedy or its failure -depended on him. If he let the viscount pass within rifle range, he -would let him march to his death. - -In fact, Billet, sure that the nobleman would not marry a farmer's -daughter, had resolved to wipe out the insult done him in blood. - -Suddenly Pitou, lying on the ground in a clump of willow, heard the -gallop of a horse. - -Billet must have heard it also for he came out of the house; and Ange -had not a doubt that the willow copse which he had chosen to spy -Catherine's window had for the same reason recommended itself to the -farmer. - -As the latter advanced, he slipped back and slid down into the ditch. - -The horse crossed the road at sixty paces, and as a shadow was soon -detached from it, the rider must have leaped off, and turned the steed -loose. It went on without stopping. - -There was ten minutes of dreadful silence. - -The night was so black that Pitou, reckoning his eyes better than -Billet's, hoped that he alone saw the shadow stealing towards the house. - -But at the same moment, as the shadow went up under Catherine's window, -Pitou heard the click of a hammer going on full cock on the gun. - -The shadow did not notice but rapped three times on the shutter. - -Pitou quivered--Catherine would surely blame him for not having passed -the warning as he had promised. - -But what could he do? - -Pitou heard the hammer fall and saw the priming flash; the powder in the -touchhole did not catch and the living target received no bullet. - -At the same moment Catherine opened her window. She saw all and cried: -"Up, it is my father!" she almost dragged Charny in at the casement. - -The farmer had his second barrel to fire and he thought: - -"He must come out and this time I will not miss him." - -Presently the dogs began barking. - -"Oh, the jade," he growled, "she has let him out at the back, through -the orchard." - -He ran round the house to overtake the escaping prey. - -"There is hope," thought Pitou: "aim cannot be taken in the night as in -the day and the hand is not so steady in firing on a man as at a wolf in -the den." - -Indeed, Billet had fired on a man whom he saw scaling the orchard wall -but he had got away on a horse which came up at his whistle. While -Billet was following the pair in vague hope that he had hurt the rider -so that he must fall out of the saddle, Ange reached the orchard where -he saw Catherine leaning up against a tree with her hand on her heart. - -"Let me take you into the house," he said. - -"No, I will not live under the roof of the man who shot at my -sweetheart." - -"But then----" - -"Do you refuse to accompany me?" - -"No, but----" - -"Come." - -No one saw them leave the farm and both disappeared in the valley. - -God only knew the refuge of Catherine Billet! - -All night a dreadful storm raged in the heart of the injured father. -Something vital seemed to snap in the mighty frame of the man when he -returned emptyhanded to see that his daughter had taken to flight. - -When he came home at nine as usual to breakfast, his wife said. "Where -is our Catherine?" - -"Catherine?" he said with an effort. "The air is bad on the farm and I -sent her over to her aunt's in Sologne." - -"Good, she wanted a change. Will she make a long stay?" - -"Till she gets better." - -Drying her tears the good woman went to sit in the chimney corner while -her husband rode off into the fields. - -Dr. Raynal had passed a restless night also. He was roused by Viscount -Charny's lackey pulling at his nightbell and, riding over to Boursonne, -found that he had a couple of bullets in his side. Neither wound was -dangerous, though one was serious. In three calls he set him up again; -but he had to wear a bandage for a time, which did not prevent him -riding out. Nobody had an idea of his accident. - -It was time for him to be healed--time to return to Paris! - -Mirabeau had promised the Queen to save her, and she wrote to her -brother on the Austrian throne: - -"I follow your counsel. I am making use of Mirabeau but there is nothing -of weight in my relations with him." - -On the following day, he saw groups on the way to the Assembly and went -up to learn the nature of the outcries. - -Little newsheets were passing from hand to hand and newsdealers were -calling out: - -"Buy the Great Treason of Mirabeau!" - -"It seems this concerns me," he said, taking a piece of money out. "My -friend," he said to one of the venders who had a donkey carrying -panniers full of the sheets, "how much is this Great Treason of -Mirabeau?" - -"Nothing to you, my lord," replied the man, looking him in the eye, "and -it is struck off in an edition of one hundred thousand." - -The orator went away thoughtful. A lampoon in such an edition and given -away by a newsman who knew him! - -Still the sheet might be one of those catchpennys which abounded at that -epoch, stupid or spiteful. No, it was the list of his debts, accurate, -and the note that their 200,000 francs had been paid by the Queen's -almoner on a certain date; also the statement that the court paid him -six thousand francs per month. Lastly the account of his reception by -the Queen. - -What mysterious enemy pursued him, or rather pursued the monarchy like a -hellhound? - -This is what we shall learn, with many another secret which none but -Cagliostro the superhuman might divine, in the sequel to this volume -entitled "THE ROYAL LIFEGUARD." - - -THE END - - * * * * * - -_A BOOK FOR EVERY FAMILY._ - -How to Live Well On 25 Cents a Day. - -By MRS. GESINE LEMCKE, One of the Most Noted Cooks and Housekeepers of -the Day. - -It contains a complete bill of fare for every day for six weeks, also -valuable hints and helps for housekeepers. - -_The Philadelphia Call_ says of it: - -"Utopia discovered! Everybody happy and want absolutely abolished. Hats -off to Mrs. Lemcke! 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OGILVIE PUBLISHING CO., -57 Rose Street, New York.= - - - - -ARE YOU A WOMAN? - -And Do You Want to Get Married? - -If so, you ought to buy our new book. - - "How to Get married - Although a Woman," - -By A YOUNG WIDOW. - -Read what _The Christian Advocate_ says about it: - -"How to Get Married Although a Woman," by a young widow, comes from the -J. S. Ogilvie Publishing Co., 57 Rose Street, New York. The woman -anxious to get married, but unable to do so, will find an immense amount -of advice and assistance in this little volume, and will learn what -manner of woman is liked and what disliked by men, the reasons of -success and failure in the race matrimonial, some unfailing methods of -catching a husband, why it is that a plain widow can come into a -community and take her pick among the most eligible men, and finally, -how to retain the love of a husband when he has been captured and how to -get another one when he has been gathered to his fathers. 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Any boy who wishes to -obtain an art by which he can develop a Wonderful amount of -astonishment, mystery, and fun, should learn Ventriloquism, as he easily -can follow the simple secret given in this book. Mailed for 15 cents. - - -=BAD BOY'S DIARY (A).=--This is one of the most successful humorous books -of the present day, filled with fun and good humor, and "will drive the -blues out of a bag of indigo." It is printed from new, large type, and -on fine, heavy white paper of a superior finish, and contains 280 pages. -New, full-page illustrations from unique designs have been prepared -expressly for this edition. Handsome paper cover, 25 cents. - - -=BATTLE FOR BREAD (THE).=--This book contains a series of Sermons by Rev. -T. DeWitt Talmage, the greatest of living preachers. Every workingman -and those who employ them should read this book, and thus be informed of -the real solution of the question of the relations of Labor and Capital, -12mo, 135 pages. Paper cover, 25 cents; cloth, 75 cents. - - -=BLACK ART EXPOSED (THE).=--This book contains some of the most marvelous -things in ancient and modern magic, jugglery, etc., ever printed, and -has to be seen to be fully appreciated. Suffice it to say that any boy -knowing the secrets it contains will be able to do things that will -astonish all. 15 cts. - - -=BLUNDERS OF A BASHFUL MAN (THE).=--By the popular author of "A Bad Boy's -Diary." This is one of the most humorous books ever issued, and has been -pronounced _better_ than "A Bad Boy's Diary." 12mo, 160 pages. -Handsomely illustrated from original designs, including also the -portrait and autograph of "The Bashful Man." Price, paper cover, 25 -cents. - - -=BOILER-MAKER'S ASSISTANT (THE),= and the Theoretical and Practical -Boiler-Maker and Engineer's Reference Book. By Samuel Nicholls, Foreman -Boiler-Maker. 1 vol. 12mo, extra cloth, $2.50. - - -=COMPLETE FORTUNE TELLER AND DREAM BOOK.=--This book contains a complete -Dictionary of Dreams, alphabetically, with a clear interpretation of -each dream, and the lucky numbers that belong to it. It includes -Palmistry, or telling fortunes by the lines of the hand; fortune telling -by the grounds in a tea or coffee cup; how to read your future life by -the white of an egg; tells how to know who your future husband will be, -and how soon you will be married; fortune-telling by cards; Hymen's -lottery; good and had omens, etc. 25 cents. - - -=CONCERT EXERCISES FOR SUNDAY SCHOOLS.=--5 cents each; 30 cents per dozen; -per hundred, by mail, postpaid, $2.00. No. 1, THE CHRISTIAN'S JOURNEY. -No. 2, THE STORY OF REDEEMING LOVE. (For Christmas.) No. 3, CHRIST IS -RISEN. (Appropriate for Easter.) No. 4, WELCOME GREETING. (Appropriate -for Children's Day.) No. 5, GOOD TIDINGS. (Appropriate for anniversaries -and celebrations.) - - -=LEISURE-HOUR WORK FOR LADIES.=--Containing instructions for flower and -shell work; Antique, Grecian and Theorem painting; Botanical specimens; -Cone work; Anglo Japanese work; Decalcomanie; Diaphame; Leather work; -Modeling in clay; Transferring; Crayon drawing; Photograph coloring, -etc., etc. A very complete book, and one that no young lady having spare -time can afford to be without. 15 cents. - - -=LOVER'S GUIDE (THE).=--A book no lover should be without. It gives -handkerchief, parasol, glove, and fan flirtations; also window and -dining-room signaling; the language of flowers; how to kiss deliciously; -love-letters, and how to write them, with specimens; bashfulness and -timidity, and how to overcome them, etc., etc. 15 cents. - - -=COURTSHIP AND MARRIAGE;= or, The Mysteries of Making Love Fully -Explained.--This is an entirely new work on a most interesting subject. -CONTENTS: First steps in courtship; Advice to both parties at the -outset; Introduction to the lady's family; Restrictions imposed by -etiquette; What the lady should observe in early courtship; What the -suitor should observe; Etiquette as to presents; The proposal; Mode of -refusal when not approved; Conduct to be observed by a rejected suitor; -Refusal by the lady's parents or guardians; Etiquette of an engagement; -Demeanor of the betrothed pair; Should a courtship be long or short; -Preliminary etiquette of a wedding; Fixing the day; How to be married; -The trousseau; Duties to be attended to by the bridegroom; Who should be -asked to the wedding; Duties of the bridesmaids and groomsmen; Etiquette -of a wedding; Costume of bride, bridesmaids, and bridegroom; Arrival at -the church; The marriage ceremonial; Registry of the marriage; Return -home, and wedding breakfast; Departure for the honeymoon; Wedding cards; -Modern practice of "No cards;" Reception and return of wedding visits; -Practical advice to a newly married couple. Price, 25 cents. - - -="DON'T MARRY"=--At least until you have read our new book entitled "Don't -Marry." Some marry too soon, others wait too long. This book will tell -you how, when, and whom to marry; besides giving you valuable hints and -helps not found in any other book. It contains 112 pages, paper cover, -and is worth $10 to any one. Price, 25 cents. - - -=DIARY OF A MINISTER'S WIFE.=--By Almedia M. Brown. Complete edition, -12mo, 544 pages. Handsomely bound in cloth, with fine full-page -illustrations, including portraits of Mrs. Minnie Hardscrabble, the -minister's wife, from the facts and incidents in whose life the story -was written; also Rev. John Hardscrabble, with three other -characteristic engravings, which will amuse and interest every reader. -Price, $1.50. - -This popular book is also issued complete in two volumes in paper -covers. Price, per volume, 25 cents. - - -=DIARY OF A VILLAGE GOSSIP.=--By Almedia M. Brown, author of "Diary of a -Minister's Wife," etc., etc. 12mo, 293 pages. Paper cover, 25 cents; -handsomely bound in cloth, $1.00. - - -=MAGIC DIAL (THE).=--By the use of which secret correspondence may be -carried on without fear of detection. No one (even if provided with one -of these dials) can decipher it. It is entirely new, and nothing like it -has ever appeared. It is simple and reliable and can be used by any -person. It will be mailed for 25 cents. - - -=EDUCATING THE HORSE.=--A new and improved system of Educating the Horse. -Also a Treatise on Shoeing, with new and valuable Receipts for Diseases -of Horses. CONTENTS: The great secret of Horse-Taming; How to throw a -horse; the wild colts to halter; break a colt; hitching colt in stall; -how to handle a colt's feet; breaking and driving colts to harness; -objects of fear; to train a horse to stand when getting into a carriage; -balking horses; pulling at halter; to break horses from jumping; pawing -in stall and kicking in harness; the runaway horse; shoeing; corns; to -teach a horse to appear intelligent; to teach a horse how to dance, -waltz, kiss you, shake hands, etc., etc.; cure of sore breasts, big -head, big leg, fullness of blood, catarrh, loose bowels, corns, cough, -inflammation of eye, brittle feet, sand crack in foot, founder (a sure -cure), galled back, grease, inflammation of kidneys, worms, itch, nasal, -gleet, over-reaching, staggers, botts, etc., etc.; concluding with rules -and regulations for the government of trotting and racing. =>No man who -owns a horse can afford to do without this book. It is very thorough, -complete and reliable, and well worth a dozen times the price asked for -it. It contains matter not to be found in any other horse book. Price, -15 cents. - - -=GRAND WONDER COLLECTION.=--A wonderful offer. $3.00 worth of goods for -only 50 cents! Everything is now very cheap, and people get a good deal -more for their money than they used to, but we have no hesitation in -saying that never before was so much offered for the money as is offered -in this GRAND WONDER COLLECTION. It could not be done, only that we -expect to sell thousands of them and are fully satisfied that each one -sold will sell a dozen more. - -The contents of the GRAND WONDER COLLECTION--comprising seven complete -books in one--1. Old Secrets and New Discoveries. 2. Secrets for -Farmers. 3. Laughing Gas. 4. The Swindlers of America. 5. Preserving and -Manufacturing Secrets. 6. The Housewife's Treasure. 7. Fourteen Popular -Songs, Words and Music. - -=>Any person ordering this collection and not fully satisfied, the money -will be cheerfully refunded. Price, 50 cents. - - -=MAGIC TRICK CARDS.=--The Magician's Own Cards, for performing wonderful -tricks. Every boy a magician! Every man a conjurer! Every girl a witch! -Every one astonished! They are the most superior trick cards ever -offered for sale, and with them you can perform some of the most -remarkable illusions ever discovered. - -Complete illustrated directions accompany each pack. They will be -mailed, postpaid, sealed as a letter, for 15 cents a pack. - - -=HEALTH HINTS.=--A new book showing how to Acquire and Retain Bodily -Symmetry, Health, Vigor, and Beauty. Its contents are as follows: Laws -of Beauty--Air, Sunshine, Water, and Food--Work and Rest--Dress and -Ornament--The Hair and its Management--Skin and Complexion--The -Mouth--The Eyes, Ears, and Nose--The Neck, Hands and Feet--Growth and -Marks that are Enemies of Beauty--Cosmetics and Perfumery. - -=Fat People.=--It gives ample rules how Corpulency may be cured--the Fat -made Lean, Comely and Active. - -=Lean People.=--It also gives directions, the following of which will -enable Lean, Angular, Bony or Sharp Visaged People, to be Plump and Rosy -Skinned. - -=Gray Hair.=--It tells how Gray Hair may be Restored to its natural color -without the aid of Dyes, Restorers or Pomades. - -=Baldness.=--It gives ample directions for Restoring Hair on Bald Heads, -as well as how to stop Falling of the Hair, how to Curl the Hair, etc. - -=Beard and Mustache.=--It tells what Young Men should do to acquire a -Fine, Silky and Handsome Beard and Mustache. - -=Freckles and Pimples.=--It gives full directions for the Cure of Sunburn, -Freckles, Pimples, Wrinkles, Warts, etc., so that they can be entirely -removed. - -=Cosmetics.=--This chapter, among other things, gives an Analysis of -Perry's Moth and Freckle Lotion, Balm of White Lilies, Hagan's Magnolia -Balm, Laird's Bloom of Youth, Phalon's Enamel, Clark's Restorative for -the Hair, Chevalier's Life for the Hair, Ayer's Hair Vigor, Professor -Wood's Hair Restorative, Hair Restorer America, Gray's Hair Restorative, -Phalon's Vitalia, Ring's Vegetable Ambrosia, Mrs. Allen's World's Hair -Restorer, Hall's Vegetable Sicilian Hair Renewer, Martha Washington Hair -Restorative, etc., etc. (no room for more), showing how the lead, etc., -in these mixtures causes disease and oftentimes premature death. Price, -25 cents. - - -=LOVE AND COURTSHIP CARDS.=--Sparking, courting, and lovemaking all made -easy by the use of these cards. They are arranged with such apt -conversation that you will be able to ask the momentous question in such -a delicate manner that the girl will not suspect what you are at. They -may be used by two persons only, or they will make lots of fun for an -evening party of young people. There are sixty cards in all, and each -answer will respond differently to every one of the questions. Price, 30 -cents. - - -=MISS SLIMMENS' BOARDING-HOUSE.=--By the author of "A Bad Boy's Diary." -16mo, 188 pages, with nine illustrations. Complete edition. Paper cover, -25 cents. - - -=HOUSEWIFE'S TREASURE (THE).=--A manual of information of everything that -relates to household economies. It gives the method of making Jackson's -Universal Washing Compound, which can clean the dirtiest cotton, linen -or woolen clothes in twenty minutes without rubbing or harming the -material. This recipe is being constantly peddled through the country at -$5.00 each, and is certainly worth it. It also tells all about -soap-making at home, so as to make it cost about one-quarter of what bar -soap costs; it tells how to make candles by molding or dipping; it gives -seven methods for destroying rats and mice; how to make healthy bread -without flour (something entirely new); to preserve clothes and furs -from moths; a sure plan for destroying houseflies, cockroaches, beetles, -ants, bedbugs and fleas; all about house cleaning, papering, etc., and -hundreds of other valuable hints just such as housekeepers are wanting -to know. 25 cents. - - -=HOW TO ENTERTAIN A SOCIAL PARTY.=--A complete selection of Home -Recreations. Profusely illustrated with fine wood-cuts, containing: -Round Games and Forfeit Games; Parlor Magic and Curious Puzzles; Comic -Diversions and Parlor Tricks; Scientific Recreations and Evening -Amusements; The Blue Beard tableaux; Tableaux-vivant for acting; The -play-room; Blind-man's buff; One old ox opening oysters; How do you like -it? when do you like it? and where do you like it? Cross questions and -crooked answers; Cupid's coming; Proverbs; Earth, air and water; Yes and -no; Copenhagen; Hunt the hare, and a thousand other games. - -Here is family amusement for the million. Here is parlor or drawing-room -entertainment, night after night, for a whole winter. A young man with -this volume may render himself the _beau ideal_ of a delightful -companion to every party. Price, 25 cents. - - -=HOW TO WOO AND HOW TO WIN.-=-This interesting work contains full and -interesting rules for the etiquette of courtship, with directions -showing how to win the favor of the ladies; how to begin and end a -courtship; and how love-letters should be written. It not only tells how -to win the favor of the ladies, but how to address a lady; Conduct a -courtship; "Pop the Question;" Write love-letters; All about the -marriage ceremony; Bridal chamber; After marriage, etc. Price, 15 cents. - - -=ODELL'S SYSTEM OF SHORTHAND.=--By which the taking down of sermons, -lectures, trials, speeches, etc., may be easily acquired, without the -aid of a master. By this plan the difficulties of mastering this useful -art are very much lessened, and the time required to attain proficiency -reduced to the least possible limits. Price, 15 cents. - - -=HOW TO TALK AND DEBATE.=--CONTENTS: Introduction; Laws of Conversation; -Listening; Self-possession; Appreciativeness; Conversation, when -confidential; The matter and the manner; Proper subjects; Trifles; -Objectionable subjects; Politics; Rights of women; Wit and humor; -Questions and negatives; Our own hobbies; The voice, how to improve; -Speaking one's mind; Public speaking; How to make a speech; Opening a -debate; Division of the subject; The affirmative; The reply, etc., etc. -A really valuable book, and one that every man and woman, boy and girl -should possess. 15 cents. - - -=LIFE IN THE BACKWOODS.=--A Guide to the successful without the wool or -hair; to skin and stuff birds; baits and hooks for fishing; how to fish -successfully without nets, lines, spears, snares, "bobs," or bait (a -great secret), how to choose and clean guns; how to breed minks for -their skins (hundreds of dollars can be made by any boy or young man who -knows how to breed minks), etc. - -This book is by an old trapper, for many years engaged in trapping in -the Northwest, who has finally consented to publish and disclose these -secrets. Persons living where wild animals exist, with some traps and -the information contained in this book, can make money faster through -the trapping season by giving their time and energies to the business -than they can by seeking their fortunes in the gold regions or in oil -speculations. This is at once the most complete and practical book now -in the market. Price, 15 cents. - - -=MODEL LETTER-WRITER (THE).=--A comprehensive and complete guide -and assistant for those who desire to carry on epistolary -correspondence--containing instructions for writing letters of -introduction; Letters of business; Letters of recommendation; -Applications for employment; Letters of congratulation; Letters of -condolence; Letters of friendship and relationship; Love-letters; Notes -of invitation; Letters of favor, of advice, and of excuse, etc., etc., -together with appropriate answers to each. This is an invaluable book -for those persons who have not had sufficient practice to enable them to -write letters without great effort. 15 cents. - - -=NAPOLEON'S COMPLETE BOOK= of Fate and Complete Fortune Teller.--This is -the celebrated Oracle of Human Destiny consulted by Napoleon the First -previous to any of his undertakings, and by which he was so successful -in war, business, and love. It is the only authentic and complete copy -extant, being translated into English from a German translation of an -ancient Egyptian manuscript found in the year 1801 by M. Sonini, in one -of the royal tombs near Mount Libycus, in Upper Egypt. This Oraculum is -so arranged that any question on business, love, wealth, losses, hidden -treasures, no matter what its nature, the Oraculum has an answer for it. -It also shows how to learn of one's fate by consulting the planets. -Price 15 cents. - - -=OGILVIE'S HOUSE PLANS; OR HOW TO BUILD A HOUSE.=--A neat new book, -containing over thirty finely executed engravings of dwellings of all -sizes, from two rooms up; also churches, barns, and out-houses in great -variety. - -This handy, compact, and very useful volume contains, in addition to the -foregoing, plans for each floor in each and every dwelling of which an -engraving is given. It has, also, valuable information relative to -building, such as number of shingles required in a roof, quantity of -plaster for a house, quantity of materials required for building a -house, etc., etc., and much other information of permanent and practical -value. - -Any one of the plans is alone worth very much more than the price asked -for the book. It is invaluable to every architect, builder, mason, or -carpenter, and particularly do we urge all who anticipate erecting a new -or remodeling an old dwelling to send for a copy, as its fortunate -possessor may save hundred of dollars by following the suggestions it -contains. 25 cents. - - -=HOW TO BEHAVE.=--Hand-book of Etiquette and Guide to True Politeness. -CONTENTS: Etiquette and its uses; Introductions; Cutting acquaintances; -Letters of introduction; Street etiquette; Domestic etiquette and -duties; Visiting; Receiving company; Evening parties; The lady's toilet; -The gentleman's toilet; Invitations; Etiquette of the ball-room; General -rules of conversation; Bashfulness and how to overcome it; Dinner -parties; Table etiquette; Carving; Servants; Traveling; Visiting cards; -Letter writing; Conclusion. This is the best book of the kind yet -published, and every person wishing to be considered well-bred, who -wishes to understand the customs of good society, and to avoid incorrect -and vulgar habits, should send for a copy. 15 cents. - - -=MISS SLIMMENS' WINDOW.=--Complete edition in one volume now ready. 16mo, -150 pages. Bound in heavy paper covers, with 13 illustrations. 25 -cents. - - -=OGILVIE'S HANDY MONITOR AND UNIVERSAL ASSISTANT,= containing Statistical -Tables of Practical Value for Mechanics, Merchants, Editors, Lawyers, -Printers, Doctors, Farmers, Lumbermen, Bankers, Bookkeepers, Politicians -and all classes of workers in every department of human effort, and -containing a compilation of facts for reference on various subjects, -being an epitome of matters Historical, Statistical, Biographical, -Political, Geographical and general interest. 192 pages bound in paper, -25 cents. - -No more valuable book has ever been offered containing so much -information of practical value in everyday life. - - -=OLD SECRETS AND NEW DISCOVERIES.=--Containing Information of Rare Value -for all Classes, in all Conditions of Society. - -=It Tells= all about _Electrical Psychology_, showing how you can -biologize any person, and, while under the influence, he will do -anything you may wish him, no matter how ridiculous it may be, and he -cannot help doing it. - -=It Tells= how to _Mesmerize_. Knowing this, you can place any person in a -mesmeric sleep, and then be able to do with him as you will. This secret -has been sold over and over again for $10. - -=It Tells= how to make persons at a distance think of you--something all -lovers should know. - -=It Tells= how you can charm those you meet and make them love you, -whether they will or not. - -=It Tells= how Spiritualists and others can make writing appear on the arm -in blood characters, as performed by Foster and all noted magicians. - -=It Tells= how to make a cheap Galvanic Battery; how to plate and gild -without a battery; how to make a candle burn all night; how to make a -clock for 25 cents; how to detect counterfeit money; how to banish and -prevent mosquitoes from biting; how to make yellow butter in winter; -Circassian curling fluid; Sympathetic or Secret Writing Ink; Cologne -Water; Artificial honey; Stammering; how to make large noses small; to -cure drunkenness; to copy letters without a press; to obtain fresh-blown -flowers in winter; to make good burning candles from lard. - -=It Tells= how to make a horse appear as though he was badly foundered; to -make a horse temporarily lame; how to make him stand by his food and not -eat it; how to cure a horse from the crib or sucking wind; how to put a -young countenance on the horse; how to cover up the heaves; how to make -him appear as if he had the glanders; how to make a true-pulling horse -balk; how to nerve a horse that is lame, etc., etc.--These horse secrets -are being continually sold at one dollar each. - -=It Tells= how to make the Eggs of Pharo's Serpents, which when lighted, -though but the size of a pea, there issues from it a coiling, hissing -serpent, wonderful in length and similarity to a genuine serpent. - -=It Tells= how to make gold and silver from block tin (the least said -about which the better). Also how to take impressions from coins. Also -how to imitate gold and silver. - -=It Tells= of a simple and ingenious method of copying any kind of drawing -or picture. Also, more wonderful still, how to print pictures from the -print itself. - -=It Tells= how to perform the Davenport Brothers "Spirit Mysteries." So -that any person can astonish an audience, as they have done. Also scores -of other wonderful things which there is no room to mention. - -=Old Secrets and New Discoveries= is worth $5 to any person; but it will -be mailed to any address on receipt of only 25 cents. - - -=OUT IN THE STREETS.=--By S. N. Cook. Price, 15 cents. - -We take pleasure in offering the strictly moral and very amusing -temperance drama entitled, "Out in the Streets," to all entertainment -committees as one that will give entire satisfaction. The parts are -taken by six male and six female characters. - - -=PHUNNY PHELLOW'S GRAB BAG;= or, Jolly Tid-Bits for Mirthful -Mortals.--Josh Billings, Danbury News Man and Bret Harte rolled into -one. It is not too much to say that the book contains the choicest humor -in the English language. Its size is mammoth, containing more than one -thousand of the raciest jests, comical hits, exhilarating stories, -flowers of wit, excruciating jokes, uproarious poems, laughable -sketches, darky comicalities, clowns' efforts, button-bursting -conundrums, endmen's jokes, plantation humors, funny caricatures, -hifalutin dialogues, curious scenes, cute sayings, ludicrous drolleries, -peculiar repartees, and nearly 500 illustrations. 25 cents. - - -=SCIENCE OF A NEW LIFE (THE).=--By John Cowan, M.D. A handsome 8vo, -containing over 400 pages, with more than 100 illustrations, and sold at -the following prices: English cloth, beveled boards, gilt side and back, -$3.00; leather, sprinkled edges, $3.50; half turkey morocco, marbled -edges, gilt back, $4.00. - - -=SOME FUNNY THINGS= said by Clever Children. Who is not interested in -children? We are satisfied that this book will give genuine satisfaction -to all who are interested in listening to the happy voices of children. -This will show that humor is not confined to adult minds by any means. -64 pages, 10 cents. - - - - -THE EVERY-DAY EDUCATOR - -OR, - -How To Do Business. - -Prepared for Ambitious Americans by -Prof. SEYMOUR EATON. - -The Brightest and Best Help Manual ever issued in this Country. - -Each of the numerous departments forms a unique feature. Here are the -titles of a few: - -[Illustration: HOW TO APPLY] - -[Illustration: _For a Situation_] - - BOOK-KEEPING, BANKING, CORRESPONDENCE, - ARITHMETIC, FRENCH, GERMAN, - LESSONS IN ELECTRICITY, ASTRONOMY, - PENMANSHIP, PHYSICAL CULTURE, - HOW TO WRITE FOR THE PRESS, - FIGURE SHORTHAND, LESSONS IN DRAWING, - TELEGRAPHY, FACTS and FIGURES, - THESE BODIES OF OURS, GAMES AND PUZZLES, - CHARACTER IN HANDS, - GOOD OPENINGS IN NEW TRADES, U. S. HISTORY, - PUBLIC SPEAKING, HOW TO GET A START, - LITERATURE, AUTHORS and BOOKS. - -[Illustration: RULES OF ORDER FOR BUSINESS MEETINGS] - -But why go further? Get the book and we guarantee you will say it is -away ahead of anything you have seen before. - -=The Every-Day Educator= contains 240 pages. Handsomely printed on fine -paper. Fully illustrated. Substantially bound in cloth, and in every -respect a perfect specimen of advanced book-making, price, 75 cents; -bound in paper cover, 25 cents. Sent by mail, postpaid, to any address -on receipt of price. Agents wanted. Address all orders and applications -for an agency to - -_J. S. OGILVIE PUBLISHING COMPANY_, -_Lock Box 2767._ _57 Rose Street, New York._ - - -AYER'S - -Hair Vigor - -cures scalp humors, prevents dandruff, restores color and vitality to -faded and gray hair, stimulates growth, makes the hair soft, glossy, and -beautiful. As a tonic and dressing for the hair and scalp it has no -equal, being used by both ladies and gentlemen - -FOR THE TOILET - -[Illustration] - -"I have used Ayer's Hair Vigor for years. It prevents the hair from -falling out, thickens the growth of the hair and gives it a fine, rich, -glossy appearance, such as no other dressing will impart. It is an -elegant toilet article, and I can cordially recommend it."--Miss DYDA -YATES, Utica, Mississippi. - -NO MORE -GRAY HAIR - -AYER'S PILLS cure Stomach Troubles. - - * * * * * - - -Typographical errors corrected by the etext transcriber: - -costly fireram come into the hands=> costly firearm come into the hands -{pg 4} - -I did make a mistep at=> I did make a mis step at {pg 8} - -his eyebrows were so baldy shape=> his eyebrows were so badly shape {pg -13} - -gifted with this elasticty=> gifted with this elasticity {pg 13} - -That is why weh aveoc me to=> That is why we have [illegible]oc me to -{pg 57} - -what has happend me=> what has happened me {pg 129} - -story of Oledipus=> story of OEdipus {pg 170} - -gold earings and chain=> gold earrings and chain {pg 14} - -the royal couch tramped men and women=> the royal coach tramped men and -women {pg 18} - -had complaisant treasures=> had complaisant treasurers {pg 20} - -Queen and their son is in the midst=> Queen and their son are in the -midst {pg 21} - -I always come with pelasure and confidence=> I always come with pleasure -and confidence {pg 34} - -probably intented to=> probably intended to {pg 49} - -But Piton did not participate=> But Pitou did not participate {pg 64} - -with the competeitors=> with the competitors {pg 67} - -started through the words=> started through the woods {pg 72} - -has anything bad happened him=> has anything bad happened to him {pg 72} - -Her recoiled on the lounge=> She recoiled on the lounge {pg 83} - -he demaded=> he demanded {pg 83} - -Rosseau was dead=> Rousseau was dead {pg 95} - -He laid peculiar streets on this name=> He laid peculiar stress on this -name {pg 100} - -villian=> villain {pg 103} - -so distinguised a man=> so distinguished a man {pg 104} - -wanting fine thousand=> wanting five thousand {pg 104} - -I have no pretention=> I have no pretension {pg 116} - -your are a friend=> you are a friend {pg 118} - -Ravaillac's or Damiens'=> Ravaillac's or Damien's {pg 119} - -Provence's owns Guards=> Provence's own Guards {pg 119} - -Govenror of Metz=> Governor of Metz {pg 120} - -neasure of greatness=> measure of greatness {pg 130} - -meetings in the craypt=> meetings in the crypt {pg 141} - -The Jacobin is a young minotaurs=> The Jacobin is a young minotaur {pg -143} - -you are funeral, count=> you are funereal, count {pg 143} - -or we shall Surgeon=> or we shall have Surgeon {pg 150} - -I could notifiy him=> I could notify him {pg 151} - -he was wearing on old uniform=> he was wearing an old uniform {pg 153} - -nails properly trimed=> nails properly trimmed {pg 153} - -A kind gentelman=> A kind gentleman {pg 158} - -While Nocole would educate the boy=> While Nicole would educate the boy -{pg 161} - -Do you not rocognize me=> Do you not recognize me {pg 167} - -what anology between=> what analogy between {pg 170} - -amoniacal dose=> ammoniacal dose {pg 189} - -this very mornng=> this very morning {pg 194} - -three corpes furnished=> three corpses furnished {pg 194} - -that this indicent broke=> that this incident broke {pg 195} - -loking steadily at her=> looking steadily at her {pg 196} - -instead of kepping it down=> instead of keeping it down {pg 197} - -yet in embyro=> yet in embryo {pg 199} - -road her down=> rode her down {pg 203} - -the vetran was=> the veteran was {pg 208} - -while her husaband rode off=> while her husband rode off {pg 211} - - - - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's The Hero of the People, by Alexandre Dumas - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HERO OF THE PEOPLE *** - -***** This file should be named 42681-8.txt or 42681-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/2/6/8/42681/ - -Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Chuck Greif and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: The Hero of the People - A Historical Romance of Love, Liberty and Loyalty - -Author: Alexandre Dumas - -Translator: Henry Llewellyn Williams - -Release Date: May 10, 2013 [EBook #42681] -[Last updated: October 4, 2014] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HERO OF THE PEOPLE *** - - - - -Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Chuck Greif and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - -Many spelling and punctuation errors have been corrected. A list of the -etext transcriber's spelling corrections follows the text. Consistent -archaic spellings have not been changed. (Note of etext transcriber.) - - - - -PRICE, 25 CENTS. No. 80. - -THE SUNSET SERIES. -By Subscription, per Year, Nine Dollars. February 22, 1894. -Entered at the New York Post-Office as second-class matter. - -Copyright 1891, by J. S. OGILVIE. - -The Hero Of -The People. - -BY -Alex. Dumas. - -NEW YORK: -J. S. OGILVIE PUBLISHING COMPANY, -57 ROSE STREET. - -A WONDERFUL OFFER! - -70 House Plans for $1.00. - -[Illustration] - -If you are thinking about building a house don't fail to get the new -book - -PALLISER'S - -AMERICAN - -ARCHITECTURE, - -containing 104 pages, 11x14 inches in size, consisting of large 9x12 -plate pages giving plans, elevations, perspective views, descriptions, -owners' names, actual cost of construction (=_no guess work_=), and -instructions =_How to Build_= 70 Cottages, Villas, Double Houses, Brick -Block Houses, suitable for city suburbs, town and country, houses for -the farm, and workingmen's homes for all sections of the country, and -costing from $300 to $6,500, together with specifications, form of -contract, and a large amount of information on the erection of buildings -and employment of architects, prepared by Palliser, Palliser & Co., the -well-known architects. - -This book will save you hundreds of dollars. - -There is not a Builder, nor anyone intending to build or otherwise -interested, that can afford to be without it. It is a practical work, -and the best, cheapest and most popular book ever issued on Building. -Nearly four hundred drawings. - -It is worth $5.00 to anyone, but we will send it bound in paper cover, -by mail, post-paid for only $1.00; bound in handsome cloth, $2.00. -Address all orders to - -_J. S. OGILVIE PUBLISHING CO., -Lock Box 2767. 57 Rose Street, New York._ - - - - -THE HERO OF THE PEOPLE. - -A HISTORICAL ROMANCE -OF -LOVE, LIBERTY AND LOYALTY. - -BY ALEX. DUMAS. -Author of "The Queen's Necklace," "The Three Musketeers," -"Balsamo the Magician," "Monte Cristo," "Taking the Bastile," -"Chicot the Jester," etc. - -TRANSLATED FROM THE AUTHOR'S REVISED -LATEST EDITION. - -BY -HENRY LLEWELLYN WILLIAMS - -NEW YORK: -J. S. OGILVIE PUBLISHING COMPANY, -57 ROSE STREET. - -_Entered according to act of Congress in the year 1892, by A. E. Smith & -Co., in the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington._ - - - - -THE HERO OF THE PEOPLE. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -LOCKSMITH AND GUNSMITH. - - -The French Revolution had begun by the Taking of the Bastile by the -people of Paris on the Fourteenth of July, 1789, but it seemed to have -reached the high tide by King Louis XVI, with his Queen Marie Antoinette -and others of the Royal Family, leaving Versailles, after some -sanguinary rioting, for the Capital, Paris. - -But those who think, in such lulls of popular tempests, that all the -mischief has blown over, make a mistake. - -Behind the men who make the first onset, are those who planned it and -who wait for the rush to be made and, then, while others are tried or -satisfied, glide into the crowds to stir them up. - -Mysterious agents of secret, fatal passions, they push on the movement -from where it paused, and having urged it to its farthest limit, those -who opened the way are horrified, at awakening to see that others -attained the end. - -At the doorway of a wine saloon at Sevres by the bridge, over the Seine, -a man was standing who had played the main part, though unseen, in the -riots which compelled the Royal Family to renounce an attempt to escape -out of the kingdom like many of their sycophants, and go from Versailles -Palace to the Tuileries. - -This man was in the prime of life: he was dressed like a workingman, -wearing velveteen breeches shielded by a leather apron with pockets such -as shinglers wear to carry nailes in, or blacksmith-farriers or -locksmiths. His stockings were grey, and his shoes had brass buckles; on -his head was a fur cap like a grenadier's cut in half or what is called -nowadays an artillerist's busby. Grey locks came straggling from under -its hair and mingled with shaggy eyebrows; they shaded large bulging -eyes, keen and sharp, quick, with such rapid changes that it was hard to -tell their true color. His nose was rather thick than medium, the lips -full, the teeth white, and his complexion sunburnt. - -Without being largely built, this man was well formed: his joints were -not course and his hands were small and might have seemed delicate but -for their being swart like those of workers in metal. - -Despite the vigor of the biceps muscle shown from his having rolled up -his shirt sleeves, the skin was remarkable for its whiteness, and almost -aristocratically fine. - -Within his reach was a richly gold-inlaid double-barrelled fowling -piece, branded with the name of Leclere, the fashionable gunsmith of -Paris. You may ask how could such a costly firearm come into the hands -of a common artisan? In times of riot it is not always the whitest hands -which grasp the finest weapons. - -This man had only arrived from Versailles since an hour, and perfectly -well knew what had happened there: for to the landlord's questions as he -supplied him with a bottle of wine which he did not touch, he had -answered as follows: - -"The Queen is coming along with the King and the Dauphin. They had -started at half afternoon, having at last decided to live at the -Tuileries; in consequence of which for the future Paris would no longer -want for bread, as it would have in her midst, the Baker, the Baker's -Wife and the Baker's Boy, as the popular slang dubbed the three -'Royals'." - -As for himself, he was going to hang round to see the procession go by. - -This last assertion might be true, although it was easy to tell that his -glance was more often bent on the side towards Paris than Versailles, -which led one to surmise that he did not feel obliged to tell Boniface -exactly what his intentions were. - -In a few seconds his attraction seemed gratified, for he spied a man, -garbed much like himself, and appearing of the same trade, outlined on -the ridge of the road. He walked heavily like one who had journeyed from -afar. - -His age appeared to be like his awaiter's, that is, what is called the -wrong side of forty. His features were those of a common fellow with low -inclinations and vulgar instincts. - -The stranger's eye was fastened on him with an odd expression as if he -wished with a single scrutiny to measure the gold, if any, and the alloy -in his composition. - -When the wayfarer from the town was within twenty steps of this man -lounging in the doorway, the latter stepped inside, poured the wine from -the bottle into two glasses and returning to the doorstep with one -tumbler held up, he hailed him: - -"Hello, mate! it is pretty cold weather, and the road is a long one. -What do you say to our having a drop of the red to cheer us up and warm -us?" - -The workman from town looked round to make sure that he was alone and -that the greeting was addressed to him. - -"Speaking to me, are you?" - -"Who else, as you are alone?" - -"And offering me a go of wine?" - -"Why not, as we are brothers of the file and bossing-hammer alike? or -some at nigh." - -"Anybody can belong to a trade," said the other looking hard at the -speaker; "but the point is, are you a greenhand or a master of the -craft?" - -"I reckon we shall tell how far we have learnt the trade while drinking -and chatting together." - -"All right then!" said the other, walking up to the door, while the -inviter showed the table set out with the wine. The man took the -tumbler, eyed the contents as if he had doubts, but they disappeared -when the stranger poured himself out a second brimmer. - -"Why, hang it all, are you getting so proud that you will not drink with -a shopmate?" - -"No, dash me if I am--here is Good Luck to the Nation!" - -The workman's grey eyes were fixed on the toast-giver's. - -He tossed off the glass at a draft, and wiped his lips on his sleeve. - -"Deuse take it, but it is Burgundy wine," he remarked. - -"And good liquor, too, eh? the vintage was recommended to me; and -happening along I dropped in, and I am not repenting it. But why not sit -down and be at home? there is some more in the bottle and more in the -cellar when that is gone." - -"I say, what are you working at here?" - -"I have knocked off for the day. I finished a job at Versailles and I am -going on to Paris with the royal procession as soon as it comes along." - -"What procession?" - -"Why, the King and the Queen and the little Prince, who are returning to -the city with the Fishmarket women and two hundred Assemblymen, all -under protection of Gen. Lafayette and the National Guard." - -"So the fat old gentleman has decided to come to town?" - -"They made him do it." - -"I suspected so when I started for Paris at three this morning." - -"Hello! did you leave Versailles at three without any curiosity about -what was going off?" - -"No, no, I itched to know what the gent was up to, being an -acquaintance, a chum of mine, by the way, though I am not bragging; but -you know, old man, one must get on with the work. I have a wife and -children to provide for, and it is no joke now. I am not working at the -royal forge." - -The listener let what he heard pass without putting any questions. - -"So, it was on a pressing job that you went back to Paris?" he only -inquired. - -"Just that, as it appears, and handsomely paid too," said the workman, -jingling some coin in his pocket, "though it was paid for by a kind of -servant, which was not polite, and by a German, too, which blocked me -from having any pleasant chatter during the work. I am not one for gab, -but it amuses one if no harm is spoken of others." - -"And it is no harm when harm is spoken of the neighbors, eh?" - -Both men laughed, the stranger showing sound teeth against the other's -snaggy ones. - -"So, then, you have knocked off a good job, wanted doing in a hurry, and -well paid?" said the former, like one who advances only a step at a -time, but still does advance. "Hard work, no doubt?" - -"You bet it was hard. Worse than a secret lock--an invisible door. What -do you think of one house inside of another? some one who wants to hide -away, be sure. What a game he could have--in or out, as he pleased. -'Your master in?' 'No, sir: just stepped out.' 'You are a liar--he came -in just now.' 'You had better look, since you are so cocksure.' So they -look round, but I defy them to find the gentleman. An iron door, you -will understand, which closes on a beading-framed panel, while it runs -on balls in a groove as on wheels. On the metal is a veneer of old oak, -so that you can rap with your knuckles on it and the sound is identical -with that of a solid plank. I tell you when the job was done, it would -take me in myself." - -"Where the mischief would you do a job like that? but I suppose you -would not tell even a pal?" - -"I cannot tell because I do not know." - -"What hoodwinked you?" - -"Guess again and you will be wrong. A hack was waiting for me at the -city turnpike bars. A chap came up and asked: 'Are you so and-so?' I -said 'I am.' 'Good, we are waiting for you: jump in.' So I got inside -the coach, where they bandaged my eyes, and after the wheels had gone -round for about half an hour, a big carriage-door was opened. They took -me out and up ten steps of a flight of stairs into a vestibule, where I -found a German servant who said to the others: 'Goot! make scarce of -yourseluffs; no longer want we you.' They slung their hook out of it, -while the blinders were taken me off, and I was shown what I had to do. -I had pitched into the work like a good hand, and was done in an hour. -They paid me in bran-new gold, tied up my eyes, put me back in the -carriage, dropped me on the same spot where I was taken up, wished me -safe home--and here I am." - -"Without your having seen anything, even out of the tail of the eye? -Deuse take me if ever I heard of a bandage which would stop a man -catching a glimpse on one side or t'other. Better own up that you had a -peep at something?" pursued the stranger. - -"Well, I did make a misstep at the first stone of the stairs so that, in -throwing up my hands to keep from falling, I got a peep from its -disarranging the handkerchief. I saw a regular row of trees on my left -hand which made me think that I was in some avenue. That is all, on my -honor." - -"I can't say it is much. For the main avenue is long and more than one -house has a carriage-doorway betwixt the St. Honore Coffeehouse and the -Bastile." - -"The fact is," said the locksmith, scratching his head, "I don't think I -am up to telling the house." - -The questioner appeared satisfied, although his countenance did not -usually betray his feelings. - -"But," exclaimed he, as if skipping to another topic, "are there no good -locksmiths at Paris that they have to send to Versailles for one?" - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -THE THREE ODDITIES. - - -The locksmith lifted his tumbler to his eye's level, admired the liquor -with pleasure, and said after sipping it with gratification: - -"Bless you, yes, plenty of locksmiths at Paris." - -He drank a few drops more. - -"Ay, and masters of the craft." He drank again. "Yes, but there is a -difference between them." - -"Hang me," said the other, "but I believe you are like St. Eloi, our -patron saint, master among the master-workmen." - -"Are you one of us?" - -"Akin, my boy: I am a gunsmith. All smiths are brothers. This is a -sample of my work." - -The locksmith took the gun from the speaker's hands, examined it with -attention, clicked the hammers and approved with a nod of the sharp -action of the lock: but spying the name on the plate, he said: - -"Leclere? this won't do, friend, for Leclere is scanty thirty, and we -are both a good forty, without meaning to hurt your feelings." - -"Quite true, I am not Leclere, but it is the same thing, only a little -more so. For I am his master." - -"Oh, capital!" chuckled the locksmith; "it is the same as my saying 'I -am not the King but I am the same thing, only more so, as I am his -master.'" - -"Oho," said the other rising and burlesquing the military salute, "have -I the honor of addressing Master Gamain, the King of Locksmiths?" - -"Himself in person, and delighted if he can do anything for you," -replied Gamain, enchanted at the effect his name had produced. - -"The devil! I had no idea I was talking to one of the high flyers in our -line," said the other. "A man so well considered." - -"Of such consequence, do you mean?" - -"Well, maybe I have not used the right word, but then I am only a poor -smith, and you are the master smith for the master of France. I say," he -went on in another tone, "it can't be always funny to have a king for a -'prentice, eh?" - -"Why not?" - -"Plain enough. You cannot eternally be wearing gloves to say to the mate -on your bench: 'Chuck us the hammer or pass the retail file along.'" - -"Certainly not." - -"I suppose you have to say: 'Please your gracious Majesty, don't hold -the drill askew.'" - -"Why, that is just the charm with him, d'ye see, for he is a -plain-dealer at heart. Once in the forge, when he has the anvil to the -fore, and the leathern apron tied on, none would ever take him for the -Son of St. Louis, as he is called." - -"Indeed you are right, it is astonishing how much he is like the next -man." - -"And yet these perking courtiers are a long time seeing that." - -"It would be nothing if those close around him found that out," said the -stranger, "but those who are at a distance are beginning to get an idea -of it." - -His queer laugh made Gamain look at him with marked astonishment. But he -saw that he had blundered in his pretended character by making a -witticism, and gave the man no time to study his sentence, for he -hastened to recur to the topic by saying: - -"A good thing, too; for I think it lowers a man to have to slaver him -with Your Majesty here and My Noble Sire there." - -"But you do not have to call him high names. Once in the workshop we -drop all that stuff. I call him Citizen, and he calls me Gamain, but I -ain't what you would call chummy with him, while he _is_ familiar with -me." - -"That is all very well; but when the dinner hour comes round I expect he -sends you off to the kitchen to have your bread and cheese with the -flunkeys." - -"Oh, Lor', No! he has never done that; quite the other way about, for he -gets me to bring in a table all set into the workshop and he will often -put his legs under the mahogany with me, particularly at breakfast, -saying: 'I shall not bother about having breakfast with the Queen, as I -should have to wash my hands.'" - -"I can't make this out." - -"You can't understand that when the King works like us, he has his hands -smeared with oil and rust and filings, which does not prevent us being -honest folks, and the Queen would say to him, with her hoity-toity -prudish air: 'Dirty beggar, your hands are foul.' How can a man have a -fop's hands if he works at the forge?" - -"Don't talk to me about that--I might have married high if I could have -kept my fingers nice," sighed the stranger. - -"Let me tell you that the old chap does not have a lively time in his -geographical study or his library; but I believe he likes my company the -best." - -"That is all very amusing for you, except having to endure so poor a -pupil." - -"Poor," repeated Gamain. "Oh, no, you must not say that. He is to be -pitied, to tell the truth, in his coming into the world as a king, for -he is but a man--and having to waste himself on a pack of nonsense -instead of sticking to our art, in which he makes good way. He will -never be but a third-rate king for he is too honest, but he would have -made an excellent locksmith. There is one man I execrate for stealing -away his time--that Necker fellow, who made him lose such a lot of -time!" - -"You mean with his accounts and financing." - -"Ay, his fine-Nancy-ing, indeed." - -"But you must make a fat thing out of such a lad to bring on." - -"No, that is just where you are in error: that is why I bear a grudge to -him, Louis the Father of the Kingdom, the Restorer of the French Nation! -People believe that I am rich as _Creases_, while I am as poor as Job." - -"You, poor? why, what does he do with all his money?" - -"He gives half to the poor and the other half is got away by his -parasites, so that he never has any brass. The Coigny, Polignac and -Vaudreuil families eat him up, poor dear old boy! One day he wanted to -cut down Lord Coigny's appointments, and the gentleman waylaid him at -our forge door: after going out for five minutes, the King came back, -pale as a ghost, muttering: 'Faith, I believe he would have caned me.' -'Did he get the appointments reduced, Sire?' I inquired. 'I let them -stand,' he said: 'what else could I do?' Another time he wanted to scold -the Queen for giving Duchess Polignac three hundred thousand francs for -the linen for her baby, and what do you think?" - -"It is a pretty sum for a baby!" - -"Right you are: but it was not enough: the Queen made him give her five -hundred thousand. You have only to look how these Polignacs have got on, -who had not a penny when they started in, but are running away from -France with millions. I should not have minded if they had any talent, -but just give those neerdowells a hammer or cold chisel; they could not -forge a horseshoe: give them file and screw-driver and see how they -would get on at a common lock! However, they can wag the tongue to some -purpose, since they hounded the King on so that they leave him in a -quagmire. He may flounder out as best he can, with the help of General -Lafayette and Mayor Bailly, and Lord Mirabeau. I gave him good advice, -but he would not listen to me, and he leaves me with fifteen hundred -livres a-year, though I am his trainer, who first showed him to hold a -file properly." - -"But I suppose that when you worked with him, there were some pickings?" - -"But am I working with him now? Since the Taking of the Bastile, I have -not set foot inside his palace. Once or twice I met him: the first time, -as there was a crowd about in the street, he just bobbed his head; the -next, on the Satory Road, he stopped the coach for the coast was clear. -'Good morning, my poor Gamain, how goes it?' he sighed. 'How goes it -with you, Sire? but I know it is rough--but that will be a lesson to -you.' 'Are your wife and children well?' he said to shift the talk. 'All -fine but with appetites like ogres.' 'You must make them a little -present from me.' He searched his pockets, but he could rake up only -nine louis. 'That is all I carry with me, my poor Gamain,' he said with -a kind of groan, 'and I am ashamed to do so little.' Of course, it was -small cash for a monarch to give, short of ten gold pieces, so paltry a -sum to a work-fellow--So----" - -"You refused them?" - -"Catch me? No, I said: 'I had better grab, for he will meet somebody -else not so delicate as me, who would take them.' Still, he need not -fret himself, I shall never walk into Versailles unless I am sent for, -and I do not know as I shall then." - -"What a grateful heart this rogue has," muttered the stranger, but all -he said aloud was: "It is very affecting, Master Gamain, to see devotion -like yours survive misfortune. A last glass to the health of your -'prentice." - -"Faith, he does not deserve it, but never mind! here's to his health, -all the same!" He drank. "Only to think that he had thousands of bottles -in his cellar which would beat this, and he never said to a footman: -Take a basket of this lush to my friend Gamain!' Not he--he would sooner -have it swilled by his Lifeguardsmen, the Swiss, or his Flanders -Regiment. They did him a lot of good, I do not think!" - -"What did you expect?" questioned the other, sipping his wine, "kings -are ungrateful like this one. But hush! we are no longer alone." - -In fact, three persons were entering the drinking saloon, two men of the -common sort and a fishfag, and they took seats at the table matching -that at which Gamain and his "treater" were sitting. - -The locksmith raised his eyes to them and stared with an attention -making the other smile. They were truly worthy of some remark. - -One of the two men was all body: the other all legs: it was hard to say -anything about the woman. - -All-Body resembled a dwarf: he was under five feet in hight: he may have -lost an inch or so from his knees knocking although when he stood up, -his feet kept apart. Instead of his countenance redeeming the deformity, -it seemed to highten it;--for his oily and dirty hair was flattened down -on his bald forehead; his eyebrows were so badly shaped as to seem -traced at random; his eyes were usually dull but when lighted up sheeny -and glassy as the toad's. In moments of irritation, they threw out -sparks like a viper's, from concentrated pupils. His nose was flat, and -deviated from the straight line so that his prominent cheek bones stood -out all the more. Lastly, to complete the hideous aspect, his yellow -lips only partly covered the few, black and loose teeth in his twisted -mouth. - -At first glance you would say that gall, not blood, flowed in his veins. - -The other was so opposed to the short-legged one that he seemed a heron -on its stilts. The likeness to the bird was the closer from his head -being lost between his humped shoulders so as to be distinguished solely -by the eyes, like blood-spots, and a long, pointed, beak-like nose. Like -the heron, too, he seemed to have the ability to stretch his neck, and -put out the eyes of one at a distance. His arms also were gifted with -this elasticity, and while seated, he might pick up a handkerchief -dropped at his feet without moving his body. - -The third person was ambiguous; it being difficult to divine the sex. If -a man, he was upwards of thirty-four, wearing a stylish costume of the -fishmarket stallkeepers, with lace kerchief and tucker, and gold -earrings and chain. His features, as well as could be made out through -layers of rouge and flake white, together with beauty-patches of -sticking plaster of all fancy shapes, were slightly softened as in -degenerated races. As soon as one caught sight of him one wanted to hear -him speak in the hope that the voice's sound would give his dubious -appearance a stamp by which he could be classed. But it was nothing to -the purpose: his soprano voice left the curious observer still deeper -plunged into doubt. - -The shoes and stockings of the trio were daubed in mud to show that they -had been tramping in the road for some time. - -"Lord save us, I seem to know that woman, from having met her before," -said Gamain. - -"Very likely at court," sneered the pretended workman "their manners -have been there quite a while and they have been visitors, the -fishmarket dames, of late. But," he went on, pulling his cap down on his -brow and taking up his gun, "they are here on business: consequently, we -had better leave them alone." - -"Do you know them?" - -"By sight. Do you?" - -"I say that I have met the woman before: tell me who the men are and I -may put my finger on her name." - -"Of the two men, the knock-kneed one is the surgeon, Jean Paul Marat; -while the humpback is Prosper Verrieres." - -"Aha!" - -"Does not that put you on the right track?" - -"My tongue to the dogs if it does!" - -"The fishwoman is----" - -"Wait, it is--but, no--impossible----" - -"I see that you will not name _him_--the fish_woman_ is the Duke of -Aiguillon." - -At this utterance of the title, the disguised nobleman started and -turned, as well as his companions. They made a movement to rise as men -do when in presence of a leader: but the pretended gunsmith laid a -finger on his lips and passed them by. - -Gamain followed him, believing he was in a dream. - -At the doorway he was jostled by a running man, who seemed to be pursued -by a mob, shouting: - -"Stop him--that is the Queen's hairdresser! stop the hairdresser!" - -Among the howling and racing men were two who carried each a human head -on a pikestaff. They were those of two Lifeguards, killed at Versailles -in defending the Queen from the mob. - -"Halloa, it is Leonard," said the strange workman, to the fugitive. - -"Silence, do not name me," yelled the barber, dashing into the saloon. - -"What do they chase him for?" inquired Gamain. - -"The Lord knows," was the response: "maybe they want him to curl the -hair of the poor soldiers. In Revolutionary times, fellows have such -quaint fancies!" - -He mixed in with the throng, leaving Gamain, from whom he had probably -extracted all he wanted, to make his way alone to his workshop at -Versailles. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -THE UNDYING MAN. - - -It was the more easy for the pretended gunsmith to blend with the crowd -as it was numerous. - -It was the advance guard of the procession around the King, Queen and -the Prince Royal, leaving the court suburb at half past one. - -In the royal coach were the Queen, her son, her daughter, called Madam -Royale though a child, Count Provence, the King's brother. Lady -Elizabeth his sister, and the Queen's favorite lady of the household, -Andrea Taverney Countess of Charny. - -In a hundred carriages came the National Assemblymen who had declared -they would henceforth be inseparable from the monarch. - -This mob was about a quarter of an hour ahead of the royal party, and -rallied round the two royal guardsmen's heads as their colors. All -stopped at the Sevres wine saloon. The collection was of tattered and -half-drunken wretches, the scum that comes to the surface whether the -inundation is water or lava. - -Suddenly, great stir in the concourse, for they had seen the National -Guards' bayonets and General Lafayette's white horse, immediately -preceding the royal coach. - -Lafayette was fond of popular gatherings: he really reigned among the -Paris people whose idol he was. But he did not like the lowest orders. -Paris, like Rome, had a grade under the mere mob. - -In particular, he did not approve of Lynch Law, and he had done his -utmost to try to save those aristocrats whom the crowd had executed. It -was to hide their trophies and preserve the bloody tokens of victory -that the multitude kept on ahead. But on being encouraged by the trio of -captains waiting at the Sevres saloon, they decided to keep the heads up -and wait for the King, so that he should not be parted from his faithful -guards. - -The mob was increased by the country folks flocking to the road from all -quarters to see the cortege go by. A few cheered, adding their uproar to -the howls, hoots and groans of the marching column, but the majority, -stood dull and quiet on both sides of the road. - -Did this mean that they were for the Royal Family? No: or at least -unless they belonged to the court party, everybody, even the upper -middle class, suffered more or less from the dreadful famine spreading -over the kingdom. If they did not insult the King and Queen, they -remained hushed, and the silence of an assemblage is often worse than an -insult. - -On the other hand the myriads roared with all their lung power: "Hurrah -for Lafayette!" who took off his hat now and then or waved the sword in -his right hand: and "Long live Mirabeau!" who thrust his head out of the -carriage window, where he was one of six, to get a whiff of the air -necessary for his broad chest. - -Hence, amid the silence for himself, the unfortunate Louis XVI. heard -applauded that Popularity which he had lost and that Genius which he had -never possessed. - -By the King's right side carriage-window walked a man in a black suit -whose dress pointed him out as one of the Philosophers, as they were -termed, or Revolutionists who worked intellectually for the amelioration -of the monarchy. This was the royal honorary physician, Dr. Honore -Gilbert. The crowd cheered him at times, for he was a hero of their own. -Born a Frenchman, of humble degree, a boy on the estate of the -ultra-royalist Baron Taverney, he had educated himself in democratic -learning. Falling in love with his master's lovely daughter, Andrea, -since Countess of Charny, he had followed her to court. At Paris he -became favorite pupil of Rousseau, the revolutionist, and this farther -confirmed him in his subversive principles. - -But having taken advantage of Andrea while she was powerless under the -influence of a mesmeric sleep, he fled the country. He had deposited in -sure hands the living evidence of his crime, a boy named Emile (In honor -of Rousseau, who wrote a book so called) Sebastian Gilbert, and fled the -country. But at the Azores Islands he came in contact with the young -lady's brother Philip, who shot him down and believed he left him dead. - -But, restored to life by his friend, the Baron Balsamo, otherwise -Cagliostro the Magician he accompanied him to America. - -The two formed part of the legion of Frenchmen who helped the revolted -Thirteen Colonies to throw off the British yoke. - -Returning to his country he was arrested at Havre and thown into the -Bastile. When that hated prison was stormed by the Parisians led by the -Farmer Billet, he was rescued. He had gone to court to learn who had -caused this arrest, and to his amazement discovered that its author was -the woman whom he had unutterably wronged. Yes, the baron's daughter had -married the Queen's favorite, thought by some to be her paramour, Count -George Charny, very rich, very brave and altogether fit to create her a -power in the realm. - -Gilbert had a sincere pity for royalty under a cloud. He was known to -the King as the author of certain articles on the way to steer the Ship -of State, and his offer to serve him was gladly accepted. - -The mob cheered at the remarkable shaking up of the sands in Time's box -by which the revolutionary advocate, fresh from the Bastile dungeons, -should walk at the side of the King's coach to shield his life from the -assassin. No mere touch of rhetoric, for on the royal visit to Paris -lately a bullet had cut a button off the doctor's coat and slain a woman -in the throng: this graceful gentlemen in black was then a better -safeguard than the soldiers whose heads were now garnishing the pikes -there in advance. - -Queen Marie Antoinette looked with wonder at this doctor, whose stoicism -she could not understand, while to it the American manner of forced -quiet added more sternness. Without love or devotion for his sovereigns, -he carried out what he considered duty towards them, as ready to die for -them as those who had the qualities of the loyalist he lacked. - -On both sides of the royal coach tramped men and women, in mud six -inches deep, while amid the ribbons and rags, the Fishmarket women and -porters of the Paris Markets swarmed round waves more compact than the -rest of the human sea. These clumps were cannon or ammunition wagons, on -which sat women singing at the top of their voices. An old song which -had been applied to King Louis XV.'s mistress Jeanne Dubarry, and was -now altered to suit Marie Antoinette and the situation of affairs, was -their choice. They roared: - - "The Baker's wife has got the cash, which costs her very little." - -They also kept reiterating: "We shall not want for bread any more, as we -have got the Baker, the Baker's Wife and the Baker's Little Boy along." - -The Queen seemed to listen to it all without understanding. Between her -knees she held her son, who looked at the multitude as frightened -princes stare when appalled. - -The King watched with a dull and heavy eye. He had little sleep in the -night; he had not made a good breakfast though usually a hearty eater; -he had no time to have his hair dressed and his beard had grown long. -His linen was limp and roughened, too--all things to his disadvantage. -Alas, Louis was not the man for emergencies, and this was a period of -emergencies. He bent his head when they came: save once when he held his -chin up--it was when he walked upon the scaffold. - -Lady Elizabeth was the angel of sweetness and resignation placed by -heaven beside those doomed creatures to console the King during the -Queen's absence; and the Queen after the King's death. - -Count Provence, here as everywhere, had the squinting glance of a false -man; he knew that he ran no present danger; he was the popular member of -the family--no one knew why--perhaps because he remained in France when his -brother Artois fled. - -Could the King have read his heart, he might not have felt any gratitude -to him for what he pledged in the way of devotion. - -Countess Andrea seemed of marble. She had recognized the man she most -hated in the King's new confidential adviser, and one whom the Queen -seemed bound to win to her side. Like a statue, the stir round her -seemed not to affect her, and she looked in attire as trim as if fresh -from a band-box. One thought was alive within her, fierce and -luminous--love for some unknown--perchance her husband, or hate for -Gilbert--at whom she darted lightnings involuntarily whenever their -glances crossed. But she felt that she might not defy his with impunity, -for he was a pupil of Balsamo Cagliostro, the arch-mesmerist, and might -sway her with the same art. - -A hundred paces on the other side of the little drinking saloon, the -royal train stopped. All along the line the clamor doubled. - -The Queen bent out of the window and as the movement looked like a bow -to the crowd, there was a long murmur. She called Dr. Gilbert. - -He went up to the window: as he had kept his hat off all the way, he -had no need to bare his head in respect. His attitude showed he was -entirely under her orders. - -"What are your people shouting and singing?" she requested to know. - -The Queen's form of putting the question showed that she had been -ruminating it for some time. He sighed as much as to say, it is the same -old story. - -"Alas, my lady," he proceeded with profound melancholy, "those you call -my people, were yours in former times, and it is less than twenty years -ago when Lord Brissac, a delightful courtier whom I look in vain for -here, showed you the same people shouting for the Dauphin under the City -Hall windows and said: 'You behold twenty thousand admirers there.'" - -The Queen bit her lips from the impossibility of catching this man in -want of a repartee or of respect. - -"That is true--it only proves that the many-headed change," she said. - -Gilbert bowed this time, without retort. - -"I asked you a question, doctor," persisted the lady, with the obstinacy -she had for even disagreeable matters. - -"Yes, and I answer since your Majesty insists. They are singing that the -Baker's Wife has plenty of money which it gave her no trouble to get. -You are aware that they style your Majesty the Baker's Wife?" - -"Just as they called me Lady Deficit before. Is there any connection -between the nicknames?" - -"So much also as the finances are concerned. They mean by your money -being easily come by that you had complaisant treasurers such as Calonne -in particular, who gave you whatever you asked; the people therefore -assume that you got your money readily for the asking." - -The Queen's hand was clenched on the red velvet carriage-window ledge. - -"So much for what they are singing. Now, for what they bellow out?" - -"They say that they shall no longer want for bread since they have the -Baker, the Baker's Wife and the Baker's Son among them." - -"I expect you to make this second piece of insolence clear." - -"You would see that they are not so much to blame as you fancy if you -were to look to the intention and not weigh the words of the people. -Wrongly or rightfully, the masses believe that a great Grain Trust is -carried on at Versailles. This prevents flour from coming freely into -the capital. Who feeds the Paris poor? the Baker. Towards whom does the -working man and his wife hold out their supplicating hands when their -children cry for food? the baker and the baker's wife. Who do they pray -to after the Sender of the harvest? the lady of the estate--that is, the -loaf-giver, as the name is derived. Are not you three the loaf-givers -for the country, the King, yourself and this august child? Do not be -astonished at the mighty, blessed name the people give you, but thank -them for cherishing the hope that as soon as the King, the Queen and -their son are in the midst of the famished thousands, they will no -longer be in want." - -For an instant the royal lady closed her eyes, and she made the movement -of swallowing as though to keep down her hatred as well as bitter saliva -which scorched her throat. - -"So we ought to thank these howlers for their songs and nick-names upon -us?" - -"Yes, and most sincerely: the song is but an expression of their good -humor as the shouts are of their expectations. The whole explains their -desire." - -"So they want Lafayette and Mirabeau to live long?" - -"Yes," returned Gilbert, seeing that the Queen had clearly heard the -cries, "for those two leaders, separated by the gulf over which you -hang, may, united, save the monarchy." - -"Do you mean that the monarchy has sunk so low that it can be picked up -by those two?" queried the lady. - -He was going to make some kind of reply when a burst of voices, in -dread, with atrocious peals of laughter and a great swaying of the -gathering, driving Gilbert closer to the vehicle, announced that he -would be needed in defense of the Queen by speech or action. It was the -two head-carriers, who, after having made Leonard barb and curl the -hair, wanted to have the fun of presenting them to Marie Antoinette--as -other roughs, or perhaps the same--had presented the dead heads of sons -to their fathers. - -The crowd yelled with horror and fell away as these ghastly things came -up. - -"In heaven's name, do not look to the right," cried Gilbert. - -The Queen was no woman to obey such an injunction without a peep to see -the reason. So her first movement was to turn her gaze in the forbidden -direction and she uttered a scream of fright. But, all of a sudden, as -she tore her sight from this horrible spectacle as if they were Gorgon -heads, they became fixed as though they met another view even more -awful, from which she could not detach it. - -This Medusa's head was the stranger's who had been drinking and chatting -with Locksmith Gamain in the wine-store: with folded arms, he was -leaning against a tree. - -The Queen's hand left the window cushion, and resting on Gilbert's -shoulder, he felt her clench her nails into its flesh. He turned to see -her pale, with fixed eyes and quivering, blanched lips. - -He would have ascribed the emotion to the two death's heads but for her -not looking at either. The gaze was in another direction, traveling -visually in which he descried the object and he emitted a cry of amaze. - -"Cagliostro!" both uttered at the same time. - -The man at the tree clearly saw the Queen, but all he did was beckon for -Gilbert to come to him. - -At this point of time the carriages started on once more. By a natural -and mechanical impulse the Queen gave Gilbert an outward push to prevent -his being run over by the wheel. It looked as though she urged him -towards the summoner. Anyhow, he was not sufficiently master of himself -not to obey the mandate. Motionless, he let the party proceed; then, -following the mock gunsmith who merely looked back to be sure he was -followed, he entered behind him a little lane going uphill to Bellevue, -where they disappeared behind a wall at the same time as the procession -went out of sight in a declivity of the hills, as though plunging into -an abyss. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -FATALITY. - - -Gilbert followed his guide half-way up the slope where stood a handsome -house. The foregoer pulled out a key and opened a side door intended for -the master to go in or come out without the servants knowing when he did -so. He left the door ajar to signify that the companion of the journey -was to use it. Gilbert entered and shut the door gently but it silently -closed itself tightly with a pneumatic arrangement at the hinges which -seemed the work of magic. Such an appliance would have been the delight -of Master Gamain. - -Through luxuriously fitted passages Gilbert finally came into a drawing -room, hung with Indian satin tapestry; a fantastic Oriental bird held -the lustre in its beak and it emitted a light which Gilbert knew was -electricity, though its application thus would have been a puzzle to -others than this specialist in advanced science. The lights represented -lily-blooms, which again was an anticipation of modern illuminators. - -One picture alone adorned this room but it was Raphael's Madonna. - -Gilbert was admiring this masterpiece when the host entered by a secret -door behind him from a dressing room. - -An instant had sufficed for him to wash off the stain and the -pencillings and to give his black hair, without any grey, a stylish -turn. He had also changed his clothes. Instead of the workman was an -elegant nobleman. His embroidered coat and his hands glittering with -rings in the Italian style, strongly contrasted with Gilbert's American -black coat and his plain gold ring, a keepsake from General Washington. - -Count Cagliostro advanced with a smiling open face and held out his hand -to Gilbert. - -"Dear Master," cried the latter rushing to him. - -"Stop a bit," interrupted the other, laughing: "since we have parted, -my dear Gilbert, you have made such progress in revolutionary methods at -all events, that you are the master at present and I not fit to undo -your shoestrings." - -"I thank you for the compliment," responded the doctor, "but how do you -know I have made such progress, granting I have progressed?" - -"Do you believe you are one of those men whose movement is not marked -although not seen? Since eight years I have not set eyes on you but I -have had a daily report of what you did. Do you doubt I have -double-sight?" - -"You know I am a mathematician." - -"You mean, incredulous? Let me show you, then. In the first place you -returned to France on family matters; they do not concern me, and -consequently----" - -"Nay, dear master, go on," interposed the other. - -"Well, you came to have your son Sebastian educated in a boarding school -not far from Paris in quiet, and to settle business affairs with your -farmer, an honest fellow whom you are now retaining in town against his -wishes. For a thousand reasons he wants to be home beside his wife." - -"Really, master, you are prodigious!" - -"Wait for something stronger. The second time you returned to France -because political questions drew you, like many others; besides you had -published several political treatises which you sent to King Louis XVI., -and as there is much of the Old Man in you--you are prouder for the -approval of the King than perhaps you would be of that of my predecessor -in your training, Rousseau--who would be higher than a king this day, -had he lived--you yearn to learn what is thought of Dr. Gilbert by the -descendant of St. Louis, Henry Fourth and Louis XIV. Unfortunately a -little matter has kept alive which you did not bear in mind, as a sequel -to which I picked you up in a cave in the Azores, where my yacht put in. -I restored you from the effects of a bullet in your breast. This little -affair concerned Mdlle. Andrea Taverney, become Countess Charny, which -she deserves, to save the Queen's reputation, compromised by the King -coming upon her and Count Charny by surprise. - -"As the Queen could refuse nothing to this saver, she got a blank -warrant and committal to prison for you, so that you were arrested on -the road out of Havre and taken to the Bastile. There you would be to -this day, dear doctor, if the people, prepared for a rising by a person -whom you may divine, had not in a day knocked the old building lower -than the gutter. I was not sorry, for I had a taste of the fare myself -before I was banished the Kingdom. This morning early, you contributed -to the rescue of the Royal Family, by running to arouse Lafayette, who -was sleeping the sleep of the virtuous; and just now, when you saw me, -you were about to make a breastwork of your body for the Queen who -seemed threatened--though, between ourselves, she detests you. Is this -right? Have I forgotten anything of note, such as a hypnotic seance -before the King when Countess Charny was made to disclose how she had -led to your imprisonment and how she obtained a certain casket of your -papers by one Wolfstep, a police agent? Tell me and if I have omitted -any point, I am ready to do penance for it." - -Gilbert stood stupefied before this extraordinary man, who knew so well -to prepare his march that his hearer was inclined to attribute to him -the faculty of comprising heavenly as well as mundane things, and to -read in the heart of man. - -"Yes, it is thus and you are still the magician, the fortune-teller, the -thaumaturgist, Cagliostro!" - -The wonder-worker smiled with satisfaction, for it was evident that he -was proud of having worked on Gilbert such an impression as the latter's -visage revealed. - -"And now," continued Gilbert, "as I love you as much as you do me, dear -master, and my desire to learn what you have been doing is equal to -yours and how I have fared, will you kindly tell me, if I am not -intruding too far, in what part of the globe you have exhibited your -genius and practiced your power?" - -"Oh, I?" said Cagliostro, smiling, "like yourself I have been rubbing -shoulders with kings, but with another aim. You go up to them to uphold -them; I to knock them over. You try to manufacture a constitutional -monarch and will not succeed; I, to make emperors, kings and princes -democratic, and I am coming on." - -"Are you really?" queried Gilbert with an air of doubt. - -"Decidedly. It must be allowed that they were prepared for me by -Voltaire, Alembert and Diderot, admirable Mecaenases, sublime contemners -of the gods, and also by the example of Frederick the Great, whom we -have the misfortune to lose. But you know we are all mortal, except the -Count of St. Germain and myself. - -"So long as the Queen is fair, my dear Gilbert, and she can recruit -soldiers to fight among themselves, kings who fret to push over thrones -have never thought of hurling over the altar. But we have her brother, -Kaiser Joseph II. who suppresses three-fourths of the monasteries, -seizes ecclesiastical property, drives even the Camelite nuns out of -their cells, and sends his sister prince of nuns trying on the latest -fashions in hats and monks having their hair curled. We have the King of -Denmark, who began by killing his doctor Struensee, and who, at -seventeen, the precocious philosopher, said: 'Voltaire made a man of me -for he taught me to think.' We have the Empress Catherine, who made such -giant strides in philosophy that--while she dismembered Poland, Voltaire -wrote to her: 'Diderot, Alembert and myself are raising altars to you. -We have the Queen of Sweden and many princes in the Empire and -throughout Germany.'" - -"You have nothing left you but to convert the Pope, my dear master, and -I hope you will, as nothing is beyond you." - -"That will be a hard task. I have just slipped out of his claws. I was -locked up in Castle Sanangelo as you were in the Bastile." - -"You don't say so? did the Romans upset the castle as the people of St. -Antoine Ward overthrew the Bastile?" - -"No, my dear doctor, the Romans are a century behind that point. But, be -easy: it will come in its day: the Papacy will have its revolutionary -days, and Versailles and the Vatican can shake hands in equality at that -era." - -"I thought that nobody came alive out of Castle Sanangelo?" - -"Pooh! what about Benvenuto Cellini, the sculptor?" - -"You had not wings such as he made, had you, and did you flit over the -Tiber like a new Icarus?" - -"It would be the more difficult as I was lodged for the farther security -in the blackest dungeon of the keep. But I did get out, as you see." - -"Bribed the jailor with gold?" - -"I was out of luck, for my turnkey was incorruptible. But, fortunately, -he was not immortal. Chance--the believers say, Providence--well, the -Architect of the Universe granted that he should die on the morrow of -his refusing to open the prison doors. He died very suddenly! and he had -to be replaced." - -"The new hand was not unbribable?" - -"The day of his taking up his office, as he brought me the soup, he -said: 'Eat heartily and get your strength, for we have to do some stiff -traveling this night.' By George, the good fellow told no lie. That same -night we rode three horses out dead, and covered a hundred miles." - -"What did the government say when your disappearance was known?" - -"Nothing. The dead and still-warm other jailer was clad in the clothes I -left behind; and a pistol was fired in his face; it was laid by his side -and the statement was given out that in despair at having no escape and -with the useless weapon which I had procured none could tell how, I had -blown out my brains. It follows that I am officially pronounced dead and -buried; the jailer being interred in my name. It will be useless, my -dear Gilbert, my saying that I am alive, for the certificate of my death -and burial will be produced to prove that I am no more. But they will -not have to do anything of the sort as it suits me to be thought passed -away at this date. I have made a dive into the sombre river, as the -poets say, but I have come up under another name. I am now Baron Zanone, -a Genoese banker. I discount the paper of princes--good paper in the -sort of Cardinal Prince Rohan's, you know. But I am not lending money -merely for the interest. By the way, if you need cash, my dear Gilbert, -say so? You know that my purse, like my heart, is always at your call." - -"I thank you." - -"Ah, you think to incommode me, because you met me in my dress as a -workman? do not trouble about that; it is merely one of my disguises; -you know my ideas about life being one long masquerade where all are -more or less masked. In any case, my dear boy, if ever you want money, -out of my private cash box here--for the grand cash box of the -Invisibles is in St. Claude Street--come to me at any hour, whether I am -at home or not--I showed you the little, side door; push this spring -so--" he showed him the trick--"and you will find about a million -ready." - -The round top of the desk opened of itself on the spring being pressed, -and displayed a heap of gold coin and bundles of banknotes. - -"You are in truth a wonderful man!" exclaimed Gilbert; "but you ought to -know that with twenty thousand a-year, I am richer than the King. But do -you not fear being disquieted in Paris?" - -"On account of the matter of the Queen's Necklace for which I was forbid -the realm? Go to! they dare not. In the present ferment of minds I have -only to speak one word to evoke a riot: you forget that I am friendly -with all the popular leaders--Lafayette, Necker, Mirabeau and yourself." - -"What have you come to do at Paris?" - -"Who knows? perhaps what you went over to the United States to do--found -a republic." - -"France has not a republican turn of mind," said the other, shaking his -head. - -"We shall teach her that way, that is all. It has taken fifteen hundred -years to rule with a monarchy; in one hundred the Republic will be -founded to endure--why not as long?" - -"The King will resist; the nobility fly to arms; and then what will you -do?" - -"We will make a revolution before we have the Republic." - -"It will be awful to do that, Joseph," said Gilbert, hanging his head. - -"Awful indeed, if we meet many such as you on the road." - -"I am not strong, but honest," said the doctor. - -"That is worse: so I want to bring you over." - -"I am convinced--not that I shall prevent you in your work, but will -stay you." - -"You are mad, Gilbert; you do not understand the mission of France in -Europe. It is the brain of the Old World, and must think freely so that -the world will be the happier for its thought. Do you know what -overthrew the Bastile?" - -"The people." - -"No: public opinion. You are taking the effect for the cause." - -"For five hundred years they have been imprisoning nobles in the Bastile -and it stood. But the mad idea struck an insane monarch one day to lock -up thought--the spirit which must be free, and requires space unto -immensity, and crack! it burst the walls and the mob surged in at the -breach." - -"True enough," mused the younger man. - -"Twenty-six years ago, Voltaire wrote to Chauvelin: 'All that I see is -sowing Revolution round us, and it will inevitably come though I shall -not have the bliss to see the harvest. The French are sometimes slow to -come into the battle but they get there before the fight is over. Light -is so spread from one to another, that it will burst forth in a mass -soon, and then there will be a fine explosion. The young men are happy -for they will behold splendors. What do you say about the flare-ups of -yesterday and what is going on to-day?'" - -"Terrible!" - -"And what you have beheld in the way of events?" - -"Dreadful!" - -"We are only at the beginning." - -"Prophet of evil!" - -"For instance, I was at the house of a man of merit, a doctor of -medicine and a philanthropist: what do you think he was busy over?" - -"Seeking the remedy for some great disease." - -"You have it. He is trying to cure, not death, but life." - -"What do you mean?" - -"Leaving epigrams aside, I mean that there not being means enough for -quitting life, he is inventing a very ingenious machine which he reckons -to present to his fellow countrymen, to put fifty or eighty persons to -death in an hour. Well, my dear Gilbert, do you believe that so human a -philanthropist, so distinguished a physician as Dr. Louis Guillotin, -would busy himself about such an instrument unless he felt the want of -it? - -"I know that this is not so much a novelty as a machine forgotten, as a -proof of which I showed it as an image in a glass of water to Marie -Antoinette. She was then espoused to the Dauphin of France, now its -sovereign, and it was down at Taverney where you were a dependent. The -old baron was alive then, and the lady of the manor was Mdlle. Andrea." - -"Ah," sighed Gilbert at this reminder of his boyhood. - -"But at the first you had eyes only for the servant-maid, Nicole, -afterwards Olive Legay, as the Dauphiness, to whom she bore an amazing -resemblance by the bye, is the Queen of France. Well I repeat that the -future Queen was shown by me this instrument to which I shall suggest no -name, though the olden ones are the Maiden, the Widow and the _Mannaya_ -in my country. The thing so alarmed her that she swooned dead away. It -was in limbo at the era, but you shall see it at work presently if it be -successful; and then you must be blind if you do not spy the hand of -heaven in it all, it being foreseen that the time would come when the -headsman would have his hands too full and that a new method must be -devised." - -"Count, your remarks were more consoling when we were in America." - -"I should rather think they were! I was in the midst of a people who -rose and here in society which falls. In our Old World, all march -towards the grave, nobility and royalty, and this grave is a bottomless -pit." - -"Oh, I abandon the nobility to you, count, or rather it threw itself -away in the night of the fourth of August; but the royalty must be saved -as the national palladium." - -"Big words, my dear Gilbert: but did the palladium save Troy? Do you -believe it will be easy to save the realm with such a king?" - -"But in short he is the descendant of a grand race." - -"Eagles that have degenerated into parrots. They have been marrying in -and out till they are rundown." - -"My dear sorcerer," said Gilbert, rising and taking up his hat, "you -frighten me so that I must haste and take my place by the King." - -Cagliostro stopped him in making some steps towards the door. - -"Mark me, Gilbert," he said, "you know whether I love you or not and if -I am not the man to expose myself to a hundred sorrows to aid you to -avoid one--well, take this piece of advice: let the King depart, quit -France, while it is yet time. In a year, in six months, in three, it -will be too late." - -"Count, do you counsel a soldier to leave his post because there is -danger in his staying?" - -"If the soldier were so surrounded, engirt, and disarmed that he could -not defend himself: if, above all, his life exposed meant that of half a -million of men--yes, I should bid him flee. And you yourself, Gilbert, -you shall tell him so. The King will listen to you unless it is all too -late. Do not wait till the morrow but tell him to-day. Do not wait till -the afternoon but tell him in an hour." - -"Count, you know that I am of the fatalist school. Come what come may! -so long as I shall have any hold on the King it will be to retain him in -France, and I shall stay by him. Farewell, count: we shall meet in the -action: perhaps we shall sleep side by side on the battlefield." - -"Come, come, it is written that man shall not elude his doom however -keen-witted he may be," muttered the magician: "I sought you out to tell -you what I said, and you have heard it. Like Cassandra's prediction it -is useless, but remember that Cassandra was correct. Fare thee well!" - -"Speak frankly, count," said Gilbert, stopping on the threshold to gaze -fixedly at the speaker, "do you here, as in America, pretend to make -folk believe that you can read the future?" - -"As surely, Gilbert," returned the self-asserted undying one, "as you -can read the pathway of the stars, though the mass of mankind believe -they are fixed or wandering at hazard." - -"Well, then--someone knocks at your door." - -"Yes." - -"Tell me his fate: when he shall die and how?" - -"Be it so," rejoined the sorcerer, "let us go and open the door to him." - -Gilbert proceed towards the corridor end, with a beating of the heart -which he could not repress, albeit he whispered to himself that it was -absurd to take this quackering as serious. - -The door opened. A man of lofty carriage, tall in stature, and with -strong-will impressed on his lineaments, appeared on the sill and cast a -swift glance on Dr. Gilbert not exempt from uneasiness. - -"Good day, marquis," said Cagliostro. - -"How do you do, baron?" responded the other. - -"Marquis," went on the host as he saw the caller's gaze still settled on -the doctor, "this is one of my friends, Dr. Gilbert. Gilbert, you see -Marquis Favras, one of my clients. Marquis, will you kindly step into my -sitting-room," continued he as the two saluted each other, "and wait for -a few seconds when I shall be with you." - -"Well?" queried Gilbert as the marquis bowed again and went into the -parlor. - -"You wished to know in what way this gentleman would die?" said -Cagliostro with an odd smile; "have you ever seen a nobleman hanged?" - -"Noblemen are privileged not to die by hanging." - -"Then it will be the more curious sight; be on the Strand when the -Marquis of Favras is executed." He conducted his visitor to the street -door, and said: "When you wish to call on me without being seen and to -see none but me, push this knob up and to the left, so--now, -farewell--excuse me--I must not make those wait who have not long to -live." - -He left Gilbert astounded by his assurance, which staggered him but -could not vanquish his incredulity. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -THE CANDLE OMEN. - - -In the meantime the Royal Family had continued their road to Paris. The -pace was so slow and delayed that it was six o'clock before the carriage -containing so much sorrow, hatred, passions and innocence, arrived at -the city bars. - -During the journey the Dauphin had complained of being hungry. There was -no want of bread as many of the pikes and bayonets were holding up -loaves and the Queen would have asked Gilbert to get one, if he had been -by. She could not ask the mob, whom she held in horror. - -"Wait till we are in the Tuileries Palace this evening," she said, -hugging the boy to her. - -"But these men have plenty," he protested. - -"But that is theirs, not ours. And they went all the way to Versailles -for it as there was none in Paris, these three days." - -"Have they not eaten for three days?" said the Prince. "Then they must -be awful hungry, mamma." - -Etiquet ordered him to address his mother as Madam, but he was hungry as -a poor boy and he called her mamma as a poor boy would his mother. - -Ceasing to grieve, he tried to sleep. Poor royal babe, who would cry -many times yet for bread before he died. - -At the bars a halt was made, not to repose but to rejoice over the -arrival. It was hailed with song and dance. A strange scene almost as -terrifying in this joy as the others had been for ghastliness. - -The fishmarket-women got off their horses, captured from the slain -Lifeguardsmen, hanging their swords and carbines to the horns. Other -women and the market-girls jumped off their cannon, which appeared in -their alarming smoothness. - -They all joined hands and danced around the royal carriage. Separating -it from the deputies and the National Guard, an omen of what was to -follow. This round dance had the good intention to set the enforced -guests at ease: the men and women capered, kissed, hugged and sang -together. The men lifted up their partners as in Teniers' pictures. - -This went on as night was falling, on a dark and rainy day, so that the -dancing by the light of torches and the gun-stocks and fireworks, took -fantastic effects of light and shade almost infernal. - -After half an hour all shouted a general hurrah; all the firearms were -shot off at risk of shooting somebody; and the bullets came down in the -puddles with a sinister plash. - -The prince and his sister wept; they were too frightened to feel -hungered. - -At the City Hall a line of troops prevented the crowd from entering the -place. Here the Queen perceived her foster-brother, and confidential -servant, Weber, an Austrian who had followed her fortunes from home, and -was trying to pass the cordon and go in with her. To be more useful to -the Queen he had put on a National Guard uniform and added the insignia -of a staff-officer. The Royal Groom had lent him a horse. Not to excite -suspicion he kept at a distance during the journey. Now he ran up at her -call. - -"What have you come for?" she demanded; "you will be useless here while -at the Tuileries you will be needed. If you do not go on before, nothing -will be ready for our accommodation." - -"Capital idea that," said the King. - -The Queen had spoken in German and the King had replied in English as he -did not speak the other tongue though understanding it. - -The bystanders held foreign tongues in horror, and they murmured and -this swelled to a roar when the square opened and let the coach roll -through. - -The welcoming speech was made by Billy, Mayor of Paris, who played the -King a scurvy trick by repeating his answer: "I always come with -pleasure and confidence among my good people of Paris," without the word -"confidence" which spoilt matters, and he was taken to task by the Queen -for it. - -It was not till ten o'clock that the royal carriage got back to the -Tuileries where Weber had done the best he could for them. - -Count Provence had gone to Luxembourg Palace. - -Weber had located the Royal Family in Countess Lamarck's rooms, but the -comforts were limited. For instance there was no room for Countess -Charny at supper and she talked of spending the night in a chair for -want of a bed. But knowing the great favor in which the Queen held the -countess, they placed a couch for her in the next room to the Queen's. - -The latter shuddered at this for she thought of the count being with his -wife, and Andrea saw the emotion. - -"There must be some corner for me elsewhere," said she; "I will go find -it." - -"You are right, countess," said the King while Marie Antoinette mumbled -something unintelligible. "We will do something better to-morrow." - -The King watched the stately countess go out, while he held the plate to -his mouth. - -"That lady is a delightful creature," he said, "and Charny ought to be -happy to find such a phoenix at court." - -The Queen leant back in her chair to hide her sensation, not from the -speaker, but from his sister Elizabeth, who was frightened lest she had -fallen ill. - -The Queen did not breathe at ease till alone in her room. - -She had heard her daughter say her prayers, speaking a little longer -than usual as she was pleading for her brother who had gone to rest -forgetting to say his. - -Sitting alone at a table, somehow she had the panorama of her life pass -before her. - -She recalled that she was born on the second of November, 1755, the day -of the Lisbon earthquake, which swallowed up fifty thousand souls and -extended five thousand miles. - -She recalled that the room she slept in, in France, at Strasburg, -represented the Massacre of the Innocents and so frightened her in the -flickering lamplight that she had always retained a terrible memory of -her first night on French soil. - -She recalled how, stopping at Taverney House, she had been shown in the -gardens by Baron Balsamo the image of an unknown instrument for -decapitation: this was the man who, under the name of Cagliostro, had -exercised a fatal influence on her destiny, as witness his hand in the -Queen's Necklace trial; though she was advised that he had perished in -the papal dungeons as a magician and atheist, had she not seen him this -day in the mob during the halt at Sevres? - -She recalled that in Madam Lebrun's portrait she had unwittingly made -her pose as the unfortunate Henrietta Maria of England, in her portrait, -as Wife of Charles I. the Beheaded. - -She recalled how, when she got out of her coach for the first time at -Versailles, in that Marble Court where so much blood lately flowed on -her behalf, a lightning stroke had flashed so extraordinarily that -Marshal Richelieu had said: "An evil omen!" albeit he was a cynic not -easily startled by superstition. - -She was recalling all this when a reddish cloud, from her eyes being -strained, thickened around her, and one of the four candles in the -candelabrum went out without evident cause. - -While she was looking at it, still smoking, it seemed to her that the -next taper to it paled sensibly, and turning red and then blue in the -flame, faded away and lengthened upward, as if to quit the wick, from -which it leaped altogether. It was extinguished, as though by an unseen -breath from below. - -She had watched the death of this with haggard eyes and panting bosom, -and her hands went out towards the candlestick proportionable to the -eclipse. When gone out, she closed her eyes, drew back in her armchair, -and ran her hand over her forehead, streaming with perspiration. - -When she opened them anew, after ten minutes, she perceived that the -flame of the third candle was affected like the rest. - -She believed it was a dream or that she was under some hallucination. -She tried to rise but seemed nailed to her chair. She wanted to call her -daughter, whom she would not have aroused a few minutes before for a -second crown, but her voice died away in her throat. She tried to turn -her head but it was rigid as if the third light expiring attracted her -eyes and breath. Like the other pair, it changed hue and swaying to one -side and the other, finally shot itself out. - -Then fear had such mastery that speech returned to her and that made her -feel restored in courage. - -"I am not going to distress myself because three candles happened to go -out," she said; "but if the fourth suffers the same fate, then woe is -me!" - -Suddenly, without going through the transitions of the others, without -lengthening or fluttering to left or right as if the death-angel wing -had wafted it, the fourth flame went out. - -She screamed with terror, rose, reeled and fell to the floor. - -At this appeal the door opened and Andrea, white and silent in her -night-wrapper appeared like a ghost on the sill. When she had revived -her mistress with the mechanical action of one impelled by sheer duty, -the Queen remembered all the presage, and aware that it was a woman -beside her, flung her arms round her neck, and cried: - -"Save me, defend me!" - -"Your Majesty needs no defense among her friends," said Andrea, "and you -appear free of the swoon in which you fell." - -"Countess Charny," gasped the other, letting go of her whom she had -embraced, and almost repelling her in the first impulse. - -Neither the feeling nor the expression had escaped the lady. But she -remained motionless to impassibility. - -"I shall undress alone," faltered the Queen. "Return to your room, as -you must require sleep." - -"I shall go back, not to sleep but to watch over your Majesty's -slumber," returned Andrea, respectfully curtseying to the other and -stalking away with the solemn step of a vitalized statue. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -THE REVOLUTION IN THE COUNTRY. - - -Our intention being to temporarily abandon the fortunes of our high and -mighty characters to follow those of more humble but perhaps no less -engaging heroes, we take up with Sebastian Gilbert whom his father, -immediately after his release from the Bastile, confided to a young -peasant named Ange Pitou, foster-brother of the youth, and despatched -them to the latter's birthplace, Villers Cotterets. - -It was eighteen leagues from the city, and Gilbert might have sent them -down by stage-coach or his own carriage; but he feared isolation for the -son of the mesmerists' victim, and nothing so isolates a traveler as a -closed carriage. - -Ange Pitou had accepted the trust with pride at the choice of the King's -honorary physician. He travelled tranquilly, passing through villages -trembling with the thrill from the shock of the events at Paris as it -was the commencement of August when the pair left town. - -Besides Pitou had kept a helmet and a sabre picked up on the battlefield -where he had shown himself more brave than he had expected. One does not -help in the taking of a Bastile without preserving some heroic touch in -his bearing subsequently. - -Moreover he had become something of an orator; he had studied the -Classics and he had heard the many speeches of the period, scattered out -of the City Hall, in the mobs, during lulls in the street fights. - -Furnished with these powerful forces, added to by a pair of ponderous -fists, plenty of broad grins, and a most interesting appetite for -loiters-on who did not have to pay the bill, Pitou journeyed most -pleasantly. For those inquisitive in political matters, he told the -news, inventing what he had not heard, Paris having a knack that way -which he had picked up. - -As Sebastian ate little and spoke hardly at all, everybody admired -Pitou's vigorous paternal care. - -They went through Haramont, the little village where the mother of one -and the nurse of the other had died and was laid in earth. - -Her living home, sold by Pitou's Aunt Angelique, her sister-in-law, had -been razed by the new owner, and a black cat snarled at the young men -from the wall built round the garden. - -But nothing was changed at the burying-ground; the grass had so grown -that the chances were that the young peasant could not find his mother's -grave. Luckily he knew it by a slip of weeping willow, which he had -planted; while the grass was growing it had grown also and had become in -a few years a tolerable tree. - -Ange walked directly to it, and the pair said their prayers under the -lithe branches which Pitou took in his arms as they were his mother's -tresses. - -Nobody noticed them as all the country folk were in the field and none -seeing Pitou would have recognized him in his dragoon's helmet and with -the sword and belt. - -At five in the afternoon they reached their destination. - -While Pitou had been away from Haramont three years, it was only as many -weeks since he quitted Villers Cotterets, so that it was simple enough -that he should be recognized at the latter place. - -The two visitors were reported to have gone to the back door of Father -Fortier's academy for young gentlemen where Pitou had been educated with -Sebastian, and where the latter was to resume his studies. - -A crowd collected at the front door where they thought Pitou would come -forth, as they wanted to see him in the soldier's appurtenances. - -After giving the doctor's letter and money for the schooling to Abbe -Fortier's sister, the priest being out for a walk with the pupils, Pitou -left the house, cocking his helmet quite dashingly on the side of his -head. - -Sebastian's chagrin at parting was softened by Ange Pitou's promise to -see him often. Pitou was like those big, lubberly Newfoundland dogs who -sometimes weary you with their fawning, but usually disarm you by their -jolly good humor. - -The score of people outside the door thought that as Pitou was in battle -array he had seen the fights in Paris and they wanted to have news. - -He gave it with majesty; telling how he and Farmer Billet, their -neighbor, had taken the Bastile and set Dr. Gilbert free. They had -learnt something in the Gazettes but no newspaper can equal an -eye-witness who can be questioned and will reply. And the obliging -fellow did reply and explain and at such length that in an hour, one of -the listeners suddenly remarked that he was flagging and said: - -"But our dear Pitou is tired, and here we are keeping him on his legs, -when he ought to go home, to his Aunt Angelique's. The poor old girl -will be delighted to see him again." - -"I am not tired but hungry," returned the other. "I am never tired but I -am always sharpset." - -Before this plain way of putting it, the throng broke up to let Pitou -go through. Followed by some more curious than the rest, he proceeded to -his father's sister's house. - -It was a cottage where he would have been starved to death by the pious -old humbug of an old maid, but for his poaching in the woods for -something that they could eat while the superfluity was sold by her to -have the cash in augmentation of a very pretty hoard the miser kept in a -chair cushion. - -As the door was fastened, from the old lady being out gossiping, and -Pitou declared that an aunt should never shut out a loving nephew, he -drew his great sabre and opened the lock with it as it were an oyster, -to the admiration of the boys. - -Pitou entered the familiar cottage with a bland smile, and went straight -up to the cupboard where the food was kept. He used in his boyish days -to ogle the crust and the hunk of cheese with the wish to have magical -powers to conjure them out into his mouth. - -Now he was a man: he went up to the safe, opened it, opened also his -pocket-knife, and taking out a loaf, cut off a slice which might weigh a -fair two pounds. - -He seemed to hear Aunt Angelique snarl at him, but it was only the creak -of the door hinges. - -In former times, the old fraud used to whine about poverty and palm him -off with cheap cheese and few flavors. But since he had left she got up -little delicacies of value which lasted her a week, such as stewed beef -smothered in carrots and onions; baked mutton with potatoes as large as -melons; or calves-foot, decked with pickled shallots; or a giant omelet -sprinkled with parsley or dotted with slices of fat pork of which one -sufficed for a meal even when she had an appetite. - -Pitou was in luck. He lighted on a day when Aunt Angelique had cooked an -old rooster in rice, so long that the bones had quitted the flesh and -the latter was almost tender. It was basking in a deep dish, black -outside but glossy and attractive within. The coxcomb stuck up in the -midst like Ceuta in Gibraltar Straits. - -Pitou had been so spoilt by the good living at Paris that he never even -reflected that he had never seen such magnificence in his relative's -house. - -He had his hunk of bread in his right hand: he seized the baking dish -in his left and held it by the grip of his thumb in the grease. But at -this moment it seemed to him that a shadow clouded the doorway. - -He turned round, grinning, for he had one of those characters which let -their happiness be painted on their faces. - -The shadow was cast by Angelique Pitou, drier, sourer, bonier, not -bonnier, and more mean than ever. - -Formerly, at this sight, Pitou would have dropped the bread and dish and -fled. - -But he was altered. His helmet and sword had not more changed his aspect -than his mind was changed by frequenting the society of the -revolutionary lights of the capital. - -Far from fleeing, he went up to her and opening his arms he embraced her -so that his hands, holding the knife, the bread and the dish, crossed -behind her skeleton back. - -"It is poor Pitou," he said in accomplishing this act of nepotism. - -She feared that he was trying to stifle her because she had caught him -red-handed in plundering her store. Literally, she did not breathe -freely until she was released from this perillous clasp. - -She was horrified that he did not express any emotion over his prize and -at his sitting in the best chair: previously he would have perched -himself on the edge of a stool or the broken chair. Thus easily lodged -he set to demolishing the baked fowl. In a few minutes the pattern of -the dish began to appear clean at the bottom as the rocks and sand on -the seashore when the tide goes out. - -In her frightful perplexity she endeavored to scream but the ogre smiled -so bewitchingly that the scream died away on her prim lips. - -She smiled, without any effect on him, and then turned to weeping. This -annoyed the devourer a little but did not hinder his eating. - -"How good you are to weep with joy at my return," he said. "I thank you, -my kind aunt." - -Evidently the Revolution had transmogrified this lad. - -Having tucked away three fourths of the bird he left a little of the -Indian grain at the end of the dish, saying: - -"You are fond of rice, my dear auntie: and, besides, it is good for your -poor teeth." - -At this attention, taken for a bitter jest, Angelique nearly suffocated. -She sprang upon Pitou and snatched the lightened platter from his hand, -with an oath which would not have been out of place in the mouth of an -old soldier. - -"Bewailing the rooster, aunt?" he sighed. - -"The rogue--I believe he is chaffing me," cried the old prude. - -"Aunt," returned the other, rising majestically, "my intention was to -pay you. I have money. I will come and board with you, if you please, -only I reserve the right to make up the bill of fare. As for this snack, -suppose we put the lot at six cents, four of the fowl and two of bread." - -"Six? when the meat is worth eight alone and the bread four," cried the -woman. - -"But you did not buy the bird--I know the old acquaintance by his nine -years comb. I stole him for you from under his mother and by the same -token, you flogged me because I did not steal enough corn to feed him. -But I begged the grain from Miss Catherine Billet; as I procured the -bird and the food, I had a lien on him, as the lawyers say. I have only -been eating my own property." - -"Out of this house," she gasped, almost losing her voice while she tried -to pulverize him with her gaze. - -Pitou remarked with satisfaction that he could not have swallowed one -grain more of rice. - -"Aunt, you are a bad relative," he said loftily. "I wanted you to show -yourself as of old, spiteful and avaricious. But I am not going to have -it said that I eat my way without paying." - -He stood on the threshold and called out with a voice which was not only -heard by the starers without but by anybody within five hundred paces: - -"I call these honest folk for witnesses, that I have come from Paris -afoot, after having taken the Bastile. I was hungered and tired, and I -have sat down under my only relation's roof, and eaten, but my keep is -thrown up at me, and I am driven away pitilessly!" - -He infused so much pathos in this exordium that the hearers began to -murmur against the old maid. - -"I want you to bear witness that she is turning from her door a poor -wayfarer who has tramped nineteen leagues afoot; an honest lad, honored -with the trust of Farmer Billet and Dr. Gilbert; who has brought Master -Sebastian Gilbert here to Father Fortier's; a conqueror of the Bastile, -a friend of Mayor Bailly and General Lafayette." - -The murmuring increased. - -"And I am not a beggar," he pursued, "for when I am accused of having a -bite of bread, I am ready to meet the score, as proof of which I plank -down this silver bit--in payment of what I have eaten at my own folk's." - -He drew a silver crown from his pocket with a flourish, and tossed it on -the table under the eyes of all, whence it bounced into the dish and -buried itself in the rice. This last act finished the mercenary aunt; -she hung her head under the universal reprobation displayed in a -prolonged groan. Twenty arms were opened towards Pitou, who went forth, -shaking the dust off his brogans, and disappeared, escorted by a mob -eager to offer hospitality to a captor of the Bastile, and -boon-companion of General Lafayette. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -THE ABDICATION IN A FARMHOUSE. - - -After having appeased the duties of obedience, Pitou wished to satisfy -the cravings of his heart. It is sweet to obey when the order chimes in -with one's secret sympathies. - -Ange Pitou was in love with Catherine, daughter of farmer Billet who had -succored him when he fled from his aunt's and with whom he had taken the -trip to Paris which returned him a full-fledged hero to his -fellow-villagers. - -When he perceived the long ridge of the farmhouse roofs, measured the -aged elms which twisted to stand the higher over the smoking chimneys, -when he heard the distant lowing of the cattle, the barking of the -watchdogs, and the rumbling of the farm carts, he shook his casque on -his head to tighten its hold, hung the calvary sabre more firmly by his -side, and tried to give himself the bold swagger of a lover and a -soldier. As nobody recognized him at the first it was a proof that he -had fairly succeeded. - -The farmhands responded to his hail by taking off their caps or pulling -their forelocks. - -Through the dininghall window pane Mother Billet saw the military -visitor. She was a comely, kind old soul who fed her employes like -fighting cocks. She was, like other housewives, on the alert, as there -was talk of armed robbers being about the country. They cut the woods -down and reaped the green corn. What did this warrior's appearance -signify? attack or assistance? - -She was perplexed by the clodhopper shoes beneath a helmet so shining -and her supposition fluctuated between suspicion and hope. - -She took a couple of steps towards the new-comer as he strode into the -kitchen, and he took off his headpiece not to be outdone in politeness. - -"Ange Pitou?" she ejaculated. "Whoever would have guessed that you would -enlist." - -"Enlist indeed?" sneered Pitou, smiling loftily. - -As he looked round him, seeking someone, Mistress Billet smiled, -divining who he was after. - -"Looking for Catherine?" she asked unaffectedly. - -"To present her with my duty," said Pitou. - -"She is ironing," responded Mrs. Billet; "but sit ye down and talk to -me." - -"Quite willing, mother." And he took a chair. - -In all the doorways and windows the servants and laboring men flocked to -see their old fellow. He had a kindly glance for them all, a caress in -his smile for the most part. - -"So you come from town, Ange?" began Mother Billet. "How did you leave -the master?" - -"He is all right, but Paris is all wrong." - -The circle of listeners drew in closer. - -"What about the King?" inquired the mistress. - -Pitou shook his head and clacked his tongue in a way humiliating to the -head of the monarchy. - -"And the Queen?" - -Pitou said never a word. - -"Oh," groaned the crowd. - -Pitou was aching for Catherine's coming. - -"Why are you wearing a helmet?" - -"It is a trophy of war," rejoined the young peasant. "A trophy is a -tangible testimonial that you have vanquished an enemy." - -"Have you vanquished an enemy, Pitou?" - -"An enemy--pooh!" said the valiant one, disdainfully. "Ah, good Mother -Billet, you do not know that Farmer Billet and yours truly took the -Bastile between us." - -This speech electrified the auditory. Pitou felt the breath on his hair -and the helmet mane, while their hands grasped the back of his chair. - -"Do tell us what our master has done," pleaded Mrs. Billet, proud and -tremulous at the same time. - -Pitou was hurt that Catherine did not leave her linen to come and hear -such a messenger as he was. He shook his head for he was growing -discontented. - -"It will take a time," he observed. - -"Are you hungry, or thirsty?" - -"I am not saying no." - -Instantly all the men and maids bustled about so that Pitou found under -his hand goblets, mugs, bread, meat, cheese, without realizing the -extent of his hint. He had a hot liver, as the rustics say: that is, he -digested quickly. But he had not shaken down the Angelican fowl in rice; -he tried to eat again but had to give up at the second mouthful. - -"If I begin now," he said, "I should have to do it all over again when -Miss Catherine comes." - -While they were all hunting after the young girl, Pitou happened to look -up and saw the girl in question leaning out of a window on the upper -landing. She was gazing towards Boursonne Woods. - -"Oh," he sighed, "she is looking towards the manor of the Charnys. She -is in love with Master Isidor Charny, that is what it is." - -He sighed again, much more lamentably than before. - -Taking the farmer's wife by the hand as the searchers returned fruitless -in their search, he took her up a couple of the stairs and showed her -the girl, mooning on the window sill among the morning glories and -vines. - -"Catherine!" she called: "Come, Catherine, here is Ange Pitou, with news -from town." - -"Ah," said Catherine coldly. - -So coldly that Pitou's heart failed him as he anxiously waited for her -reply. - -She came down the stairs with the phlegm of the Flemish girls in the old -Dutch paintings. - -"Yes, it is he," she said, when on the floor. - -Pitou bowed, red and trembling. - -"He's wearing a soldier's helmet," said a servant-woman in her young -mistress's ear. - -Pitou overheard and watched for the effect. But her somewhat pallid -though evercharming face showed no admiration for the brazen cap. - -"What is he wearing that thing for?" she inquired. - -This time indignation got the upperhand in the peasant. - -"I am wearing helmet and sabre," he retorted proudly, "because I have -been fighting and have killed Swiss and dragoons: and if you doubt me, -Miss Catherine, you can ask your father, and that is all." - -She was so absent-minded that she appeared to catch the latter part of -the speech alone. - -"How is my father?" asked she; "and why does he not return home with -you? Is the news from Paris bad?" - -"Very," replied the young man. - -"I thought that all was settled," the girl objected. - -"Quite true, but all is unsettled again." - -"Have not the King and the people agreed and is not the recall of -Minister Necker arranged?" - -"Necker is not of much consequence now," said Pitou jeeringly. - -"But that ought to satisfy the people." - -"It falls so short of that, that the people are doing justice on their -own account and killing their enemies." - -"Their enemies? who are their enemies?" cried the girl astonished. - -"The aristocrats, of course," answered the other. - -"Whom do you call aristocrat?" she asked, turning paler. - -"Why, naturally, they that have grand houses, and big properties, and -starve the nation--those that have everything while we have nothing; -that travel on fine horses or in bright coaches while we jog on foot." - -"Heavens," exclaimed the girl, so white as to be corpselike. - -"I can name some aristo's of our acquaintance," continued he, noticing -the emotion. "Lord Berthier Sauvigny, for instance, who gave you those -gold earrings you wore on the day you danced with Master Isidore. Well, -I have seen men eat the heart of him!" - -A terrible cry burst from all breasts and Catherine fell back in the -chair she had taken. - -"Did you see that?" faltered Mother Billet, quivering with horror. - -"And so did Farmer Billet. By this time they have killed or burnt all -the aristocrats of Paris and Versailles. What do you call it dreadful -for? you are not of the higher classes, Mother Billet." - -"Pitou, I did not think you were so bloodthirsty when you started for -Paris," said Catherine with sombre energy. - -"I do not know as I am so, now; but----" - -"But then do not boast of the crimes which the Parisians commit, since -you are not a Parisian and did not do them." - -"I had so little hand in them that Farmer Billet and me were nigh -slaughtered in taking the part of Lord Berthier--though he had famished -the people." - -"Oh, my good, brave father! that is just like him," said Catherine, -excitedly. - -"My worthy man," said Mrs. Billet with tearful eyes. "What has he been -about?" - -Pitou related that the mob had seized Foulon and Berthier for being the -active agents for higher personages in the great Grain Ring which held -the corn from the poor, and torn them to pieces, though Billet and he -had tried to defend them. - -"The farmer was sickened and wanted to come home, but Dr. Gilbert would -not let him." - -"Does he want my man to get killed there?" sobbed poor Mother Billet. - -"Oh, no," replied Pitou. "It is all fixed between master and the doctor. -He is going to stay a little longer in town to finish up the revolution. -Not alone, you understand, but with Mayor Bailly and General Lafayette." - -"Oh, I am not so much alarmed about him as long as in the gentlemen's -company," said the good old soul with admiration. - -"When does he think of returning?" inquired the daughter. - -"I don't know in the least." - -"Then, what have you come back for?" - -"To bring Sebastian Gilbert to Father Fortier's school, and you, Farmer -Billet's instructions." - -Pitou spoke like a herald, with so much dignity that the farmer's wife -dismissed all the gapers. - -"Mrs. Billet," began the messenger, "the master wants you to be worried -as little as possible, so he thinks that while he is away, the -management of the farm should be in other hands, younger and livelier." - -"Oh!" - -"Yes, and he has selected Miss Catherine." - -"My daughter to rule in my house," cried the woman, with distrust and -inexpressible jealousy. - -"Under your orders," the girl hastened to say, while reddening. - -"No, no," persisted Pitou, who went on well since he was in full swing: -"I bear the commission entire: Master Billet delegates and authorizes -Miss Catherine to see to all the work and govern the house and household -in his stead." - -As Billet was infallible in his wife's eyes, all her resistance ceased -instantly. - -"Billet is right," she declared after a glance at her daughter; "she is -young but she has a good head, and she can even be headstrong. She can -get along outdoors better than me; she knows how to make folks obey. But -to be running about over field and hills will make a tomboy of her----" - -"Fear nothing for her," interposed Pitou with a consequential air; "I am -here and I will go around with her." - -This gracious offer, by which Ange probably intended to make an effect, -drew such a strange glance from Catherine that he was dumbfounded. - -Pitou was not experienced in feminine ways but he guessed by her blush -that she was not giving complete acquiescence, for he said with an -agreeable smile which showed his strong teeth between the large lips: - -"Even the Queen has a Lifeguard. Besides, I may be useful in the woods." - -"Is this also in my husband's instructions?" queried Madam Billet who -showed some tendency towards cutting sayings. - -"Nay," said Catherine, "that would be an idle errand and father would -not have set it for Master Pitou while he would not have accepted it." - -Pitou rolled his frightened eyes from one to the other: all his castle -in the air came tumbling down. A true woman, the younger one understood -his painful disappointment. - -"Did you see the girls in Paris with the young men tagging at their -gown-tails?" - -"But you are not a girl, after you become mistress of the house," -remonstrated Pitou. - -"Enough chatter," interrupted Mother Billet; "the mistress of the house -has too much work to do. Come, Catherine, and let me turn over things to -you, as your father bids us." - -As soon as the house was placed under the new ruler the servants and -workmen were presented to her as the one from whom in the future orders -would flow. Each departed with the alacrity shown by the new officials -at the beginning of a fresh term. - -"What about me?" inquired Pitou, left alone and going up to the girl. - -"I have no orders for you. What do you think of doing?" - -"What I did before I went away." - -"Then you worked for my father and mother. I have nothing in your line, -for you are a scholar and a fine Paris gentleman now." - -"But look at the muscle in my arms," protested the poor fellow in -desperation. "Why do you force me to die of hunger under the pretence -that I am a learned man? Are you ignorant that Epictetus the philosopher -was a tavern waiter to earn his bread, and that AEsop the fabulist had to -work for a living? and yet they were more learned than ever I shall be. -But Master Billet sent me down here to help on the farm." - -"Be it so; but my father can force you to do things that I should shrink -from imposing upon you." - -"Don't shrink, and impose on me. You will see that I can stand anything. -Besides you have books to keep and accounts to make out; and my strong -point is figuring and ciphering." - -"I do not think it enough for a man," rejoined Catherine. - -"Am I good for nothing, then?" groaned Pitou. - -"Well, live here a bit," she said; "I will think it over and we shall -see what turns up." - -"You want to think it over, about my staying. What have I done to you, -Miss Catherine? you do not seem to be the same as before." - -Catherine shrugged her shoulders very slightly. She had no good reasons -to fear Pitou and yet his persistency worried her. - -"Enough of this," she said, "I am going over to Fertemilon." - -"I will saddle a horse and go with you." - -"No; stay where you are." - -She spoke so imperiously that the peasant remained riveted to the spot, -hanging his head. - -"She thinks I am changed, but," said he, "it is she who is another sort -altogether." - -When he was roused by hearing the horse's hoofs going away, he looked -out and saw Catherine riding by a side path towards the highway. - -It occurred to him that though she had forbid him to accompany her, she -had not said he must not follow her. - -He dashed out and took a short cut through the woods, where he was at -home, till he reached the main road. But though he waited a half-hour, -he saw nobody. - -He thought she might have forgotten something at the farm and started -back for it; and he returned by the highway. But on looking up a lane he -spied her white cap at a distance. - -Instead of going to Fertemilon, as she distinctly stated, she was -proceeding to Boursonne. - -He darted on in the same direction but by a parallel line. - -It was no longer to follow her but to spy her. - -She had spoken a falsehood. In what end? - -He was answered by seeing her thrash her horse into the trot in order to -rejoin a horseman who rode to meet her with as much eagerness as she -showed on her part. - -On coming nearer, as the pair halted at meeting, Pitou recognized by his -elegant form and stylish dress the neighboring lord, Isidore Charny. He -was brother of the Count of Charny, lieutenant of the Royal Lifeguards, -and accredited as favorite of the Queen. - -Pitou knew him well and lately from having seen him at the village -dances where Catherine chose him for partner. - -Dropping to the ground in the brush and creeping up like a viper, he -heard the couple. - -"You are late to-day, Master Isidore," began Catherine. - -"To-day?" thought the eavesdropper; "it appears that he has been -punctual on other meetings." - -"It is not my fault, my darling Kate," replied the young noble. "A -letter from my brother delayed me, to which I had to reply by the -bearer. But fear nothing, I shall be more exact another time." - -Catherine smiled and Isidore pressed her hand so tenderly that Pitou -felt upon thorns. - -"Fresh news from Paris?" she asked. "So have I. Did you not say that -when something alike happens to two persons, it is called sympathy?" - -"Just so. Who brings you news?" - -"Pitou." - -"And pray who is Pitou?" asked the young noble with a free and easy air -which changed the red of the listener's cheek to crimson. - -"You know well enough," was her reply: "Pitou is the farmboy that my -father took on out of charity: the one who played propriety for me when -I went to the dance." - -"Lord, yes--the chap with knees that look like knots tied in a rope." - -Catherine set to laughing. Pitou felt lowered; he looked at his knees, -so useful lately while he was keeping pace with a horse, and he sighed. - -"Come, come, do not tear my poor Pitou to pieces," said Catherine; "Let -me tell you that he wanted to come with me just now--to Fertemilon, -where I pretended I was going." - -"Why did you not accept the squire--he would have amused you." - -"Not always," laughed the girl. - -"You are right, my pet," said Isidore, fixing his eyes, brilliant with -love, on the pretty girl. - -She hid her blushing face in his arms closing round it. - -Pitou closed his eyes not to see, but he did not close his ears, and the -sound of a kiss reached them. He tore his hair in despair. - -When he came to his senses the loving couple were slowly riding away. - -The last words he caught were: - -"You are right, Master Isidore; let us ride about for an hour which I -will gain by making my nag go faster--he is a good beast who will tell -no tales," she added, merrily. - -This was all: the vision vanished. Darkness fell on Pitou's spirit and -he said: - -"No more of the farm for me, where I am trodden on and made fun of. I am -not going to eat the bread of a woman who is in love with another man, -handsomer, richer and more graceful than me, I allow. No, my place is -not in the town but in my village of Haramont, where I may find those -who will think well of me whether my knees are like knots in a rope or -not." - -He marched towards his native place, where his reputation and that of -his sword and helmet had preceded him, and where glory awaited him, if -not happiness. But we know that perfect bliss is not a human attribute. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -ANOTHER BLOW. - - -As everybody in his village would be abed by ten o'clock, Pitou was glad -to find accommodation at the inn, where he slept till seven in the -morning. At that hour everybody had risen. - -On leaving the Dolphin Tavern, he noticed that his sword and casque won -universal attention. A crowd was round him in a few steps. - -Undoubtedly he had attained popularity. - -Few prophets have this good fortune in their own country. But few -prophets have mean and acrimonious aunts who bake fowls in rice for them -to eat up the whole at a sitting. Besides, the brazen helmet and the -heavy dragoon's sabre recommended Pitou to his fellow-villager's -attention. - -Hence, some of the Villers Cotterets folk, who had escorted him about -their town, were constrained to accompany him to his village of -Haramont. This caused the inhabitants of the latter to appreciate their -fellow-villager at his true worth. - -The fact is, the ground was prepared for the seed. He had flitted -through their midst before so rapidly that it was a wonder he left any -trace of memory: but they were impressed and they were glad of his -second appearance. They overwhelmed him with tokens of consideration, -begged him to lay aside his armor, and pitch his tent under the four -lime trees shading the village green. - -Pitou yielded all the more readily as it was his intention to take up -residence here and he accepted the offer of a room which a bellicose -villager let him have furnished. Settling the terms, the rent _per -annum_ being but six livres, the price of two fowls baked in rice, Ange -took possession, treated those who had accompanied him to mugs of cider -all round, and made a speech on the doorsill. - -His speech was a great event, with all Haramont encircling the doorstep. -Pitou had studied a little; he had heard Paris speechifying -inexhaustibly; there was a space between him and General Lafayette as -there is between Paris and Haramont, mentally speaking. - -He began by saying that he came back to the hamlet as into the bosom of -his only family. This was a touching allusion to his orphanage for the -women to hear. - -Then he related that he and Farmer Billet had gone to Paris on hearing -that Dr. Gilbert had been arrested and because a casket Gilbert had -entrusted to his farmer had been stolen from him by the myrmidons of the -King under false pretences. Billet and he had rescued the doctor from -the Bastile by attacking it, with a few Parisians at their back. At the -end of his story his helmet was as grand as the cupola of an -observatory. - -He ascribed the outbreak to the privileges of the nobility and clergy -and called on his brothers to unite against the common enemy. - -At this point he drew his sabre and brandished it. - -This gave him the cue to call the Haramontese to arms after the example -of revolted Paris. - -The Revolution was proclaimed in the village. - -All echoed the cry of "To arms!" but the only arms in the place were -those old Spanish muskets kept at Father Fortier's. - -A bold youth, who had not, like Pitou, been educated under his knout, -proposed going thither to demand them. Ange wavered, but had to yield to -the impulse of the mob. - -"Heavens," he muttered: "if they thus lead me before I am their leader, -what will it be when I am at their head?" - -He was compelled to promise to summon his old master to deliver the -firearms. Next day, therefore, he armed himself and departed for Father -Fortier's academy. - -He knocked at the garden door loud enough to be heard there, and yet -modestly enough not to be heard in the house. - -He did it to tranquilize his conscience, and was surprised to see the -door open; but it was Sebastian who stood on the sill. - -He was musing in the grounds, with an open book in his hand. - -He uttered a cry of gladness on seeing Pitou, for whom he had a line in -his father's letter to impart. - -"Billet wishes you to remind him to Pitou and tell him not to upset the -men, and things on the farm." - -"Me? a lot I have to do with the farm," muttered the young man: "the -advice had better be sent on to Master Isidore." - -But all he said aloud was: "Where is the father?" - -Sebastian pointed and walked away. Priest Fortier was coming down into -the garden. Pitou composed his face for the encounter with his former -master. - -Fortier had been almoner of the old hunting-box in the woods and as such -was keeper of the lumber-room. Among the effects of the hunting -establishment of the Duke of Orleans were old weapons and particularly -some fifty musketoons, brought home from the Ouessant battle by Prince -Joseph Philip, which he had given to the township. Not knowing what to -do with them, the section selectmen left them under charge of the -schoolmaster. - -The old gentleman was clad in clerical black, with his cat-o'-nine tails -thrust into his girdle like a sword. On seeing Pitou, who saluted him, -he folded up the newspaper he was reading and tucked it into his band on -the opposite side to the scourge. - -"Pitou?" he exclaimed. - -"At your service as far as he is capable," said the other. - -"But the trouble is that you are not capable, you Revolutionist." - -This was a declaration of war, for it was clear that Pitou had put the -abbe out of temper. - -"Hello! why do you call me a Revolutionist? do you think I have turned -the state over all by myself?" - -"You are hand and glove with those who did it." - -"Father, every man is free in his mind," returned Pitou. "I do not say -it in Latin for I have improved in that tongue since I quitted your -school. Those whom I frequent and at whom you sneer, talk it like their -own and they would think the way you taught it to be faulty." - -"My Latin faulty?" repeated the pedagogue, visibly wounded by the -ex-pupil's manner. "How comes it that you never spoke up in this style -when you were under my--whip--that is, roof?" - -"Because you brutalized me then," responded Pitou: "your despotism -trampled on my wits, and liberty could not lay hold of my speech. You -treated me like a fool, whereas all men are equal." - -"I will never suffer anybody to utter such rank blasphemy before me," -cried the irritated schoolmaster. "You the equal of one whom nature and -heaven have taken sixty years to form? never!" - -"Ask General Lafayette, who has proclaimed the Rights of Man." - -"What, do you quote as an authority that traitor, that firebrand of all -discord, that bad subject of the King?" - -"It is you who blaspheme," retaliated the peasant: "you must have been -buried for the last three months. This bad subject is the very one who -most serves the King. This torch of discord is the pledge of public -peace. This traitor is the best of Frenchmen." - -"Oh," thundered the priest, "that ever I should believe that the royal -authority should sink so low that a goodfornothing of this sort invokes -Lafayette as once they called on Aristides." - -"Lucky for you the people do not hear you," said Pitou. - -"Oho, you reveal yourself now in your true colors," said the priest -triumphantly: "you bully me. The people, those who cut the throats of -the royal bodyguard; who trample on the fallen, the people of your -Baillys, Lafayettes and Pitous. Why do you not denounce me to the people -of Villers Cotterets? Why do you not tuck up your sleeves to drag me out -to hang me up to the lamppost? where is your rope--you can be the -hangman." - -"You are saying odious things--you insult me," said Pitou. "Have a care -that I do not show you up to the National Assembly!" - -"Show me up? I will show you up, sirrah! as a failure as a scholar, as a -Latinist full of barbarisms, and as a beggar who comes preaching -subversive doctrines in order to prey upon your clients." - -"I do not prey upon anybody--it is not by _preying_ I live but by work: -and as for lowering me in the eyes of my fellow-citizens, know that I -have been elected by them commander of the National Guards of Haramont." - -"National Guards at Haramont? and you, Pitou, the captain? Abomination -of desolation! Such gangs as you would be chief of must be robbers, -footpads, bandits, and highwaymen." - -"On the contrary, they are organized to defend the home and the fields -as well as the life and liberties of all good citizens. That is why we -have [illegible]oc me to--for the arms." - -"Arms? oh, my museum?" shrieked the schoolmaster. "You come to pillage -my arsenal. The armor of the paladins on your ignoble backs. You are mad -to want to arm the ragamuffins of Pitou with the swords of the Spaniards -and the pikes of the Swiss." - -The priest laughed with such disdainful menace that Pitou shuddered in -every vein. - -"No, father, we do not want the old curiosities, but the thirty marines' -guns which you have." - -"Avaunt!" said the abbe, taking a step towards the envoy. - -"And you shall have the glory of contributing to deliver the country of -the oppressors," said Pitou, who took a backward step. - -"Furnish weapons against myself and friends," said the other, "give you -guns to be fired against myself?" He plucked his scourge from his belt. -"Never, never!" - -He waved the whip over his head. - -"But your refusal will have a bad effect," pleaded Pitou, retreating, -"you will be accused of national treason, and of being no citizen. Do -not expose yourself to this, good Father Fortier!" - -"Mark me a martyr, eh, Nero? is that what you intend?" roared the -priest, with flaring eye and much more resembling the executioner than -the victim. - -"No, father, I come as a peaceful envoy to----" - -"Pillage my house for arms as your friends gutted the Soldiers' Home at -Paris." - -"We received plenty of praise for that up there," said Ange. - -"And you would get plenty of strokes of the whip down here." - -"Look out," said Pitou, who had backed to the door, and who recognized -the scourge as an old acquaintance, "you must not violate the rights of -man!" - -"You shall see about that, rascal." - -"I am protected by my sacred character as an ambassador----" - -"Are you?" - -And just as Pitou had to turn after getting the street door open, for he -had backed through the hall, the infuriated schoolmaster let him have a -terrible lash where his backplate would have to be unusually long to -defend him. Whatever the courage of the conqueror of the Bastile, he -could not help emitting a shriek of pain as he bounded out among the -crowd expecting him. - -At the yell, neighbors ran forth from their dwellings and to the -profound general astonishment all beheld the young man flying with all -swiftness under his helmet and with his sabre, while Father Fortier -stood on the doorstep, brandishing his whip like the Exterminating Angel -waves his sword. - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -PITOU BECOMES A TACTICIAN. - - -Our hero's fall was deep. How could he go back to his friends without -the arms? How, after having had so much confidence shown in him, tell -them that their leader was a braggart who, in spite of his sword and -helmet, had let a priest whack him in the rear? - -To vaunt of carrying all before him with Father Fortier and fail so -shamefully--what a fault! - -To obtain the muskets, force or cunning was the means. He might steal -into the school and steal out the arms. But the word "steal," sounded -badly in the rustic's ears. There were still left some people in France -who would call this the high-handed outrage of brigands. - -So he recoiled before force and treachery. - -His vanity was committed to the task, and prompted a fresh direction for -his searches. - -General Lafayette was Commander-in-chief of the National Guards of -France; Haramont was in France and had a National Guards company. -Consequently, General Lafayette commanded the latter force. He could not -tolerate that his soldiers at Haramont should go unarmed when all his -others were armed. To appeal to Lafayette, he could apply to Billet who -would address Gilbert, and he the general. - -Pitou wrote to Billet but as he could not read, it must be Gilbert who -would have the letter placed before him. - -This settled, he waited for nightfall, returned to his lodgings -mysteriously and let his friends there see that he was writing at night. -This was the large square note which they also saw him post next day: - - "DEAR AND HONORED FRIEND BILLET: - - "The Revolutionary cause gains daily hereabouts and while the - aristocrats lose, the patriots advance. The Village of Haramont - enrolls itself in the active service of the National Guard; but it - has no arms. The means to procure them lies in those who harbor - arms in quantity should be made to surrender the overplus, so that - the country would be saved expense. If it pleases General Lafayette - to authorize that such illegal magazines of arms should be placed - at the call of the townships, proportionately to the number of men - to be armed, I undertake for my part to supply the Haramont Arsenal - with at least thirty guns. This is the only means to oppose a dam - to the contra-Revolutionary movements of the aristocrats and - enemies of the Nation. - -"Your fellow-Citizen and most humble Servant, - -"ANGE PITOU." - - -When this was written the author perceived that he had omitted to speak -to his correspondent of his wife and daughter. He treated him too much -in the Brutus style; on the other hand, to give Billet particulars -about Catherine's love affair was to rend the father's heart; it was -also to re-open Pitou's bleeding wounds. He stifled a sigh and appended -this P. S. - -"Mistress Billet and Miss Catherine and all the household are well, and -beg to be remembered to Master Billet." - -Thus he entangled neither himself nor others. - -The reply to this was not slow in coming. Two days subsequently, a -mounted express messenger dashed into Haramont and asked for Captain -Ange Pitou. His horse was white with foam. He wore the uniform of a -staff-officer of the Parisian National Guards. - -Judge of the effect he produced and the trouble and throbs of Pitou! He -went up to the officer who smiled, and pale and trembling he took the -paper he bore for him. It was a response from Billet, by the hand of -Gilbert. - -Billet advised Pitou to move moderately in his patriotism. - -He enclosed General Lafayette's order, countersigned by the War -Minister, to arm the Haramont National Guards. - -The bearer was an officer charged to see to the arming of cities on the -road. - -Thus ran the Order: - -"All who possess more than one gun or sword are hereby bound to place -the excess at the disposal of the chief officials in their cantons. The -Present Measure is to be executed throughout the entire country." - -Red with joy, Pitou thanked the officer, who smiled again, and started -off for the next post for changing horses. - -Thus was our friend at the high tide of honor: he had received a -communication from General Lafayette, and the War Minister. - -This message served his schemes and plans most timely. - -To see the animated faces of his fellows, their brightened eyes and -eager manner; the profound respect all at once entertained for Ange -Pitou, the most credulous observer must have owned that he had become an -important character. - -One after another the electors begged to touch the seal of the War -Department. - -When the crowd had tapered down to the chosen friends, Pitou said: - -"Citizens, my plans have succeeded as I anticipated. I wrote to the -Commander-in-chief your desire to be constituted National Guards, and -your choice of me as leader. Read the address on the order brought me." - -The envelope was superscribed: "CAPTAIN ANGE PITOU, Commander of the -National Guards. Haramont." - -"Therefore," continued the martial peasant, "I am known and accepted as -commander by the Chief of the Army. You are recognized and approved as -Soldiers of the Nation by General Lafayette and the Minister of War." - -A long cheer shook the walls of the little house which sheltered Pitou. - -"I know where to get the arms," he went on. "Select two of your number -to accompany me. Let them be lusty lads, for we may have a difficulty." - -The embryo regiment chose one Claude Tellier sergeant and one Desire -Maniquet lieutenant. Pitou approved. - -Accompanied by the two, Captain Pitou proceeded once more to Villers -Cotterets where he went straight to the mayor to be still farther -supported in his demand. - -On the way he was puzzled why the letter from Billet, written by -Gilbert, asked no news of Sebastian. - -On the way he fretted over a paragraph in the letter from Billet, -written as it was by Dr. Gilbert, which read: - -"Why has Pitou forgot to send news about Sebastian and why does not the -boy himself write news?" - -Meanwhile, Father Fortier was little aware of the storm he had aroused; -and nobody was more astounded when a thunderclap came to his door. When -it was opened he saw on the sill the mayor, his vice, and his secretary. -Behind them appeared the cocked hats of two gendarmes, and half-a-dozen -curious people behind them. - -"Father Fortier," said the mayor, "are you aware of the new decree of -the Minister of War?" - -"No, mayor," said he. - -"Read it, then." - -The secretary read the warrant to take extra arms from the domiciles. -The schoolmaster turned pale. - -"The Haramont National Guard have come for the guns." - -Fortier jumped as if he meant to fly at the guardsmen. - -Judging that this was the nick for his appearance, Pitou approached, -backed by his lieutenant and sergeant. - -"These rogues," cried the abbe, passing from white to red, "these -scums!" - -The mayor was a neutral who wanted things to go on quietly; he had no -wish to quarrel with the altar or the guard-house; the invectives only -called forth his hearty laugh. - -"You hear how the reverend gentleman treats the Haramont National -Guards," he said to Pitou and his officers. - -"Because he knew us when boys and does not think we have grown up," said -Ange, with melancholy mildness. - -"But we have become men," roughly said Maniquet, holding out towards the -priest his hand, maimed by a gun going off prematurely while he was -poaching on a nobleman's warren. Needless to say he was determined the -nobility should pay for this accident. - -"Serpents," said the schoolmaster in irritation. - -"Who will sting if trodden on," retorted Sergeant Claude, joining in. - -In these threats the mayor saw the extent of the Revolution and the -priest martyrdom. - -"We want some of the arms here," said the former, to conciliate -everybody. - -"They are not mine but belong to the Duke of Orleans," was the reply. - -"Granted," said Pitou, "but that does not prevent us asking for them all -the same." - -"I will write to the prince," said the pedagogue loftily. - -"You forget that the delay will avail nothing," interposed the mayor; -"the duke is for the people and would reply that they ought to be given -not only the muskets but the old cannon." - -This probability painfully struck the priest who groaned in Latin: "I am -surrounded by foes." - -"Quite true, but these are merely political enemies," observed Pitou; -"we hate in you only the bad patriot." - -"Absurd and dangerous fool," returned the priest, in excitement which -gave him eloquence of a kind, "which is of us the better lover of his -country, I who wish to keep cruel weapons in the shade, or you demanding -them for civil strife and discord? which is the true son, I who seek -palms to decorate our common mother, or you who hunt for the steel to -rend her bosom?" - -The mayor turned aside his head to hide his emotion, making a slight nod -as much as to say: "That is very neatly put." The deputy mayor, like -another Tarquin, was cropping the flowers with his cane. Ange was set -back, which caused his two companions to frown. - -Sebastian, a Spartan child, was impassible. Going up to Pitou he asked -him what was the to-do. - -"An order signed by General Lafayette, and written by my father?" he -repeated when briefly informed. "Why is there any hesitation in obeying -it?" - -He revealed the indomitable spirit of the two races creating him in his -dilated pupils, and the rigidity of his brow. - -The priest shuddered to hear the words and lowered his crest. - -"This is rebellion," continued Sebastian; "beware, sir!" - -"Thou, also?" cried the schoolmaster, draping himself in his gown after -the manner of Caesar. - -"And I," said Pitou, comprehending that his post was at stake. "Do you -style me a traitor, because I came to you with the olive branch in my -hand to ask the arms, and am forced this day to wrench them from you -under support of the authorities? Well, I would rather appear as a -traitor to my duties than give a favoring hand to the Anti-Revolution. -The Country forever and above all! hand over the arms, or we will use -ours!" - -The mayor nodded on the sly to Pitou as he had to the priest to signify: -"You have said that finely." - -The speech had thunderstricken the priest and electrified the hearers. -The mayor slipped away, and the deputy would have liked to follow his -example, but the absence of the two principal functionaries would look -bad. He therefore followed the secretary, who led the gendarmes along to -the museum, guided by Pitou who, instructed in the place was also -instructed on the place of deposit. - -Like a lion cub, Sebastian bounded with the patriots. The schoolmaster -fell half dead on a chair. - -The invaders wanted to pillage everything, but Pitou only selected -thirty-three muskets, with an extra one, a rifle, for himself, together -with a straight sword, which he girded on. - -The others, made up into two bundles, were carried by the joyous pair of -officers in spite of the weight, past the disconsolate priest. - -They were distributed to the Haramontese that evening, and in presenting -a gun to each, Pitou said, like the Spartan mother giving out the -buckler: "Come home with it, or go to sleep on it!" - -Thus was the little place set in a ferment by Pitou's act. The delight -was great to own a gun where firearms had been forbidden lest the lords' -game should be injured and where the long oppression of the gamekeepers -had infused a mania for hunting. - -But Pitou did not participate in the glee. The soldiers had weapons but -not only was their captain ignorant how to drill them but to handle them -in file or squad. - -During the night his taxed brain suggested the remedy. - -He remembered an old friend, also an old soldier, who had lost a leg at -the Battle of Fontenoy; the Duke of Orleans gave him the privilege to -live in the woods, and kill either a hare or a rabbit a-day. He was a -dead shot and on the proceeds of his shooting under this license he -fared very well. - -His manual of arms might be musty but then Pitou could procure from -Paris the new Drill-book of the National Guards, and correct what was -obsolete by the newest tactics. - -He called on old Clovis at a lucky moment as the old hunter was saddened -by his gun having burst. He welcomed the present of the rifle which Ange -brought him and eagerly embraced the opportunity of paying him in -kindness by teaching him the drill. - -Each day Pitou repeated to his soldiery what he had learnt overnight -from the hunter, and he became more popular, the admired of men, -children and the aged. Even women were quieted when his lusty voice -thundered: "Heads up--eyes right! bear yourselves nobly! look at me!" -for Pitou looked noble. - -As soon as the manoeuvres became complicated, Pitou went over to a large -town where he studied the troops on the parade grounds, and picked up -more in a day from practice than from the books in three months. - -Thus two months passed by, in fatigue, toil and feverish excitement. - -Pitou was still unhappy in love, but he was satiated with glory. He had -run about so much, so moved his limbs, and whetted his mind, that you -may be astonished that he should long to appease or comfort his heart. -But he was thinking of that. - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -THE LOVER'S PARTING. - - -Many times after drill, and that followed nights spent in learning the -tactics, Pitou would wander in the skirts of Boursonne Wood to see how -faithful Catherine was to her love-trysts. - -Stealing an hour or two from her farm and house duties, the girl would -go to a little hunting-box, in a rabbit warren belonging to Boursonne -Manor, to meet the happy Isidore, the mortal more than ever proud and -handsome, when all the country was in suffering around him. - -What anguish devoured poor Pitou, what sad reflections he was driven to -make on the inequality of men as regards happiness. - -He whom the pretty maids were ogling, preferred to come and mope like a -dog whipped for following the master too far from home, at the door of -the summerhouse where the amorous pair were billing and cooing. - -All because he adored Catherine and the more as he deemed her vastly -superior to him. He did not regard her as loving another, for Isidore -Charny had ceased to be an object of jealousy. He was a lord, handsome -and worthy of being loved: but Catherine as a daughter of the lower -orders ought not for that reason disgrace her family or drive Pitou to -despair. - -Meditation on this cut him with sharp edges and keen points. - -"She showed no proper feeling in letting me go from the farm," he mused, -"and since I went off, she has not inquired whether I starved to death -or not. What would Father Billet say if he knew how his friends are thus -cast off, and his business neglected? What would he say if he heard -that, instead of looking after the working people, his daughter goes to -keep appointments with the aristocrat, Lord Charny? He would not say -much, but he would kill her. It is something to have the means of -revenge in one's hand," thought Pitou. - -But it is grander not to use them. - -Still, Pitou had learnt that there is no benefit in doing good unless -the actions are known to the person befriended. - -Would it be possible to let Catherine know that he was helping her? - -He knew that she came through the woods to go to the hunting-box, and it -was very easy for him to plant himself under the trees, a book in hand -as if he were studying, where she would be sure to come along. - -Indeed, as he was pretending to pore over the "Perfect National -Guardsman," after having watched her to her rendezvous, he heard the -soft shutting of a door. The rustle of a dress in the brush came next. -Catherine's head appeared above the bushes, looking with an apprehensive -air all round for fear somebody would see her. - -She was ten paces from her rustic worshipper, who kept still with the -book on his knee. But he no longer looked on it but at the girl so that -she should mark that he saw her. - -She uttered a slight faint, stifled scream, recognized him, became pale -as though death had flitted by and grazed her, and, after a short -indecision betrayed in her trembling and the shrug of her shoulders, she -flew wildly into the underwood and found her hitched-up horse in the -forest. She mounted and fled. - -Pitou's plot was well laid and she had fallen into it. - -He went home, half-frightened, half delighted. - -He perceived a number of details most alarming in the accomplished -trick. - -The following Sunday was appointed for a grand military parade at -Haramont. Sufficiently drilled, the Haramontese meant to give warlike -exercises. Several rival villages also making military studies, were to -contest with them in the career of arms. - -The announcement drew a great crowd, and the people in holiday attire -gathered on the green, where they feasted frugally on homemade cake and -fruit, washed down with spring water. - -Some of the spectators were the gentry and squires, come to laugh at the -clowns playing at soldiers. - -Haramont had become a centre, for four corps of other Guards came -hither, headed by fife and drum. - -Among the farmers, came Catherine and Mother Billet on horseback. - -This was at the same time as the Haramont National Guard marched up, -with fife and drum, with Commander Pitou on a borrowed white horse, in -order that the likeness should be complete to General Lafayette -reviewing the National Guards at Paris. - -Without joking, if he did not look stylish and aristocratic, he was -noble and valiant and pleasant to behold. - -This company of Guards had shining muskets, the national cockades, and -marched with most satisfactory time in two files. It had won the tribute -before reaching the parade ground. - -Out of the corner of his eye, Pitou saw that Catherine changed color. -From that moment the review had more interest to him than anything in -the world. - -He passed his men through the simple manual of arms, and they did it so -smartly and neatly that it elicited applause. - -Not so with the competitors, who were irregularly armed and had not been -trained steadily. Others exaggerated from their conceit what they could -have done properly. - -On the whole imperfect results. - -For the grand array, Pitou was outranked in seniority by an army -sergeant who took the general command; but unhappily he had grasped more -than he could hold: he bunched his men, lost grip of some files, let a -company meander under the surrounding trees, and finally lost his head -so that his own soldiers began to grumble. - -From the Haramont side rose a shout: - -"Let Pitou try!" - -"Yes, yes Pitou!" caught up the other villagers, furious at their -inferiority being manifested through their own instructors. - -Pitou jumped on his white charger, and replacing himself at the head of -his troop, become the rallying point of the little army, uttered a word -of command so superbly that the oaks shivered. On the instant, and as by -miracle, order was re-established: the movements fitted in with one -another with such uniformity that the enthusiasm did not disturb the -regularity. Pitou so well applied the theory of the instruction books -and the practice of old Clovis that he obtained immense success. - -Formed into a hollow square, the whole army raised but one voice and -proclaimed him Colonel on the spot. - -Bathed in perspiration and drunk with glory, Pitou got down off his -horse and received the people's felicitations when he alighted. - -But at the same time he glanced round for Catherine. He heard her voice -by his side; he had no need to hunt for her, as she had come to him. -Great was this triumph. - -"Have you not a word for us, Captain Pitou?" she demanded, with a -laughing air belied by her pale face; "I suppose you have grown proud -since you are a great general?" - -"Oh, no," responded he, saluting, "I am not that, but just a poor fellow -who loves his country and desires to serve her." - -This reply was carried away on the waves of the multitude and was -proclaimed sublime by the acclamation in unison. - -"Ange, I want to speak with you," whispered Catherine. "Do come back to -the farm with mother and me." - -"All right." - -Catherine had already arranged that they should be alone together on the -road. She had switched her mother into the train of several neighbors -and gossips who held her in talk so that the girl could walk through -the woods with the National Guardsman. - -"Why have you kept aloof from the farm so long?" began Catherine when -they were beneath the hoary oaks. "It is bad behavior on your part." - -Pitou was silent, for it hurt him to hear Catherine tell lies. - -"But, I have something else to speak about," she continued, seeing that -he was avoiding her with his usually straight and loyal glance. "The -other day I saw you in the copse. Did you know me?" - -"Not at first, but I did know you." - -"What were you doing there in hiding?" - -"Why should I be in hiding? I was studying a military book." - -"I only thought that curiosity----" - -"I am not a Peeping Tom." - -She stamped testily with her small foot. - -"You are always stuck there and it is not a regular place for students." - -"It is very secluded--nothing disturbs one there." - -"Nothing? do you stay there any length of time?" - -"Sometimes whole days." - -"And have you been in the habit of making that your resort?" she -inquired quickly. - -"Since a good while back." - -"It is astonishing that I should not have seen you before," she said, -lying so boldly that Pitou was almost convinced. - -But he was ashamed for her sake; he was timid from being in love and -this led him to be guarded. - -"I may have dozed off," he replied; "it has happened when I have taxed -my brain too much." - -"Then in your sleep you would not have noticed where I strayed for -shade--I would go as far as the walls of the old shooting-lodge." - -"What lodge?" questioned Pitou. - -"The Charny Hunting-lodge," replied she, blushing from his innocence -being too thickly laid on not to be suspicious. "It is there grow the -finest houseleeks in the section. I burnt myself while ironing and -wanted to make a poultice of them." - -As if willing to believe her, he looked at her hands. - -"No, not my hand, my foot," she said quickly. "I--I dropped the iron: -but it has done me good; you see, that I do not limp." - -"She did not limp either when she scampered through the wood like a -fawn," thought Ange. - -She imagined she had succeeded and that Pitou had seen and heard -nothing. Giving way to delight, mean in so fine a spirit, she said: - -"So Captain Pitou is riding his high horse; proud of his new rank, he -scorns us rustics from being a military officer." - -Pitou felt wounded. Even a dissimulated sacrifice almost requires some -reward, and as Catherine only mystified Pitou or jested at him, no doubt -contrasting him with the intelligent Charny, all his good intentions -vanished. Self-esteem is a charmed serpent, on which it is perillous to -step unless you crush it once for all. - -"It seems to me that you are the haughty one," he returned, "for you -drove me off the farm on the grounds that there was no work for me. I -haven't told Master Billet so far I have arms for earning my bread, -thank God! However, you are the mistress under your own roof. In short, -you sent me away. Hence, as you saw me at the Charny Lodge, and we were -not enemies, it was your place to speak to me instead of running away -like a boy stealing apples." - -The viper had bitten; Catherine dropped out of her calm. - -"I, run away?" she exclaimed. - -"As though fire had broken out on the farm. I had not time to shut up my -book before you were on the back of Younker, where he was concealed in -the foliage, after barking an ashtree, and ruining it." - -"What do you mean by ruining?" - -"That is right enough," continued Pitou: "while you were gathering -houseleeks, Younker was browsing, and in an hour a horse eats a heap of -stuff. It must have taken quite an hour for him to strip that sized tree -of bark. You must have collected enough plants to cure all the wounds -inflicted in taking the Bastile--it is a great thing for poultices!" - -Pale and in despair, Catherine could not find a word to speak. Pitou was -silent also, as he had said quite enough. - -Mother Billet, stopping at the road forks, was bidding adieu to her -cronies. - -"What does the officer say?" queried the woman. - -"He says goodnight to you, Mother Billet." - -"Not yet," cried Catherine with a desperate tone. "Tell me the -truth--are we no longer friends?" - -Pitou felt his secret well up to his lips: but it was all over with him -if he spoke; so he bowed mutely with respect which touched her heart; -gave Mother Billet a pleasant smile, and disappeared in the dense wood. - -"Is that what is called love?" Pitou monologued to himself; "it is sweet -at times and then again bitter." - -He returned to Haramont, singing the most doleful of rural ballads to -the mournfullest tunes. - -Luckily he did not find his warriors in any such mood. On the contrary, -they were preparing for a feast and they had set aside the chair of -honor for their Caesar who had overcome the other villages' Pompeys. - -Dragged by his officers into the banquet room, he saluted in silence in -return for the greetings, and with the calmness we know as his, attacked -the roast veal and potatoes. His action lasted so long that his -"digester" was filled while his heart was freed of gall. At the end of a -couple of hours he perceived that his grief was no worse. - -He stood up when his brother revellers could not stand, while the ladies -had fled before the dessert. He made a speech on the sobriety of the -Spartans--when all were dead drunk. He said that it was healthier to -take a stroll than sleep under the table. - -Alone he set the example; he asked of the shadows beneath the glades, -why he should be so stern towards a young woman, made for love, grace -and sweetness; one who might also cherish a fancy at the outset of life? -Alas, why had she not fancied him? - -Why should an ugly, uncouth bear like him inspire amorous sentiments in -a pretty girl, when a handsome young nobleman--a very peacock beside -him--was there to glitter and enchant? - -He reasoned that, dazzled by Charny's brilliancy, she would not see -Pitou's real value if he acted harshly towards her. Consequently, he -ought to behave nicely to her. - -The good soul, heated white hot by wine and love, vowed to make -Catherine ashamed of having scorned the affection of such a sterling -lover as he was. - -He could not admit that the fair, chaste and proud Catherine was -anything like a plaything to the dashing gallant, or a bright flirt, -smiling on the lace ruffles and spurred boots. - -Some day Master Isidore would go to the city to marry a countess, and -the romance would end by his never looking at Catherine again. - -To prove to the maid that he was not ugly, he resolved to take back any -harsh words he had used; to do which it was necessary for him to see -her. - -He started through the woods for the Billet Farm, slashing the bushes -with his stick--which blows the shrubs returned with usury. - -During this time Catherine was pensively following her mother. - -A few steps from the farm was a swamp. The road narrows there so that -two horses can hardly go abreast. Mother Billet had gone through and the -girl was about to follow when she heard a whistle. - -In the shadow she spied the laced cap of Isidore's groom. She let her -mother ride on and waited for the messenger. - -"Master wants to see you very particular this evening at eleven, -wherever you like," said the man. - -"Good gracious, has anything bad happened to him?" she said. - -"I do not know; but he had a letter from town sealed with black wax. I -have been waiting an hour for you." - -Ten o'clock struck on the village church bell. Catherine looked round -her. - -"This place is dark and out of the way," she said; "I will await your -Master here." - -At the fixed time she ran out to the spot, warned by the sound of a -galloping horse. It was Isidore, attended by the groom, who stood at a -space while the noble advanced, without getting off his horse. - -He held out his arms to her, lifted her on the stirrup, kissed her and -said: - -"My brother Valence was killed yesterday at Versailles and my brother -the count calls me. I am off, Catherine!" - -"Oh," she moaned painfully, as she furiously embraced him, "if they have -killed him, they will kill you as well." - -"Catherine, whatever betides, my eldest brother awaits me; Catherine, -you know that I love you." - -"Oh, stay, stay," she cried, only knowing one thing--that her beloved -talked of leaving her. - -"But, honor, Catherine--my murdered brother! vengeance!" - -"Oh, what an unhappy girl I am," moaned she, collapsing, palpitating but -rigid in the horseman's arms. - -Resigned, for she at last comprehended that the brother's summons was an -order, she glided to the ground after a farewell kiss. - -He turned his eyes, sighed and wavered for a time; but, attracted by the -imperative order received, he set his horse to the gallop, and flung -Catherine a final farewell. - -The lackey followed him across the country. - -Catherine remained on the ground, where she had dropped, barring the way -with her body. - -Almost immediately a man appeared on the hill, striding towards the -farm. In his rapid course he could not fail to stumble on the body. He -staggered and rolled in the fall, and his groping hands touched the -inert form. - -"Catherine--dead!" he yelled so that the farm dogs' took up the howling. -"Who has killed Catherine?" - -He knelt down, pale and ice-cold, beside the inanimate body with its -head across his knee. - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - -THE ROAD TO PARIS. - - -On this same evening, a no less grave event set the college of Father -Fortier in an uproar. Sebastian Gilbert had disappeared about six -o'clock and had not been found up to midnight by the most active search. - -Nobody had seen him save Aunt Angelique, who, coming from the church, -where she let out the chairs, had thought to see him going up a lane. -This report added to the schoolmaster's disquiet. He knew that the youth -had strange delusions, during which he believed he was following a -beautiful lady; more than once when on a walk he had seen him stare at -vacancy and if he plunged too deeply into the copse, he would start the -best pedestrians of the class after him. - -But he had never gone off in the night. - -This time, he had taken the road to Haramont, and Angelique had really -seen him. He was going to find Pitou. But the latter left the village by -one end, to go and see Catherine, at the same time as the doctor's son -quitted it by the other. - -Pitou's door was open, for the captain was still simple in his habits. -He lit the candle and waited: but he was too fretful. He found a sheet -of paper, half of that on which Pitou had inscribed the name of his -company of soldiers, and wrote as follows: - - "MY DEAR PITOU: I have come to tell you of a conversation I - overheard between Father Fortier and the Villers Cotterets Vicar. - Fortier is in connivance with the aristocratic party of Paris and - says that a counter-revolutionary movement is hatching at - Versailles. The cue was given when the Queen wore the black cockade - and trampled the tricolor under-foot. This threat already made me - uneasy about my father, who is the aristocrats' enemy, as you know: - but this time it is worse. - - "The vicar has returned the priest's visit, and as I feared for my - father, I listened to their talk to hear the sequel to what I - overheard by accident last time. It appears, my dear Pitou, that - the people stormed Versailles and killed a great many royalists, - among them Lord Valence Charny. - - "Father Fortier said: 'Speak low, not to startle little Gilbert, - whose father has gone to Versailles and may be killed in the lot!' - - "You understand, Pitou, that I did not wait for more, but I have - stolen away and I come to have you take me back to Paris. I will - not wait any longer, as you may have gone to lay snares in the - woods and would not be home till to-morrow. So I proceed on my road - to Paris. Have no anxiety as I know the way and besides I have two - gold pieces left out of the money my father gave me, so that I can - take a seat in the first conveyance I catch up with. - - "P. S.--I make this rather long in order to explain my departure, - and to delay me that you may return before I finish. But no, I have - finished, and you have not come, so that I am off. Farewell, until - we meet again! if nothing has happened to my father and he runs no - danger, I will return. If not, I shall ask his leave to stay beside - him. Calm Father Fortier about my absence; but do not do so until - it is too late for him to overtake me. Good-bye, again!" - -Knowing his friend's economy, he put out the candle, and set off. - -He went by the starlight at first till he struck through byways the main -road at Vauciennes. At the branch of the Paris and Crespy roads, he had -to stop as he did not know which to take. They were both alike. He sat -down discouraged, partly to rest, partly to reflect, when he heard the -galloping of horses from Villers Cotterets way. - -He waited to ask the riders the information he wanted. Soon he saw two -shadows in the gloom, one riding at a space behind the other so that he -judged the foremost to be the master and the other his groom. - -He walked out three steps from the roadside to accost him when the -horseman clapped his hand to his holster for a pistol. - -"I am not a thief, sir," cried Sebastian, interpreting the action -correctly, "but a boy whom recent events at Versailles calls thither to -seek his father. I do not know which of these roads I ought to take to -get to Paris--point it out, please, and you will do me a great service." - -The speaker's stylish language and his juvenile tone did not seem -unknown to the rider, who reined in his steed, albeit he seemed in -haste. - -"Who are you, my boy, and how comes it you are out on the highway at -such an hour?" he inquired. - -"I am not asking you who you are--only my road--the way for a poor boy -to reach his father in distress." - -In the almost childish voice was firmness which struck the cavalier. - -"My friend, we are on the road to Paris," he replied: "I have only been -there twice and do not know it very well, but I am sure this is the -right one." - -Sebastian drew back a step offering his thanks. The horses had need of -getting their wind and started off again not very rapidly. - -"My Lord Viscount," said the lackey to his master, "do you not recognize -that youth?" - -"No: though I fancied----" - -"It is young Sebastian Gilbert, who is at boarding school, at Abbe -Fortier's; and who comes over to Billet's Farm with Ange Pitou." - -"You are right, by Jove!" Turning his horse and stopping, he called out: -"Is this you, Sebastian?" - -"Yes, my lord," returned the boy, who had known the horseman all the -time. - -"Then, come, and tell me how I find you here?" - -"I did tell you--I want to learn that my father in Paris is not killed -or hurt." - -"Alas, my poor boy," said Isidore with profound sadness, "I am going to -town on the like errand: only I have no doubt; one of my brothers, -Valence, was slain at Versailles yesterday." - -"Oh, I am so sorry," said the youth, holding out his hand to the -speaker, which the latter took and squeezed. - -"Well, my dear boy, since our fate is akin," said the cavalier, "we must -not separate; you must like me be eager to get to Paris." - -"Oh, dear, yes!" - -"You can never reach it on foot." - -"I could do it but it would take too long; so I reckon on taking a place -in a stage going my way, and get what lift I can do the journey." - -"Better than that, my boy; get up behind my man." - -Sebastian plucked his hands out of the other's grasp. - -"I thank you, my lord," said he in such a tone that the noble understood -that he had hurt the youth's feelings by offering to mount him behind -his inferior. - -"Or, better still, now I think of it," he went on, "take his place. He -can come on afterwards. He can learn where I am by asking at the -Tuileries Palace." - -"I thank you again, my lord," replied the adolescent, in a milder voice, -for he had comprehended the delicacy of the offer: "I do not wish to -deprive you of his services." - -It was hard to come to an arrangement now that the terms of peace were -laid down. - -"Better again, my dear Sebastian. Get up behind me. Dawn is peeping: at -ten we shall be at Dammartin, half way; there we will leave the two -horses, which would not carry us much farther, under charge of -Baptistin, and we will take the post-chaise to Paris. I intended to do -this so that you do not lead to any change in my arrangements." - -"If this be true, then, I accept," said the young man, hesitating but -dying to go. - -"Down with you, Baptistin, and help Master Sebastian to mount." - -"Thanks, but it is useless," said the youth leaping up behind the -gentleman as light as a schoolboy. - -The three on the two horses started off at the gallop, and disappeared -over the ridge. - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - -THE SPIRIT MATERIALIZED. - - -At five next afternoon, Viscount Charny and Sebastian reached the -Tuileries Palace gates. The name of his brother passed Isidore and his -companion into the middle courtyard. - -Young Gilbert had wanted to go to the house in Honore Street where his -father dwelt, but the other had pointed out that as he was honorary -physician to the Royal Household, he might be at the palace, where the -latest news of him could be had. - -While an usher made inquiries, Sebastian sat on a sofa and Isidore -walked up and down the sitting-room. - -In ten minutes the man returned: Count Charny was with the Queen; Dr. -Gilbert had had nothing happen to him; he was supposed to be with the -King, as a doctor was with his Majesty. If it were so, he would be -informed on coming out that a person was waiting to see him. - -Isidore was much affected in parting with him as his joy at recovering -his father made the loss of his brother more painful. - -At this the door opened for a servant to call: "The Viscount of Charny -is asked for in the Queen's apartments." - -"You will wait for me," said Isidore; "unless your father comes, promise -me, Gilbert, for I am answerable for you to the doctor." - -"Yes, and receive my thanks in the meantime," rejoined Sebastian, -resuming his place on the sofa as the Viscount left the room with the -domestic. - -Easy about his father's fate, and himself, certain that the good intent -would earn his forgiveness for the journey, he went back in memory to -Father Fortier, and on Pitou, and reflected on the trouble which his -flight and his note would cause them severally. - -And naturally, by the mechanism of ideas, he thought of the woods around -Pitou's home, where he had so often pursued the ghost in his reverie. -The White Lady seen so oft in visions, and once only in reality, he -believed in Satory Wood, appearing and flitting away in a magnificent -carriage drawn by a galloping pair. - -He recalled the profound emotion this sight had given him and half -plunged in dreams anew, he murmured: - -"My mother?" - -At this juncture, a door in the wall over against him opened. A woman -appeared. This appearance was so much in harmony with what happened in -his fancy, that he started to see his ghost take substance. In this -woman was the vision and the reality--the lady seen at Satory. - -He sprang up as though a spring had acted under his feet. - -His lips tightened on one another, his eyes expanded, and the pupils -dilated. His heaving breast in vain endeavored to form a sound. - -Majestic, haughty and disdainful, the lady passed him without any heed. -Calm as she was externally, yet her pale countenance, frowning brow and -whistling respiration, betrayed that she was in great nervous -irritation. - -She crossed the room diagonally, opened another door, and walked into a -corridor. - -Sebastian comprehended that she was escaping him, if he did not hasten. -He still looked as if apprehensive that it was a ghost, but then darted -after her, before the skirt of her silken robe had disappeared round the -turning of the lobby. - -Hearing steps behind her, she walked more briskly as if fearing pursuit. - -He quickened his gait as much as he could, fearing as the corridor was -dark that he might miss her. This caused her to accelerate her pace -also, but she looked round. - -He uttered a cry of joy for it was clearly the vision. - -Seeing but a boy with extended arms and understanding nothing why she -should be chased, the lady hurried down a flight of stairs. But she had -barely descended to one landing than Sebastian arrived at the end of the -passage where he called out: - -"Lady, oh, lady!" - -This voice produced a strange sensation throughout the hearer; she -seemed struck in the heart by a pain which was half delight, and from -the heart a shudder sent by the blood through all her veins. - -Nevertheless, as all was a puzzle to her; she doubled her speed, and the -course resembled a flight. - -They reached the foot of the stairs at the same time. - -It was the courtyard into which the lady sped. A carriage was waiting -for her, for a servant was holding the door open. She stepped in swiftly -and took her seat. - -Before the door could be closed, Sebastian glided in between it and the -footman, and seizing the hem of her dress, kissed with frenzy and cried: - -"Oh, lady!" - -Looking at the pretty boy who had frightened her at first, she said in a -sweeter voice than she usually spoke, though it was yet shaken with fear -and emotion: - -"Well, my little friend, why are you running after me? why do you call -me? what do you want?" - -"I want to see you, and kiss you," replied the child. "I want to call -you 'Mother,'" he added in so low a voice that only she could hear him. - -She uttered a scream, embraced him, and approaching him as by a sudden -revelation, fastened her ardent lips on his brow. Then, as though she -dreaded someone coming to snatch away this child whom she had found, she -drew him entirely into the vehicle, pushed him to its other side, shut -the door with her own hand, and lowering the glass to order: "Drive to -No. 9 Coq-Heron Street, the first carriage-doorway from Plastriere -Street," she shut the window instantly. - -Turning to the boy she asked his name. - -"Sebastian? come, Sebastian, come here, on my heart." - -She threw herself back as if going to swoon, muttering: "What new -sensation is this? can it be what is called happiness?" - -The journey was one long kiss of mother and son. - -She had found this son by a miracle, whom the father had torn from her -in a terrible night of anguish and dishonor; he had disappeared with no -trace but the abductor's tracks in the snow; this child had been -detested until she heard its first wail, whereupon she had loved him; -this child had been prayed for, called for, begged for. Her brother had -uselessly hunted for him over land and ocean. For fifteen years she had -yearned for him, and despaired to behold him again; she had begun to -think no more of him but as a cherished spirit. Here he was, running and -crying after her, seeking her, in his turn, calling her "Mother!" - -He was pillowed on her heart, pressing on her bosom, loving her filially -although he had never seen her, as she loved him with maternal -affection. Her pure lips recovered all the joys of a lost life in this -first kiss given her son. - -Above the head of mankind is Something else than the void in which the -spheres revolve: in life there is Another Thing than chance and -fatality. - - -After fourteen years she was taken back to the house where he was born, -this offspring of the union of the mesmerist Gilbert and the daughter of -the House of Taverney, his victim. There he had drawn the first breath -of life and thence his father had stolen him. - -This little residence, bought by the late Baron Taverney, served as -lodging for his son when he came to town, which was rarely, and for -Andrea, when she slept in town. - -After her conflict with the Queen, unable to bear meeting the woman who -loved her husband, Andrea had made up her mind to go away from the -rival, who visited on her retaliation for all her griefs, and whom the -woes of the Queen, great though they were, always remained beneath the -sufferings of the loving woman. - -All concurred then in making this evening a happy one for the ex-Queen's -maid of honor. Nothing should trouble her. Instead of a room in a palace -where the walls are all ears and eyes, she was harboring her child in -her own little, secluded house. - -As soon as she was closeted with Sebastian in her boudoir, she drew him -to a lounge, on which were concentrated the lights from both candles and -fire. - -"Oh, my boy, is it really you?" she exclaimed with a joy which still -quivered with lingering doubt. - -"Mother!" ejaculated Sebastian with an outburst of the heart, flowing -like refreshing dews on Andrea's burning heart and enfevered veins. - -"And the meeting to be here," said she, looking round with terror -towards the room whence he had been stolen. - -"What do you mean by 'Here?'" - -"Fifteen years ago, my boy, you were born in this room, and I bless the -mercy of the Almighty that you are miraculously restored to me." - -"Yes, miraculously indeed," said the youth, "for if I had not feared for -my father----" - -Andrea closed her eyes and leaned back, so sharp was the pang shooting -through her. - -"If I had not set out alone in the night, I should not have been -perplexed about the road: and then I should not have been recognized by -Lord Isidore Charny, who offered his help and conducted me to the -Tuileries----" - -Her eyes re-opened, her heart expanded and her glance thanked heaven: -for it increased the miracle that Sebastian should be led to her by her -husband's brother. - -"I should not have seen you passing through the palace and not following -you might never have called you 'Mother!' the word so sweet and tender -to utter." - -Recalled to her bliss, she hugged him again and said: - -"Yes, you are right, my boy; it is most sweet: but there is perchance -another one more sweet and tender; 'My son!' which I say to you as I -press you to my heart. But in short," she suddenly said, "it is -impossible that all should remain mysterious around us. You have -explained how you come here, but not how you recognized me and ran after -me, calling me your mother." - -"How can I tell? I do not myself know," replied Sebastian, looking at -her with love unspeakable. "You speak of mysteries? all is mysterious -about you and me. List to me, and I will tell you what seems a prodigy." - -Andrea bent nearer. - -"It is ten years since I knew you. You do not understand. I have dreams -which my father calls hallucinations." - -At the reminder of Gilbert, passing like a steel point from the boyish -lips, Andrea started. - -"I have seen you twenty times, mother. In the village, while playing -with the other schoolboys, I have followed you as you flitted through -the woods and pursued you with useless calls till you faded away. -Crushed by fatigue I would drop on the spot, as if your presence alone -had sustained me." - -This kind of second existence, this living dream, too much resembled -what the medium herself experienced for her not to understand him. - -"Poor darling," she said as she pressed him more closely, "it was vainly -that hate strove to part us. Heaven was bringing us together without my -suspecting it. Less happy than you, I saw my dear child neither in dream -nor reality. Still, when I passed through that Green Saloon I felt a -shiver; when I heard your footsteps behind mine, giddiness thrilled my -heart and brain; when you called me 'Lady' I all but stopped; when you -called me 'Mother!' I nearly swooned; when I embraced you, I believed." - -"My mother," repeated Sebastian, as if to console her for not having -heard the welcome title for so long. - -"Yes, your mother," said the countess, with a transport of love -impossible to describe. - -"Now that we have found each other," said the youth, "and as you are -contented and happy at our union, we are not going to part any more, -tell me?" - -She shuddered: she was enjoying the present to the exclusion of the past -and totally closing her eyes on the future. - -"How I should bless you, my poor boy, if you could accomplish this -miracle!" she sighingly murmured. - -"Let me manage it; I will do it. I do not know the causes separating you -from my father,"--Andrea turned pale--"but they will be effaced by my -tears and entreaties, however serious they may be." - -"Never," returned the countess, shaking her head. - -"I tell you that my father adores you," said Sebastian, who believed -that the woman was in the wrong from the way his father had forbidden -him ever to mention her name. - -Her hands holding the speaker's relaxed but he did not notice this, as -he continued: - -"I will prepare him to greet you; I will tell him all the happiness you -give me; one of these days, I will take you by the hand and lead you to -him, saying: 'Here she is, father--look, how handsome she is!'" - -Repulsing Sebastian, she sprang up. - -"Never," repeated she, while he stared with astounded eyes for she was -so white as to alarm him. This time her accent expressed a threat rather -than fright. - -She recoiled on the lounge; in that face he had seen the hard lines -which Raphael gives to irritated angels. - -"Why do you refuse to receive my father?" he demanded, in a sullen -voice. - -At these words, the lightning burst as at the contact of two clouds. - -"Why? do you ask me why? well, never shall you know." - -"Still, I ask why," said Sebastian, with firmness. - -"Because, then," said Andrea, incapable of self-restraint under the -sting of the serpent gnawing at her heart, "because your father is an -infamous villain!" - -He bounded up from the divan and stood before her. - -"Do you say that of my father," he cried, "of Dr. Gilbert, who brought -me up and educated me, the only friend I ever knew? I am making a -mistake--you are no mother of mine!" - -She stopped him darting towards the door. - -"Stay," she said, "you cannot know, ought not understand, may not -judge." - -"No; but I can feel, and I feel that I love you no more." - -She screamed with pain. - -Simultaneously, a diversion was given to the emotion overwhelming her by -the sound of a carriage coming up to the street doorway. Such a shudder -ran over her that he thrilled in sympathy. - -"Wait, and be silent," she said so that he was subjugated. - -"Who am I to announce?" she heard the old footman demand in the -ante-room. - -"The Count of Charny; and inquire if my lady will do me the honor to -receive me?" - -"Into this room, child," said Andrea, "he must not see you--he must not -know that you exist!" - -She pushed the frightened youth into the adjoining apartment. - -"Remain here till he shall have gone, when I will relate to--No, nothing -of that can be said? I will so love you that you will not doubt that I -am your own loving mother." - -His only reply was a moan. - -At this moment the door opened and the servant, cap in hand, acquitted -himself of the errand entrusted to him. - -"Show in the Count of Charny," she said in the firmest voice she could -find. - -As the old man retired, the nobleman appeared on the sill. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - -HUSBAND AND WIFE. - - -Count Charny was clad in black, mourning for his brother slain two days -before. - -This mourning was not solely in his habit, but in the recesses of his -heart, and his pallid cheeks attested what grief he had undergone. Never -are handsome faces finer than after sorrow, and the rapid glance of his -wife perceived that he had never looked more superb. - -She closed her eyes an instant, slightly held back her head to draw a -full breath and laid her hand on her heart which seemed about to break. - -When she opened them, after a second, Charny was in the same place. - -"Is the carriage to wait?" inquired the servant, urged by the footman at -the door. - -An unspeakable look shot from the yearning eyes of the visitor upon his -wife, who was dazed into closing her own again, while she stood -breathless as though she had not noticed the glance or heard the -question. Both had penetrated to her heart. - -Charny sought in this lovely living statue for some token to indicate -what answer he should make. As her shiver might be read both ways, he -said: "Bid the coachman wait." - -The door closed and perhaps for the first time since their wedding the -lord and his lady were alone together. - -"Pardon me," said the count, breaking the silence, "but is my unexpected -call intrusion? I have not seated myself and the carriage waits so that -I can depart as I came." - -"No, my lord, quite the contrary," quickly said Andrea. "I knew you were -well and safe, but I am not the less happy to see you after recent -events." - -"You have been good enough then to ask after me?" - -"Of course; yesterday, and this morning, when I was answered that you -were at Versailles; and this evening, when I learnt that you were in -attendance on the Queen." - -Were those last words spoken simply or did they contain a reproach? Not -knowing what to make of them, the count was evidently set thinking by -them. But probably leaving to the outcome of the dialogue the lifting of -the veil lowered on his mind for the time, he replied almost instantly: - -"My lady, a pious duty retained me at Versailles yesterday and this day; -one as sacred in my eyes brought me instantly on my arrival in town -beside her Majesty." - -Andrea tried in her turn to discover the true intent of the words. -Thinking that she ought to respond, she said: - -"Yes, I know of the terrible loss which--_you_ have experienced." She -had been on the point of saying "we," but she dared not, and continued: -"You have had the misfortune to lose your brother Valence de Charny." - -The count seemed to be waiting for the clue, for he had started on -hearing the pronoun "Your." - -"Yes, my lady. As you say, a terrible loss for me, but you cannot -appreciate the young man, as you little knew poor Valence, happily." - -In the last word was a mild and melancholy reproach, which his auditor -comprehended, though no outward sign was manifested that she gave it -heed. - -"Still, one thing consoles me, if anything can console me; poor Valence -died doing his duty, as probably his brother Isidore will die, and I -myself." - -This deeply affected Andrea. - -"Alas, my lord," she asked, "do you believe matters so desperate that -fresh sacrifices of blood are necessary to appease the wrath of heaven?" - -"I believe that the hour comes when the knell of kings is to peal; that -an evil genius pushes monarchy unto the abysm. In short I think, if it -is to fall, it will be accompanied, and should be so, by all those who -took part in its splendor." - -"True, but when comes that day, believe that it will find me ready like -yourself for the utmost devotion," said Andrea. - -"Your ladyship has given too many proofs of that devotion in the past, -for any one to doubt it for the future--I least of all--the less as I -have for the first time flinched about an order from the Queen. On -arriving from Versailles, I found the order to present myself to her -Majesty instantly." - -"Oh," said Andrea, sadly smiling; "it is plain," she added, after a -pause, "like you, the Queen sees the future is sombre and mysterious and -wishes to gather round her all those she can depend on." - -"You are wrong, my lady," returned Charny, "for the Queen summoned me, -not to bid me stand by her, but to send me afar." - -"Send you away?" quickly exclaimed the countess, taking a step towards -the speaker. "But I am keeping you standing," she said, pointing to a -chair. - -So saying, she herself sank, as though unable to remain on foot any -longer, on the sofa where she had been sitting with Sebastian shortly -before. - -"Send you away? in what end?" she said with emotion not devoid of joy at -the thought that the suspected lovers were parting. - -"To have me go to Turin to confer with Count Artois and the Duke of -Bourbon, who have quitted the country." - -"And you accepted?" - -"No, my lady," responded Charny, watching her fixedly. - -She lost color so badly that he moved as if to assist her, but this -revived her strength and she recovered. - -"No? you have answered No to an order of the Queen's, my lord?" she -faltered, with an indescribable accent of doubt and astonishment. - -"I answered that I believed my presence here at present more necessary -than in Italy. Anybody could bear the message with which I was to be -honored; I had a second brother, just arrived from the country, to place -at the orders of the King, and he was ready to start in my stead." - -"Of course the Queen was happy to see the substitute," exclaimed Andrea, -with bitterness she could not contain, and not appearing to escape -Charny. - -"It was just the other way, for she seemed to be deeply wounded by the -refusal. I should have been forced to go had not the King chanced in and -I made him the arbiter." - -"The King held you to be right?" sneered the lady with an ironical -smile: "he like you advised your staying in the Tuileries? Oh, how good -his Majesty is!" - -"So he is," went on the count, without wincing: "he said that my brother -Isidore would be well fitted for the mission and the more so as it was -his first visit to court, so that his absence would not be remarked. He -added that it would be cruel for the Queen to require my being sent away -from you at present." - -"The King said, from me?" exclaimed Andrea. - -"I repeat his own words, my lady. Looking round and addressing me, he -wanted to know where the Countess of Charny was. 'I have not seen her -this evening,' said he. As this was specially directed to me, I made -bold to reply. 'Sire,' I said, 'I have so seldom the pleasure of seeing -the countess that I am in the state of impossibility to tell where she -is; but if your Majesty wishes to know, he might inquire of the Queen -who, knowing, will reply!' I insisted as I judged from the Queen looking -black, that some difference had arisen between you." - -Andrea was so enwrapt in the listening that she did not think of saying -anything. - -"The Queen made answer that the Countess of Charny had gone away from -the palace with no intention to return. 'Why, what motive can your best -friend have in quitting the palace at this juncture?' inquired the King. -'Because she is uncomfortable here,' replied the Queen who had started -at the title you were given. 'Well, that may be so; but we will find -accommodation for her and the count beside our own rooms,' went on the -King. 'You will not be very particular, eh, my lord?' I told him that I -should be satisfied with any post as long as I could serve him in it. 'I -know it well: so that we only want the lady called back from--' the -Queen did not know whither you had departed. 'Not know where your friend -has gone?' exclaimed the King. 'When my friends leave me I do not -inquire after them.' 'Good, some woman's quarrel,' said Louis; 'my Lord -Charny, I have to speak a while with the Queen. Kindly wait for me and -present your brother who shall start for Turin this evening. I am of -your opinion that I shall require you and I mean to keep you by me.' So -I sent for my brother who was awaiting me in the Green Saloon, I was -told." - -At the mention, Andrea, who had nearly forgotten Sebastian in her -interest in her husband's story, was made to think of all that had -passed between mother and son, and she threw her eyes with anguish on -the bedroom door where she had placed him. - -"But you must excuse me for talking of matters but slightly interesting -you while you are no doubt wishful to know why I have come here." - -"No, my lord, what you say does engage me," replied the countess; "your -presence can only be agreeable on account of the fears I have felt on -your account. I pray you to continue. The King asked you to wait for him -and to bring your brother." - -"We went to the royal apartments, where he joined us in ten minutes. As -the mission for the princes was urgent he began by that. Their -Highnesses were to be instructed about what had happened. A quarter of -an hour after the King came, my brother was on the road, and the King -and I were left alone. He stopped suddenly in pacing the room and said: -'My lord, do you know what has passed between the Queen and the -countess?' I was ignorant. 'Something must have happened,' he went on, -'for the Queen is in a temper fit to massacre everybody, and it appears -to me unjust to the countess--which is odd, as the Queen usually defends -her friends through thick and thin, even when they are wrong.' 'I repeat -I know nothing, but I venture to assert that the countess has done no -wrong--even if we cannot admit that a queen ever does so.'" - -"I thank your lordship for having so good an opinion of me," said -Andrea. - -"'I suppose as the countess has a house in town that she has retired -there,' I suggested. 'Of course! I will give you leave of absence till -to-morrow on condition that you bring back the countess,' said the -King." - -Charny looked at his wife so fixedly that she was unable to bear the -glance and had to close her eyes. - -"Then, seeing that I was in mourning, he stayed me to say that my loss -was one of those which monarchs could not repair; but that if my brother -left a widow or a child he would help them, and would like them -presented to him, at any rate; the Queen should take care of the widow -and he would of the children." - -Charny spoke with tears in his voice. - -"I daresay the King was only repeating what the Queen had said," -remarked the lady. - -"The Queen did not honor me with a word on the subject," returned -Charny, "and that is why the King's speech affected me most deeply. He -ended by bidding me 'Go to our dear Andrea; for though those we love -cannot console us they can mourn with us, and that is a relief!' Thus it -is that I come by the King's order, which may be my excuse, my lady," -concluded the count. - -"Did you doubt your welcome?" cried the lady, quickly rising and holding -out both hands to him. - -He grasped them and kissed them; she uttered a scream as though they -were redhot iron, and sank back on the divan. But her hands were -clinging to his and he was drawn down so as to be placed sitting beside -her. - -But it was then that she thought she heard a noise in the next room, and -she started from him so abruptly that he rose and stood off a little, -not knowing to what to attribute the outcry and the repulsion so -suddenly made. - -Leaning on the sofa back, he sighed. The sigh touched her deeply. - -At the very time when the bereaved mother found her child, something -like the dawn of love beamed on her previously dismal and sorrowful -horizon. But by a strange coincidence, proven that she was not born to -happiness, the two events were so combined that one annulled the other: -the return of the husband thrust aside the son's love as the latter's -presence destroyed the budding passion. - -Charny could not divine this in the exclamation and the starting aloof, -the silence full of sadness following, although the cry was of love and -the retreat from fear, not repulsion. - -He gazed upon her with an expression which she could not have mistaken -if she had been looking up. - -"What answer am I to carry to the King?" he inquired emitting a sigh. - -"My lord," she replied, starting at the sound and raising her clear and -limpid eyes to him, "I suffered so much while in the court that I -accepted the leave to go when accorded by the Queen, with thankfulness. -I am not fitted to live in society, and in solitude I have found repose -if not happiness. My happiest days were those spent as a girl at -Taverney and in the convent of St. Denis with the noble princess of the -House of France, the Lady Louise. But, with your lordship's permission, -I will dwell in this summerhouse, full of recollections which are not -without some sweetness spite of their sadness." - -Charny bowed at this suggestion of his permission being sought, like a -man who was obeying an order, far more than granting a request. - -"As this is a fixed resolve," he said, marking how steady she was with -all her meekness, "am I to be allowed to call on you here?" - -She fastened her eyes on him, usually clear but now full of astonishment -and blandness. - -"Of course, my lord," was her response, "and as I shall have no company, -you can come any time that your duties at the palace allow you to set -aside a little while to me." - -Never had Charny seen so much charm in her gaze, or such tenderness in -her voice. Something ran through his veins, like the shudder from a -lover's first kiss. He glanced at the place whence he had risen when -Andrea got up; he would have given a year of life to take his seat there -again if she would not once more repel him. But the soldier was timid, -and he dared not allow himself the liberty. - -On her part, Andrea would have given ten years, sooner than only one, to -have him in that place, but, unfortunately, each was ignorant of the -other's mood, and they stood still, in almost painful expectation. - -"You were saying that you had to endure a great deal at court. Was not -the Queen pleasant towards you?" - -"I have nothing to blame her Majesty for," replied the ex-lady of honor, -"and I should be unjust if I did not acknowledge her Majesty's kind -treatment." - -"I hinted at this, because I have lately noticed that the friendship -seemed to show a falling off," continued the count. - -"That is possible, and that is why I am leaving the court." - -"But you will live so lonely?" - -"Have I not always lived so, my lord?" sighed Andrea, "as maid--wife--" -she stopped, seeing that she was going too far. - -"Do you make me a reproach?" - -"What right have I in heaven's name to make reproaches to your -lordship?" retorted the countess: "do you believe I have forgot the -circumstances under which we were plighted? Just the opposite of those -who vow before the altar reciprocal love and mutual protection, we swore -eternal indifference and complete separation. The blame would be to the -one who forgot that oath." - -Charny caught the sigh which these words had not entirely suppressed, -from the speaker's heart. - -"But this is such a small dwelling," he said: "a countess in one sitting -room with only another to eat in, and this for repose----" - -She sprang in between him and the bedroom, seeing Sebastian behind the -door, in her mind's eye. - -"Oh, my lord, do not go that way, I entreat you," she exclaimed, barring -the passage with her extended arms. - -"Oh, my lady," said he, looking at her so pale and trembling, with -fright never more plain on a human face, "I knew that you did not like -me: but I had no idea you hated me to this degree." - -Incapable of remaining any longer beside his wife without an outburst, -he reeled for a space like an intoxicated man; recovering himself, he -rushed out of the room with an exclamation of pain which echoed in the -depths of the hearer's heart. - -She watched him till he was out of sight; she listened till she could no -longer hear his departing carriage, and then with a breaking heart, -dreading that she had not enough motherly love to combat with this other -passion, she darted into the bedroom, calling out: - -"Sebastian," but no voice replied. - -By the trembling of the night-lamp in a draft she perceived that the -window was open. It was the same by which the child was kidnapped -fifteen years before. - -"This is justice," she muttered; "did he not say that I was no more his -mother?" - -Comprehending that she had lost both husband and child at the period -when she had recovered them, Andrea threw herself on the couch, at the -end of her resignation and her prayers exhausted. - -Suddenly it seemed to her that something more dreadful than her -sorrowful plight glided in between grief and her tears. - -She looked up and beheld a man, after climbing in at the open window, -standing on the floor. - -She wished to shriek and ring for help; but he bent on her the -fascinating gaze which caused her the invincible lethargy she remembered -Cagliostro could impose upon her: but in this mesmerist and his -spell-binding look and bearing, she recognized Gilbert. - -How was it the execrated father stood in the stead of his beloved son? - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. - -IN SEARCH OF THEIR SON. - - -It was Dr. Gilbert who was closeted with the King when the usher -inquired after him on the order of Isidore and the entreaty of -Sebastian. - -The upright heart of Louis XVI. had appreciated the loyalty in the -doctor's. After half an hour, the latter came forth and went into the -Queen's ante-chamber, where he saw Isidore. - -"I asked for you, doctor, but I have another with me who wants still -more to see you. It will be cruel to detain you from him: so let us -hasten to the Green Saloon." - -But the room was empty and such was the confusion in the palace that no -servant was at hand to inform them what had become of the young man. - -"It was a person I met on the road, eager to get to Paris and coming -here on foot only for my giving him a ride." - -"Are you speaking of the peasant Pitou?" - -"No, doctor--of your son, Sebastian." - -At this, the usher who had taken Isidore away returned. - -He was ignorant of what had happened but, luckily, a second footman had -seen the singular disappearance of the boy in the carriage of a court -lady. - -They hastened to the gates where the janitor well recalled that the -direction to the coachman was "No. 9 Coq-Heron Street, first carriage -entrance from Plastriere Street." - -"My sister-in-law's," exclaimed Isidore, "the countess of Charny!" - -"Fatality," muttered Gilbert. "He must have recognized her," he said in -a lower tone. - -"Let us go there," suggested the young noble. - -Gilbert saw all the dangers of Andrea's son being discovered by her -husband. - -"My lord," he said, "my son is in safety in the hands of the Countess of -Charny, and as I have the honor to know her, I think I can call by -myself. Besides it is more proper that you should be on your road; for I -presume you are going to Turin, from what I heard in the King's -presence." - -"Yes, doctor." - -"Receive my thanks for your kindness to Sebastian, and be off! When a -father says he is not uneasy, you need feel no anxiety." - -Isidore held out his hand which the revolutionist shook with more -heartiness than he had for most of his class; while the nobleman -returned within the palace, he went along to the junction of the streets -Coq-Heron and Plastriere. - -Both were painful memories. - -In the latter he had lived, a poor boy, earning his bread by copying -music, by receiving instruction from the author Rousseau. From his -window he had contemplated Andrea at her own casement, under the hands -of her maid, Nicole, his first sweetheart, and to that window he had -made his way by a rope and by scaling the wall, to view more closely and -satisfy his passion for the high-born lady who had bewitched him. - -Rousseau was dead, but Andrea was rich and nobler still; he had also -attained wealth and consideration. - -But was he any happier than when he walked out of doors to dip his crust -in the waters of this public fountain? - -He could not help walking up to the door where Rousseau had lived. It -was open on the alley which ran under the building to the yard at the -back as well as up to the attic where he was lodged. - -He went up to the first floor back, where the window on the landing gave -a view of the rear house where Baron Taverney had dwelt. - -No one disturbed him in his contemplation; the house had come down in -the world; no janitor; the inhabitants were poor folk who did not fear -thieves. - -The garden at Taverney's house was the same as a dozen years before. The -vine still hung on the trellis which had served him as ladder in his -night clamberings within the enclosure. - -He was unaware whether Count Charny was with his wife, but he was so -bent on learning about Sebastian that he meant to risk all. - -He climbed the wall and descended on the other side. In the garden -nothing obstructed him, and thus he reached the window of Andrea's -Bedroom. - -In another instant, as related, the two enemies stood face to face. - -The lady's first feeling was invincible repugnance rather than profound -terror. - -For her the Americanized Gilbert, the friend of Washington and -Lafayette, aristocratic through study, science and genius, was still the -hangdog Gilbert of her father's manor house, and the gardener's boy of -Trianon Palace. - -Gilbert no longer bore her the ardent love which had driven him to crime -in his youth, but the deep and tender affection, spite of her insults -and persecutions, of a man ready to do a service at risk of his life. - -With the insight nature had given him and the justice education -implanted, Gilbert had weighed himself: he understood that Andrea's -misfortunes arose from him, and he would never be quits with her until -he had made her as happy as he had the reverse. - -But how could he blissfully affect her future. - -It was impossible for him yet to comprehend. - -On seeing this but to so much despair, again the prey to woe, all his -fibres of mercy were moved for so much misery. - -Instead of using his hypnotic power to subdue her, he spoke softly to -her, ready to master her if she became rebellious. - -The result was that the medium felt the ethereal fluid fade away like a -dissolving fog, by Gilbert's permission, and she was able to speak of -her own free will. - -"What do you want, sir? how came you here?" - -"By the way I used before," replied the doctor. "Hence you can be -easy--no one will know of it. Why? because I come to claim a treasure, -of no consequence to you, but precious to me, my son. I want you to tell -what has become of my son, taken away in your carriage and brought -here." - -"How do I know? taught by you to hate his mother, he has fled." - -"His mother? are you really a mother to him?" - -"Oh, you see my grief, you have heard my cries, and looking on my -despair, you ask me if I am his mother?" - -"How then are you ignorant what has become of him?" - -"But I tell you he has fled; that I came into this room for him and -found the window open and the room vacant." - -"Where could he have gone--good God!" exclaimed Gilbert. "It is past -midnight and he does not know the town." - -"Do you believe anything evil has befallen him?" asked she, approaching. - -"We shall hear, for it is you who shall tell me." - -And with a wave of the hand he began anew to plunge her into the -mesmeric sleep. - -She uttered a sigh and fell off into repose. - -"Am I to put forth all my will power or will you answer voluntarily?" -asked Gilbert when she was under control. - -"Will you tell the boy again that I am not his mother?" - -"That depends. Do you love him?" - -"Ardently, with all my soul." - -"Then you are his mother as I am his father, for it is thus I love him. -Loving him, you shall see him again. When did you part from the boy?" - -"About half an hour ago, when Count Charny called. I had pushed him into -this room." - -"What were his last words?" - -"That I was no more his mother: because I had told him that you were a -villain." - -"Look into the poor boy's heart and see what harm you wrought." - -"Oh, God forgive me," said Andrea: "forgive me, my son." - -"Did Count Charny suspect the boy was here?" - -"No, I am sure." - -"Why did he not stay?" - -"Because he never stays long with me. Oh, wretch that I am," she -interrupted herself, "he was returning to me after refusing that -mission--because he loves me--he loves me!" - -Gilbert began to see more clearly into this drama which his eye was -first to penetrate. - -"But do you love him?" he demanded. - -"I see your intention is good: you wish to make up to me for the grief -you have caused: but I refuse the boon coming from you. I hate you and -wish to continue in my hatred." - -"Poor mortality," muttered the philosopher, "have you had so much -happiness that you can dally with a certain amount offered you? so you -love him?" - -"Yes. Since first I saw him, as the Queen and I sat with him in a -hackney-carriage in which we returned from Paris to Versailles one -night." - -"You know what love is, Andrea," queried Gilbert, mournfully. - -"I know that love has been given as a standard by which we can measure -how much sadness we can endure," replied she. - -"It is well: you are a true woman and a true mother: a rough diamond, -you were shaped by the stern lapidary known as Grief. Return to -Sebastian." - -"Yes, I see him leaving the house with clenched hands and knit brow. He -wanders up the street--he goes up to a woman and asks her for St. Honore -Street----" - -"My street: he was seeking for my house. Poor child! he will be there -awaiting me." - -"Hold! he has gone astray--he is in New St. Roch Street. Oh, he does not -see that vehicle coming down Sourdiere Street, but I see the -horses--Ah!" - -She drew herself up with an awful scream, maternal anguish depicted on -her visage, down which rolled tears and perspiration. - -"Oh, if harm befalls him, remember that it will recoil on your head," -hissed Gilbert. - -"Ah," sighed Andrea in relief, without hearing or heeding him, "God in -heaven be praised! it is the horse's breast which struck him, and he is -thrown out of the rut of the wheel. There he lies, stunned, but he is -not killed. Only swooned. Hasten to help him. It is my son! They form a -crowd round him: is there not a doctor or surgeon among them all?" - -"Oh, I shall run," said Gilbert. - -"Wait," said Andrea, stopping him by the arm, "they are dividing to let -help come. It is the doct--oh, do not let that man approach him--I -loathe him--he is a vampire, he is hideous!" - -"Oh, for heaven's sake, do not lose sight of Sebastian," said Gilbert, -shuddering. - -"This ghoul carries him away--up the street--into the blind alley, -called St. Hyacinthe: where he goes down some steps. He places him on a -table where books and printed papers are heaped. He takes off his coat -and rolls up his sleeve. He ties the arm with bandages from a woman as -dirty and hideous as himself. He finds a lance in a case--he is going to -bleed him. Oh, I cannot bear to see my son's blood flow. Run, run, and -you will find him as I say." - -"Shall I awaken you at once with recollection: or would you sleep till -the morning and know nothing of what has happened?" - -"Awaken me at once with full memory." - -Gilbert described a double curve with his hands so that his thumbs came -upon the medium's eyelids; he breathed on her forehead and said merely: - -"Awake!" - -Instantly her eyes became animated; her limbs were supple; she looked at -Gilbert almost without terror, and continuing, though aroused, the -impulse in her vision, she cried: - -"Oh, run, run, and snatch the boy from the hands of that man who causes -me so much fright!" - - - - -CHAPTER XV. - -THE MAN WITH THE MODEL. - - -With no need to be spurred in his quest, Gilbert darted through the -rooms and as it would have taken too long to climb the walls, he made -for the front door, which he opened himself and bounded out on the -street. - -Knowing Paris intimately, he reached the spot indicated by Andrea in her -vision without delay and his first question to a storekeeper, who had -witnessed the accident to the boy, confirmed the statement. - -He proceeded straightway to the door in the alley, and knocked. - -"Who knocks?" challenged a woman's voice. - -"I, the father of the wounded child whom you succored," replied the -knocker. - -"Open, Albertine," said a man's voice: "it is Dr. Gilbert." - -He was let into a cellar, or rather cavern, down some moldering steps, -lighted by a lamp set on the table cumbered with printed papers, books -and manuscripts as Andrea had described. - -In the shadow, and on a mattress, young Gilbert lay, but held out his -arms to his father, calling him. However powerful the philosophical -command in Gilbert, paternal love overruled decorum, and he sprang to -the boy whom he pressed to his breast, with care not to hurt his bruised -chest or his cut arm. After a long, fond kiss, he turned to thank the -good Samaritan. He was standing with his feet far apart, one hand on the -table, the other on his hip, lit by the lamp of which he had removed the -shade the better to illumine the scene. - -"Look, Albertine," said he, "and with me thank the chance enabling me to -do a good turn for one of my brothers." - -The speaker was a green and sallow man, like one of those country clowns -whom Latona's wrath pursued and who was turning to a frog. Gilbert -shuddered, thinking that he had seen this abortion before as through a -sheet of blood. - -He drew nearer to Sebastian and hugged him once more. But triumphing -over his first impulse, he went back to the strange man who had so -appalled Andrea in the second-sight vision, and said: - -"Receive all the thanks of a father, sir, for having preserved his son: -they are sincere and come right from his heart." - -"I have merely done my duty as prescribed by nature and recommended by -science," replied the other. "I am a man, and as Terence says, nothing -human is foreign to me; besides, I have a tender heart, and cannot see -even an insect suffer; consequently still less my fellow man." - -"May I learn to what fervent philanthropist I have the honor to speak?" - -"Do you not know your brother-physician?" said the surgeon, laughing in -what he wanted to seem benevolence though it was ghastly. "I know you, -Dr. Gilbert, the friend of the American patriots, and of Lafayette!" He -laid peculiar stress on this name. "The republican of America and -France, the honorable Utopist who has written magnificent articles on -constitutional government, which you sent to Louis XVI. from the States, -and for which he lodged you in the Bastile, the moment you touched -French soil. You wanted to save him by clearing the road to the future, -and he opened that into jail--regular royal gratitude!" - -He laughed again, this time terribly and threateningly. - -"If you know me it is a farther reason for me to insist on learning to -whom I am indebted." - -"Oh, it is a long while since we made acquaintance," said the surgeon. -"Twenty years, sir, on the dreadful night of the thirtieth of May, 1770; -the night when the fireworks exploded by accident among the people in -the Paris square, and injured and killed many who came to rejoice over -the wedding of the Archduchess and our Prince Royal, but who had to -curse their names. You were but a boy whom Rousseau brought to me, -wounded and crushed almost to death, and I bled you on a board amid the -dead and the cut-off limbs. Yet that awful night is a pleasant memory to -me for I was able to save many existences by my steel knowing where to -dissever to preserve life and where to cut to spare pain." - -"You are Jean Paul Marat, then," cried Gilbert, falling back a step -despite himself. - -"Mark, Albertine, that my name makes some effect," said Marat with a -sinister laugh. - -"But I thought you were physician to Count Artois; why are you in this -cave, why lighted by this smoky lamp?" - -"I was the Prince's veterinary surgeon, you mean. But he emigrated? no -prince, no stables; no stables, no vet. Besides, I gave in my -resignation, for I would no longer serve the tyrants." - -The dwarf drew himself up to the full extent of his form. - -"But, in short, why are you in this hole?" - -"Because, Master Philosopher, I am a sound patriot writing to decry the -ambitious; Bailly fears me, Necker detests me, and Lafayette sets the -National Guard on to hunt me down and has put a price on my head--the -aspiring dictator! but I brave him! out of my hole, I pursue him, and -denounce the Caesar. Do you know what he has done? He has had fifteen -thousand snuffboxes made with his portrait on them, which hides some -trick. So I entreat all good citizens to smash them when found. It is -the rallying sign for the great Royalist Plot, for you cannot be -ignorant that Lafayette is conspiring with the Queen while poor Louis is -blubbering scalding tears over the blunders the Austrian is leading him -into. - -"The Queen," said Gilbert pensively. - -"Yes; don't tell me that she is not plotting: lately she gave away so -many white cockades that white ribbon went away up in the market. It is -a fact, for I had it from one of the workgirls of Bertin the dressmaker, -her Prime Minister in Fashions, who used to say: 'I have been discussing -matters this morning with her Majesty.'" - -"And how do you denounce such things?" inquired the doctor. - -"In my newspaper, the one I have just started, twenty numbers having -appeared. It is 'The Friend of the people or the Parisian Publicist,' an -impartial political organ. To pay for the paper and the printing--look -behind you--I have sold the sheets and blankets off my bed." - -Turning, Gilbert indeed saw that Sebastian lay on the mattress -absolutely bare, but he had fallen asleep, overcome with pain and -fatigue. He went up to him to see that it was not a swoon, but reassured -by the regular breathing he, returned to this journalist, who -irresistibly inspired him with the interest we feel for a hyena, tiger -or other wild beast. - -"Who help you in this gigantic work?" he inquired. - -"My staff?" sneered Marat. "Ha, ha, ha! the geese fly in files: the -eagle soars alone. My helpers are these," and he showed his head and -hands. "I write the whole paper single handed--I can show you the copy, -though it runs into sixteen pages octavo sometimes, and often I use -small type though I commenced with large. So, it is not merely a -newspaper--but a personality--it is Marat!" - -"Enormous labor--how do you manage it?" asked the other doctor. - -"It is the secret of nature--a compact I have made with death. I have -given ten years of my life, so that I need no rest by day and no sleep -by night. My existence is summed up in writing: I do it day and night. -Lafayette's police coop me up in this cell, where they chain me body and -soul to my work: they have doubled my activity. It was heavy on me at -first but I am inured to it. It delights me now to see poor humanity -through this airhole, by the narrow and slanting beam. From my gloomy -den I judge mankind living, and science and politics without appeal. -With one hand I demolish the savants, with the other the politicians. I -shall upset the whole state of things, like Samson destroying the -Temple, and under the ruins perhaps crushing me, I shall bury the -throne!" - -In spite of himself the hearer shuddered: in his rags and the -poverty-stricken vault this man repeated very nearly what Cagliostro had -said in his palace under his embroidered clothes. - -"But when you are so popular, why do you not try for a nomination in the -National Assembly?" he asked. - -"Because the day has not come for that," replied the demagogue; -expressing his regret, he continued, "Oh, were I a tribune of the -masses, sustained by only a few thousand of determined men, I answer for -the Constitution being perfectly safe in six weeks: the political -machine should move better: no villain would dare play ticks with it: -the Nation should be free and happy: in less than a year, it should be -flourishing and redoubtable: and thus would it remain while I was -erect." - -The vain creature was transformed under Gilbert's eyes: his eyes became -bloodshot; his yellow skin shone with sweat; the monster became great in -his hideousness as another is grand in his beauty. - -"Yes, but I am not a representative," he proceeded, resuming his train -of ideas from where he had interrupted himself: "I have not the -thousands of followers. No, but I am a journalist, and have my weapons -and ammunition, my subscribers and readers, for whom I am an oracle, a -prophet and a diviner. I have my following for whom I am a friend, and I -lead them on, trembling, from treachery to treachery, discovery to -discovery, from one dreadful thing to another. In the first number of -The Friend of the People, I denounced the upper classes saying that -there were six hundred guilty wretches in France and that number of -ropes-ends would do the job: but I made a mistake, ha, ha! The deeds of -the fifth and sixth of October opened my eyes and I see that we must -hang twenty thousand of the patricians." - -Gilbert smiled, for fury elevated to this point, seemed madness to him. - -"Why, there is not enough hemp in France to do this work, and rope would -go up in price," he said. - -"That is why I am looking round for some other means," returned Marat, -"more expeditious and novel. Do you know whom I expect this evening? one -of our brother medicos, a member of the National Assembly whom you must -know by name, Dr. Guillotin----" - -"The one who moved that the Assembly, expelled from the Session Hall at -Versailles, should meet in the Tennis Court a learned man?" - -"Do you know what this able citizen has discovered? a marvellous machine -which kills without pain, for death must be punishment not torture; he -has invented it and we shall try it one of these mornings." - -Gilbert started: this was the second time that this brother Invisible -reminded him of the Chief, Cagliostro; no doubt this death-machine was -the same he had spoken of. - -"But you are lucky--a knock! it is he. Run and open the door, -Albertine." - -The hag, who was the wife--rather the female mate of Marat--rose from -the stool on which she was squatting, and staggered half asleep towards -the door. - -Giddy with terror, Gilbert went instinctively towards Sebastian, ready -to take him in his arms and flee. - -"Just think of an automatic executioner," said Marat, enthusiastically, -"with no need of a man to set it going; which can, if the knife is -changed a couple of times, cut off three hundred heads a-day!" - -"And add," said a bland, melodious voice, behind Marat, "which can cut -off these heads without other sensation than a slight coolness around -the neck." - -"Oh, is this you, doctor?" exclaimed Marat, turning towards a dapper -little man of forty or so, whose gentle demeanor and spruce dress made a -marked contrast with his host: in his hand he carried a small box such -as children's toys are kept in. "What are you bringing us?" - -"A model of my machine, my dear Marat. But I see Dr. Gilbert here, -unless I mistake," said the little dandy, trying to pierce the -obscurity. - -"The same, sir," said the other visitor bowing. - -"Enchanted to meet you, sir; you are only too welcome, and I shall be -happy to have the opinion of so distinguished a man on my invention. I -must tell you, my dear Marat, that I have found a skillful carpenter, -named Guidon, to make my machine on the working scale. He is dear, -though, wanting five thousand five hundred francs; but no sacrifice is -too great for me to make for humanity. In two months it will be built, -and we can try it: I shall propose it to the Assembly. I hope you will -approve of it in your excellent new paper, though, in sober earnest, the -machine recommends itself, as you will see with your own eyes, Dr. -Gilbert. But a few lines in the People's Friend will do no harm." - -"Be easy on that score; it is not a few lines but a whole number that I -shall dedicate to it." - -"You are too good, Marat; but I am not going to let you puff a pig in a -poke." - -He took out of his pocket a much smaller box, in which a sound indicated -that some little live thing or several such were fidgeting in their -prison. This noise did not escape Marat's subtle hearing. - -"What have you got there?" he asked, putting out his hand towards the -box. - -"Mind," said the doctor, drawing it back, "do not let them escape as we -could not catch them again; they are mice whose heads we are going to -nick off with the machine. What, are you going to leave us, Dr. -Gilbert?" - -"Alas, yes, sir, to my great regret; but my son, wounded by being run -over by a horse just now, has been relieved by Friend Marat, to whom I -also owe my own life in an almost similar affair. I have to thank him -again. The boy needs a fresh bed, cares and repose: so that I cannot -witness your interesting experiment." - -"But you will come and see the one with the real machine, in two months, -you promise, doctor?" - -"I pledge my word." - -"Doctor," said Marat, "I need not say, keep my abode secret. If your -friend Lafayette were to discover it he would have me shot like a dog, -or hung like a thief." - -"Shooting, hanging," exclaimed Guillotin. "But we shall put an end to -these cannibal deaths. We shall have a death, soft, easy, instantaneous, -such as old people, disgusted with their life and wishful to pass away -like sages and philosophers, will prefer to a natural one. Come and see -how it works, Marat!" - -And without troubling any farther about Dr. Gilbert, the enthusiast -opened his larger box and began to set up on the table a model -apparatus which the surgeon regarded with curiosity equal to his -enthusiasm. - -Gilbert profited by their being so engaged, to carry away Sebastian, -guided by Albertine who fastened up the outer door after him. - -Once in the street, he felt the night wind chill the perspiration -gathered on his brow. - -"Heavens," he muttered, "what will happen to a city where the cellars -perhaps hide five hundred lovers of mankind who are occupied with such -work as we have a sample of there? one day they will perform in broad -daylight before the crowd." - -It was little distance to his house in St. Honore Street. - -The cold revived Sebastian but his father would not let him walk. When -he knocked at his door, a heavy step was heard approaching. - -"Is that you, Dr. Gilbert?" challenged one within. - -"That is Pitou's voice," said the boy. - -"Praise heaven, Sebastian is found," shouted Pitou on opening the door. -"Master Billet," he shouted still more loudly, "Sebastian is found, and -all right, I hope, doctor?" - -"Without any serious hurt, anyway," replied the other, "Come, -Sebastian." - -He carried his son up to his bed. - -Pitou followed with the light; by his mud-bespattered shoes and -stockings it was plain that he had come a long journey. - -Indeed, after taking the broken-hearted Catherine home and learning from -her lips that her deep sorrow came from Isidore Charny being called away -to Paris, he took leave of her and Mother Billet, weeping by her -bedside, and went home to Haramont. He walked so slowly that he did not -get there until daybreak. - -He fell off to sleep so that it was not till he awoke, that he found the -youth's letter. Immediately he started to overtake him. - -He girded up with a leather strap, took some bread and with a walking -stick in his fist, proceeded to town, where he arrived at eight that -night. - -He found neither the doctor nor his son at home--only Farmer Billet. - -This hearty, robust man, unnerved by the bloody scenes witnessed since -the Taking of the Bastile, of which enterprise he was the leader, had no -news for Pitou. - -Their sad waiting was rewarded by the double arrival. - -Though tranquil about Sebastian, Pitou, when sent to bed had his budget -to unfold to the farmer. Let no reader think that he revealed -Catherine's secrets and spoke of her amour with the young noble. The -honest soul of the Commander of the Haramont National Guard would not -stoop to that story. But he told Billet that the harvest was bad, the -barley a failure, part of the wheat wind-laid, and the barns but a third -full--and that he had found Catherine on the road. - -Billet was little vexed about the grain, but the illness of his daughter -distressed him. - -He ran to Dr. Gilbert with a sad face as the latter was finishing this -note to Andrea: "Be of good heart; the child is found, with no one -hurt." - -"Dr. Gilbert, you were right to retain me in town where I might be -useful; but everything has been going wrong in the country while the -good man is away." - -Gilbert agreed with his friend that a hearty buxom girl like Catherine -should not faint on the public road. Feeling with a parent, he -responded: - -"Go home, my dear Billet, since land and family call you. But do not -forget that I shall claim you in the name of the country." - -Thus Billet returned home after an absence of three months, although he -had intended to be away only a week. - -Pitou followed him, bearing twenty-five louis destined from Gilbert for -the equipment and maintenance of the Haramont National Guard. - -Sebastian stayed with his father. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI. - -THE PORTRAIT OF CHARLES FIRST. - - -A week has passed since the events related. Everybody was saying: The -Revolution is finished; the King is delivered from Versailles, and his -courtiers and evil counsellors. The King is placed in life and -actuality. He had heretofore the license to work wrong; now he has full -liberty to do good. - -The dread from the riots had brought the conservatives over to the -royalty. The Assembly had been frightened, too, and saw that it depended -on the King. A hundred and fifty of its members took to flight. - -The two most popular men, Lafayette and Mirabeau, became royalists. The -latter wanted the other to unite with him to save the crown, but while -honorable Lafayette had a limited brain, he did not see the orator's -genius. - -Mirabeau was all for the Duke of Orleans, whom Lafayette advised, nay, -ordered to quit the kingdom. - -"But suppose I come back without your permission?" said the prince. - -"Then, I hope you will do me the honor to cross swords with me at the -first battle," replied the marquis. - -He was the veritable ruler and the duke had to depart; he did not return -until called to be King of the French. - -Lafayette had saved the Queen and protected the King; he was perfectly a -royalist. - -But still, like Gilbert, he was not so much the friend of the King as of -the crown. - -The monarch had too just a mind not to see this clearly. - -Although he had not seen the doctor lately he remembered that this was -his day of duty and he called him. - -The King was pacing the bedroom, but stopping now and then to look at -the Vandyke picture of Charles First, now in the Louvre. - -The sovereign of England is painted as a Cavalier, with his horse, as -ready for flight as for battle. - -This picture seemed fatally the goal of the King's wanderings. - -At the step, Louis turned round. - -"Oh, is it you, doctor?" he said. "Come in, I am glad to see you." -Leading him up to the painting he said: "Do you know this? where did you -see it?" - -"In Lady Dubarry's house, when I was a boy, but it deeply struck me." - -"Yes, she pretended to be descended from the page who holds the horse. -Jeanne Dubarry was the woman chosen by Marshal Richelieu to be the sole -feminine ruler over the worn-out monarch Louis XV. and to induce him to -shut up the infamous Deerpark, which was the harem ruining the old man. -She was an adroit actress and played her part marvellously. She -entertained while making sport of him, and he became manly because she -persuaded him he was so." - -He stopped as if blaming himself for his imprudence in speaking of his -grandfather thus openly before a stranger; but one glance at Gilbert's -frank face encouraged him, for he saw that he could speak all to a man -who understood every thing. - -"This melancholy, lofty face," went on the King, referring to the -portrait, "was placed in the strange Egeria's boudoir, where it heard -her impudent laughs and saw her lascivious gambols. Merrily she would -take Louis by the arm and show him Charles, saying: 'Old gossip, this -King had his neck cut through because he was too weak towards his -Parliament. Take warning about your own!' Hence Louis broke up his -Parliament and died peacefully on his throne. Thereupon we exiled the -poor woman, for whom we ought to have been most indulgent. The picture -was packed away in the lumber room of Versailles and I never thought -about it. Now, how comes it here, in my bedroom? why does it haunt me?" -He shook his head. "There is some fate in this." - -"Fatality, if the portrait reads no lesson, Sire; Providence if it does. -What does it say to your Majesty?" - -"That Charles lost his throne from having made war on his subjects, and -James the Second for having tired his own." - -"Like me, then, it speaks the truth." - -"Well?" inquired the sovereign, questioning the doctor with his glance. - -"Well, I beg to ask for your answer to the portrait." - -"Friend Gilbert, I have resolved on nothing: I will take the cue from -circumstances." - -"The people fear that your Majesty purposes war upon them." - -"No, sir," he rejoined, "I cannot make war on them without foreign -support and I know the state of Europe too well to rely on that. The -King of Prussia offers to enter France at the head of a hundred thousand -men; but I too well know his ambitious and intriguing spirit--a petty -monarchy which wishes to become a great one, thriving on turmoil and -hoping to catch some fish like another Silesia. On her part, Austria -places a hundred thousand men at my call; but I do not like my -brother-in-law Leopold, a two-faced Janus, whose mother, Marie Theresa, -had my father poisoned. - -"My brother Artois proposes the support of Sardinia and Spain, but I do -not trust those powers, led by Artois. Beside him is Calonne, in other -words, the Queen's worst enemy, the one who annotated with his own hand -the pamphlet of the Countess Lamotte Valois anent the conspiracy of the -Queen's Necklace, for which she was branded. I know all that is going on -yonder. In their last council a debate ensued about deposing me and -appointing a regent who would be probably my dear, very dear brother -Count Provence. Prince Conde suggested marching with an enemy upon -Lyons, 'whatever happened me at Paris!' - -"It is another thing with the Great Empress Catherine; she confines -herself to advice, bless her! you can understand that when you reflect -that she is at table digesting Poland and cannot rise until she has -finished her feast. She gives me advice which aims to be sublime but is -only ridiculous, considering what has lately occurred. She says: -'Monarchs ought to proceed on their course like the moon in her orbit, -without being disturbed by the baying of curs!'--that is, the protests -of the common people. It appears that the Russian curs merely bark; -ours do some biting, as you may learn of my poor Lifeguardsmen, torn to -pieces by them." - -"The people thought that your Majesty was going to quit the country." - -"Doctor," said the King after hesitating, and he laid his hand on the -other's shoulder, "I have promised you the truth and you shall have it -thoroughly. Such a matter has been broached; it is the opinion of many -faithful servitors surrounding me that I ought to flee. But on the sixth -of October night, when weeping in my arms, the Queen besought me never -to flee without her, and that we should all depart together, to be saved -or die in company. I shall keep my word; and as I do not think that we -could flee in such a number without being stopped, a dozen times before -we got to the frontier, I conclude that we shall never get away." - -"Well, Sire, there is indeed no need of the foreigners. What would be -the use until you shall exhaust your own resources? My advice is that we -are only beginning the fight and that the Taking of the Bastile and the -attack on the Palace at Versailles are only the two first acts in the -tragedy to be played by France under the eyes of Europe." - -"I hope you are mistaken, sir," replied Louis, slightly turning pale: -"My police tell me nothing like this." - -"I have no police or information to check them; but in my position I am -the natural conductor between the heavens and what is still concealed in -the bowels of the earth. Sire, what we have experienced is merely the -rumble that runs before the earthquake; we have yet to meet the lava, -the fire and the smoke. I fear that the Revolutionary torrent will run -ahead of us. There are only two methods to save yourself. One is to -place yourself on the foremost breaker and be carried on with it." - -"I do not wish to go where it would carry me." - -"The second is to place a barrier across the tide. It is Genius and -Popularity in one dam: and it is named Mirabeau." - -"The King looked Gilbert in the face as though he had misunderstood him; -then turning to the portrait, he said: - -"What would you have replied, Charles Stuart, if when you felt the -ground quake beneath your feet, some one had suggested your leaning on -Cromwell?" - -"He would have refused, and rightly; for there is no likeness between -Cromwell and Mirabeau." Such was Gilbert's answer. - -"They were both traitors." - -"Sire," replied the other with profound respect but invincible firmness; -"neither were traitors: Cromwell was a rebellious subject, and Mirabeau -is a discontented nobleman." - -"What is he discontented with?" - -"With his father, who locked him up in prison; the courts which -condemned him to death; with the King who miscomprehended and still -miscomprehends his genius." - -"The spirit of a public man is honesty," said the King quickly. - -"The reply is fine, worthy of Titus, Trajan or Marcus Aurelius, -unluckily many examples arise to the contrary." - -"How can you ask me to confide in a man who has a price?" - -"Because he is a man of his price. If he will sell himself for a -million, it is a bargain. Do you think he is worth twice a Polignac?" - -"You are pleading for a friend." - -"I have not that honor: but he has a friend who is of the Queen's party, -too." - -"Count Lamarck? We cast it up to him every day." - -"On the contrary, your Majesty ought to dissuade him breaking the -friendship with him, under pain of death. Mirabeau is a noble, an -aristocrat, a King's-man above all. He was elected by the people because -the nobles scorned him and he had sublime disdain of the means to attain -an end which genius thirsted for. You may say that he will never quit -the party of his constituents to join the court party? Why is there not -union of the court and plebeians? Mirabeau could make them one. Take -him, my lord! To-morrow, rebuffed by your despisal, he may turn against -you, and then you will say, as the portrait of your Martyr King will -say: All is lost!" - -"I will talk this over with the Queen, sir," said the monarch, having -turned pale and hesitatingly glanced at the royal portrait. "She may -decide on speaking with Mirabeau: but I will not. I like to be able to -shake hands with those I confer with, and I could never take the hand of -a Mirabeau, though my life, my liberty, and my throne were at -stake--After she shall have seen him, we will see----" - -"I pray God that it will not be too late." - -"Do you believe the peril so imminent?" - -"Sire, do not let the portrait of Charles First be removed from your -room," said Gilbert; "it is a good adviser." - -Bowing, he went forth as another visitor appeared on the sill. He could -not restrain from a cry of surprise. This gentleman was Marquis Favras, -whom he had met at Cagliostro's a week or so before and to whom the -magician had predicted a near and shameful death. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII. - -THE KING ATTENDS TO PRIVATE MATTERS. - - -Louis the King displayed the usual irresolution in dealing with Favras' -proposition, approved by the Queen, to make a rush out of the kingdom. -He reflected all the night and at breakfast called for Count Charny. - -He was still at table when the officer walked in. - -"Won't you take breakfast with me, count?" - -Charny was obliged to excuse himself from the honor as he had broken his -fast. - -"I must ask you to wait a while as I never care to speak of important -matters while at meals and I have something to talk over with your -lordship. Let us speak of other matters for the moment. Of yourself, for -instance. I hear that you are badly lodged here; somewhere in the -garret, my lord, while the countess is lodging in Paris." - -"Sire, I am in a room of my own choice: the countess is dwelling in her -own house in Coq-Heron Street." - -"I must confess my ignorance; is it near the palace?" - -"Tolerably, Sire." - -"What does this mean that after only three years of married life, you -have separate establishments?" - -"Sire, I have no answer to make than that my lady wishes to live alone. -I have not had the pleasure of seeing her since your Majesty sent me for -news. That is, better than a week ago." - -The King understood grief more readily than melancholy and noticed the -difference in the tone. - -"Count, there is some of your fault in this estrangement," said the -monarch, with the familiarity of the family man, as he called himself. - -"The man must be to blame when so charming a woman keeps aloof from him. -Do not tell me that this is none of my business: for a king can do a -great deal by speaking a word. You must treat the lady ungratefully, for -she loves you dearly--or did when Lady Taverney." - -"Sire, you know that one must not dispute with a king." - -"I do not know that the signs were visible to me alone; but this I know -very well that on that dreadful October night, when she came to join us, -she did not lose sight of you throughout, and her eyes expressed all her -soul's anguish, so much so that I saw her make a movement to fling -herself between you and danger when the Bullseye Saloon door was beaten -down." - -Count Charny was not softened; he believed he had seen something of this -sort: but the details of his recent interview with his wife were too -distinct for him to have his opinion shaken. - -"I was paying all the more attention to her," went on Louis, "from the -Queen having said when you were sent to the City Hall while I was on my -journey to Paris, that she almost died of distress in your absence and -of joy at your return." - -"Sire," replied Charny with a sad smile, "God had allowed those who are -born above us to receive in birth as a privilege of their rank, the gift -of seeing deeper into one's heart than oneself can do; the King and the -Queen have perceived secrets unrevealed to me: but my limited vision -prevents me seeing the same. Therefore I beg to be employed on any -dangerous errand or one that would take me to a distance without -considering the great love of the Countess of Charny. Absence or danger -will be equally welcome, coming at least for my part." - -"Nevertheless, a week ago, you appeared wishful to stay in town when the -Queen desired to despatch you to Italy." - -"I deemed my brother adequate for the position and reserved myself for a -mission more difficult or dangerous." - -"Then count, this is the very time when I have a difficult task to -entrust to you, that with danger to you in the future, that I spoke of -the countess's isolation and wished her to have a lady friend's company -while I took away her husband." - -"I will write to the countess, yes, write: for from the way she last -received me, I ought in that manner acquaint her with my movements." - -"Say no more on this head; I will talk it over with the Queen during -your absence," said Louis, rising. "Faith, the medical lights are right -to say that things look differently as you handle them before or after a -hearty meal. Come into my study, count; I feel in a mood to talk -straight out to you." - -Charny followed, thinking how much Majesty lost by this material side, -for which the proud Marie Antoinette was always carping at him. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII. - -THE KING ATTENDS TO PUBLIC MATTERS. - - -Though the King had been only a fortnight in the Tuileries he had two -places fitted out completely for him. The forge was one, the study the -other. - -Charny walked up to the desk at which his royal master seated himself -without looking round at the papers with which he was familiar. - -"Count Charny," began the King at last, yet seeming to halt, "I noticed -one thing, on the night of the attack by the rioters, you stood by me -while you set your brother on guard over the Queen." - -"Sire, it was my right as head of my family, as you are chief of the -realm, to die for you." - -"That made me think, that if ever I had a secret errand, difficult and -dangerous, I could rely on your loyalty as a Frenchman, and on your -heart as a friend's." - -"Oh, Sire, however the King may raise me, I have no pretension to -believe that I shall be more than a faithful and thankful subject." - -"My lord, you are a grave man though but thirty-six; you have not passed -through recent events without drawing some conclusion from them. What do -you think of the situation and what would be your means to relieve me, -if you were my Premier?" - -"Sire, I am a soldier and a seaman," returned Charny, with more -hesitation than embarrassment, "these high social questions fly over my -head." - -"Nay, you are a man," said the sovereign with a dignity in holding out -his hand which sprang from the quandary; "another man, who believes you -to be his friend, asks you, purely and simply, what you, with your -upright heart and healthy mind, would do in his place." - -"Sire, in a no less serious position, the Queen asked my opinion: the -day after the Taking of the Bastile, when she wanted to fling the -foreign legions upon the mobs. My reply would have embroiled me with her -Majesty had I been less known to her and my respect and devotion less -plain. I said that your Majesty must not enter these walls as a -conqueror if he could not as a father of his people." - -"Well, my lord, is not that the counsel I followed? The question is was -I right? am I here as a King or a captive?" - -"Speaking in full frankness, I disapproved of the banquet at Versailles, -supplicating the Queen not to go there; I was in despair when she threw -down the tricolor and set up the black cockade of Austria." - -"Do you believe that led really to the attack on the palace?" - -"No, Sire; but it was the cover for it. You are not unjust for the lower -orders; they are kindly and love you--they are royalist. But they are in -pain from cold and hunger; beneath and around them are evil advisers, -who urge them on, and they know not their own strength. Once started -they become flood or fire, for they overwhelm or they consume." - -"Well, what am I to do? supposing, as is natural enough, I do not want -to be drowned or burned." - -"We must not open the sluices to the flood or windows to the flame. But -pardon me forgetting that I should not speak thus, even on a royal -order----" - -"But you will on a royal entreaty. Count Charny, the King entreats -you--to continue." - -"Well, Sire, there are two strata of the lower orders, the soil and the -mud; the one which may be reposed upon and the other which will yield -and smother one. Distrust one and rest on the other." - -"Count, you are repeating at two hours' interval, what Dr. Gilbert told -me." - -"Sire, how is it that after taking the advice of a learned man, you ask -that of a poor naval officer like me?" - -"Because there is a wide difference between you, I believe. Dr. Gilbert -is devoted to royalty and you to the King. If the principle remains -safe, he would let the King go." - -"Then there is a difference between us, for the King and the principle -are inseparable for me," responded the nobleman; "under this head it is -that I beg your Majesty to deal with me." - -"First, I should like to hear to whom you would apply in this space of -calm between two storms perhaps, to efface the wreck made by one and -soothe the coming tempest." - -"If I had the honor and the misfortune to be the wearer of the crown, I -should remember the cheers I heard round my carriage, and I should hold -out my hands to General Lafayette and Member Mirabeau." - -"Can you advise this when you detest one and scorn the other?" - -"My sympathies are of no moment, the whole question is the safety of the -crown and the salvation of the monarchy." - -"Just what Dr. Gilbert says," muttered the hearer as though speaking to -himself. - -"Sire, I am happy to be in tune with such an eminent man." - -"But if I were to agree to such a union and there should be failure, -what think you I ought to do?" - -"Think of your safety and your family's." - -"Then you suggest that I should flee?" - -"I should propose that your Majesty should retire with such regiments as -are reliable and the true nobles to some fortified place." - -"Ah," said the King with a radiant face: "but among the commanders who -have given proof of devotion, you knowing them all, to which would you -confide this dangerous mission, of guarding and removing the King?" - -"Sire," replied Charny, after hesitation, "it is not because ties of -friendship--almost of family--attach me to a certain nobleman that I -name him, but because he is known for his steadfast devotion; as -Governor of the Leeward Islands, he not only protected our possessions -in the Antilles, but captured some islands from the British: he had been -charged with various commands, and at present he is General Governor, I -believe, at Metz--this is the Marquis of Bouille. Were I a father, I -should trust my son to him; a subject, I would confide the King!" - -At the name the hearer could not repress an outcry of joy. He held out a -letter, saying: - -"Read this address, my lord, and see if Providence itself did not -inspire me to apply to you." - -The address ran: "To Lord Francois Claude Amour, Marquis of Bouille, -General Commander at Metz." - -"After what has happened, I do not feel that I ought to keep anything -back from you. I have thought of this flight before, but in all the -propositions was the hand of Austria beckoning me into a trap, and I -have recoiled. I do not love Austria more than you do yourself." - -"Sire, you forget that I am the faithful subject of the King and the -Queen of France." He emphasized the second title. - -"I have already told you, count," went on the King, "that you are a -friend, and I can speak the more frankly as the prejudice I cherished -against the Queen is completely effaced from my mind. But it was against -my will that I received into my house the double enemy of my line, as an -Austrian and a Lorrainer. After ten years' struggle it was despite my -will that I had to charge Lord Breteuil with the management of my -household and the government of Paris; make the Premier of the -Archbishop of Toulouse, an atheist; lastly, pay to Austria the millions -she extorted from the Low Countries. At present speaking, who succeeds -the dead Maria Theresa, to counsel and direct the Queen? Her brother -Joseph II., who is luckily dying. He is advised by old women of -councillors who sway the Queen of France through her hairdresser Leonard -and her dressmaker Bertin. - -"They are pensioned by us while they are leading her to alliance with -Austria. Austria has always been fatal to France, either as foe or -friend, as when she put the dagger in Jacques Clement's or Ravaillac's -or Damien's to slay our kings. Formerly it was Catholic and devout -Austria, but she is abjuring now and is partly philosophical under -Joseph; rashly, she runs against her own sword, Hungary: without -foresight, she lets the Belgian priesthood rob her of the finest jewels -in her crown, the Low Countries; become the vassal of Russia, she wears -out her troops in fighting for it against the Turks, our allies. No, my -lord, I hate Austria and I will not trust to her. But I was saying that -her overtures of flight were not the only ones. I have had one proposed -by Marquis Favras. Do you know him?" - -"He was the captain in the Belgunze Regiment, and lieutenant in the -Count of Provence's own Guards." - -"You have hit it with the latter shot. What think you of him?" - -"He is a brave soldier and a loyal gentleman. Unfortunately he has no -means and this makes him restless and fit for mad projects and hazardous -attempts. But he is a man of honor who will die without retreating a -step, or uttering a complaint in order to keep his word. He may be -trusted to make a dash but not to manage an enterprise." - -"He is not the leader," said the King, with marked bitterness; "that is -Provence, who finds the means and manages all; devoted to the end, he -will remain while Favras bears me hence. This is not the plot of Austria -but of the fugitive princes and peers." - -"But why should not your Majesty's brother go with you? why would he -remain?" - -"Through devotion, and also to be at hand in case the people should be -tired of revolution and seek a regent. I tell you what all know, my dear -count, and what your brother wrote me yesterday from Turin. They debate -about deposing me and ruling by a regent. You see that unless in an -extremity I can no sooner accept the Favras plan than the Austrian. This -is what I have said to nobody, my dear count, but yourself, and I do it -in order that nobody, not even the Queen," he laid stress on the last -three words, "can make you more devoted to them than to me, since they -cannot show more confidence." - -"Sire, am I to keep the journey a secret from everybody?" inquired -Charny, bowing. - -"It little matters, count, that it should be known whither you go, as -long as the design is unknown. You know the situation, my fears and -hopes, better than my Minister Necker and my adviser Gilbert. Act -accordingly; I put the scissors and the thread in your hands--disentangle -or cut, as you see fit." - -He held the letter open for him to read: - -TUILERIES PALACE, Oct. 29th. - - "I hope, my lord, that you continue contented with your post as - Governor of Metz. Count Charny, Lieutenant of my Lifeguards, - passing through your city, will inquire if among your desires are - any I can gratify. In that event I will take the opportunity to be - agreeable to you as I do this one to renew the assurance of my - feelings of esteem for your lordship. - -"LOUIS." - -"Now, my Lord Charny," said the King, "you have full power to make -promises to Bouille if you think he needs any; only do not commit me -farther than I can perform." - -For the second time he held out his hand. - -Charny kissed it with emotion forefending any fresh pledges, and went -forth, leaving his master convinced that he had acquired by his trust, -the heart of the servitor, better than by offerings of wealth and -favors such as he had lavished in the days of his power. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX. - -A LOVING QUEEN. - - -Charny left the King with his heart full of opposing feelings. - -The primary one, mounting to the surface over the tumultuous waves of -turbulent thoughts, was deep gratitude for the boundless confidence -testified to him. - -This imposed duties the more holy from his conscience not being dumb. He -remembered his wrongs towards this worthy monarch who laid his hand on -his shoulder as on a true friend at the time of danger. - -The more Charny felt guilty towards his master, the more ready he was to -devote himself to him. - -The more this respectful allegiance grew the lesser became the less pure -emotion which he had cherished for the Queen during years. - -This is the reason why he--having lost the vague hope which led him -towards Andrea for the test, as if she was one of those flowering shrubs -on the precipice edge by which a falling man can save himself--grasped -with eagerness this mission diverging him from the court. Here he felt -the double torment of being still loved by the woman whom he was ceasing -to love and of not being loved by her whom he was beginning to adore. - -Profiting by the coldness lately introduced into his relations with the -Queen, he went to her rooms with the intention of leaving a note to tell -of his departure when he found Weber awaiting him. - -The Queen wished to see him forthwith, and there is no eluding the -wishes of crowned heads in their palace. - -Marie Antoinette was in the opposite mood to her visitor's, she was -recalling her harshness towards him and his devotion at Versailles; at -the sight of the count's brother laid dead across her threshold she had -felt a kind of remorse; she confessed to herself that had this been the -count she would have badly paid him for the sacrifice. - -But had she any right to expect aught else than devotion of Charny? - -She admitted that she was stern and unfair towards him, when the door -opened and the gentleman appeared in the irreproachable costume of the -military officer on duty. - -But there was in his deeply respectful bearing something chilly which -repelled the magnetic flow from the Queen's heart, to go and seek in his -the tender, sweet and sad memories collected during four years. - -The Queen looked round her as though to try to ascertain why he remained -on the sill, and when assured it was a matter of his will, she said: - -"Come, my lord: we are alone." - -"I see that, but I do not see what in that fact should alter the bearing -of a subject to his sovereign." - -"When I sent Weber for you I thought that fond friends were going to -speak with one another." - -Charny smiled bitterly. - -"I understand that smile and that you say, inwardly, the Queen was -unjust at Versailles and is capricious here." - -"Injustice or caprice, a woman is allowed anything," returned Charny: "a -queen more than all." - -"Whatever the caprice, my friend," said Marie with all the witchingness -she could put in a voice or smile, "the Queen cannot do without you as -adviser or the woman without you as loved friend." - -She held out her hand, a little thinned but still worthy of a lovely -statue. He kissed it respectfully and was about to let it fall when he -felt her retain his. - -"I ought to have wept with you over the loss of your brother, slain for -my sake: well, I have been weeping these ten days since I have not seen -you: they are falling yet." - -Ah, if Charny could have surmised what a quantity of tears would follow -those, no doubt the immense grief would have made him fall at her feet, -and ask pardon for any grievances she had against him. - -But the future is enveloped in mystery which no human hand can unveil -before the hour and the black garb which Marie Antoinette was to wear to -the scaffold, was too thickly embroidered with gold for one to spy the -gloom of it. - -"Believe, my lady," he said, "that I am truly grateful for your -remembrance of me and sorrow for my brother? unfortunately I must be -brief as the King has entrusted me with a mission so that I leave in an -hour." - -"What, do you abandon us like the others?" - -"I repeat it is a mission." - -"But you refused the like a week ago!" - -"In a week much happens in a man's existence to alter his -determination." - -"Do you depart alone?" she asked, making an effort. - -She breathed again when he answered: "Alone." - -"Where do you go?" she asked, recovering from her weakness. - -"It is the King's secret, but he has none from you." - -"My lord, the secret is ours alike," said Marie Antoinette haughtily. -"But is it abroad or in the kingdom?" - -"The King alone can give your Majesty the desired information." - -"So you go away," said she, with profound sorrow overcoming the -irritation from Charny's reserve, "to run into dangers afar, and I am -not to know what they are!" - -"Wheresoever I go, you will have a devoted heart daring all for you: and -the dangers will be light since I expose my life in the service of the -two sovereigns whom I most venerate on earth." - -The Queen uttered a sob which seemed to tear out her heart; and she said -with a hand on her throat as if to keep down her gorge. - -"It is well--go! for you love me no longer." - -Charny felt a thrill run through him; it was the first time this haughty -woman and ruler had bowed unto him. - -At any other time and under any other circumstances, he must have fallen -at her feet if only to crave pardon; but the remembrance of what had -happened between him and the King recalled all his strength. - -"My lady," he said, "I should be a scoundrel if, after all the tokens of -kindness and confidence the King has showered on me, I were to assure -your Majesty of anything but my respect and devotion." - -"It is very well," said she; "you are free to go." - -But when he departed without looking behind him, she waited till she -heard him, not returning, but continuing his departure, in the carriage -which rolled out of the courtyard. - -She rang for her foster-brother. - -"Weber," she ordered, "go to the Countess of Charny's residence and say -I must speak with her this evening. I had an appointment with Dr. -Gilbert, but I postpone that till the morning." - -She dismissed him with a wave of the hand. - -"Yes, politics to-morrow," she mused: "besides my conversation with -Andrea may influence me on the course I take." - - - - -CHAPTER XX. - -WITHOUT HUSBAND--WITHOUT LOVER. - - -The Queen was wrong for Charny did not go to his wife's house. He went -to the Royal Post to have horses put to his own carriage. But while -waiting, he wrote a farewell to Andrea which the servant who took his -horses home, carried to her. - -She was still dwelling over it, having kissed it with profound feeling, -when Weber arrived. Her answer to him was simply that she would conform -to her Majesty's orders. And she proceeded to the palace without dread -as without impatience. - -But it was not so with the Queen. Feverish, she had welcomed Count -Provence coming to see how Favras had been received, and she committed -the King more deeply than he had pledged himself. - -Provence went away delighted, thinking that the King would be removed, -thanks to the money he had borrowed from the Genoese banker Zannone, and -to Favras and his Hectors. Then he stood a chance of becoming Regent of -the realm, perhaps foreseeing that he would yet be King as Louis XVIII. - -If the forced departure of the King failed, he would take to flight with -what was left of the loan, and join his brothers in Italy. - -On his leaving, the Queen went to Princess Lamballe, on whom she made it -a habit to pour her woes or her joys in the absence of her other -favorites, Andrea or the Polignacs. - -Poor martyr! who dares grope in the darkness of alcoves to learn if this -friendship were pure or criminal, when inexorable History was coming -with feet red-shod in blood, to tell the price you paid for it? - -Then she went to dinner for an hour, where both chief guests were absent -in thought, the King thinking of Charny's quest, the Queen of the Favras -enterprise. - -While the former preferred anything to being helped by the foreigners, -the Queen set them first: for of course they were her people. The King -was connected with the Germans, but then the Austrians are not German to -the Germans. - -In the flight she was arranging she saw no such crimes as she was -afterwards taxed with: she felt justified in calling in the mailed hand -to avenge her for the slights and insults with which she was deluged. - -The King, as we have shown him, distrusted kings and princes. He relied -on the priests. He approved of all the decrees against nobles and -classes but not of the decree against the priests, which he vetoed. For -them he risked his greatest dangers. Hence the Pope, unable to make a -saint of him, made him a martyr. - -Contrary to her habit, the Queen gave little time to her children this -day; untrue to her husband in heart, she had no claim on their -endearments. Such odd contradictions are known only to woman's heart. - -The Queen retired early to her own rooms, where she shut herself up with -Weber as door-ward. She alleged that she had letters to write. - -The King little noticed her going, as some minor events engrossed him; -the Chief of Police was coming to confer with him. - -The Assembly had changed the old form in public documents of "King of -France and Navarre" to "King of the French": and it was debating on the -Rights of Man, when it had better be seeing to the Bread Question, more -pressing than ever. The arrival of the "Baker" and his family from -Versailles had not fed the famished people and the bakeries had strings -of customers at their doors. - -But the Assemblymen did not have to dance attendance for a loaf, and -they had a special baker, one Francois in Marchepalu Street, who set -aside rolls for them out of every baking. - -The head of the police was discussing the bread riots with the ruler -when Weber ushered Andrea into his mistress's presence. - -Though she expected her, Marie Antoinette started when her visitor was -announced. - -When they were girls together, at Taverney, they had made a kind of -agreement of love and duties exchanged in which the higher personage had -always had the advantage. - -Nothing annoys rulers so much as senses of obligation, particularly in -matters of affection. - -While thinking she had reproaches to cast on her friend, the Queen felt -under a debt to her. - -Andrea was always the same: pure and cool as the diamond but cutting and -invulnerable like it, too. - -"Be welcome, Andrea, as ever," said the Queen to this cold, walking -ghost. - -The countess shivered for she recognized some of the tone the Queen used -to speak with when the Dauphiness. - -"Needs must I tell your Majesty that she should not have had to send for -me without the royal residence, if I had always been spoken to, in that -tone?" said the countess. - -Nothing could better help the Queen than this opening: she greeted it as -facilitating her course. - -"Alas, you ought to know that all womankind have not your immutable -serenity," she said; "I, above all, who had to ask your aid so -generously accorded----" - -"The Queen speaks of a time forgotten by me and I believed gone from her -memory." - -"The reply is stern," said the other: "you might naturally hold me as -ungrateful: but what you took for ingratitude was but impotence." - -"I should have the right to accuse you, if ever I had asked you for -anything and my wish were opposed," said the countess, "but how can your -Majesty expect me to complain when I have sought nothing?" - -"Shall I tell you that it is just this indifference which shocks me; -yes, you seem a supernatural being brought from another sphere in some -whirlwind, and thrown among us like the crystal aerolites. One is -daunted by her weakness beside the never-weakening; but in the end -assurance returns, for supreme indulgence must be in perfection: it is -the purest source in which to lave the soul, and in profound grief, one -sends for the superhuman being for consolation, though her blame is -dreaded." - -"Alas, if your Majesty sends for me for this, I fear the expectation -will be disappointed." - -"Andrea, you forget in what awful plight you upheld me and comforted -me," said the Queen. - -Her hearer turned visibly paler. Seeing her totter and close her eyes -from losing strength, the Queen moved to support her but she resisted -and stood steady. - -"If your Majesty had pity on your faithful servant, you would spare her -memories which she had almost banished from her: she is a poor comforter -who seeks comfort from nobody, not even heaven, from doubt that even -heaven hath power to console certain sorrows." - -"Then you have others to tell of than what you have entrusted to me? the -time has come for you to explain, and that is why I sent for you. You -love Count Charny?" - -"I do," replied Andrea. - -"Oh!" groaned the Queen like a wounded lioness. "I thought as much. How -long since?" - -"Since I first laid eyes on him." - -Marie Antoinette recoiled from this statue which confessed it was -animated by a spirit. - -"And yet you said nothing?" - -"You perceived it, because you loved him." - -"No; but you mean that you loved him more than I, because you perceived -my love. If I see it now, it is because he loves me no longer say?" and -she clutched her arm. - -Andrea replied not by word, or sign. - -"This is enough to drive one mad," cried the royal lady. "Why not kill -me outright by telling me that he loves me not." - -"Count Charny's love or indifference to other women than his wife are -secrets of Count Charny. They are not for me to reveal," observed -Andrea. - -"His secrets? I dare say he has made you his bosom friend, indeed," -sneered the Queen with bitterness. - -"The count has never spoken to me of his love or indifference towards -your Majesty." - -"Not even this morning?" She fixed a soul penetrative glance upon her. - -"Not even this morning. He announced his departure to me by letter." - -"Ah, he wrote to you?" exclaimed the Queen in a burst which, like King -Richard's cry: "My kingdom for a horse!" implied that she would give her -crown for that letter. - -Andrea comprehended her absorbing desire but she wished to enjoy her -anxiety for a space, like a woman. At last, drawing the letter from her -corsage, warm and perfumed, she held it out to her royal mistress. The -temptation was too strong, and the latter opened it and read: - - "MY LADY: I am leaving town on a formal order from the King. I - cannot tell even you whither I go, wherefore, or how long I am to - stay away: these are matters probably little in import to you, but - I ought none the less to wish I were authorized to tell you. - - "I had the intention to take farewell of you: but I dared not - without your permission----" - -The Queen had learnt what she wanted to know, and was about to return -the writing, but Andrea bade her read to the end as if she had a claim -to command. - - "I refused the last mission offered me because, poor madman! I - believed that affection retained me in Paris: but I have - unfortunately acquired proof to the contrary, and I accept with joy - this opportunity to depart from hearts to which I am indifferent. - - "If, during this journey, that happens me which befel poor Valence, - all my measures are taken for you, my lady, to be _the first_ to - know of the misfortune visiting me and the liberty restored to you. - Then, only, will you learn what profound admiration was born in my - heart from your sublime devotion, so poorly recompensed by her to - whom you sacrificed youth, beauty and bliss. - - "All I beseech of heaven and you is your according me a remembrance - for having too late perceived the treasure he possessed. - - "With all the respect in my heart, - -"GEORGE OLIVER DE CHARNY." - -The reader returned the letter to Andrea, and let her hand fall inert by -her side, with a sigh. - -"Have I betrayed you," murmured the countess: "have I failed in the -faith you put me in, for I made no promises?" - -"Forgive me, for I have suffered so much," faltered Marie. - -"You, suffered," exclaimed the ex-lady of honor, "do you dare to talk to -me of suffering? what has happened me, then? Oh, I shall not say that I -suffered, for I would not use the word another did for painting the same -idea. I need a new one to sum up all griefs, pangs and pains,--you -suffer? but you have not seen the man you loved indifferent to that -love, and paying court on his bended knees to another woman! you have -not seen your brother, jealous of this other woman whom he adored in -silence as a pagan does his goddess, fight with the man you loved! you -have not heard this man, wounded it was thought mortally, call out in -his delirium for this other woman, whose confidential friend you were: -you have not seen this other prowling in the lobbies, where you were -wandering to hear the revelations of fever which prove that if a mad -passion does not outlive life it may follow one to the grave-brink! you -have not seen this beloved one, returning to life by a miracle of nature -and science, rising from his couch to fall at the rival's feet.---- I -say, rival, and one, from the standard of love being the measure of -greatness of ranks. In your despair you have not gone into the nunnery -at the age of twenty-five, trying to quiet at the cold crucifix your -scorching love: then, one day when you hoped to have damped with tears -if not extinguished the flame consuming you, you have not had this -rival, once your friend, come to you in the name of the former -friendship to ask you to be the wife of this very man whom you had -worshipped for three years--for the sake of her salvation as a wife, her -royal Majesty endangered----! - -"She was to be a wife without a husband, a mere veil thrown between the -crowd and another's happiness, like the shroud between the corpse and -the common eye: overruled by the compulsory duty, not by mercy, for -jealous love knows no pity--you sacrificed me--you accepted my immense -devotion. You did not have to hear the priest ask if you took for -helpmate the man who was not to be your husband: you did not feel him -pass the ring over your finger as the pledge of eternal love, while it -was a vain and meaningless symbol; you did not see your husband quit you -at the church door within an hour of the wedding, to be the gallant of -your rival! oh, madam, these three years has been of torture!" - -The Queen lifted her failing hand to seek the speaker's but it was -shunned. - -"I promised nothing, but see what I have done," said she. "But you -promised two things--not to see Count Charny, the more sacred as I had -not asked it; and, by writing, to treat me as a sister, also the more -sacred as I never solicited it. - -"Must I recall the terms of that pledge? I burnt the paper but I -remember the words; and thus you wrote: - - "'Andrea: You have saved me! my honor and my life are saved by you. - In the name of that reputation which costs you so dear, I vow that - you may call me sister; do it, and you will not see me blush. I - place this writing in your hands as pledge of my gratitude and the - dower I owe you. Your heart is the noblest of boons and it will - value aright the present I offer. - -'MARIE ANTOINETTE.'" - -"Forgive me, Andrea, I thought that he loved you." - -"Did you believe it the law of the affections that when one loves a -woman less he loves another woman more?" - -She had undergone so much that she became cruel in her turn. - -"So you too perceive his love falling off?" questioned the Queen -dolefully. - -Without replying Andrea watched the despairing sovereign and something -like a smile was defined on her lips. - -"Oh heaven, what must I do to retain this fleeting love? my life that -ebbs? Oh, if you know the way, Andrea, my friend and sister, tell me, I -supplicate you!" She held out both hands from which the other receded -one step. - -"How am I to know, who have never loved?" - -"Yes, but he may love you. Some day he will come to your arms for -forgiveness and to make amends for the past, asking your pardon for all -he has made you suffer: suffering is quickly forgotten, God be thanked! -in loving arms, pardon is soon granted to the beloved who gave pain." - -"This misfortune coming--and it would be that for both of us, madam, do -you forget the secret which I confided in you, how--before I became the -wife of Count Charny--I was mother of a son?" - -The Queen took breath. - -"You mean you will do nothing to bring Charny back to you?" she asked. - -"Nothing; no more in the future than in the past." - -"You will not tell him--will not let him suspect that you love him?" - -"No, unless he comes to tell me that he loves me." - -"But, if he should----" - -"Oh, madam," interrupted Andrea. - -"Yes, you are right, Andrea, my sister and friend; and I am unjust, -exacting and cruel. But when all falls away from me, friends, power and -fame, I may wish that at least this passion to which I have sacrificed -friendship, power and reputation, should be left to me." - -"And, now," went on the lady of honor, with the glacial coldness she had -laid aside only for a moment, when she spoke of the torments she had -undergone, "have you anything more to ask me--or fresh orders to -transmit?" - -"No, nothing, I thank you. I wished to restore you my friendship but you -will not accept it. Farewell; at least take my gratitude with you." - -Andrea waved away this second feeling as she had the former, and making -a cold and deep reverence, stole forth silently and slowly as a ghost. - -"Oh, body of ice, heart of diamond and soul of fire, you are right not -to wish either my friendship or my gratitude; for I feel--though the -Lord forgive me! that I hate you as I never hated any one--for if he -does not love you now, I foresee that he will love you some day." - -She called Weber to ask if Dr. Gilbert was coming next day. - -"At ten in the morning." - -Pleading that she was ailing and wearied, she forbade her ladies to -disturb her before ten, the only person she intended to see being -Gilbert. - - - - -CHAPTER XXI. - -WHAT A CUT-OFF HEAD MAY COUNSEL. - - -When Gilbert appeared before the Queen, she uttered a scream, for his -ruffles and part of his coat were torn and drops of blood stained his -shirt. - -"I ask pardon for presenting myself to your Majesty in this attire," he -said, "but your trusty servant who came to learn why I was late to the -appointment, will tell you that he found me in the midst of a mob, -trying to save a baker who was done to death for withholding bread. They -cut the poor fellow to pieces: and to make matters worse, in parading -his head on a pike it was shown to his wife who fell down and alas! has -been prematurely confined." - -"Poor woman," cried the Queen, "if she does not die I will see her -to-morrow and, any way, her child shall be maintained out of my private -purse." - -"Ah, madam," exclaimed Gilbert, "why cannot all France see these tears -in your eyes and hear these words from your lips!" - -But almost instantly the monarch returned to master the woman. She said -with a change of tone: - -"And are these, sir, the fruits of your revolution? after slaying the -great lords, the officials and the soldiery, the people are killing one -another; is there no means of dealing out justice to these cutthroats?" - -"We will try to do so; but it would be better to prevent the murders -than wait and punish the murderers." - -"How? the King and I ask nothing more fervently." - -"All these woes come from the people having lost confidence in those set -above them. Nothing of the kind would occur if they were ruled by men -with the public confidence." - -"You allude to this Mirabeau and Lafayette?" - -"I hoped that your Majesty had sent to tell me that the King was no -longer hostile to the Cabinet I proposed." - -"In the first place, doctor," replied the royal lady, "you fall into a -grave error shared with many more, I admit: you think that I have -influence over the King. You believe that he follows my inspirations? -You mistake: if any body has a sway over him, it is Lady Elizabeth; the -proof is that she yesterday sent one of my servitors, Count Charny, on -an errand without my knowing whither he goes or what is its aim." - -"Still, if your Majesty will surmount her repugnance to Mirabeau, I can -answer for bringing the King round to my views." - -"Is not such repugnance based on a motive, tell me?" counterqueried the -lady. - -"In politics, there should be neither sympathy nor antipathy; only the -meetings of principles and combinations of gains, and I ought to say -that gains are surer than principles." - -"Do you believe that this man who has publicly insulted me, would -consent to join us?" - -"He is entirely yours: when a Mirabeau turns from monarchy, it is like a -horse that shies; reminded of his allegiance by whip or spur, he will -resume his place in the right road." - -"But he is for the Duke of Orleans?" - -"So far from him is he, that on hearing of the duke going over to -England when Lafayette threatened him, he said: 'They say I am in his -pay! I would not have him for my lackey.'" - -"That reconciles him some with me," said the lady, trying to smile: "if -I could believe he might be relied on----" - -"Well?" - -"Perhaps I should be nearer him than the King." - -"Madam, I saw him at Versailles when the mob stormed the palace: then he -thought the Royal Family ought to flee but I have had a note from him -this day." - -He took out a slip of rough paper. - -"Excuse the writing--it is on paper found in a wine saloon and written -on the counter." - -"Never mind that: it is in keeping with the present style of politics." - -Taking the paper, the Queen read: - - "This bread riot changes the face of things. A great deal can be - drawn from this cut-off head. The Assembly will be frightened and - call for martial law. If there be a Mirabeau-Lafayette Cabinet, - Mirabeau will answer for all?" - -"It is not signed," objected the Queen. - -"He handed it to me himself. My advice is that he is perfectly right and -that this alliance alone can save France." - -"Be it so, let the gentleman put the project on paper and I will lay it -before the King, as well as support it." - -"Then I will go to the Assembly and see him. In two hours I shall -return." - -The Queen waited in impatience, always fond of plotting and agitation as -she was. His answer was that Mirabeau had become the spokesman of the -court. - -In fact, after a hot discussion, martial law was voted by the Assembly. -The crime of treason was to be tried at the Chatelet Royal Court, which -meant that royalty still held three fourths of the active power. - -Gilbert did not go near the Queen until the cases were tried here which -would test the alliance. - -The triumph was great to have them tried under the Royal party's thumb. -The first trial was of three men who had killed the baker of the -Assemblymen, Francois; two of whom were hanged on the mere accusation -and public notoriety; the third was tried and sent to the gallows -likewise. - -Two other cases were on the docket. - -Both the accused prisoners were on the court side, the contractor -Augeard and Inspector General Pierre Victor Benzenval, of the Swiss -Guards. - -Augeard was suspected of supplying the funds for the Queen's -_camerailla_ to pay the troops gathered in July to fight the Parisians: -the contractor was not much known and the people bore him no grudge so -that he was acquitted without protest. - -It was not so with Benzenval, who was notorious. He had commanded the -Swiss regiments during the riots and the week of the attack on the -Bastile. It was remembered that he had charged the crowds, who wanted to -pay him out. - -But the most precious orders had been sent out by the King and the -court; under no pretext must Benzenval be punished. It took at least -this two-fold protection to save him. He had acknowledged himself guilty -by taking to flight after the Bastile fell: caught half way to the -frontier, he had been brought back to the capital. - -Nevertheless he was acquitted. - -Amid the hooting, angry crowd, leaving the court, was a man, dressed -like a plain storekeeper who familiarly laid his hand on the shoulder of -a gentleman dressed better than he, and said: - -"Well, what does Dr. Gilbert think of these acquittals?" - -The other started, but recognized the speaker by sight as well as by the -voice, and replied: - -"The Master!--you ought to be asked that, not me, for you know all, -present, past and future!" - -"Well, I should say: The third prisoner will catch it severely, even -though he be innocent." - -"Why should the innocent, if coming next, be wrongfully punished?" -inquired the doctor. - -"For the simple reason that in this world the good pay for the bad," -returned the Chief of the Invisibles with the irony natural to him. - -"Good-bye, Master," said Gilbert, offering his hand; "for I have -business." - -"With whom? Mirabeau, Lafayette or the Queen?" - -Gilbert stopped and eyed Cagliostro uneasily. - -"Let me tell you that you ofttimes frighten me," he said. - -"On the contrary, I want to encourage you," said the magician. "Am I not -your friend? You may be sure of that: I will afford you a proof if you -will come with me home. I will give you such hidden particulars of this -negociation which you believe secret, that you who fancy you are -managing it, will confess ignorance of it." - -"Listen," said Gilbert; "perhaps you are jesting with me by one of those -marvellous funds of information familiar to you; but no matter! -circumstances amid which we are treading are so grave that I would -accept enlightenment though from Old Harry himself. I am following you -therefore whithersoever you lead me." - -"Be easy, it will not be far and to a place not unknown to you; only let -me hail this passing hack; the dress I came out in did not allow me to -use my carriage and horses." - -They got into the hackneycoach which came on at a sign. - -"Where am I to drive you, master?" inquired the Jehu, to Cagliostro as -though, somehow, he saw that he was the leader of the pair, though the -more plainly dressed. - -"Where you know," answered the Chief, making a masonic sign, "The -Temple." - -The driver looked at the Grand Copt with amazement. - -"Excuse me, Thou Supreme, I did not know you," he said, replying with -another sign. - -"It is not thus with me," replied Cagliostro, with a firm and lofty -voice, "innumerable as are those whom the uninitiated eyes see not, I -know all from the topmost to the lowest of those who bring the bricks -and hew the stones." - -The coachman shut the door, got upon the box, and took the carriage at a -gallop to St. Claude Street. The carriage was stopped and the door -opened with a zeal which testified to the man's respect. - -Cagliostro motioned for Gilbert to alight first and as he descended, he -said to the jarvey: - -"Any news?" - -"Yes, Master," said the knight of the whip, "and I should have made my -report this evening if I had not the luck to meet you." - -"Speak." - -"My news is not for outsiders." - -"Oh, the bystander is not an outsider," returned Cagliostro, smiling. - -But Gilbert moved off a little, though he could not help glancing and -listening partially. He saw a smile on the hearers's face as the man -told his story. He caught the name of Favras and Count Provence, before -the report was over, when the magician took out a goldpiece and offered -it. - -"The Master knows that it is forbidden to receive pay for giving -information," he objected. - -"I am not paying for your report, it is plain, but for your bringing -us," said the conspirator. - -"That I can accept. Thank you," he said, taking the coin, "I need not -work any more to-day." - -He drove away, leaving Gilbert amazed at what he had witnessed, and he -crossed the threshold reeling like a tipsy man. - -He knew this house from having traversed it years ago under impressive -circumstances; little was changed in it, even to the same servant Fritz, -only he had aged sixteen years. - -Ushered into a sitting room, the count bade his guest take a seat. - -"I am entirely yours, doctor," said he. - -The younger man forgot his present curiosity in the memories evoked by -this room. Cagliostro looked at him like Mephistopheles regarding Faust -in his brown studies. - -"This room seems to set you thinking, doctor," he said audibly. - -"It does, of the obligations I am under to you." - -"Pooh, bubbles!" - -"Really, you are a strange man," said Gilbert, speaking as much to -himself as to the other, "and if reason allowed me to put faith in what -we learn from legends, I should be inclined to take you for a magician." - -"This am I for the world, Gilbert: but not for you. I have never tried -to dazzle you with jugglery. You know I have always let you see the -bottom of the well and if you have seen Truth come up not so scantily -clothed as the painters represent her, it is because I am a Sicilian and -cannot help decorating my lady-love." - -"It was here, count, that you gave me a large sum of money that I might -be rich in offering my hand to Andrea de Taverney, with the same ease as -I might give a penny to a beggar." - -"You forget the most extraordinary part of it: the beggar brought back -the sum, except for a couple of coins which he spent for clothes." - -"He was honest but you were generous." - -"Who tells you that it was not more easy for him who handled millions to -give a hundred thousand crowns than for him who was penniless to bring -back so large a sum as that was to him? Besides, all depends on the -man's state of mind. I was under the blow of the loss of the only woman -I ever loved--my darling wife was murdered, and I believe you might have -had my life for the asking." - -"Do you feel grief, and experience it like other men," inquired Gilbert, -eyeing him with marked astonishment. - -"You speak of memories this room gives you," sighed the other. "Were I -to tell you--your hair would whiten--but let it pass; leave those events -in their grave. Let us speak of time present, and of that to-come if you -like." - -"Count, you returned to realism just now; again you turn to pretence, -for you speak of the future with the voice of a conjurer asserting the -power to read indecipherable hieroglyphics." - -"You forget that having more means at my beck and call than other men, I -see more clearly and farther than they. You shall see that the pretence -is but a veil--solid are the facts beneath. Come, doctor, how is your -Fusion Cabinet getting on? the Mirabeau-Lafayette Ministry?" - -"It is in the skies; you are trying to learn the facts by pretending to -know more than the rumors." - -"I see that you are doubt incarnate, or wish not to see what you do not -doubt. After telling you of things you do know I must tell of those -beyond your ken. Well, you have recommended Mirabeau to the King as the -only man who can save the monarchy. He will fail--all will fail, for the -monarchy is doomed. You know that I will not have it saved. You have -achieved your end; the two rulers will welcome your advocate: and you -flatter yourself that the royal conversion is due to your irrefutable -logic and irresistible arguments." - -Gilbert could not help biting his lip on hearing this ironical tone. - -"Have you invented a stethoscope by which you can read the heart of -kings? pass the wonderful instrument on to me, count: only an enemy of -mankind would want to keep it to himself alone." - -"I told you I keep nothing back from you, dear doctor. You shall have my -telescope and may look as you please through the small end which -diminishes or the other which magnifies. The Queen gave way for two -reasons: first, she met a great sorrow the night before and she must -have some mental distraction; next, she is a woman and having heard -Mirabeau spoken of as a tiger, she wants to see him and try to tame him. -She thinks: 'It will be fine revenge to bring him to lick my feet: if -some good follows for France and the crown, so much the better.' But you -understand, this idea is quite secondary." - -"You are building on hypothesis and I want facts." - -"I see you refuse my glass and I must come back to material things: such -as can be seen with the naked eye, Mirabeau's debts, for instance." - -"What a chance you have to exhibit your generosity, by paying his debts -as you once did Cardinal Rohan's." - -"Do not reproach me with that speculation, it was one of my greatest -successes. The Queen's Necklace was a pretty affair, I think, and ruined -the Queen in the general eye. At the same price I would pay Mirabeau's -debts. But you know that he is not looking to me for that, but to the -future Generalissimo, Lafayette, who will make him caper for a beggarly -fifty thousand francs, which he will not get any more than the dog gets -the cake for which he has danced. - -"Poor Mirabeau, how all these fools and conceited dunces make your -genius pay for the follies of your youth! Yet all this is providential -and heaven is obliged to proceed by human methods. All these politicians -and wirepullers blame him for some virtue which is not theirs, and yet, -if he dies to-morrow, the masses will award him an apotheosis, and all -these pigmies, over whom he stands head and shoulders, will follow as -mourners and howl: 'Woe to France which has lost her greatest -orator--woe to royalty which has lost its supporter!'" - -"Are you going to foretell the death of Mirabeau?" cried Gilbert, almost -frightened. - -"Frankly, doctor, do you see any length of life for a man whose blood -stews him, whose heart swells to suffocate him and whose genius eats him -up? do you believe that even such powers will not be worn out in -stemming the tide of mediocrity? his enterprise is the rock of Sisyphus. -For two years they have been holding him down with the cry of -Immorality. As if God moulded all men in the same form, and as if the -circle enlarged for a great mind should not enclose greater vices. -Mirabeau will not be Premier because he owes a hundred thousand francs -debt, which would be settled were he a rich contractor's son, and -because he is condemned to death for having run away with an old -imbecile's wife--who smothered herself in charcoal fumes for the love of -a strapping military captain! What a farce the tragedy of human life is! -How I should weep over it if I had not made up my mind to laugh!" - -"But your prediction?" cried Gilbert. - -"I tell you," said the diviner, in the prophet's tone which was his -alone, and allowed no reply, "Mirabeau will wear out his life without -becoming Prime Minister. So great a bar is mediocrity. Go to the -Assembly to-morrow and see. Meanwhile, come with me to the Jacobins -Club, for these night-birds will hold their session in an hour. Do you -belong?" - -"No: Danton and Desmoulins entered me at the Cordeliers. We will go -after dinner." - -Two hours subsequently, two man in gentlemanly black suits were set -down from a plain private carriage at the door of St. Roch's church, -where the throng was great. They were Dr. Gilbert and Baron Zannone, as -Cagliostro chose to call himself at this epoch. - -"Will you come into the nave or sit in the gallery?" asked the magician. - -"I thought the nave was kept for the members?" said the other. - -"Just so, but am I not a member of all societies?" returned the -Arch-master laughing. "Besides, this club is but the seat of the -Invisibles, and you can enter as one of the Rosicrucians. We are sixty -thousand strong in France alone in three months since foundation as -Jacobins, and will be four hundred thousand in a year." - -"Though I am a Rose-Croix, I prefer to be in the gallery where I can see -over the crowd and you can better tell me of the persons whom I descry." - -The seats were roughly knocked up in tiers and a wooden staircase led up -them. Cagliostro made a sign and spoke a word to two who were sitting in -the already filled seats and they got up to give them their places as if -they had been sent before to keep them. - -The place was ill lighted in the growing gloom but it was clear that -these were the best sort of the revolutionists, while the uniforms of -officers of the army and navy abounded. For the common brothers held -their meetings in the crypt. Here the literati and artists were in the -majority. - -Casting a long look around, Gilbert was encouraged by seeing that most -were not so very hostile to the royal cause. - -"Whom do you see here hostile to royalty?" he inquired of his guide. - -"In my eyes there are but two." - -"Oh, that is not many among four hundred men." - -"It is quite enough when one will be the slayer of Louis XVI. and the -other his successor." - -"A future Brutus and a future Caesar here?" exclaimed the doctor -starting. - -"Oh, apostle with scales over your eyes," said Cagliostro; "you shall -not only see them but touch them. Which shall I commence with?" - -"By the overthrower; I respect chronology: let us have Brutus first." - -"You know that men do not use the same means to accomplish a like work," -said Cagliostro, animated as by inspiration. "Therefore our Brutus will -not resemble the antique one." - -"That makes me the more eager to see ours." - -"There he is." - -He pointed to a man leaning against the rostrum in such a position that -his head alone was in the light. Pale and livid, this head seemed -dissevered from the trunk. The eyes seemed to shine with a viper's -expression, with almost scornful hatred, knowing his venom was deadly. -Gilbert felt a creeping of the flesh. - -"You were right to warn me," he said; "this is neither Brutus nor -Cromwell." - -"No, it is rather Cassius the pale-faced and leaned man whom the Emperor -dreaded most. Do you not know him?" - -"No; or rather I have seen him in the Assembly. He is one of the -longest-winded speechifyers of the Left, to whom nobody listens. A -pettifogger from Arras----" - -"The very man." - -"His name is Maximilian Robespierre." - -"Just so. Look at him. You are a pupil of Lavater the physiognomist." - -"I see the spite of mediocrity for genius as he watches Barnave." - -"In other words you judge like the world. I grant that he cannot expect -to make a hit among all these proven orators; but at least you cannot -accuse him of immorality; he is the Honest Man: he never steps outside -of the law, or only to act within a new law which he legally makes." - -"But what is this Robespierre?" asked the other. - -"You ask that as Strafford did of the future Lord Protector: 'What is -this Cromwell? a brewer!' But he cut off his head, mark, you aristocrat -of the Seventeenth Century!" - -"Do you suggest that I run the same risk as Charles First's Minister," -said Gilbert, trying to smile, but it was frozen on his lips. - -"Who can tell?" replied the diviner. - -"The more reason for me to inquire about him." - -"Who is Robespierre? he was born in Arras, of Irish extraction, in 1758. -He was the best pupil in the Jesuits' College and won a purse on which -he came to study at Paris. It was at the same college where your young -Sebastian had an experience. Other boys went out sometimes from those -sombre aisles which bleach the pallid, and had holidays with their -families and friends; young Robespierre was cooped up and breathed the -bad air of loneliness, sadness and tedium; three bad things which rob -the mind of its bloom and blight the heart with envy and hatred. The boy -became a wilted young man. His benefactor had him appointed judge, but -his tender heart would not let him dispose of the life of a man; he -resigned and became a lawyer. He took up the case of peasants disputing -with the Bishop of Arras and won their just claim; the grateful boors -sent him up to the Assembly. There he stood between the clergy's -profound hatred for the lawyer who had dared speak against their bishop -and the scorn of the nobles for the scholar reared by charity." - -"What is he doing?" - -"Nothing for others but much for the Revolution. If it did not enter -into my views that he should be kept poor, I would give him a million -francs to-morrow. Not that I should buy him, for he is joked with as the -Incorruptible! Our noble debaters have settled that he shall be the butt -of the House, for all assemblies must have one. Only one of his -colleagues understands and values him--it is Mirabeau. He told me the -other day, 'that man will go far for he believes what he says!'" - -"This grows serious," muttered Gilbert. - -"He comes here for he gets an audience. The Jacobin is a young minotaur: -suckling a calf, he will devour a nation in a while. I promised to show -you an instrument for lopping off heads, did I not? Well, Robespierre -will give it more work than all those here." - -"Really, you are funereal, count," said Gilbert; "if your Caesar does -not compensate for your Brutus, I may forget what I came here for." - -"You see my future Emperor yonder, talking with the tragic actor Talma, -and with another whom he does not know but who will have a great -influence over him. Keep this befriender's name in mind--Barras, and -recall it one of these days." - -"I do not know how right you are, but you choose your typical characters -well," said Gilbert; "this Caesar of yours has the brow to wear a crown -and his eyes--but I cannot catch the expression----" - -"Because his sight is diverted inwards--such eyes study the future, -doctor." - -"What is he saying to Barras?" - -"That he would have held the Bastile if he were defending it." - -"He is not a patriot, then?" - -"Such as he are nothing before they are all in all." - -"You seem to stick to your idea about this petty officer?" - -"Gilbert," said the soothsayer, extending his hand towards Robespierre, -"as truly as that man will re-erect the scaffold of Charles Stuart, so -truly will 'this one'"--he indicated the lieutenant of the line -regiment--"will re-erect the throne of Charlemagne." - -"Then our struggle for liberty is useless," said Gilbert discouraged. - -"Who tells you that he may not do as much for us on his throne as the -other on his scaffold?" - -"Will he be the Titus, or Marcus Aurelius, the god of peace consoling us -for the age of bronze?" - -"He will be Alexander and Hannibal in one. Born amid war, he will thrive -in war-fare and go down in warring. I defy you to calculate how much -blood the clergy and nobles have made Robespierre lose by his fits of -spite against them; take all that these nobles and priests will lose, -multiply upon multiplications, and you will not attain the sea of blood -this man will shed, with his armies of five hundred thousand men and his -three days' battles in which hundreds of cannon-shots will be fired." - -"And what will be the outcome of all this turmoil--all this chaos?" - -"The outcome of all genesis, Gilbert. We are charged to bury this Old -World. Our children will spring up in a new one. This man is but the -giant who guards the door. Like Louis XIV., Leo X. and Agustus, he will -give his name to the era unfolding." - -"What is his name?" inquired Gilbert, subjugated by Cagliostro's -convinced manner. - -"His name is Buonaparte; but he will be hailed in History as Napoleon. -Others will follow of his name, but they will be shadows--the dynasty of -the first Charlemagne lasted two hundred years; of this second one, a -tithe: did I not tell you that in a hundred years the Republic will have -the empire of France?" - -Gilbert bowed his head. He did not notice that the debates were opened. -An hour passed when he felt a powerful hand grip his shoulder. - -He turned: Cagliostro had disappeared and Mirabeau stood in his -place--after the eagle, the lion. - -Mirabeau's face was convulsed with rage as he roared in a dull voice: - -"We are flouted, deceived, betrayed! the court will not have me and you -have been taken for a dupe as I for a fool. On my moving in the House -that the Cabinet Ministers should be invited to be present at the -Assembly sessions, three friends of the King proposed that no member of -the House should be a minister. This laboriously managed combination -dissolves at a breath from the King; But," concluded Mirabeau, like -Ajax, shaking his mighty fist at the sky, "by my name, I will pay them -for this, and if their breath can shake a minister, mine shall overthrow -the throne. I shall go to the Assembly and fight to the uttermost; I am -one of those who blow up the fort and perish under the ruins." - -He rushed away, more terrible and handsomer for the divine streak which -lightning had impressed on his brow. - -Gilbert did not go to the House to witness his companion's defeat--one -very like a victory. He was musing at home over Cagliostro's strange -predictions. How could this man foresee what would be Robespierre and -Napoleon? I ask those who put this question to me how they explain -Mdlle. Lenormand's prediction to the Empress Josephine? One often meets -inexplicable things; doubt was invented to comfort those who cannot -explain them but will not believe them. - - - - -CHAPTER XXII. - -THE SMILE AND THE NOD. - - -As Cagliostro had said and Mirabeau surmised, the King had upset the -scheme. - -Without much regret the Queen saw the constitutional platform fall which -had wounded her pride. The King's policy was to gain time and profit by -circumstances; besides he had two chances of getting away into some -stronghold, which was his favorite plan. These two plans, we know, were -his brother Provence's, managed by Favras; the other his own, managed by -Charny. - -The latter reached Metz in a couple of days where the faithful royalist -Bouille did not doubt him, but resolved to send his son Louis to Paris -to be more exactly informed on the matter. Charny remained as a kind of -hostage. - -Count Louis Bouille arrived about the middle of November. At this period -the King was guarded closely by Lafayette whose cousin the young count -was. - -To keep him in ignorance of Charny's negociations, the latter worked to -be presented to the King by his kinsman. - -Providence answered the envoy's prayer for Lafayette, who had been -informed of his coming but swallowed his excuse that it was on a visit -to a sweetheart in Paris, offered to take him with him on his morning -call on the monarch. - -All the palace doors opened to the general. The sentinels presented arms -and the footmen bowed, so that Count Louis could see that his relative -was the real King of Paris. - -The King was in his forge so that the visitors had to see the Queen -first. - -Bouille had not seen her for three years. The sight of her at -thirty-four, a prisoner, slandered, threatened, and hated, made a deep -impression on the chivalric heart of the young noble. - -She remembered him at a glance and with the same was sure this was a -friendly face. Without busying about General Lafayette she gave her hand -for the young man to kiss, which was a fault such as she plentifully -committed; without this favor she had won Louis Bouille, and by doing -him it before the general she slighted the latter who had never been so -gratified; she wounded the very man she most wanted as a friend. - -Hence with a faltering in the voice but with the courtesy never leaving -him, Lafayette said: - -"Faith, my dear cousin, you want me to present you to the Queen: but it -seems to me that you were better fitted to present me." - -The Queen was so enraptured at meeting a friend on whom she could rely, -and as a woman so proud of the effect produced on the young nobleman, -that she turned round on the general with one of the beams of youth -which she had feared forever extinct. - -"General," she said with one of the smiles of her sunnier days, "Count -Bouille is not a severe republican like you: he comes from Metz, not -from America; he does not come to bother about Constitutions but to -present his homage. Do not be astonished at the favor shown him by a -nearly dethroned Queen, which this country squire may esteem a boon----" - -She completed her sentence by a playful smile as much as to say: "You -are a Scipio and think nothing of such nonsense." - -"It is a pity for me, and a great misfortune for your Majesty," returned -Lafayette, "that I pass without my respect and devotion being noticed." - -The Queen looked at him with her clear, searching eye. This was not the -first time that he had spoken in this strain and set her thinking: but -unfortunately, as he had said, she entertained an instinctive repugnance -for him. - -"Come, general, be generous and pardon me, my outburst of kindness -towards this excellent Bouille family, which loves me with a whole heart -and of which this youth is the chain of contact. I see his whole family -in him, coming to kiss my hand. Let us shake hands, as the American and -English do, and be good friends." - -The marquis touched the hand coldly. - -"I regret that you do not bear in mind that I am French. The night of -the attack on the Royal Family at Versailles ought to remind you." - -"You are right, general," responded the lady, making an effort and -shaking his hand. "I am ungrateful. Any news?" - -Lafayette had a little revenge to take. - -"No; merely an incident in the House. An old man of one hundred and -twenty was brought to the bar by five generations of descendants to -thank the Representatives for having made him free. Think of one who was -born a serf under Louis XIV. and eighty years after." - -"Very touching," retorted the Queen; "but I could not well be there as I -was succoring the widow and child of the baker murdered for supplying -bread to the Assembly." - -"Madam, we could not foresee that atrocity but we have punished the -offenders." - -"That will do her no good, as she is maddened and may give birth to a -still-born babe; if it should live, do you see any inconvenience to -standing godmother to it at the Cathedral of Notre Dame?" - -"None: and I take this opportunity of meeting your allusion, before my -kinsman, to your pretended captivity. Nothing prevents your going to -church or elsewhere, and the King may go hunting and out riding, as much -as he likes." - -The Queen smiled, for this permission might be useful as far as it went. - -"Good-bye, count," she said to Bouille; "the Princess of Lamballe -receives for me and you will be welcome any evening with your -illustrious kinsman." - -"I shall profit by the invitation," said Lafayette, "sure that I should -be oftener seen there and elsewhere by your Majesty if the request had -not been heretofore omitted." - -The Queen dismissed them with a smile and a nod, and they went out, the -one with more bitterness because of the nod, the other with more -adherence because of the smile. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII. - -THE ROYAL LOCKSMITH. - - -As the King had undertaken a very important piece of locksmith work, he -sent his valet Hue to beg General Lafayette to come into his smithy. - -It was on the second floor above his bedroom, with inner and outer -stairs. - -Since morning he had been hammering away at the work for which Master -Gamain gave him praise and so much regret that the politicians should -take him away from it to trouble about foreign countries. - -Perhaps he wanted to show the Commander of the National Guard that -however weak as a monarch, he was mighty as a Tubal Cain. - -On the road Count Louis had time to meditate; and he concluded that the -Queen knew nothing of his errand. He would have to study the King's -reception and see if he did not give some sign of better understanding -what brought him to Paris than his cousin the marquis. - -The valet did not know Bouille so that he only announced the general. - -"Ah, it is you, marquis," said the King, turning. "I must ask pardon for -calling you up here, but the smith assures you that you are welcome in -his forge. A charcoal-burner once said to my ancestor Henry IV.: 'Jack -is king in his own castle.' But you are master in the smithy as in the -palace." - -Louis spoke much in the same way as Marie Antoinette. - -"Sire, under whatever circumstances I present myself to your Majesty," -said Lafayette, "and whatever costume your Majesty is in, the King will -be ever the sovereign and I the faithful subject and devoted servant." - -"I do not doubt that, my lord; but you are not alone. Have you changed -your aid-de-camp?" - -"This young officer, Sire, whom I ask leave to introduce, is my cousin, -Count Louis Bouille, captain in the Provence Dragoons." - -"Oh, son of Marquis Bouille, commander of Metz?" said the King, with a -slight start not escaping the young man. - -"The same, Sire," he spoke up quickly. - -"Excuse me not knowing you, but I have short sight. Have you been long -in town?" - -"I left Metz five days ago; and being here without official furlough but -under special permission from my father, I solicited my kinsman the -marquis for the honor of presentation to your Majesty." - -"You were very right, my lord, for nobody could so well present you at -any hour, and from no one could the introduction come more agreeably." - -The words "at any hour" meant that Lafayette had the public and private -entry to the King. The few words from the sovereign put the young count -on his guard. The question about his coming signified that he wanted to -know if Charny had seen his father. - -Meanwhile Lafayette was looking round curiously where few penetrated; he -admired the regularity with which the tools were laid out. He blew the -bellows as the apprentice. - -"So your Majesty has undertaken an important work, eh?" queried -Lafayette, embarrassed how to talk to a King who was in a smutty apron, -with tucked up sleeves and had a file in his hand. - -"Yes, general, I have set to making our magnus opus a lock. I tell you -just what I am doing or we shall have Surgeon Marat saying that I am -forging the fetters of France. Tell him it is not so, if you lay hold of -him. I suppose you are not a smith, Bouille?" - -"At least I was bound apprentice, and to a locksmith, too." - -"I remember, your nurse's husband was a smith and your father, although -not much of a student of Rousseau acted on his advice in 'Emile' that -everybody should learn a craft, and bound you to the workbench." - -"Exactly; so that if your Majesty wanted a boy----" - -"An apprentice would not be so useful to me as a master," returned the -King. "I am afraid I have ventured on too hard a job. Oh, that I had my -teacher Gamain, who used to say he was a crafts-master above the -masters." - -"Is he dead, my lord?" - -"No," replied the King, giving the young gentleman a glance for him to -be heedful; "he lives in Versailles, but the dear fellow does not dare -come and see me at the Tuileries for fear he will get an ill name. All -my friends have gone away, to London, Turin or Coblentz. Still, my dear -general, if you do not see any inconvenience in the old fellow coming -with one of his boys to lend me a hand, I might ask him to drop in some -day." - -"Your Majesty ought to know perfectly that he can see and send for -anybody." - -"Yes, on condition that you sentries search them as the revenue officers -do those suspected of smuggling; poor Gamain will believe he is to be -hanged, drawn and quartered if they found his bag of tools on him and -took his three-cornered file for a stiletto!" - -"Sire, I do not know how to excuse myself to your Majesty, but I am -answerable for your person to the Powers of Europe, and I cannot take -too many precautions for that precious life to be protected. As for the -honest fellow of whom we are speaking, the King can give what orders he -pleases." - -"Very well; thank you, marquis; I might want him in a week or ten -days--him and his 'prentice," he added, with a glance at Bouille; "I -could notify him by my valet Durey, who is a friend of his." - -"He has only to call to be shown up to the King; his name will suffice. -Lord preserve me from getting the title of your jailer, Sire; never was -the monarch more free; and I have even desired your Majesty to resume -hunting and riding out." - -"Thank you, but no more hunts for me! Besides, you see I have something -to keep me in doors, in my head. As for traveling, that is another -matter; the last trip from Versailles to Paris cured me of the desire to -travel, in such a large party at all events." - -He threw a glance to Bouille who ventured to blink to show that he -understood. - -"Are you soon going back to your father?" inquired the King of the -latter. - -"Sire, I am leaving Paris in a couple of days to pay a visit to my -grandmother, living in Versailles; I am bound to pay my respects. Then I -am charged by my father to attend to a rather important family matter, -for which I expect to see the person who will give me the directions in -about a week. So I shall hardly be with my father before the first week -in December, unless the King has particular reasons for me to see him -sooner." - -"No, my lord, take your time; go to Versailles and transact your -business and when done, go and tell the marquis, that I do not forget -him as one of my faithful lieges, and that I will speak of him one of -these days to General Lafayette for him to advance him." - -Lafayette smiled faintly at this allusion to his omnipotence. - -"Sire," he said, "I should have long ago recommended Marquis Bouille to -your Majesty had he not been my kinsman. The fear of raising the cry -that I am looking after my family alone prevented me doing him this -justice." - -"This chimes in nicely, then; we will speak of this matter again." - -"The King will kindly allow me to say that my father would consider any -change of a post a disgrace that robbed him of the chance to serve your -Majesty particularly." - -"Oh, that is fully understood, count," responded Louis the King, "and -Marquis Bouille shall not be moved without it being according to his -desires and mine. Let General Lafayette and I manage this, and you run -to your pleasure-making without altogether forgetting business. Good -bye, gentlemen!" - -He dismissed them with a majestic manner in singular contrast with the -vulgar attire. - -"Come, come," he said to himself, when the door was shut. "I believe the -young blade has comprehended me, and that in a week or so we shall have -Master Gamain coming to aid me, _with his 'prentice_." - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV. - -HAPPY FAMILY. - - -On the evening of this same day, about five, a scene passed in the third -and top flat of a dirty old tumbledown house in Juiverie Street which we -would like our readers to behold. - -The interior of the sitting-room denoted poverty, and it was inhabited -by three persons, a man, a woman, and a boy. - -The man looked to be over fifty; he was wearing an old uniform of a -French Guards sergeant, a habit venerated since these troops sided with -the people in the riots and exchanged shots with the German dragoons. - -He was dealing out playing cards and trying to find an infallible means -of winning; a card by his side, pricked full of pinholes, showed that he -was keeping tally of the runs. - -The woman was four-and-thirty and appeared forty; she wore an old silk -dress; her poverty was the more dreadful as she exhibited tokens of -splendor; her hair was built up in a knot over a brass comb once gilded: -and her hands were scrupulously cared for with the nails properly -trimmed in an aristocratic style. The slippers on her feet, over -openwork stockings, had been worked with gold and silver. - -Her face might pass in candlelight for about thirty; but, without paint -and powder it looked five years older than reality. - -Its resemblance to Queen Marie Antoinette's was still so marked that one -tried to recall it in the dusty clouds thrown up by royal horses around -the window of a royal coach. - -The boy was five years of age; his hair curled like a cherub's; his -cheeks were round as an apple; he had his mother's diabolical eyes, and -the sensual mouth of his father--in short, the idleness and whims of the -pair. - -He wore a faded pearl velvet suit and while munching a hunk of cake -sandwiched with preserves, he frayed out the ends of an old tricolored -scarf inside a pearl gray felt hat. - -The family was illuminated by a candle with a large "thief in the -gutter," stuck in a bottle for holder, which light fell on the man and -left most of the room in darkness. - -"Mamma," the child broke the silence by saying, as he threw the end of -the cake on the mattress which served as bed, "I am tired of that kind -of cake--faugh! I want a stick of red barley sugar candy." - -"Dear little Toussaint," said the woman. "Do you hear that, Beausire?" - -As the gamester was absorbed in his calculations, she lifted her foot -within snatch of her hand and taking off the slipper, cast it to his -nose. - -"What is the matter?" he demanded, with plain ill-humor. - -"Toussaint wants some candy, being tired of cheap cake." - -"He shall have it to-morrow." - -"I want it to-day--this evening--right now!" yelled the innocent in a -tearful voice which threatened stormy weather. - -"Toussaint, my boy, I advise you to give us quiet or papa will take you -in hand," said the parent. - -The boy yelled again but more from deviltry than from fear. - -"You drunken sot, you just touch my darling, and I will attend to you," -said the mother, stretching out the white hand towards the bully which -her care of the nails made to become a claw at need. - -"Who the deuse wants to touch the imp? you know it is only my style of -speaking, my dear Oliva, and that though I may dust your skirt now and -then I have always respected the kid's jacket. Tut, tut, come and -embrace your poor Beausire who will be rich as a King in a week; come, -my little Nicole." - -"When you are rich as a king, it will be another matter: but up to that -time no fooling." - -"But I tell you that it is as safe as if I had a million. You might be -kind for a little while. Go and get credit of the baker." - -"A man rolling in millions wants a baker to let him have a loaf on -trust, ha, ha!" - -"I want some red barely sugar," howled the child. - -"Come, you king with the millions, give some sugar sticks to your -prince." - -Beausire started to put his hand to his fob but stopped half way. - -"You know I gave you my last piece yesterday." - -"Then, if you have the money," said the child to the woman whom Beausire -called indifferently Nicole or Oliva, "give me a penny to buy candy." - -"There are two cents, you naughty boy, and mind you do not fall in -sliding down the bannisters." - -"Thank you, dear mother," said the boy, capering for joy and holding out -his hand. - -"Come here till I set your hat on and adjust your sash: it must not be -said that Captain Beausire let his son race about the streets in -disorder--though it is all the same to him, the heartless fellow! I -should die of shame!" - -At the risk of whatever the neighbors might say against the heir to the -Beausire name, the boy would have dispensed with the hat and band, of -which he recognized the use before the other urchins did the freshness -and beauty. But as the arrangement of his dress was a condition of the -gift, the young Hector had to yield to it. - -He consoled himself by taunting his father with the coin by thrusting it -up under his nose; absorbed in his figuring the parent merely smiled at -the pretty freak. - -Soon they heard his timid step, though quickened by gluttony, descending -the stairs. - -"Now then, Captain Beausire," snapped the woman after a pause, "your -wits must lift us out of this miserable position, or else I must have -recourse to mine." - -She spoke with a toss of the head as much as to say: "A lady of my -lovely face never dies of starvation, never fear!" - -"Just what I am busy about, my little Nicole," responded Beausire. - -"By shuffling the cards?" - -"Did I not tell you that I have found the infallible coup?" - -"At it again, eh? Captain Beausire, I warn you that I am going to hunt -up my old acquaintances and see if one of them cannot have you shut up -in the madhouse. Dear, dear, if Lord Richelieu were not dead, if -Cardinal Rohan were not ruined, if Lady Lamotte Valois were not in -London dodging the sheriff's officers----" - -"What are you talking about?" - -"I should find means and not be obliged to share the misery of an old -swashbuckler like this one." - -With a queenly flirt of the hand Oliva _alias_ Nicole Legay, -disdainfully indicated the gambler. - -"But I keep telling you that I shall be rich to-morrow," he repeated, -himself at any rate convinced. - -"Show me the first gold piece of your million and I shall believe the -rest." - -"You will see ten gold pieces this evening--the very sum promised me. -You can have five to buy a silk dress and a velvet suit for the -youngster: with the balance I will bring you the million I promised." - -"You unhappy fellow, you mean to gamble again?" - -"But I tell you again that I have lit on an infallible sequence." - -"Own brother to the one with which you threw away the sixty thousand -livres from the amount you stole at the Portuguese Ambassador's?" - -"Money got over the devil's back goes under his belly," replied Beausire -sententiously. "I always did think that the way I got that cash brought -bad luck." - -"Is this fresh lot coming from an inheritance? have you an uncle who has -died in the Indies or America and left you the ten louis?" - -"Nicole Legay," rejoined Beausire with a lofty air, "these ten will be -earned not only honestly but honorably, for a cause which interests me -as well as the rest of the nobility of France." - -"So you are a nobleman, Friend Beausire?" jeered the lady. - -"You may say so: we have it stated so in the birth entry on the register -of St. Paul's, and signed by your servitor, Jean Baptiste Toussaint de -Beausire, on the day when I gave my name to our boy----" - -"A handsome present that was," gibed Nicole. - -"And my estate," added the so-called captain emphatically. - -"If kind heaven does not send him something more solid," interposed -Nicole, shaking her head, "the poor little dear is sure to live on air -and die in the poorhouse." - -"Really, Nicole, this is too much to endure--you are never contented." - -"Endure? good gracious, who wants you to endure?" exclaimed the reduced -gentlewoman, breaking down the dam to her long-restrained ire: "Thank -God, I am not worried about myself or my little pet, and this very night -I shall go forth and seek my fortune." - -She rose and took three steps towards the door, but he strode in between -them and opened his arms to bar the way. - -"You naughty creature, did I not tell you that my fortune----" - -"Go on," said Nicole. - -"Is coming home to-night: though the coup were a mistake--which is -impossible, it would only be five louis lost." - -"There are times when a few pieces of money are a fortune, sir. But you -would not know that, who have squandered a pile of gold as high as this -house." - -"That proves my merit: I made it at the cards, and if I made some once I -shall make more another time: besides, there is a special providence -for--smart rogues." - -"That is a fine thing to rely on!" - -"Do you not believe in Providence? are you an atheist, Nicole? of the -school of Voltaire who denies all that sort of thing?" - -"Beausire, no matter what I am, you are a fool." - -"Springing from the lower class, as you do, it is not surprising that -you nourish such notions. I warn you that they do not appertain to my -caste and political opinions." - -"You are a saucebox," returned the beauty of the past. - -"But I have faith. If anyone were to say, 'Beausire, your son who has -gone out to buy a sugar stick, will return with a lump of gold,' I -should answer: 'Very likely, if it be the will of Allah!' as a Turkish -gentleman of my acquaintance says." - -"Beausire, you are an idiot," said Nicole, but she had hardly spoken the -words before young Toussaint's voice was heard on the stairs calling: - -"Oh, papa--mamma!" - -"What is the matter?" cried Nicole, opening the door with true maternal -solicitude. "Come, my darling, come." - -The voice drew near like the ventriloquist doing the trick of the man in -the cellar. - -"I should not be astonished if he had lit on the streak of good luck I -feel promised," said the gambler. - -The boy rushed into the room, holding a sugarstick in his mouth, hugging -under his left arm a bag of sugarplums, and showing in his right hand a -gold coin which shone in the candle glimmer like the North Star. - -"Goodness of heaven, what has occurred?" cried Nicole, slamming the door -to. - -She covered his gluey face with kisses--mothers never being disgusted, -from their caresses seeming to purify everything. - -"The matter is a genuine louis of gold, worth full value of twenty-four -livres," said Beausire, skillfully obtaining the piece. - -"Where did you pick that up that I may go for the others, my duck?" he -inquired. - -"I never found it, papa: it was give to me," replied the boy. "A kind -gentleman give it me." - -Ready as Beausire to ask who this donor was, Nicole was prudent from -experience on account of Captain Beausire's jealousy. She confined -herself to repeating: - -"A gentleman?" - -"Yes, mamma dear," rejoined the child, crunching the barley-sugar -between his teeth: "a gentleman who came into the grocer's store where I -was, and he says: 'God bless me, but, master, do I not behold a young -gentleman whose name is De Beausire, whom you have the honor of -attending to at the present time?'" - -Beausire perked up and Nicole shrugged her shoulders. - -"What did the grocer say to that, eh?" demanded the card-sharper. - -"Master Grocer says: 'I don't know whether he is a gentleman or not, but -his name is Beausire,' 'Does he live by here?' went on the gentleman. -'Top-floor, next house on the left.' 'Give anything the young master -wants to him--I will foot the bill,' said the gentleman. Then he gave me -the money saying: 'There a louis for you, young sir: when you have eaten -your candy, that will buy you more. He put the money in my hand; the -grocer stuck this bag under my arm and I came away awfully glad. Oh, -where is my money-piece?" - -Not having seen Beausire's disappearing trick, he began to look all -round for the louis. - -"You clumsy little blockhead, you have lost it," said the captain. - -"No, I never!" yelled the child. - -The dispute would have become warm but for the interruption which came -to put an end to it. - -The door opened slowly and a bland voice made these words audible: - -"How do you do, Mistress Nicole? good evening, Captain Beausire! How are -you, little Toussaint?" - -All turned: on the threshold was an elegantly attired man, smiling on -the family group. - -"Oh, here's the gentleman who gave me the candy," cried young Toussaint. - -"Count Cagliostro," exclaimed Beausire and the lady at the same time. - -"That is a winning little boy, and I think you ought to be happy at -being a parent, Captain Beausire," said the intruder. - -He advanced and with one scrutinizing glance saw that the couple were -reduced to the last penny. - -The child was the first to break the silence because he had nothing on -his conscience. - -"Oh, kind sir, I have lost the shining piece," said he. - -Nicole opened her mouth to state the case but she reflected that silence -might lead to a repetition of the godsend and she would inherit it; her -expectation was not erroneous. - -"Lost your louis, have you, my poor boy?" said Cagliostro, "well, here -are two; try not to lose them." - -Pulling out a purse of which the plumpness kindled Beausire's greedy -glances, he dropped two coins into Toussaint's little sticky paw. - -"Look, mamma," said he, running to Nicole; "here's one for you and one -for me." - -While the child shared his windfall with his mother, the new-comer -remarked the tenacity with which the former-soldier watched his purse -and tried to estimate the contents before it was pocketted again. On -seeing it disappear, he sighed. - -"Still glum, captain?" said the visitor. - -"And you, count, always rich?" - -"Pooh! you are one of the finest philosophers I have ever known, as well -at the present as in antiquity, and you are bound to know the axiom to -which man does honor in all ages. 'Riches are not contentment.' I have -known you to be rich, relatively." - -"That's so: I have owned as much as a hundred thousand francs." - -"It is possible; only when I met you again, you had spent nearly forty -thousand of it so as to have but sixty, but that is a round sum for a -corporal in the army." - -"What is that to the sums you dispose of?" he sighed. - -"I am only the banker, the trustee, Captain Beausire, and if I were -obliged to settle up I daresay you could play St. Martin and I the -beggar who would be glad to have half your cloak. But, my dear Beausire, -do you not remember the circumstances of our last meeting? As I said, -just now, you had sixty thousand left of the hundred thousand: were you -happier than now?" - -The ex-corporal heaved a retrospective sigh which might pass for a moan. - -"Would you exchange your present position though you possessed nothing -but one poor louis you 'nicked' from young Toussaint?" - -"My lord!" - -"Do not let us get warm, sir: we quarrelled once and you were obliged to -go out and pick up your sword which I threw out of the window. You will -remember?" went on the count, seeing that the man made no reply: "it is -a good thing to have a memory. I ask you again would you change your -actual position, though down to the solitary louis you 'extracted' from -young Toussaint"--this time the allegation passed without protest--"for -the precarious scrape from which I relieved you?" - -"No, my lord, you are right--I should not change. At that epoch, alas! I -was parted from my darling Nicole." - -"To say nothing of being hunted by the police, on account of your -robbing the Portuguese Embassy. What the mischief has become of that -case, a villainous one, as I remember it, Captain B.?" - -"It has been dropped, my lord," was the reply. - -"So much the better: though I would not reckon on its not being picked -up again. The police are awful for raking up past grievances, and the -ruling powers might want to be on good terms with Portugal. However, -that apart, in spite of the hard lines to which you are reduced, you are -happy. If you had a thousand louis, your felicity would be complete, -eh?" - -Nicole's eyes glittered and her partner's flashed flames. - -"Lord be good to us," cried the latter: "with half I would buy a lot in -the country and live a rural life on the rest like a country squire!" - -"Like Cincinnatus!" - -"While Nicole would educate the boy." - -"Like Cornelia! Death of my life, Captain Beausire! not only would this -be exemplary but touching: do you hope to earn as much as that in the -piece of business you have in hand?" - -"What business?" queried the other, starting. - -"That you are carrying on as sergeant of the Guards; for which you are -to meet a man, this evening, under the Palais Royal arcades." - -"Oh, my lord," moaned Beausire, turning pale as a corpse and wringing -his hands. "Do not destroy me!" - -"Why, you are going distracted now? Am I the Chief of Police to ruin -you?" - -"There, I told you, you are getting into a pretty pickle," exclaimed -Nicole. "I know nothing about it, my lord, but whenever he hides any -game from me, I know it is a bad one." - -"But you are wrong, my dear lady, for this is an excellent speculation." - -"Is it not?" cried the gambler. "The count, as a nobleman, understands -that all the nobility are in this scheme----" - -"For it to succeed. It must be allowed though, that the people are -interested in its failure. If you will believe me, captain--you -understand that a friend is giving advice--you will take no part in it -for the peers or the people. Better act for yourself." - -"Certainly, for yourself," said Nicole. "Blest if you have not toiled -long enough for others: so that it is high time you looked after Number -One." - -"You hear the lady, who speaks like a born orator. Bear this in mind, -Friend Beausire, all spec's have a good and a bad side, one for the -winners, one for the losers: no affair however good, can benefit -everybody; the whole trouble is to hit on the right side." - -"And you do not think I am there, eh?" - -"Not at all; I would even add, if you are willful--for you know I dabble -in telling fortunes--that you will not only risk your honor, and the -fortune you seek--but your life. You will most likely be hanged!" - -"They do not hang noblemen," objected Beausire, wiping the perspiration -streaming from his brow. - -"That is so: but to avoid the gallows-tree and have your head cut off, -you would have to prove your family-tree; it would take so long that the -court would lose patience, and string you up for the time being--leaving -your widow to demand compensation if you turned out to have deserved -decapitation. Still you may say that it does not matter, as it is the -crime that casts shame and not the scaffold, to quote a poet. Still -again, I dare say you are not so attached to your opinions that you -would lay down your life for them; I understand this. Deuse take us, but -we have only one life, as another poet says, not so great as the other, -but as truthful." - -"My lord," faltered the ex-guardsman, "I have remarked in my too brief -acquaintance with your lordship, that you have a way of speaking of -some things which would make the hair of a more timid man than me -bristle on his head." - -"Hang me if that is my intention," responded Cagliostro; "Besides you -are not a timid man." - -"No: yet there are circumstances," began Beausire. - -"I understand; such as when one has the jail for theft behind one and -the gallows for high treason before one--for I suppose they give that -name to the crime of kidnapping the King." - -"My lord," cried Beausire, terrified. - -"Wretch, is it on kidnapping that you build your fortune?" demanded -Oliva. - -"Oh, he was not wrong to dwell in golden dreams, my dear lady; only, as -I have already said, each affair has a dark side and a bright one and -Beausire has the misfortune to take the dark one; all he has to do is to -shift." - -"If there is time, what must I do?" asked the bully. - -"Suppose one thing," said the gentleman; "that your conspiracy fails. -Suppose that the accomplices of the masked man and the one in the brown -cloak are arrested; we may suppose anything in these times--suppose they -are doomed to death! Suppose--for Augeard and Bezenval have been -acquitted, so that anything unlikely may come round nowadays--suppose -that you are one of these accomplices; you have the halter round your -neck, when--say what they like--a man always shows a little of the white -feather about then----" - -"Do have done, my lord! I entreat you, for I seem to feel the rope -throttling me!" - -"That is not astonishing as I am supposing it is round your neck! -Suppose, then, that they say to you: 'Poor old Beausire, this is your -own fault. Not only might you have dodged this Old Bony who clutches you -in his claws, but gain a thousand louis to buy the pretty cottage under -the green trees where you long to live with ever-lovely Oliva and merry -little Toussaint, with the balance of what was partly spent for the -purchase of your homestead. You might live, as you said, like a squire, -in high boots in the winter and easy shoes the rest of the year; while, -instead of this delicious lookout, you have the Execution-place, -planted with two or three one or two-armed trees, of which the highest -holds out its ugly branch unto you. Faugh! my poor Captain Beausire, -what a hideous prospect!'" - -"But how am I to elude it--how make the thousand to ensure my peace and -that of dear Nicole and little Toussaint?" - -"Your good angel would say: 'Why not apply to the Count of Cagliostro, a -rich nobleman who is in town for his pleasure and who is weary of -nothing to do. Go to him and tell him----" - -"But I do not know where he lives! I did not even know he is in town; I -did not know he was still alive!" protested Beausire. - -"He lives ever. It is because you would not know these facts that he -comes to you, my dear Beausire, so that you will have no excuse. You -have merely to say to him: 'Count, I know how fond you are of hearing -the news. I have some fresh for you. The King's brother is conspiring -with Marquis Favras. I speak from full knowledge as I am the right-hand -man of the marquis. The aim of the plot is to take the King away to -Peronne. If your lordship likes to be amused, I will tell him step by -step how the moves are played.' Thereupon the count, who is a generous -lord, would reply: 'If you will really do this, Captain Beausire, as all -laborers are worthy of their hire, I put aside twenty-four thousand -livres for a charitable act; but I will balk myself in this whim, and -you shall have them on the day when you come and tell me either that the -King shall be taken off or Marquis Favras captured--in the same way as -you are given these ten louis--not as hand-money or as an advance, or a -loan, but as a pure gift." - -Like an actor rehearsing with the "properties," Cagliostro pulled out -the weighty purse, stuck in finger and thumb and with a dexterity -bearing witness to his experience in such actions, whipped out just ten -pieces, neither more nor less, which Beausire--we must do him -justice--thrust out his hand with alacrity to receive. - -"Excuse me, captain," said the other, gently fencing off the hand, "we -are only playing at Supposes." - -"Yes, but through suppositions one arrives at the fact," responded the -cardplayer, whose eyes glowed like burning coals. - -"Have we reached this point?" - -Beausire hesitated; let us hasten to say that it was not honor, fidelity -to plighted word, or a pricked conscience which caused the wavering. Did -our readers know Beausire, they would not want this denial. It was the -simple fear that the count would not keep his word. - -"I see what you are passing through," said the tempter. - -"Ay, my lord, I shrink from betraying the trust a gentleman puts in me," -replied the adventurer. "It is very hard," he seemed to say as he raised -his eyes heavenward. - -"Nay, it is not that, and this is another proof of the old saw that 'No -man knows himself'," said the count. "You are afraid that I will not pay -you the sum stated. The objection is quite natural; but I shall give -security." - -"My lord certainly need not." - -"Personal security, Madam Legay." - -"Oh, if the count promises, it is as good as done," said the lady. - -"You see, sir, what one gains by scrupulously keeping one's promises. -One day when the lady was in the same quandary as yourself, I mean the -police were hunting after her, I offered her an asylum in my residence. -The lady hesitated, fearing that I was no Joseph--unless so christened. -I gave her my word to respect her, and this is true, eh?" - -"I swear it, on my little Toussaint," said Oliva-Nicole. - -"So you believe that I will pay the sum mentioned on the day when the -King shall have been abducted or Marquis Favras arrested, to say nothing -of my serving the running knot strangling him a while ago. For this -affair, at all events, there shall be no halter or gibbet, for I cannot -bind myself any farther. You understand: The man who is born to -be--ahem!" - -"My lord, it is as if the courts had awarded us the money," said the -woman. - -"Well, my beauty," said Cagliostro, putting the ten gold pieces on the -table in a row, "just imbue the captain with this belief of yours." - -He waved his hand for the gambler to confer with his partner. Their -parley lasted only five minutes, but it was most lively. Meanwhile -Cagliostro looked at the cards and the one by which tally was kept. - -"I know the run," he observed, "it is that invented by John Law who -floated the Mississippi Bubble. I lost a million on it." - -This remark seemed to give fresh activity to the dialogue of Beausire -and his light-o-love. At last Beausire was decided; he came forward to -offer his hand to Cagliostro like a horse-dealer about to strike a -bargain. But the other frowned. - -"Captain, between gentlemen the parole suffices. Give me yours." - -"On the faith of Beausire, it shall be done." - -"That is enough for me," said the other, drawing out a diamond-studded -watch on which was a portrait of Frederick the Great. "It is now a -quarter to nine. At nine precisely you are expected under the Royale -Place arcades, near Sully House. Take these ten pieces, pocket them, put -on your coat and buckle on your sword--and do not keep them waiting." - -"Where am I to see your lordship next?" inquired Beausire, obeying the -instructions, without asking reiteration. - -"In St. Jean's Cemetery, if you please. When we have such deadly matters -to discuss the company of the dead is better than the living. Come when -you are free; the first to arrive waits for the other. I have now to -chat with the lady." - -The captain stood on one foot. - -"Be easy; I did not make bold when she was a single woman; I have the -more reason to respect her since she is a mother of a family. Be off, -captain." - -Beausire threw a glance at his wife, by courtesy, at all events, -tenderly hugged little Toussaint, saluted the patron with respect mixed -with disquiet, and left the house just as Notre Dame clock bell was -striking the three-quarters after eight. - - - - -CHAPTER XXV. - -DOWN AMONG THE DEAD - - -It was nearly midnight when a man hesitatingly walked up to the iron -gateway of St. Jean's burying-ground, in Croix Blanche Street. - -As midnight boomed, he saw a spectre cross the grounds under the yews -and cypresses, and, approaching the grating, turn a key harshly in the -gatelock to show that, if he were a ghost and had the leave to quit his -grave, he also had that to go beyond the cemetery altogether. - -"Do you not recognize me, Captain B.?" queried the jesting voice of -Cagliostro, "or did you forget our appointment?" - -"I am glad it is you," said the man in the French Guards sergeant dress, -breathing as if his heart were relieved of great weight. "These devilish -streets are so dark and deserted that I do not know but it is better to -run up against any body than not to meet a soul." - -"Pshaw," returned the magician, "the idea of your fearing any thing at -any hour of the day or night! You will never make me believe that of a -man like you who would go anywhere with a sword by his side. However, -step on this side of the railings, and you will be tranquil, my dear -Captain Beausire, for you will meet no one but me." - -Beausire acted on the invitation, and the key grated again in the lock, -to fasten the gate behind him. - -"Keep to this little path," continued Cagliostro, "and at twenty paces -you will come upon a little broken altar, on the steps of which we can -nicely manage our little business." - -"Where the mischief do you see any path?" he grumbled, after starting -with a good will. "I meet nothing but nettles tearing my ankles and -grass up to my knees." - -"I own that this cemetery is as badly kept as any I know of; but it is -not astonishing, for here are buried only the condemned prisoners -executed in the City, and no one plants flowers for such poor fellows. -Still we have some undeniable celebrities here, my dear Beausire. If it -were daylight I would show you where lies Bouteville Montmorency, -decapitated for having fought a duel; the Knight of Rohan who suffered -the same fate for conspiring against the Government; Count Horn broken -on the wheel for murdering a Jew; Damiens who tried to kill Louis XVI., -and lots more. Oh, you are wrong to defame St. Jean's; it is badly kept -but it well keeps its famous ones." - -Beausire followed the guide so closely that he locked steps with him -like a soldier in the second rank with the predecessor so that when the -latter stopped suddenly he ran up against him. - -"Ah! this is a fresh one; the grave of your comrade Fleurdepine, one of -the murderers of Francois the Assemblymen's baker, who was hanged a week -ago by sentence at the Chatelet; this ought to interest you, as he was, -like you, a corporal, a sergeant by his own promotion, and a crimp--I -mean a recruiter." - -The hearer's teeth chattered; the thistles he walked among seemed so -many skeleton fingers stretched up to trip him, and make him understand -that this is the place where he would have his everlasting sleep. - -"Well, we have arrived," said the cicerone, stopping at a mound of -ruins. - -Sitting down on a stone he pointed out another to his companion, as if -placed for a conversation. It was time, for the ex-soldier's knees were -knocking together so that he fell rather than sat on the elevation. - -"Now that we are comfortable for a chat," went on the magician, "let us -know what went on under the Royale Place arches. The meeting must have -been interesting?" - -"To tell the truth, count, I am so upset that I really believe you will -get a clearer account by questioning me." - -"Be it so, I am easy going, and the shape of news little matters -provided I get it. How many of you met at the arches?" - -"Six, including myself." - -"I wonder if they were the persons I conjecture to be there? _Primo_, -you, no doubt." - -Beausire groaned as though he wished there could be doubt on that head. - -"You do me much honor in commencing by me, for there were very great -grandees compared with me." - -"My dear boy, I follow the Gospel: 'The first shall be last.' If the -first are to be last, why, the last will naturally lead. So I begin with -you, according to Scripture. Then there would be your comrade Tourcaty, -an old recruiting officer who is charged to raise the Brabant Legion?" - -"Yes, we had Tourcaty." - -"Then, there would be that sound royalist Marquie, once sergeant in the -French Guards, now sub-lieutenant in a regiment of the centre line. -Favras, of course? the Masked Man? Any particulars to furnish about the -Masked Man?" - -The traitor looked at the inquirer so fixedly that his eyes seemed to -kindle in the dark. - -"Why, is it not--" but he stopped as if fearing to commit a sacrilege if -he went farther. - -"What's this? have you a knot in your tongue? Take care of being -tongue-tied. Knots in the tongue lead to knots round the neck, and as -they are slip ones, they are the worst kind." - -"Well, is it not the King's b-b-brother?" stammered the other. - -"Nonsense, my dear Beausire, it is conceivable that Favras, who wants it -believed that he clasps hands with a royal prince in the plot, should -give out that the Mask hides the King's brother, Provence, but you and -your mate, Tourcaty, recruiting-sergeants, are men used to measure men -by their height in inches and lines, and it is not likely you would be -cheated that way." - -"No, it is not likely," agreed the soldier. - -"The King's brother is five feet three and seven lines," pursued the -magician, "while the Masked Man is nearly five feet six." - -"To a T.," said the traitor, "that occurred to me; but who can it be if -not the King's brother?" - -"Excuse me, I should be proud and happy to teach you something," -retorted Cagliostro: "but I came here to be taught by you." - -"But if your lordship knows who this man is," said the ex-corporal, -becoming more at home, "might I ask his name?" - -"A name is a serious thing to divulge," responded the strange man: "and -really I prefer you should guess. Do you know the story of OEdipus and -the Sphinx?" - -"I went to see a tragedy of that title and fell asleep, unfortunately, -in the fourth act." - -"Plague take me, but you ought not to call that a misfortune!" - -"But I lose by it now." - -"Not to go into details, suffice it that OEdipus, whom I knew as a boy -at one royal court and as a man at another, was predicted to be the -murderer of his father and the husband of his mother. Believing King -Polybius this father, he departed from his realm, but would not take a -hint from me about the road. The result was that he met his own sire on -the road where, as neither would turn out, a fight ensued in which he -slew his father. Some time after he met the Sphinx. It was a monster -with a woman's head on a lion's body which I regret never to have seen, -as it was a thousand years after her death that I travelled that road. -She had the habit of putting riddles to the wayfarers and eating those -who could not read them aright. To my friend OEdipus she put the -following: - -"'What animal goes upon four legs at morning, two at noon and three at -night?'" - -"OEdipus answered off-hand: 'Man, who in the morning of life as a -child crawls on all fours; as an adult walks upright; as an old man -hobbles with a stick.'" - -"That is so," exclaimed Beausire: "it crossed the sphinx!" - -"She threw herself down a precipice and the winner went on to where he -married his father's widow to accomplish the prophecy." - -"But what analogy between the Sphinx and the Masked Man?" - -"A close one. I propose an enigma; only I am not cruel like the Sphinx -and will not devour you if you fail to guess. Listen: Which lord at the -court is grandson of his father, brother of his mother and uncle of his -sisters?" - -"The devil!" burst forth Beausire, falling into a reverie. "Can you not -also help me out here, my lord?" - -"Let us turn from pagan story to sacred history, then. Do you know the -tale of Lot?" - -"Lot and the Pillar of Salt, and his daughters?" - -"The same." - -"Of course, I do. Wait a bit, do they not say that old King Louis XIV, -and his daughter the Lady Adeliade----" - -"You are getting warm, captain----" - -"In that case the Masked Man would be Count Louis Narbonne!" - -"Now that we are no longer in doubt about this conspirator, let us -finish with the aim of the plot. The object is to carry off the King? -And take him to Peronne? what means have you?" - -"For money we have two millions cash----" - -"Lent by a Genoese banker? I know him. Any other funds?" - -"I know of none." - -"So much for the money: now for the men." - -"General Lafayette has authorized the raising of a legion to fly to the -help of Brabant revolting against the Empire." - -"Under cover of which you form a royalist legion? I see the hand of -Lafayette in this," muttered Cagliostro. "But you will want more than a -legion to carry out this plan--an army." - -"Oh, we have the army. Two hundred horsemen are gathered at Versailles -ready to start at the appointed hour: they can arrive in three columns -at Paris by two in the morning. The first gets in to kill General -Lafayette: the second to settle old Necker; the third will do for Mayor -Baily." - -"Good!" exclaimed the listener. - -"This done, the cannons are spiked, and all rally on the Champs Elysees, -and march on the Tuileries where our friends will be masters." - -"What about the National Guards there?" - -"The Brabant Column attends to them: it joins with it part of the Guards -which has been bought over: four hundred Swiss, three hundred country -friends, and so on. These will have taken possession of all the gates -by help within. We rush in on the King, saying: 'Sire, the St. Antoine -ward is in insurrection; a carriage is ready--you must be off!' if he -consents, all right: if he resists, we hustle him out and drive him to -St. Denis." - -"Capital!" - -"There we find twenty thousand infantry, with all the country royalists, -well armed, in great force, who conduct the King to Peronne." - -"Better and better. What do you do there?' - -"The gathering there brings our whole array up to one hundred and fifty -thousand men." - -"A very pretty figure," commented the Chief of the Invisibles. - -"With the mass we march on Paris, cutting off supplies above and below -on the river. Famished Paris capitulates; the Assembly is kicked to -pieces, and the King enjoys his own again on the throne of his fathers." - -"Amen!" sang Cagliostro. "My dear Beausire," he went on, rising, "your -conversation is most agreeable; but as they say of the greatest orators, -when they have spoken all that is in them, nothing more is to be got. -You are done?" - -"Yes, my lord, for the moment." - -"Then, good-night: when you want another ten louis call for them at my -home, at Bellevue." - -"At the Count of Cagliostro's?" - -"No; they would not know who you meant. Ask for Baron Zannone." - -"But that is the banker who cashed up the two millions on the King's -brother's notes!" ejaculated Beausire. - -"That is not unlikely; only I do such a large business that I have -confounded it with the others. That is why it was not clear in my mind -but now you remind me, I believe I did something of the kind." - -Beausire went his way, stupefied that a banker could forget a matter of -two millions, and beginning to believe that he was quite right in siding -with the lender rather than with the borrower. He bowed lowly while the -count favored him with a slight nod at the cemetery gateway. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVI. - -GAMAIN PROVES HE IS THE MASTER. - - -The reader will not be much surprised, after the permission Lafayette -gave for the King to have his locksmith call to relieve him of a trouble -in lockmaking, that Gamain should present himself at the palace with his -apprentice who gave the name of Louis Lecomte. - -Though there was nothing in the pair aristocratic, King Louis ran to the -forge door on hearing the announcement and bade them enter. - -"Here I am," returned Gamain, with the familiarity of a crony. - -Whether he was less used to royal company, or endowed by more respect -for crowned heads under whatever attire they appeared, the boy kept on -the sill, at a space from his master, with his cap in his hand near the -door closed by the valet behind both. - -He may have been better placed there to catch the gleam of glee in the -King's dull eye, and to give unseen a respectful nod. - -"Glad to see you, my old Gamain," said Louis; "I really did not look for -you--I thought you had forgotten old times." - -"And that is why you have taken on a 'prentice," said Gamain. "You did -right enough to have help when I was not on hand, but unfortunately an -apprentice is not a master." - -"How could I help it? I was assured that you did not care to come near -me from fear of injuring yourself." - -"Faith, it was not hard to learn at Versailles that it was not healthy -to be friend of yours--as witness that brace of your Lifeguardsman whom -they cut off the heads of! ay, and by the same token had the Queen's -barber Leonard dress them in the latest fashion, which I saw in a saloon -at Secres." - -A cloud passed over the royal brow and the apprentice hung his head. - -"But folks say that you are getting on nicely since you came back to -town, and that you can make the Parisians do anything you like; not that -it is astonishing, for the Parisians are ninnies and the Queen is such a -weedler when she likes to be." - -Louis made no remark, but his cheeks were colored. The young man seemed -pained by the locksmith's familiarity. After wiping his forehead with a -handkerchief, rather fine for a locksmith's help, he approached the King -to whom he said: - -"Does your Majesty allow me to tell how we have Master Gamain here and -how I am in your employment?" - -"Yes, my dear Louis," said the King. - -"That is the style! 'My dear Louis!' as long as your arm. To a -fortnight's acquaintance, a workman, a 'prentice! why, what are you -going to call me, who has known you these five and twenty years? who put -the file in your fist? who am the master? this is the advantage of -having white hands and a glib tongue." - -"I will call you 'My good Gamain' if you like. I speak to the lad -affectionately because I owe to him the joy of seeing my old master -again: not because he speaks prettily or keeps his hands smooth, for you -know I think nothing of these fine ways--but I like him for proving it -was false what they said about my never seeing you any more." - -"Well, it was not me that held back, but that wife of mine. She was -always saying: 'Gamain, you have bad acquaintances, those who fly too -high for you. It is not good to hobnob with aristocrats nowadays. We -have a little property--look after it. Let us rear our young ones: and -let the Dauphin learn locksmithing from others than you, if he wants to, -like his father before him. There are plenty of smiths in France.'" - -Louis glanced at the apprentice, and stifling a sigh, partly sad and -partly rallying, said: - -"No doubt, but there are few like you." - -"Just what I said to the master when I called on him," said the young -man, "I told him the King was making a hidden-bolt lock; and that he had -got along very well till he came to the sliding bolt itself----" - -"I should think so," interrupted Gamain: "bless you, the bolt is the -backbone of a lock. It is not given to everybody to get over that -difficulty." - -"No, nor mine in passing the examination you put me through to be -convinced I came from the King," replied the young man, laughing. "You -said it was a trap laid by your enemies; but the twenty-five yellow boys -sent by his Majesty convinced you. So off we started, and here we are." - -"And welcome," said the royal smith, thanking the speaker with a glance; -"and now, Master Gamain, as you appear in a hurry, let us tackle the -job." - -"You have hit it. I promised the mistress that I should be home by -evening. Let us see this puzzler of a lock." - -The King put in his hands a lock three-parts finished. - -"Lord help us," said the man, grinning: "this is not a secret bolt but a -trunk lock. You have three wards on it and the second ought to catch -while the first is released by the key." - -He was using the key as he spoke and the others contemplated his -demonstration with awe for his learning. - -"But the second ward catches, like the Assembly when you want it to do -something your way and says: 'I won't budge.'" - -"But there must be some way of getting over the fix," said the King. - -"Of course; it would be a day's work to an ordinary workman but I will -knock it off in a couple of hours. Only," said he, with the suspicious -air of an artisan jealous of the secrets of the craft; "I want no -fussing round me." - -What Gamain desired was the yearning of the King. His loneliness would -allow him a dialogue apart with the Apprentice. - -"But you may need something?" - -"I will set the footman trotting." - -The King went himself to the door to acquaint Francois with the -arrangement, and then led away the apprentice, Louis Lecomte, in whom -the reader will have recognized Louis Bouille. - -They went by a secret stairway into the royal study, where a table was -covered by a large map of France, showing the King had been studying the -route of the flight. - -"Now that we are alone, count," said he, "let me compliment you on your -skill and thank you for your dedication of services to me." - -"And I ask to be excused for my apparel and the language I have had to -use before you." - -"You speak like a brave gentleman and your apparel covers a loyal heart -in any case. But we have no time to lose. Even the Queen is ignorant of -your presence here; nobody is listening; so to the point." - -"Did not your Majesty send us a naval officer, the count of Charny, who -brought a letter----" - -"Insignificant," interrupted the monarch, "a mere introduction to a -verbal communication." - -"He fulfilled it and it was to make its performance certain that my -father sent me to town to try to have an interview alone with your -Majesty. The King can have the certainty of leaving France. My father is -proud and happy of the honor done him." - -"Now for the principal point; what says he of the project?" - -"That it is hazardous and requires great precautions but is not -impossible." - -"Firstly, will not your father want the command over the adjoining -districts?" - -"It is his advice, but he would not like it to be thought personal -ambition----" - -"Pooh, do I not know his disinterestedness? did he explain about the -best road to take?" - -"In the first place he fears one thing: that many projects of flight -have been proposed and that all these getting entangled, this one will -meet some block which will be ascribed to fatality, when it will be the -spite or the rashness of the other parties." - -"I promise, my dear Louis, to let the parties intrigue around me; it is -their want and a necessity of my position. While they are following -these threads which will end in nothing but leading them astray we will -follow our own route with no other confidants, with more security from -our greater secresy. But I do not want to leave the kingdom altogether. -It is hard for a sovereign to get back if he does so. I have decided on -Montmedy as the place of retirement, which is in the centre of your -father's command and at a suitable distance." - -"Has your Majesty planned out the flight or is this but a sketch?" -queried the count. - -"Nothing is settled," replied Louis, "and all depends on circumstances. -If I see the Queen and the Family running fresh dangers from the -ruffians I will take an irrevocable decision." - -"My father thinks the dangers of the journey will be diminished by -dividing the passengers." - -"Yes, but it is useless to discuss this point. In a solemn hour the -Queen and I resolved to go together or not at all." - -The envoy bowed. - -"At the meet moment the King has but to issue the orders to have them -executed," he said. "Now, for the route. There are three ways to -Montmedy." - -"I have marked them on the map. The best is through Reims, but I was -consecrated there and would be recognized by many. I choose the Chalons -Road _via_ Vacennes and going round Verdun. Let the regiments be posted -in the petty towns between Chalons and Montmedy: I see no inconvenience -in the first detachment awaiting me in the former place." - -"Sire, the location of the regiments will have to be settled. By the -way, the King should know that there is no posting-house at Varennes." - -"I am glad you are so well informed," observed the King, merrily; "it -shows you have deeply studied the plans. But do not worry about such -matters. Charny is my engineer, who has drawn up the maps and he will -see to the supply of horses." - -"And now, Sire, that all is arranged on the main lines," said the young -conspirator, "will your Majesty allow me to quote some lines from an -Italian author, which my father thought appropriate to the situation? -They are: - -"Delay is always prejudicial, and there is no wholly favorable time in -any business; hence if one were to wait for a perfect chance, nothing -would ever be done, or if done be bungled." - -"That is Machiavelli," said the King. "I will remember the advice of -that secretary to the Magnificent Republic of Venice. But hush! I hear -steps--it is Gamain; let us go to meet him so that he may not think we -were busy about something else than the cupboard the lock is for." - -He opened the secret door, in time, for the master locksmith was there, -with the lock in his hand and a grin on his face. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVII. - -THE FRIEND OF THE FALLEN. - - -At eight that same evening, a workingman, holding his hand to his -waistcoat pocket as though it contained money in larger quantity than -usual, staggered out of the Tuileries Palace and meandered along the -road to the Soapworks Wharfside. It was there a strolling ground with -drinking resorts along the line. On Sundays and holidays, it was -thronged; on other days lonesome. - -This man passed the wine-stores with much difficulty but for a period -temperance triumphed; but when it came to the twentieth saloon on the -route, it was too much, and he entered the next one for--only one glass. - -The demon of drink, against whom he had valiantly struggled, seemed -embodied in a stranger who followed him closely and even went into the -saloon with him, sitting opposite and apparently watching him succumb -with glee. - -Five seconds after the workman had resumed his road, this watcher was on -his track. - -But how can the drinkingman stop going downhill when he has taken a -whet, and perceives with the amazement of the toper that nothing makes -one so thirsty as taking a drink? Scarcely had he tottered a hundred -paces before his thirst was so sharp that he had to slack it once more. - -The result of these lapses from the path he had previously trod was that -he reached deviously the highway beyond the Passy bars, where he -felicitated himself on the road being tolerably free from temples of the -God of Wine. - -In his gladness he set up singing. Unfortunately the delight was -ephemeral and the song of short duration. - -He fell to muttering and then talking to himself, and the soliloquy was -in the form of imprecations on unknown persecutors of whom the unsteady -sot complained. - -"Oh, the scoundrel! to give an old friend, a master, doctored wine--ugh! -So, just let him send again for me to fix his locks, let him send his -traitor of a workmate who gives me the go-by and I will tell him: 'It -won't work this trip! let your Majesty fix up your own locks.' We shall -see then if a lock is to be turned out as sleek as a decree. Oh, I'll -give you all you want of locks, with three wards, confound the villain! -the wine was salted, peppered--by heaven, it was poisoned! Hope I may be -saved, but the wine was poisoned!" - -So howling, overcome by the force of the poison, of course, the -unfortunate victim laid himself at full length, not for the first time, -on the road, mercifully carpetted thickly with mud. - -On other occasions the drunkard had scrambled up alone; difficult to do -but he had got through the difficulty with honor; but this third time, -after desperate efforts, he had to confess that the task was beyond him. -With a sigh, much resembling a groan, he seemed decided to sleep for -this night on the bosom of our common Mother Earth. - -No doubt the follower had waited for this period of doubt, -disheartenment and weakness, for he approached him warily, went all -round fallen greatness, and calling a hack, said to the driver: - -"Old man, here's my friend who has shipped too heavy a cargo. Take this -piece for yourself, help me to put the poor fellow in the straw of your -coach where he will not soil the elegant cushions, and take him to your -wine saloon at Sevres Bridge. I will get up beside you." - -There was nothing surprising that the customer should sit up with the -driver, as he appeared to be one of his sort. So, with the touching -confidence men of the lower classes have for one another, the jarvey -said: - -"All right, but let us have a look at the silver, see!" - -"Here you are, old brother," ventured the man without being in the least -offended and handing over a six-livre crownpiece. - -"But will there be a little bit beyond the fare for myself, my master?" -inquired the coachman, mollified by the money. - -"That depends how we get along. Let us get the poor chap in; shut the -blinds, try to keep your pair of skeletons on their hoofs, and we will -see when we get to Sevres, how you _conducted_ us!" - -"Now, I call this speaking to the purpose," returned the knight of the -whip. "Take it easy, master! A nod is as good as a wink. Get upon the -box and keep my Arabian steeds from bolting up the road; no jokes, they -feel the want of a supper and are chafing to race home to the stables. I -will manage the rest." - -The generous stranger did as he was bid; the driver, with all the -delicacy of which he was susceptible, dragged the sot up by the arms, -jabbed him down between the seats, slammed the door, drew down the -blinds, mounted the box again, and whipped up the barbs. With the -funeral gait of night hack-horses they stumbled through the village of -Point-du-Jour and reached the Sevres Saloon in an hour. - -The house was shut up for the night, but the new-comer jumped down and -applied such blows of the fist to the door that the inhabitants, however -fond of slumber, could not enjoy it long under so much racket. The host, -who was alone, finally got up in his night dress, to see the rioter and -promised to pack him off smartly if the game were not worth the candle. - -Apparently though the value of the game was clear, for, at the first -whisper by the irreverent arouser to the landlord, he plucked off his -cotton nightcap and made bows which his scanty costume rendered -singularly grotesque. He hastened to pilot the coachman, lugging -Gamain, into the little taproom where he had once filled himself with -his favorite burgundy. - -As the driver and his steeds had done their best, the stranger gave the -former a piece of money as extra. - -Then seeing that Master Gamain was stuck up in a chair, with his head on -the table before him, he hastened to have the host bring him two bottles -of wine and a decanter of water, and opened the windows and blinds to -change the mephitic air which the common people like to breathe in such -resorts. - -After bringing the wine, with alacrity, and the water, with reluctance, -the host respectfully retired and left the stranger with the drunkard. - -Having renewed the air, as stated, the former clapped smelling salts to -Gamain's nose which ceased to snore and gave a sneeze. This awakened him -a little from that disgusting sleep of drunkards the sight of which -would cure them--if by a miracle, they could see what they look like at -such periods. - -Gamain opened his eyes widely, and muttered some words, unintelligible -for anybody but the philologist who distinguished by his profound -attention these words: - -"The scoundrel--he--poisoned--poisoned wine----" - -The good Samaritan seemed to see with satisfaction that his ward was -under the same impression: he gave him another sniff of the hartstorn -which permitted the son of Noah to complete the sense of his phrase in -an accusation pointing to an abuse of trust and wanton heartlessness. - -"To poison a friend--an old friend!" - -"That's so--it is horrible," observed the other. - -"Infamous," faltered Gamain. - -"What a good thing I was handy to give you an antidote," suggested the -hearer. - -"It was lucky," said the locksmith. - -"But as one dose is not enough, have another," said the stranger, -putting a few drops from the smelling bottle in a glass of water; it was -ammonia and the man had hardly swallowed the compound than he opened his -eyes immeasurably and gurgled between two sneezes: - -"Ah, monster, what are you giving us there? augh, augh!" - -"My dear fellow, I am giving you stuff that will save your life," -returned the kind friend. - -"If it is physic, that is all right," said Gamain: "but it is a beastly -failure if you call it a drink." - -The stranger profited by his sneezing again and twitching his features, -shut the blinds though not the windows. - -Looking round him the master locksmith recognized with the profound -gratitude of drinking men for old haunts, the saloon where he had -feasted before. In his frequent trip to town from Versailles, he had not -seldom halted here. It might be thought necessary, as the house was -halfway. - -This gratitude produced its effect: it gave him a great confidence to -find himself on friendly ground. - -"Hurrah, it looks as though I were halfway home anyway," he exclaimed. - -"Yes, thanks to me," said the stranger. - -"Thanks to you? why, who are you?" stammered Gamain, looking from still -life to animated things. - -"My dear Gamain, your question shows that you have a poor memory." - -"Hold on," said the smith, giving him more attention: "it strikes me -that I have seen you before." - -"You don't say so? that is a blessed thing." - -"Ay, but where--that is the rub." - -"Look around you, then; something may remind you; or had you better have -some more of the counterbane to refresh you?" - -"No, thank 'ee, I have had enough of that remedy," said Gamain, -stretching his arms out. "I am so nearly brought round that I will do -without it. Where did I see you? why, in this very spot, of course. And -when? the day I was coming back from doing a special job at Paris--I -seem to be in for this sort of thing," added he, chuckling. - -"Very well: but who am I?" - -"A jolly honest mate who paid for the liquor. Shake hands!" - -"Good, good, you remember now." - -"With all the more pleasure as it is but a step from Master locksmith to -master gunsmith," said the other. - -"Ah, good, good, I remember now. Yes, it was the sixth of October, when -the King went to Paris: we talked about him." - -"And I found your conversation interesting, Master Gamain; so that, as -your memory comes home and I want to enjoy it again, I should like to -know, if I am not too inquisitive, what the deuse you were doing across -the road where a vehicle might have cut you in two? Have you sorrows, -old blade, and had you screwed up your mind to suicide?" - -"Faith, no! What was I doing flat across the road, eh? Was I in the -road?" - -"Look at your clothes." - -"Whew!" whistled Gamain after the inspection. "Mother Gamain will kick -up a hullabaloo for she said yesterday: 'Don't put on your new coat; any -old thing will do for the Tuileries.'" - -"Hello? been to the Tuileries? were you coming from the Tuileries when I -picked you up?" asked the kind soul. - -"Why, yes, that's about the size of it," responded Gamain, scratching -his head and trying to collect his entangled ideas; "certainly I was -coming home from the Tuileries. Why not? It is no mystery that I am -master locksmith to Master Veto." - -"Who is he?" - -"Why, have you come from China? not to know old Veto?" - -"What do you want? I am obliged to stick to my trade, and that is not -politics." - -"You are blamed lucky! I have to mix up with these high folk--more's the -pity! or rather, they force me to mix with them. It will be my ruin." He -sighed as he looked up to heaven. - -"Pshaw! were you called to Paris again to do another piece of work in -the style of that other one?" asked the friend. - -"But this time I was not blindfolded but taken with my eyes open." - -"So that you knew it was the Tuileries this time?" - -"The Tuileries? who said anything about the Tuileries?" - -"Why, you, of course, just now. How would I know where you had been -carousing had you not told me?" - -"That is true," muttered Gamain to himself; "how should he, unless I -told him? Perhaps," he said aloud, "I was wrong to let you know; but you -are not like the rest. Besides I am not going to deny that I was at the -Tuileries." - -"And you did some work for the King, for which he gave you twenty five -louis," went on the other. - -"Indeed, I had twenty-five shiners in my pouch," said Gamain. - -"Then, you have got them now, my friend." - -The smith quickly plunged his hand into his pocket and pulled it out -full of gold mixed with small change in silver and bronze. - -"To think that I had forgot it! twenty-five is a good bit, too--and it -is right to the 'broken' louis--one does not pick up such a lot under -the horse's foot. Thank God the account is correct." And he breathed -more freely. - -"My dear Master Gamain, I told you I found you on the King's highway, -not twenty paces from a heavy wagon which would have cut you in twain. I -shouted for the carrier to pull up; I called a passing cab; I unhooked -one of the lamps and as I looked at you by its light, I caught sight of -a gold piece on the ground; as they were near your pocket, I judged that -you had dropped them. I put my finger in the pocket and as there were a -score of their brothers in bed there I guessed that these were of the -same brood. Thereupon the hack driver shook his head. 'I ain't going to -take this fare,' said he: 'he is too rich for his dress. Twenty louis in -gold in a cotton waistcoat suggests that the gallows will be his end.' -'What,' says I, 'do you take him for a thief?' The word struck you, for -you says. 'Thief? you are another!' says you. 'So you must be a prig,' -returned the coachman, 'or how would the likes of you have a pocket -gold-lined, say?' - -"'I have money because my pupil the King of France gave it me,' said -you. By these words I thought I recognized you, and clasping the lamp to -your nose, I cried: 'Bless us and save us: all is clear; this is Master -Gamain, master locksmith at Versailles. He has been working in the royal -forge and the King has given him twenty-five mint-drops for his trouble. -All right: I will answer for him.' From the moment that I answered for -you, the driver raised no objections. I replaced the coins in your -pocket; we laid you snugly in the hack; and we set you down in this -retreat so that you have nothing to complain of except that your -'prentice left you in the lurch." - -"Did I speak of my 'prentice? that he left me in the lurch?" questioned -Gamain, more and more astonished. - -"Why, hang it all, are you going back on what you said? Did you not -growl that it was all the fault of--of--dash me if I can remember the -name you used." - -"Louis Lecomte?" - -"I guess that was it. Did you not say: 'Louis Lecomte is in fault! for -he promised to see me safe home and at the last moment he dropped me -like a hot roll?'" - -"I daresay I did so, for it is the blessed truth." - -"Then, why do you deny the truth? let me tell you, that with another -than me, such chatter would be dangerous?" - -"But with you, one is safe, eh? with a regular friend," said the smith, -coaxingly. - -"Lord, you have lots of trust in your friend. You say yes and you say -no; you wiggle and waver so that none knows how to have you. It is like -your fable t'other day about the secret door that a nobleman had you fit -on the strict quiet." - -"Then you will not believe this tale either, for it also hangs upon a -door." - -"In the palace?" - -"In the King's palace. Only instead of its being a clothes-press door, -or rather that of a safe in the wall, it is a cupboard door this time." - -"Are you gaming me that the King, while he certainly dabbles in -locksmithery, sent for you to do up a door?" - -"He did, though. Poor fellow, he thought he was smart enough to get on -without me, and began to make a lock. 'What good is Gamain anyhow?' but -he got mixed up with the works in the lock and had to fall back on -Gamain after all." - -"So you were hunted up by one of his trusty flunkeys, Hue, or Durey or -Weber, eh?" - -"That is just where you make a mistake. He has taken a green hand on to -help him, who is as much of an amateur as himself; a young sprig who -popped in upon me one morning at Versailles, and says he: 'Look here, -Daddy Gamain, the King and me tried to make a lock, and by Jove we have -made a muddle of it. The old thing won't work! 'What have I to do with -it?' I wanted to know. 'You are wanted to set it right,' says he, and as -I said that it was a plant and he did not come from the King, he slaps -some gold on the bench and says: 'Is not this earnest enough? here are -twenty-five louis which the King sends you to remove any doubts.' He -gave me them, too." - -"So these are what you are sporting round with you?" - -"No: these are another lot. These were for traveling expenses and a sort -of a payment on account!" - -"Fifty louis for filing up an old lock? there is a snake in the grass, -Friend Gamain." - -"Just what I said to myself: particularly as the 'prentice does not seem -a regular craftsman but dodged my question about work and where you stop -when you are on tramp in France, as well as who is Mother Marianne." - -"But you are not the man to be taken in when you see a boy at work." - -"I do not say so much as that. The lad plied the file and the chisel -handily. I have seen him cut a rod of iron through velean at a blow, and -put a hole in a band with a rattail file as if using a gimlet on a lath. -But there is more theory than practice about his style: he no sooner -finishes the job than he washed his hands, and what hands? so white that -never did a locksmith boast the like. You don't see me scrubbing my -hands till they are white!" - -With pride he showed his grubby, black and callous hands which indeed -seemed to defy all the cosmetics and skin-bleaches in the world. - -"But in short what did you do when you got to the King's?" asked the -other, bringing the man to the point most interesting to him. - -"It looked as though we were expected: in the forge the King showed me a -lock commenced not badly, but he had got in a corner. It was one with -three wards, d'ye see, which few locksmiths can grapple with and royal -ones least of all. I looked at it and saw where the key caught. 'All -right,' I says; 'let me alone with it for an hour and it will work as if -greased,' 'Go ahead,' said the King, 'consider yourself at home; call -for anything you like while we get the cupboard ready on which the lock -goes.' On which he went out with the imp of a 'prentice." - -"By the main stairs?" queried the gunsmith carelessly. - -"No: by a secret one leading to his study. When I got through, I had -done something, too; I said to myself: 'It is all bosh about this here -cupboard; they are laying their heads together for some mischief.' So I -crept down softly and opening the study door, I got a glimpse of what -they were up to." - -"And what were they up to?" inquired the gunsmith. - -"Well, I did not catch them in the act, for they must have heard me -coming, for I have not the light step of a dancer. They pretended to be -up and coming to me, and the King said, 'Oh this is you, and you have -finished? Come along for I have something else for you to do.' So he -hurried me through the study, but not so fast that I did not spy spread -out on a table a big map which I believe to be France on account of a -lily-flower printed in one corner. From the midst three rows of pins ran -out to the edges like files of soldiers, for they were stuck in at -regular spaces." - -"Really, you are wonderfully sharp," said the stranger in affected -admiration: "So you believe that instead of bothering about their -cupboard, they were busy with this map?" - -"I am sure of it: the pins had wax heads of different colors, black, -blue and red; and the King was using a red one to pick his teeth with, -without thinking what he was about." - -"Gamain, if I discovered some new kind of gun, hang me if I would let -you come into my workshop, even to pass through it, or I would bandage -your eyes as on the day you were taken to the great nobleman's house -though you did perceive that the house had ten steps to the stoop and -that it fronted on the main avenue." - -"Wait a bit," said the smith, enchanted at the eulogies; "you have not -heard all--there is really a safe in the wall." - -"What wall?" - -"Of the inner corridor running from the royal alcove to the young -prince's room." - -"What you say is very queer. And was this safe open?" - -"Is it likely? I squinted round in all ways but it was no use my asking -myself: 'Where on earth is this secret press?' Then the King gave me a -look and says he: 'Gamain, I have always had trust in you. So I would -not let anybody but you know the secret.' While speaking, the King -lifted a panel, while the boy held a light, for the corridor has no -windows, and showed me a two foot round hole. Seeing my astonishment, he -winked to our companion and said: 'Do you see that hole, my friend; I -made it to keep money in; this young fellow helped me during the four or -five days he has been staying in the palace. Now we want the lock put on -the panel so that it will be hidden and not interfere with its sliding. -Do you want an aid, in which case this young man will help you? or can -you do without? if so I will set him to work elsewhere. 'Tut,' I said, -'you know that I like to go alone when I am the job. It is four hour's -work for a good hand but I am a master and will be through in three. Go -and attend to your work, young fellow; and your Majesty may stick to -his. And in three hours fetch along anything you want kept in this -meat-safe.' - -"We may believe the young chap had other fish to fry, for I saw nothing -more of him: but when the time was up, the King came back. 'U. P., it is -all UP!' said I, and I made him see that the door slid without the lock -being in the way as neat as the Automatons of Vaucanson. 'Good,' said -he; 'just help me count the cash I am going to bestow here.' A valet -brought four fine bags of coin and we reckoned a million a-piece; there -were twenty-and-five over. 'There you are, Gamain,' said the King, 'Take -them for your trouble!' as though it was not disgraceful to give an old -mate a beggarly twenty-five--a man with five children, and he has been -handling two millions! What do you think of that?" - -"The truth is that this is mean," said the other, shrugging his -shoulders. - -"Wait, this is not all. I put the coin in my pocket and said. 'I thank -your Majesty: but Lord love you, I have not had sup or bite since -morning and I am ready to burst!' I had barely finished before the Queen -walked in by a secret door, so that she was on the top of us without -saying Lookout! She had a platter in her hand with a cake and a glass on -it. - -"'My dear Gamain, as you are hungry and thirsty, try our wine and cake!' -'Sorry to trouble you, Royal Madam,' I said, but just think of a drop -like that and a mouthful of wine like that fancy cake for a man. What do -you expect sensible in that line from a Queen, though? it is plain that -such folks are never really hungry and athirst. A glass of wine--oh, -dear!" - -"So you refused it?" - -"It would have been better if I had; but I drank. As for the cake I -rolled it up in my handkerchief, saying 'What is no good for the father -will do for the children.' Then I thanked his Majesty, as though it were -worth thanks, and I started off, saying that they will not catch me in -their old palace in a hurry again." - -"And why do you say you had better have refused the drink?" - -"Because they had put poison in it! Hardly had I got over the bridge -before I was seized by thirst, such a raging thirst that between the -liquor saloons and the river, I balanced myself. I could tell it was -queer stuff they gave me for the more I took the thirstier I was. This -kept on with my trying to correct that dose till I lost my senses. They -may be easy on this score: if ever they come to me for a good character, -I will say they gave me twenty-five louis for four hours' work and -counting a million, and for fear I should tell where they keep their -treasure, they poisoned me like a dog!" - -"And I, my dear Gamain," said the hearer, rising as though he had all -the information he wanted: "I will support your evidence by swearing -that I saved you with the antidote." - -"That is why we are sworn comrades till death do us part," exclaimed the -smith, grasping the speaker's hands. - -Refusing with Spartan sobriety the wine which his friend offered him for -the third or fourth time--for the amoniacal dose had sobered him as well -as disgusted him with drink for a time, Gamain took the road for -Versailles where he arrived safely at two in the morning with the -King's coin in his pocket and the Queen's cake in another. - -Left behind in the saloon, the pretended gunsmith drew out a set of -tablets mounted in diamonds and gold, and wrote with fluid-ink pencil -these two notes: - - "An iron safe behind the King's alcove, in the unlighted passage - leading to the prince's rooms. Make sure whether Louis Lecomte, - locksmith's boy, is not really Count Louis, son of Marquis Bouille, - arrived eleven days ago from Metz." - - - - -CHAPTER XXVIII. - -THE FIRST GUILLOTINE. - - -On Christmas Eve, a party was given at the Princess Lamballe's, which -the Queen's presiding over made it really her own reception. - -Isidore Charny had returned from Italy that morning and he had found -King and Queen very kind to him. Two reasons influenced the latter: one -his being the brother of Count Charny, which was a charm in his absence, -and his bringing back news from the fugitive princes which suited her -wishes. - -They backed the Favras scheme and urged her to flee for Turin. - -He left her only to go and acquaint Favras with the encouragement. The -Queen had said nothing positive about the flight: but he took enough to -the conspirator to fill him with joy. For the rest, the cash was in -hand, the men notified to stand ready, and the King would only have to -nod to have the whole plot set in motion. - -The silence of the royal couple was the only thing which worried him. -The Queen broke this by sending Isidore, and vague as were the words he -repeated, they acquired weight from coming out of a royal mouth. - -At nine the young viscount went to Lady Lamballe's. - -Count Provence was uneasy; Count Louis Narbonne walked about with the -ease of a man quite at home among princes. Isidore was not known to any -of the circle of the princes' bosom friends, but his well-known name and -the partiality accorded him by the princess led to all hands being held -out to him. - -Besides, he brought news from the foreign refuge where so many had -relatives. - -When he had delivered his budget, the conversation returned to its -former channel; the young men were laughing about a machine for -executing criminals which Dr. Guillotin had shown in a full size working -model and had proposed to the National Assembly. - -When an usher announced the King, and another the Queen, of course all -the merriment and chatter ceased. - -The more the revolutionary spirit stripped majesty of its eternals the -more the true royalists vied with each other to pour evidences of -respect upon the august chiefs. 1789 saw great ingratitude, but 1793 -great devotion. - -To talk over the Favras scheme in secret a whist party was made up of -the two rulers, Provence and Charny for the fourth hand. Respect -isolated the table. - -"Brother," said the Queen, "Lord Charny, who comes from Turin, says that -our kinsfolk there are begging us to join them." - -The King gave a stamp with impatience. - -"I entreat you to listen," whispered Lady Elizabeth, who sat on a stool. - -"Listen to what?" - -"That Lord Charny has also seen the Marquis Favras since he came home, a -gentleman whose lealty we know, and he says that the King has but to say -a word," went on the Queen, "or make a sign, and this very night, you -will be at Peronne." - -The King kept still. His brother twisted a jack of hearts all to rags. - -"Repeat this as the marquis put it," said he to Isidore. - -"Your Majesty, thanks to measures taken by Marquis Favras, he declares -that the King has but the cue to give to be in safety in Peronne this -blessed night." - -Turning sharply on his brother, the King said as he fixed his eyes on -him: - -"Are you coming if I go?" - -"I" said the other, turning pale and trembling. "I have not been -notified, and I have made no preparations." - -"You know nothing about it, and yet you found the money for Favras?" -exclaimed the monarch. "You not notified, and the moves in the game have -been reported to you hour by hour?" - -"The game?" faltered the prince. - -"The plot; for it is one of those plots for which, if discovered, Favras -will be tried and doomed to death--unless by money and other means we -save him as we did Bezenval." - -"Then you will save Favras." - -"No; for I might not be able to do as much for him. Besides, Bezenval -was my liege as Favras is yours. Let each save his own man, and both of -us shall have done our duty." - -He rose, but the Queen retained him by the skirt of the coat. - -"Sire, whether you accept or refuse, you owe the marquis an answer. What -is Viscount Charny to answer for the King?" - -"That the King does not allow himself to be spirited away like a slave -for the Louisiana plantations." He disengaged his coat. - -"This means," said Provence, "that the King will not allow of the -abduction but if it be executed in spite of his permission, it will be -welcome. In politics success condones the crime and blunderers deserve -double punishment." - -"Viscount," said the Queen, "tell the marquis what you heard and let him -act as he thinks it points. Go." - -The King had gone over to where the younger men were so hilariously -chatting; but the deepest silence fell at his approach. - -"Is the King so unhappy that he casts melancholy around him?" he -demanded. - -"Sire!" muttered the gentlemen. - -"You were very merry when the Queen and I came in. It is a bad thing for -kings when no one dares laugh before them. I may say the converse: -'Happy are the kings before whom laughter resounds.'" - -"Sire," returned one, "the subject is not one for a comic opera." - -"Of what were you talking?" - -"Sire, I yield the guilty one to your Majesty," said another, stepping -forward. - -"Oh, it is you, Editor Suleau," said the King. "I have read the last -number of your journal the Acts of the Apostles. Take care that you do -not offend Master Populus." - -"I only said that our Revolution is going so slowly that it has to help -on that in Brabant. We are lamenting the dulness of the session of the -Assembly where they had to take up the motion of Dr. Guillotin upon--of -all things--a new machine for public executions." - -"Are you making fun of Dr. Guillotin--a philanthropist? remember that I -am one myself." - -"There are various kinds; the sort I approve of has a representative at -the head of the French Nation--the one who abolished torture before -trial: we venerate, nay, we love him." - -The hearers bowed with the same impulse. - -"But," proceeded Suleau, "there are others who try to find means to kill -the hale while they had a thousand to send the ailing out of this life. -I beg your Majesty to let me deal with them?" - -"What would you do? decapitate them painlessly, or at least merely give -a slight coolness round the neck?" inquired the King, quoting Dr. -Guillotin's recommendation of his invention. - -"Sire, I should like all of these inventors to have the first experiment -tried on themselves. I do not complain that Marigny was hanged on the -Gibbet of Montfaucon which he built. I am not asking, I am not even a -judge; the probability is that I shall have to take my revenge on Dr. -Guillotin in the columns of my paper. I will give him a whole number and -propose that the machine shall bear his name for eternity, the -Guillotine!" - -"Ha, ha, the Guillotine!" exclaimed the men, without waiting for express -permission to laugh. - -"I shall assert, also, that life is divided not extinguished by this -process," continued Suleau; "why may not the sufferer feel pain in the -head and the trunk after being cut in two?" - -"This is a question for medical men. Did none of us here witness the -experiment this very morning at Bicetre madhouse?" asked the King. - -"No, no, no!" cried many voices. - -"Sire, I was there," said one grave voice. - -"Oh; it is you? Dr. Gilbert," said the sovereign, turning. - -"Yes, Sire." - -"And how did the experiment succeed?" - -"Perfectly in two instances; but at the third the instrument, though it -severed the spine, did not detach the head. They had to finish with a -knife." - -The young gentlemen listened with frightened eyes and parted lips. - -"Three executions this morning?" exclaimed Charles Lameth, who with his -brother had not yet turned against the Queen. - -"Yes, gentlemen," said the King; "but they were three corpses furnished -by the hospitals. What is your opinion of the instrument?" - -"An improvement on such machines; but the accident at the third -experiment proves that it stands in need of improvement still." - -"What is it like?" asked the royal locksmith who had a bias for -machines. - -Gilbert helped his explanation out by drawing a sketch on a sheet of -paper at a table. The King saw how curious the bystanders were and -allowed them to come near. - -"Who knows," said Suleau obeying, "but that one of us may make the -acquaintance of Lady Guillotine?" - -Laughing, they pressed round the board where the King, taking the pen -from Dr. Gilbert, said: - -"No wonder the experience failed, particularly after awhile. The cutting -blade is crescent-shaped whereas it ought to be triangular to sever a -resisting substance. See here: shape your knife thus, and I wager that -you would cut me off twenty-four heads one after another without the -edge turning up." - -He had scarcely finished the words before a heart-rending scream was -heard. The Queen had been attracted to the group of which the King and -his corrected sketch were the centre. She beheld the same instrument -which had been presented her in its likeness in a glass of water by -Balsamo the Magician twenty years before! - -At the view she had no strength to do more than scream, and life -abandoning her as though she were under the blade, she swooned in the -arms of Dr. Gilbert. - -It is easily understood that this incident broke up the party. - -Gilbert attended to the royal patient who was given the bed of the -princess. When the crisis was over, which he rightly attributed to a -mental cause, he was going out but she bade him stay. - -"Therese," she added to Lady Lamballe, "tell the King that I have come -to: and do not let us be interrupted: I must speak with the doctor. -Doctor," she pursued when they were alone, "are you not astonished that -chance seems to place us face to face in all the crises moral or -physical of my life?" - -"As I do not know whether to be sorry or to be glad for it, since I read -in your mind that the contact is not through your wish or your will." - -"That is why I said chance. I like to be frank. But the last time we -were in contiguity, you showed true devotion and I thank you and shall -never forget it." - -He bowed. - -"I am also a physiognomist. Do you know that you have said without -speaking: 'That is over; let us change the subject.'" - -"At least I felt the desire to be put to the test." - -"Doctor, what do you think of the recent event?" inquired Marie -Antoinette as though this was interlinked with what she had spoken. - -"Madam, the daughter of Maria Theresa is not one of the women who faint -at trifles." - -"Do you believe in forewarnings?" - -"Science repels all phenomena tending to upset the prevailing order of -things; still, facts offtimes give the lie to science." - -"I ought to have said; do you believe in predictions?" - -"I believe that the Supreme Being has benevolently covered the future -with an impenetrable veil. Still," he went on as if making an effort -over himself to meet questions which he wished relegated into doubt, "I -know a man who sometimes confounds all the arguments of my intelligence -by irrefutable facts. I dare not name him before your Majesty." - -"It is your master, the immortal, the all-powerful, the divine -Cagliostro, is it not, Dr. Gilbert?" - -"Madam, my only master is Nature. Cagliostro is but my saver. Pierced by -a bullet in the chest, losing all my blood by a wound which I, a -physician, after twenty years study, must pronounce incurable, he cured -me in a few days by a salve of which I know not the composition: hence -my gratitude to him, I will almost say my admiration." - -"And this man makes predictions which are accomplished?" - -"Strange and incredible ones; he moves in the present with a certainty -which makes one believe in his knowledge of the future." - -"So that you would believe if he forecast to you?" - -"I should at least act as though it might happen." - -"Would you prepare to meet a shameful, terrible and untimely death if he -foreshowed it?" - -"After having tried to escape it by all manner of means," rejoined -Gilbert, looking steadily at her. - -"Escape? No, doctor, no! I see that I am doomed," said the Queen. "This -revolution is a gulf in which will be swallowed up the throne: this -people is a lion to devour me." - -"Yet it depends on you to have it couch at your feet like a lamb." - -"Doctor, all is broken between the people and me; I am hated and -scorned." - -"Because you do not really know each other. Cease to be a queen and -become a mother to them; forget you are daughter of Maria Theresa, our -ancient enemy, the sister of Joseph our false friend. Be French, and -you will hear the voices rise to bless you, and see arms held out to -fondle you." - -"I know all this," she replied contemptuously; "fawning one day, they -tear the next." - -"Because aware of resistance to their will, and hatred opposed to their -love." - -"Does this destructive element know whether it loves or hates? it -destroys like the wind, the sea and fire, and has womanly caprices." - -"Because you see it from on high, like the man in the lighthouse views -the ocean. Did you go down in the depths you would see how steady it is. -What more obedient than the vast mass to the movement of the tides. You -are Queen over the French, madam, and yet you know not what passes in -France. Raise your veil instead of keeping it down, and you will admire -instead of dreading." - -"What would I see so very splendid?" - -"The New World blooming over the wreck of the Old; the cradle of Free -France floating on a sea wider than the Mediterranean--than the ocean. O -God protect you, little bark--O God shield you, babe of promise, -France!" - -Little of an enthusiast as Gilbert was he raised his eyes and hands -heavenward. - -The Queen eyed him with astonishment for she did not understand. - -"Fine words," she sneered. "I thought you philosophers had run them down -to dust." - -"No, great deeds have killed them," returned Gilbert. "Whither tends old -France? to the unity of the country. There are no longer provinces, but -all French." - -"What are you driving at? that your united thirty millions of rebels -should form a universal federation against their King and Queen?" - -"Do not deceive yourself: it is not the people who are rebels but the -rulers who have rebelled against them. If you go to one of the feasts -which the people hold, you will see that they hail a little child on an -altar--emblem of the new birth of liberty. Italy, Spain, Ireland, -Poland, all the down-trodden look towards this child and hold out their -enchained hands, saying: 'France, we shall be free because of you.' -Madam, if it be still time, take this child and make yourself its -mother." - -"You forget that I am the mother of others, and I ought not do as you -suggest--disinherit them in favor of a stranger." - -"If thus it be," replied Gilbert with profound sorrow, "wrap your -children up in your royal robe, in the war-cloak of Maria Theresa, and -carry them with you far from France; for you spoke the truth in saying -that the people will devour you and your offspring with you. But there -is no time to lose--make haste!" - -"You will not oppose?" - -"I will further you in the departure." - -"Nothing could fall more timely," said the Queen, "for we have a -nobleman ready to act in this escape----" - -"Do you mean Marquis Favras?" demanded Gilbert, with apprehension. - -"Who breathed you his name--who communicated to you his project?" - -"Oh, have a care, for a bloody prediction pursued him also." - -"Of the same Prophet? what fate awaits him?" - -"Untimely, terrible and infamous like that you mentioned." - -"Then you speak truly--no time must be lost in giving the lie to this -prophet of evil." - -"You were going to tell Favras that you accepted his aid?" - -"He was advised and I am awaiting his reply." - -She had not long to wait, for Isidore Charny was ushered in by the -Princess Lamballe. - -"I am told that I may speak before Dr. Gilbert," said he. "Then, know -that Marquis Favras was arrested an hour ago and imprisoned in the -Chatelet." - -Bright but despairing and full of ire, the Queen's glance crossed that -of the doctor. All her wrath seemed spent in that flash. - -"Madam," said Gilbert with deep pity, "if I can be useful in any way, -make use of me. I lay at your feet my mind, my life, my devotion." - -"Dr. Gilbert," she said in a slow and resigned voice, "is it your -opinion that the death given by this dread engine is as sweet as the -inventor asserts?" - -He sighed and hid his face in his hands. - -As the news of Favras' arrest had circulated over the palace in a few -seconds, Count Provence went to his brother. His advice was that Favras -should be repudiated and the King take the oath to the Constitution. - -"But how can I swear fidelity to an incomplete Constitution?" - -"The more easily," replied the schemer, with his false squint which came -from the darkest sinuosities of his soul. - -"I will," said the King: "this does not prevent my writing to Marquis -Bouille that our plan is postponed. This will give Charny time to -regulate the route." - -For his part, Provence acted on part of his own suggestion: he -repudiated Favras and received the thanks of the Assembly. - -Favras was left alone save for Cagliostro who perhaps felt a little -remorse that he had let the bravest in the conspiracy go so far in a -mission which he had foredoomed to failure. But Favras would not accept -rescue and met his death by hanging with unblemished courage and honor. - -The King took the oath, as he had promised his brother, to the -Constitution, yet in embryo. If he loved it so dearly already, what -would he do when it was in shape? - -The ten days following were days of rejoicing; joy in the Assembly; calm -in Paris; altars built all over the town for passers to take oath after -the royal precedent. - -The Assembly commanded a Te Deum to be chanted in the Cathedral, where -all gathered to renew the oath in solemnity. - -"Why did you not go to the church?" sneered the Queen to her husband. - -"Because I do not object to lying for a purpose, but I do not mean to -perjure myself," said Louis XVI. - -The Queen breathed again for until then she had believed in the -monarch's honesty. She felt empowered by this perfidy to take the same -path and it was after giving her hand for Mirabeau to kiss that this new -leader for the court party vowed that the monarchy was saved. - -Her forehead was swathed in a wet bandage, her eyes were wandering and -her face flushed with fever. Amongst the incoherent words, the farmer -thought he could distinguish the name of Isidore. - -"I see that it is good time that I came home," he muttered. - -He went forth, and was followed by Pitou, but Dr. Raynal detained the -latter. - -"I want you my lad," he said, "to help Mother Clement hold the patient -while I bleed her for the third time." - -"The third time?" cried Mrs. Billet, awaking from her dulness. "Do you -hear that, my man, they bleed her for the third time." - -"Woman, this would not have happened had you looked after your daughter -closer," said the farmer in a stern voice. - -He went to his room, from which he had been absent three months while -Pitou entered the sick room. - -Pitou was astonished but he would have felt more so if he had guessed -that the doctor called him in as a moral remedy. - -The doctor had noticed two names as used by the girl in her frenzy, Ange -Pitou and Isidore Charny, and he soon distinguished that one was a -friend's and the other a dearer one. He concluded that Pitou was the -lovers' confidant and that there would be no inconvenience in the -gallant's friend being there to speak with the patient on the mutual -acquaintance. - -Everybody knew down here that Valence Charny had been killed at -Versailles and that his eldest brother had called away Isidore on the -next evening. - -That night Pitou found Catherine fainted on the high road. When she -revived on the farm, it was to be in a fever, and she raved of some one -riding away whom the doctor judged to be Isidore Charny. - -The greatest need to a brain-stricken invalid is calm. To learn about -her lover would best calm Catherine, and she would ask the news of their -friend, Pitou. - -On seeing the good effect of the bleeding, the doctor stationed Mother -Clement by her side, with the strange recommendation for her to get some -sleep, and beckoned Pitou to follow him into the kitchen. - -Her forehead was swathed in a wet bandage, her eyes were wandering and -her face flushed with fever. Amongst the incoherent words, the farmer -thought he could distinguish the name of Isidore. - -"I see that it is good time that I came home," he muttered. - -He went forth, and was followed by Pitou, but Dr. Raynal detained the -latter. - -"I want you my lad," he said, "to help Mother Clement hold the patient -while I bleed her for the third time." - -"The third time?" cried Mrs. Billet, awaking from her dulness. "Do you -hear that, my man, they bleed her for the third time." - -"Woman, this would not have happened had you looked after your daughter -closer," said the farmer in a stern voice. - -He went to his room, from which he had been absent three months while -Pitou entered the sick room. - -Pitou was astonished but he would have felt more so if he had guessed -that the doctor called him in as a moral remedy. - -The doctor had noticed two names as used by the girl in her frenzy, Ange -Pitou and Isidore Charny, and he soon distinguished that one was a -friend's and the other a dearer one. He concluded that Pitou was the -lovers' confidant and that there would be no inconvenience in the -gallant's friend being there to speak with the patient on the mutual -acquaintance. - -Everybody knew down here that Valence Charny had been killed at -Versailles and that his eldest brother had called away Isidore on the -next evening. - -That night Pitou found Catherine fainted on the high road. When she -revived on the farm, it was to be in a fever, and she raved of some one -riding away whom the doctor judged to be Isidore Charny. - -The greatest need to a brain-stricken invalid is calm. To learn about -her lover would best calm Catherine, and she would ask the news of their -friend, Pitou. - -On seeing the good effect of the bleeding, the doctor stationed Mother -Clement by her side, with the strange recommendation for her to get some -sleep, and beckoned Pitou to follow him into the kitchen. - -"Cheer up, mother," said he to Mrs. Billet who was mooning in the -chimney corner, "she is going on as well as possible." - -"It is very hard that a mother cannot care for her child," said the -farmer's wife. - -"You are too fragile--we should only have you ill. She will get along -finely with Mother Clement and Ange to look after her." - -"Ange?" - -"Yes, he has a leaning toward medicine and I shall make him my -assistant. He is coming over to my place now to get a soothing potion -made up. He will bring it back and direct the administration of it. He -will remain on duty here, to run over to me with the news of any -change." - -"You know best, doctor; but give the poor father a word of your hope." - -"Where is he?" - -"In the next room." - -"Useless," said a voice on the threshold, "I have heard all." - -As though this was all he wanted, the pale-faced farmer withdrew and -offered no opposition to this ruling of the house by the medical -adviser. - -The latter was not a light of science but he was a keen observer. - -He had seen that Pitou would be the best confidant to place before his -patient's eyes as soon as they opened to life and reason. - -He was able with the first words to reassure her upon Isidore's health. -There was no rioting in Paris and the young noble had gone off to Italy -as a messenger. - -He was sure to write to Catherine, she said, and she authorized him to -go to the post for the letter. - -As Pitou on the farm ate and drank with his accustomed appetite Billet -did not suspect the treacherous part he was playing. - -Consoled by the progress the girl made after the receipt of the beloved -letter, Pitou was enabled to proceed with his public work. - -With the money Gilbert gave him, he equipped the Haramont National -Guards with new suits; this was for the ceremony of the Federation of -Villers Cotterets and other villages of the canton, to be held on a -following Sunday. - -At this prospect of uniforms, the Guards assembled with their two -minstrels and gave their liberal leader a serenade, interspersed with -fire-crackers and cheers, among which was to be heard a voice or two, -slightly tipsy, shouting: - -"Long live Pitou, the Hero of the People!" - -Remembering the impression the Haramont National Guard had created when -they had hats alike, you can appreciate the justice in the roar of -admiration when they appeared in uniforms, and what a dashing air the -captain must have worn, with his little cap cocked over one ear, his -gorget shining on his breast, his catspaws, as the epaules were -irreverently called, and his sword. - -Aunt Angelique could hardly identify her nephew who almost rode her down -on his white horse. - -But he saluted her with a wave of the sword and left her crushed by the -honor. - -Recalling that the tailor had boasted of the order which Pitou had paid, -she thought he had come home a millionaire. - -"I must not quarrel with him," she mumbled: "aunts inherit from -nephews." - -Alas! he had forgotten her by this time. Among the girls wearing -tricolored sashes and carrying green palm boughs, he recognized -Catherine. She was pale, her beauty more delicate, but Raynal had -fulfilled his word. - -She was happy, for Pitou had managed to find a hollow tree where he -deposited letters for her to take them out in a stroll, and that morning -one was there. - -Pitou came up and saluted her with his sword. He would have only touched -his hat for General Lafayette. - -"How grand you look in your uniform," she said loudly. "I thank you, my -dear Pitou," she added in a voice for him alone; "how good you are. I -love you!" - -She took his hand and pressed it in hers. Giddiness passed into poor -Pitou's head; he dropped his hat from the free hand, and would have -fallen at her feet like the hat only for a great tumult with menacing -sounds being heard towards Soissons. - -Whatever the cause, he profited by it to get out of the awkward -situation. - -He disengaged his hand from Catherine's, picked up his hat and put it on -as he ran to the head of his thirty-three men, shouting: - -"To arms!" - -It was an old enemy of his who was causing a block to the festivities. - -Father Fortier had been designated to perform the office of celebrating -the Federation Mass on the Altar of the Country, for which the holy -vessels were to be carried from the church. The mayor, Longpre, was to -superintend the transfer. Like everybody he knew the schoolmaster's -temper and thought he would not bear him good will for the part he took -in the turning over the muskets. - -So, rather than face him, he had sent him an order in writing to be -present for the mass at ten. - -At half past nine he sent his secretary to see how things looked. The -gentleman brought bad news. The church was locked up. The church -officials were all laid up with various complaints. It had the air of a -conspiracy. - -At ten the crowd gathered and talked of beating in the church doors and -taking out the church plate. - -As a conciliator, Longpre quieted them as well as he could and went to -knock at Fortier's housedoor. - -In the meantime he sent for the armed forces. The gendarmes officers -came up. They were attended by additions to the mob. - -As they had no catapult to force the door, they summoned the locksmith. -But when he was going to insert a picklock, the door opened and Abbe -Fortier appeared, with fiery eye and hair bristling. - -"Back," he cried with a threatening gesture, "back, heretics, impious -relapsers! avaunt ye from the sill of the man of God!" - -The murmur receiving his outburst was not flattering to him. - -"Excuse me," said the unctuous mayor, "but we only wanted to know -whether you would serve the mass on the altar of the country, or not?" - -"Sanction revolt, rebellion and ingratitude," yelled the holy man in one -of the fits of passion habitual to him: "curse virtue and bless sin? you -cannot have hoped it, mayor. I will not say your sacrilegous mass!" - -"Very well; this is a free country now--you need not unless you like." - -"Free? ha, ha, ha!" and with a most exasperating laugh he was going to -slam the door in their faces when a man burst through the throng, pushed -the door nearly open again and all but overturned Fortier though he was -a stout man. - -It was Billet. - -There was profound silence as all divined that not two mere men, but two -forces were opposing each other. - -Though Billet had displayed so much strength to open the door, he spoke -in a calm voice: - -"Pardon me, mayor, but I think I heard you say that the father might say -the mass or not, at his pleasure? this is an error and it is no longer -the time when errors are allowed to flourish. Every man who is paid to -do work is bound to do it. You are paid by the country to say mass and -you shall say it." - -"Blasphemer, Manichean," roared the priest. - -"You ought to set the example of obedience and here you are doing the -other thing. If you are a citizen and a Frenchman, obey the nation." - -"Bravo, Billet!" cried the multitude. "To the altar, with the priest." - -Encouraged by the acclamations, Billet lugged out from his hall the -first priest who had given the signal for counter-revolution. - -"I am a martyr," groaned the priest, comprehending that resistance was -impossible in the farmer's vigorous hands, "I call for martyrdom!" And -as he was hurried along he sang "Good Lord, deliver us!" - -This crowd conducting him was the cause of the turbulence towards which -Pitou was marching his cohort. But on seeing the reason, he and -Catherine appealed to the farmer with the same voice. - -Untouched, the latter carried the prize up to the altar where he let him -fall. - -"I proclaim you unworthy to serve at this altar which you disdained," -said Billet: "no man should go up these steps unless his head is filled -with these feelings, the desire of liberty, devotion to the country and -love of mankind. Priest, have you these sentiments? if so, go up boldly -and invoke our Maker. But if you do not feel you are the foremost of us -all as a citizen, give place to the more worthy, and be off!" - -"Madman, you do not know what you are declaring war upon," hissed the -priest, retiring with uplifted finger. - -"I do know, if they are like you, vipers, foxes, wolves," returned -Billet: "all that sneak and poison and tear in the shade. Come at me, -then--I can face ye, in the open!" he concluded, smiting his broad -chest. - -During a silent moment the throng parted to let the priest skulk -through, and, closing, remained mute and admiring the vigorous man who -offered himself as target to the terrible power to which half the world -was enslaved at that era. - -There was no longer mayor, town councilmen or gendarmes, only the Hero -of the People, Billet. - -"But we have no priest now," said Mayor Longpre. - -"We do not want him," replied Billet who had never been in church but -twice, for his wedding and his child's baptism. "We will read the -Declaration of the Rights of Man from the altar. That is the Creed of -Liberty and the Gospel of the Future." - -Billet could not read but he had his manifesto by heart. When he had -finished and with a noble movement embraced the Law and the Sword by -taking the mayor's and Pitou's hands, the multitude appreciated the -grandeur of what they were doing in shouting: - -"Long live the Nation!" - -It was one of the scenes of which Gilbert had spoken to the Queen -without her understanding him. - -From that time forward, France became one great family, with one heart -and one language. - - - - -CHAPTER XXX. - -UNDER THE WINDOW. - - -On the surface all was calm and almost smiling on the Billet Farm. - -As before, Billet, on his strong horse, trotted all over the land -keeping his hands up to the mark. But a sharp observer would have -noticed that on whatever part he was he tried to get a look at his -daughter's room window. - -Though his face had a little softened toward her, Catherine felt that -paternal distrust hovered over her. - -Mother Billet was vegetating as formerly; she did not know that her -husband harbored suspicion in his bosom, and her daughter anguish in -hers. - -Pitou, after his glory as captain of the uniformed National Guards, had -fallen back into his habitual state of sweet and kindly melancholy. By -the postmark on Isidore's letters he noticed that he had returned to -Paris. - -He concluded that he would not be long before returning to his estate. -Pitou's heart shrank at this prospect. - -Under pretence of snaring rabbits to give his friend more succulent food -than farm fare, he haunted the wood until he saw Catherine. She was -seeking him, too, for she had a word for him. - -He need not trouble about her letters as she would not be receiving any -for some days. - -He guessed that the writer was coming in person to repeat his vows. - -"Have you noticed," he said, "how gloomy the master has become of late?" - -Catherine turned pale. - -"I tell you as a sure thing that whoever is the cause of this change in -such a hearty good fellow, will have an unpleasant time with him when he -meets him." - -"You say, 'him,'" said Catherine; "why may he not have quarrelled with -a woman, against whom he nurses this sullen rage?" - -"You have seen something? have you any reason to fear?" - -"I have to fear all that a girl may fear when she loves above her -station and has an irritated father." - -"It seems to me that in your place," Pitou ventured to give advice, "I -should--no, it nearly killed you to part with him, and to give him up -altogether would be your death. Oh, all this is very unfortunate!" - -"Hush, speak of something else--here comes father." - -Indeed, seeing his daughter with a man, the farmer rode up at speed: but -recognizing Pitou, he asked him in to dinner with less gloom on his -face. - -"Gracious," muttered Catherine at the door, "can he know?" - -"What?" whispered Pitou. - -"Nothing," replied the girl, going up to her room and closing the -shutters. - -When she came down, dinner was ready, but she ate little. - -"You might tell us what brought you our way to-day," asked the morose -farmer of Pitou. - -The latter showed some brass wire loops. - -"The rabbits over our way are getting shy of me. I am going to lay some -snares on your farm, if you do not mind. Yours are so tender from the -grain they get." - -"I did not know you had so sweet a tooth." - -"Oh, not for me but for Miss Catherine." - -"Yes, she has no appetite, lately, that is a fact." - -At this moment, Pitou felt a touch to his foot. It was Catherine -directing his attention to the window past which a man was making for -the door where he entered with the farmer's gun on his shoulder. - -"Father Clovis," he was hailed by the master. - -Clovis was the old soldier who had taught Pitou to drill. - -"Yes, Papa Billet, a bargain is a bargain. You paid me to pick out a -dozen bullets to suit your rifle and here they are." - -He handed the farmer his gun and a bag of bullets. Calm as the veteran -was, he inspired terror in Catherine as he sat at table. - -"By the way I cast thirteen bullets instead of a dozen so I squandered -one on the hare you see. Your gun carries fine." - -"Is there a prize for shooting offered anywhere?" asked Pitou simply. -"You will win it, I guess like you did that silver cup and the bowl you -are drinking of, Miss Catherine. Why, what is the matter?" - -"Nothing," replied the girl opening her eyes which she had half closed -and leaning back in her chair. - -"All I know is," said Billet, "that I am going to lay in wait. It is a -wolf, I think." - -Clovis turned the bullets out on a plate. Had Pitou looked from them to -Catherine he would have seen that she nearly swooned. - -"Wolf?" repeated he. "I am astonished that before the snowfalls we -should see them here." - -"The shepherd says one is prowling round, out Boursonne way." - -Pitou looked from the speaker to Catherine. - -"Yes, he was spied last year, I was told; but he went off, and it was -thought forever; but he has turned up again. I mean to turn him down!" - -This was all the girl could endure; she uttered a cry and staggered out -of the door. Pitou followed her to offer his arm and found her in the -kitchen. - -"What ails you?" - -"Can you not guess? he knows that Isidore has arrived at Boursonne this -morning, and he is going to shoot him." - -"I will put him on his guard----" - -The voice of Billet interrupted the pair. - -"If you are going to lay snares, Master Pitou, it seems to me it is time -you were jogging. Father Clovis is going your way." - -"I am off," and he went out by the kitchen door, while Catherine went up -to her room, where she bolted the door. - -The forest was Pitou's kingdom and when he had left Clovis to go home, -he felt easy about what he had undertaken to do. - -He thought of running to Boursonne and warning Viscount Isidore; but he -might not be believed and the warning might not be heeded. - -He considered he had better wait. - -He had not a doubt that at the windows of Billet's room and of his -daughter's, they two were on the alert. All the tragedy or its failure -depended on him. If he let the viscount pass within rifle range, he -would let him march to his death. - -In fact, Billet, sure that the nobleman would not marry a farmer's -daughter, had resolved to wipe out the insult done him in blood. - -Suddenly Pitou, lying on the ground in a clump of willow, heard the -gallop of a horse. - -Billet must have heard it also for he came out of the house; and Ange -had not a doubt that the willow copse which he had chosen to spy -Catherine's window had for the same reason recommended itself to the -farmer. - -As the latter advanced, he slipped back and slid down into the ditch. - -The horse crossed the road at sixty paces, and as a shadow was soon -detached from it, the rider must have leaped off, and turned the steed -loose. It went on without stopping. - -There was ten minutes of dreadful silence. - -The night was so black that Pitou, reckoning his eyes better than -Billet's, hoped that he alone saw the shadow stealing towards the house. - -But at the same moment, as the shadow went up under Catherine's window, -Pitou heard the click of a hammer going on full cock on the gun. - -The shadow did not notice but rapped three times on the shutter. - -Pitou quivered--Catherine would surely blame him for not having passed -the warning as he had promised. - -But what could he do? - -Pitou heard the hammer fall and saw the priming flash; the powder in the -touchhole did not catch and the living target received no bullet. - -At the same moment Catherine opened her window. She saw all and cried: -"Up, it is my father!" she almost dragged Charny in at the casement. - -The farmer had his second barrel to fire and he thought: - -"He must come out and this time I will not miss him." - -Presently the dogs began barking. - -"Oh, the jade," he growled, "she has let him out at the back, through -the orchard." - -He ran round the house to overtake the escaping prey. - -"There is hope," thought Pitou: "aim cannot be taken in the night as in -the day and the hand is not so steady in firing on a man as at a wolf in -the den." - -Indeed, Billet had fired on a man whom he saw scaling the orchard wall -but he had got away on a horse which came up at his whistle. While -Billet was following the pair in vague hope that he had hurt the rider -so that he must fall out of the saddle, Ange reached the orchard where -he saw Catherine leaning up against a tree with her hand on her heart. - -"Let me take you into the house," he said. - -"No, I will not live under the roof of the man who shot at my -sweetheart." - -"But then----" - -"Do you refuse to accompany me?" - -"No, but----" - -"Come." - -No one saw them leave the farm and both disappeared in the valley. - -God only knew the refuge of Catherine Billet! - -All night a dreadful storm raged in the heart of the injured father. -Something vital seemed to snap in the mighty frame of the man when he -returned emptyhanded to see that his daughter had taken to flight. - -When he came home at nine as usual to breakfast, his wife said. "Where -is our Catherine?" - -"Catherine?" he said with an effort. "The air is bad on the farm and I -sent her over to her aunt's in Sologne." - -"Good, she wanted a change. Will she make a long stay?" - -"Till she gets better." - -Drying her tears the good woman went to sit in the chimney corner while -her husband rode off into the fields. - -Dr. Raynal had passed a restless night also. He was roused by Viscount -Charny's lackey pulling at his nightbell and, riding over to Boursonne, -found that he had a couple of bullets in his side. Neither wound was -dangerous, though one was serious. In three calls he set him up again; -but he had to wear a bandage for a time, which did not prevent him -riding out. Nobody had an idea of his accident. - -It was time for him to be healed--time to return to Paris! - -Mirabeau had promised the Queen to save her, and she wrote to her -brother on the Austrian throne: - -"I follow your counsel. I am making use of Mirabeau but there is nothing -of weight in my relations with him." - -On the following day, he saw groups on the way to the Assembly and went -up to learn the nature of the outcries. - -Little newsheets were passing from hand to hand and newsdealers were -calling out: - -"Buy the Great Treason of Mirabeau!" - -"It seems this concerns me," he said, taking a piece of money out. "My -friend," he said to one of the venders who had a donkey carrying -panniers full of the sheets, "how much is this Great Treason of -Mirabeau?" - -"Nothing to you, my lord," replied the man, looking him in the eye, "and -it is struck off in an edition of one hundred thousand." - -The orator went away thoughtful. A lampoon in such an edition and given -away by a newsman who knew him! - -Still the sheet might be one of those catchpennys which abounded at that -epoch, stupid or spiteful. No, it was the list of his debts, accurate, -and the note that their 200,000 francs had been paid by the Queen's -almoner on a certain date; also the statement that the court paid him -six thousand francs per month. Lastly the account of his reception by -the Queen. - -What mysterious enemy pursued him, or rather pursued the monarchy like a -hellhound? - -This is what we shall learn, with many another secret which none but -Cagliostro the superhuman might divine, in the sequel to this volume -entitled "THE ROYAL LIFEGUARD." - - -THE END - - * * * * * - -_A BOOK FOR EVERY FAMILY._ - -How to Live Well On 25 Cents a Day. - -By MRS. GESINE LEMCKE, One of the Most Noted Cooks and Housekeepers of -the Day. - -It contains a complete bill of fare for every day for six weeks, also -valuable hints and helps for housekeepers. - -_The Philadelphia Call_ says of it: - -"Utopia discovered! Everybody happy and want absolutely abolished. Hats -off to Mrs. Lemcke! 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OGILVIE PUBLISHING CO., -57 Rose Street, New York.= - - - - -ARE YOU A WOMAN? - -And Do You Want to Get Married? - -If so, you ought to buy our new book. - - "How to Get married - Although a Woman," - -By A YOUNG WIDOW. - -Read what _The Christian Advocate_ says about it: - -"How to Get Married Although a Woman," by a young widow, comes from the -J. S. Ogilvie Publishing Co., 57 Rose Street, New York. The woman -anxious to get married, but unable to do so, will find an immense amount -of advice and assistance in this little volume, and will learn what -manner of woman is liked and what disliked by men, the reasons of -success and failure in the race matrimonial, some unfailing methods of -catching a husband, why it is that a plain widow can come into a -community and take her pick among the most eligible men, and finally, -how to retain the love of a husband when he has been captured and how to -get another one when he has been gathered to his fathers. 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Any boy who wishes to -obtain an art by which he can develop a Wonderful amount of -astonishment, mystery, and fun, should learn Ventriloquism, as he easily -can follow the simple secret given in this book. Mailed for 15 cents. - - -=BAD BOY'S DIARY (A).=--This is one of the most successful humorous books -of the present day, filled with fun and good humor, and "will drive the -blues out of a bag of indigo." It is printed from new, large type, and -on fine, heavy white paper of a superior finish, and contains 280 pages. -New, full-page illustrations from unique designs have been prepared -expressly for this edition. Handsome paper cover, 25 cents. - - -=BATTLE FOR BREAD (THE).=--This book contains a series of Sermons by Rev. -T. DeWitt Talmage, the greatest of living preachers. Every workingman -and those who employ them should read this book, and thus be informed of -the real solution of the question of the relations of Labor and Capital, -12mo, 135 pages. Paper cover, 25 cents; cloth, 75 cents. - - -=BLACK ART EXPOSED (THE).=--This book contains some of the most marvelous -things in ancient and modern magic, jugglery, etc., ever printed, and -has to be seen to be fully appreciated. Suffice it to say that any boy -knowing the secrets it contains will be able to do things that will -astonish all. 15 cts. - - -=BLUNDERS OF A BASHFUL MAN (THE).=--By the popular author of "A Bad Boy's -Diary." This is one of the most humorous books ever issued, and has been -pronounced _better_ than "A Bad Boy's Diary." 12mo, 160 pages. -Handsomely illustrated from original designs, including also the -portrait and autograph of "The Bashful Man." Price, paper cover, 25 -cents. - - -=BOILER-MAKER'S ASSISTANT (THE),= and the Theoretical and Practical -Boiler-Maker and Engineer's Reference Book. By Samuel Nicholls, Foreman -Boiler-Maker. 1 vol. 12mo, extra cloth, $2.50. - - -=COMPLETE FORTUNE TELLER AND DREAM BOOK.=--This book contains a complete -Dictionary of Dreams, alphabetically, with a clear interpretation of -each dream, and the lucky numbers that belong to it. It includes -Palmistry, or telling fortunes by the lines of the hand; fortune telling -by the grounds in a tea or coffee cup; how to read your future life by -the white of an egg; tells how to know who your future husband will be, -and how soon you will be married; fortune-telling by cards; Hymen's -lottery; good and had omens, etc. 25 cents. - - -=CONCERT EXERCISES FOR SUNDAY SCHOOLS.=--5 cents each; 30 cents per dozen; -per hundred, by mail, postpaid, $2.00. No. 1, THE CHRISTIAN'S JOURNEY. -No. 2, THE STORY OF REDEEMING LOVE. (For Christmas.) No. 3, CHRIST IS -RISEN. (Appropriate for Easter.) No. 4, WELCOME GREETING. (Appropriate -for Children's Day.) No. 5, GOOD TIDINGS. (Appropriate for anniversaries -and celebrations.) - - -=LEISURE-HOUR WORK FOR LADIES.=--Containing instructions for flower and -shell work; Antique, Grecian and Theorem painting; Botanical specimens; -Cone work; Anglo Japanese work; Decalcomanie; Diaphame; Leather work; -Modeling in clay; Transferring; Crayon drawing; Photograph coloring, -etc., etc. A very complete book, and one that no young lady having spare -time can afford to be without. 15 cents. - - -=LOVER'S GUIDE (THE).=--A book no lover should be without. It gives -handkerchief, parasol, glove, and fan flirtations; also window and -dining-room signaling; the language of flowers; how to kiss deliciously; -love-letters, and how to write them, with specimens; bashfulness and -timidity, and how to overcome them, etc., etc. 15 cents. - - -=COURTSHIP AND MARRIAGE;= or, The Mysteries of Making Love Fully -Explained.--This is an entirely new work on a most interesting subject. -CONTENTS: First steps in courtship; Advice to both parties at the -outset; Introduction to the lady's family; Restrictions imposed by -etiquette; What the lady should observe in early courtship; What the -suitor should observe; Etiquette as to presents; The proposal; Mode of -refusal when not approved; Conduct to be observed by a rejected suitor; -Refusal by the lady's parents or guardians; Etiquette of an engagement; -Demeanor of the betrothed pair; Should a courtship be long or short; -Preliminary etiquette of a wedding; Fixing the day; How to be married; -The trousseau; Duties to be attended to by the bridegroom; Who should be -asked to the wedding; Duties of the bridesmaids and groomsmen; Etiquette -of a wedding; Costume of bride, bridesmaids, and bridegroom; Arrival at -the church; The marriage ceremonial; Registry of the marriage; Return -home, and wedding breakfast; Departure for the honeymoon; Wedding cards; -Modern practice of "No cards;" Reception and return of wedding visits; -Practical advice to a newly married couple. Price, 25 cents. - - -="DON'T MARRY"=--At least until you have read our new book entitled "Don't -Marry." Some marry too soon, others wait too long. This book will tell -you how, when, and whom to marry; besides giving you valuable hints and -helps not found in any other book. It contains 112 pages, paper cover, -and is worth $10 to any one. Price, 25 cents. - - -=DIARY OF A MINISTER'S WIFE.=--By Almedia M. Brown. Complete edition, -12mo, 544 pages. Handsomely bound in cloth, with fine full-page -illustrations, including portraits of Mrs. Minnie Hardscrabble, the -minister's wife, from the facts and incidents in whose life the story -was written; also Rev. John Hardscrabble, with three other -characteristic engravings, which will amuse and interest every reader. -Price, $1.50. - -This popular book is also issued complete in two volumes in paper -covers. Price, per volume, 25 cents. - - -=DIARY OF A VILLAGE GOSSIP.=--By Almedia M. Brown, author of "Diary of a -Minister's Wife," etc., etc. 12mo, 293 pages. Paper cover, 25 cents; -handsomely bound in cloth, $1.00. - - -=MAGIC DIAL (THE).=--By the use of which secret correspondence may be -carried on without fear of detection. No one (even if provided with one -of these dials) can decipher it. It is entirely new, and nothing like it -has ever appeared. It is simple and reliable and can be used by any -person. It will be mailed for 25 cents. - - -=EDUCATING THE HORSE.=--A new and improved system of Educating the Horse. -Also a Treatise on Shoeing, with new and valuable Receipts for Diseases -of Horses. CONTENTS: The great secret of Horse-Taming; How to throw a -horse; the wild colts to halter; break a colt; hitching colt in stall; -how to handle a colt's feet; breaking and driving colts to harness; -objects of fear; to train a horse to stand when getting into a carriage; -balking horses; pulling at halter; to break horses from jumping; pawing -in stall and kicking in harness; the runaway horse; shoeing; corns; to -teach a horse to appear intelligent; to teach a horse how to dance, -waltz, kiss you, shake hands, etc., etc.; cure of sore breasts, big -head, big leg, fullness of blood, catarrh, loose bowels, corns, cough, -inflammation of eye, brittle feet, sand crack in foot, founder (a sure -cure), galled back, grease, inflammation of kidneys, worms, itch, nasal, -gleet, over-reaching, staggers, botts, etc., etc.; concluding with rules -and regulations for the government of trotting and racing. =>No man who -owns a horse can afford to do without this book. It is very thorough, -complete and reliable, and well worth a dozen times the price asked for -it. It contains matter not to be found in any other horse book. Price, -15 cents. - - -=GRAND WONDER COLLECTION.=--A wonderful offer. $3.00 worth of goods for -only 50 cents! Everything is now very cheap, and people get a good deal -more for their money than they used to, but we have no hesitation in -saying that never before was so much offered for the money as is offered -in this GRAND WONDER COLLECTION. It could not be done, only that we -expect to sell thousands of them and are fully satisfied that each one -sold will sell a dozen more. - -The contents of the GRAND WONDER COLLECTION--comprising seven complete -books in one--1. Old Secrets and New Discoveries. 2. Secrets for -Farmers. 3. Laughing Gas. 4. The Swindlers of America. 5. Preserving and -Manufacturing Secrets. 6. The Housewife's Treasure. 7. Fourteen Popular -Songs, Words and Music. - -=>Any person ordering this collection and not fully satisfied, the money -will be cheerfully refunded. Price, 50 cents. - - -=MAGIC TRICK CARDS.=--The Magician's Own Cards, for performing wonderful -tricks. Every boy a magician! Every man a conjurer! Every girl a witch! -Every one astonished! They are the most superior trick cards ever -offered for sale, and with them you can perform some of the most -remarkable illusions ever discovered. - -Complete illustrated directions accompany each pack. They will be -mailed, postpaid, sealed as a letter, for 15 cents a pack. - - -=HEALTH HINTS.=--A new book showing how to Acquire and Retain Bodily -Symmetry, Health, Vigor, and Beauty. Its contents are as follows: Laws -of Beauty--Air, Sunshine, Water, and Food--Work and Rest--Dress and -Ornament--The Hair and its Management--Skin and Complexion--The -Mouth--The Eyes, Ears, and Nose--The Neck, Hands and Feet--Growth and -Marks that are Enemies of Beauty--Cosmetics and Perfumery. - -=Fat People.=--It gives ample rules how Corpulency may be cured--the Fat -made Lean, Comely and Active. - -=Lean People.=--It also gives directions, the following of which will -enable Lean, Angular, Bony or Sharp Visaged People, to be Plump and Rosy -Skinned. - -=Gray Hair.=--It tells how Gray Hair may be Restored to its natural color -without the aid of Dyes, Restorers or Pomades. - -=Baldness.=--It gives ample directions for Restoring Hair on Bald Heads, -as well as how to stop Falling of the Hair, how to Curl the Hair, etc. - -=Beard and Mustache.=--It tells what Young Men should do to acquire a -Fine, Silky and Handsome Beard and Mustache. - -=Freckles and Pimples.=--It gives full directions for the Cure of Sunburn, -Freckles, Pimples, Wrinkles, Warts, etc., so that they can be entirely -removed. - -=Cosmetics.=--This chapter, among other things, gives an Analysis of -Perry's Moth and Freckle Lotion, Balm of White Lilies, Hagan's Magnolia -Balm, Laird's Bloom of Youth, Phalon's Enamel, Clark's Restorative for -the Hair, Chevalier's Life for the Hair, Ayer's Hair Vigor, Professor -Wood's Hair Restorative, Hair Restorer America, Gray's Hair Restorative, -Phalon's Vitalia, Ring's Vegetable Ambrosia, Mrs. Allen's World's Hair -Restorer, Hall's Vegetable Sicilian Hair Renewer, Martha Washington Hair -Restorative, etc., etc. (no room for more), showing how the lead, etc., -in these mixtures causes disease and oftentimes premature death. Price, -25 cents. - - -=LOVE AND COURTSHIP CARDS.=--Sparking, courting, and lovemaking all made -easy by the use of these cards. They are arranged with such apt -conversation that you will be able to ask the momentous question in such -a delicate manner that the girl will not suspect what you are at. They -may be used by two persons only, or they will make lots of fun for an -evening party of young people. There are sixty cards in all, and each -answer will respond differently to every one of the questions. Price, 30 -cents. - - -=MISS SLIMMENS' BOARDING-HOUSE.=--By the author of "A Bad Boy's Diary." -16mo, 188 pages, with nine illustrations. Complete edition. Paper cover, -25 cents. - - -=HOUSEWIFE'S TREASURE (THE).=--A manual of information of everything that -relates to household economies. It gives the method of making Jackson's -Universal Washing Compound, which can clean the dirtiest cotton, linen -or woolen clothes in twenty minutes without rubbing or harming the -material. This recipe is being constantly peddled through the country at -$5.00 each, and is certainly worth it. It also tells all about -soap-making at home, so as to make it cost about one-quarter of what bar -soap costs; it tells how to make candles by molding or dipping; it gives -seven methods for destroying rats and mice; how to make healthy bread -without flour (something entirely new); to preserve clothes and furs -from moths; a sure plan for destroying houseflies, cockroaches, beetles, -ants, bedbugs and fleas; all about house cleaning, papering, etc., and -hundreds of other valuable hints just such as housekeepers are wanting -to know. 25 cents. - - -=HOW TO ENTERTAIN A SOCIAL PARTY.=--A complete selection of Home -Recreations. Profusely illustrated with fine wood-cuts, containing: -Round Games and Forfeit Games; Parlor Magic and Curious Puzzles; Comic -Diversions and Parlor Tricks; Scientific Recreations and Evening -Amusements; The Blue Beard tableaux; Tableaux-vivant for acting; The -play-room; Blind-man's buff; One old ox opening oysters; How do you like -it? when do you like it? and where do you like it? Cross questions and -crooked answers; Cupid's coming; Proverbs; Earth, air and water; Yes and -no; Copenhagen; Hunt the hare, and a thousand other games. - -Here is family amusement for the million. Here is parlor or drawing-room -entertainment, night after night, for a whole winter. A young man with -this volume may render himself the _beau ideal_ of a delightful -companion to every party. Price, 25 cents. - - -=HOW TO WOO AND HOW TO WIN.-=-This interesting work contains full and -interesting rules for the etiquette of courtship, with directions -showing how to win the favor of the ladies; how to begin and end a -courtship; and how love-letters should be written. It not only tells how -to win the favor of the ladies, but how to address a lady; Conduct a -courtship; "Pop the Question;" Write love-letters; All about the -marriage ceremony; Bridal chamber; After marriage, etc. Price, 15 cents. - - -=ODELL'S SYSTEM OF SHORTHAND.=--By which the taking down of sermons, -lectures, trials, speeches, etc., may be easily acquired, without the -aid of a master. By this plan the difficulties of mastering this useful -art are very much lessened, and the time required to attain proficiency -reduced to the least possible limits. Price, 15 cents. - - -=HOW TO TALK AND DEBATE.=--CONTENTS: Introduction; Laws of Conversation; -Listening; Self-possession; Appreciativeness; Conversation, when -confidential; The matter and the manner; Proper subjects; Trifles; -Objectionable subjects; Politics; Rights of women; Wit and humor; -Questions and negatives; Our own hobbies; The voice, how to improve; -Speaking one's mind; Public speaking; How to make a speech; Opening a -debate; Division of the subject; The affirmative; The reply, etc., etc. -A really valuable book, and one that every man and woman, boy and girl -should possess. 15 cents. - - -=LIFE IN THE BACKWOODS.=--A Guide to the successful without the wool or -hair; to skin and stuff birds; baits and hooks for fishing; how to fish -successfully without nets, lines, spears, snares, "bobs," or bait (a -great secret), how to choose and clean guns; how to breed minks for -their skins (hundreds of dollars can be made by any boy or young man who -knows how to breed minks), etc. - -This book is by an old trapper, for many years engaged in trapping in -the Northwest, who has finally consented to publish and disclose these -secrets. Persons living where wild animals exist, with some traps and -the information contained in this book, can make money faster through -the trapping season by giving their time and energies to the business -than they can by seeking their fortunes in the gold regions or in oil -speculations. This is at once the most complete and practical book now -in the market. Price, 15 cents. - - -=MODEL LETTER-WRITER (THE).=--A comprehensive and complete guide -and assistant for those who desire to carry on epistolary -correspondence--containing instructions for writing letters of -introduction; Letters of business; Letters of recommendation; -Applications for employment; Letters of congratulation; Letters of -condolence; Letters of friendship and relationship; Love-letters; Notes -of invitation; Letters of favor, of advice, and of excuse, etc., etc., -together with appropriate answers to each. This is an invaluable book -for those persons who have not had sufficient practice to enable them to -write letters without great effort. 15 cents. - - -=NAPOLEON'S COMPLETE BOOK= of Fate and Complete Fortune Teller.--This is -the celebrated Oracle of Human Destiny consulted by Napoleon the First -previous to any of his undertakings, and by which he was so successful -in war, business, and love. It is the only authentic and complete copy -extant, being translated into English from a German translation of an -ancient Egyptian manuscript found in the year 1801 by M. Sonini, in one -of the royal tombs near Mount Libycus, in Upper Egypt. This Oraculum is -so arranged that any question on business, love, wealth, losses, hidden -treasures, no matter what its nature, the Oraculum has an answer for it. -It also shows how to learn of one's fate by consulting the planets. -Price 15 cents. - - -=OGILVIE'S HOUSE PLANS; OR HOW TO BUILD A HOUSE.=--A neat new book, -containing over thirty finely executed engravings of dwellings of all -sizes, from two rooms up; also churches, barns, and out-houses in great -variety. - -This handy, compact, and very useful volume contains, in addition to the -foregoing, plans for each floor in each and every dwelling of which an -engraving is given. It has, also, valuable information relative to -building, such as number of shingles required in a roof, quantity of -plaster for a house, quantity of materials required for building a -house, etc., etc., and much other information of permanent and practical -value. - -Any one of the plans is alone worth very much more than the price asked -for the book. It is invaluable to every architect, builder, mason, or -carpenter, and particularly do we urge all who anticipate erecting a new -or remodeling an old dwelling to send for a copy, as its fortunate -possessor may save hundred of dollars by following the suggestions it -contains. 25 cents. - - -=HOW TO BEHAVE.=--Hand-book of Etiquette and Guide to True Politeness. -CONTENTS: Etiquette and its uses; Introductions; Cutting acquaintances; -Letters of introduction; Street etiquette; Domestic etiquette and -duties; Visiting; Receiving company; Evening parties; The lady's toilet; -The gentleman's toilet; Invitations; Etiquette of the ball-room; General -rules of conversation; Bashfulness and how to overcome it; Dinner -parties; Table etiquette; Carving; Servants; Traveling; Visiting cards; -Letter writing; Conclusion. This is the best book of the kind yet -published, and every person wishing to be considered well-bred, who -wishes to understand the customs of good society, and to avoid incorrect -and vulgar habits, should send for a copy. 15 cents. - - -=MISS SLIMMENS' WINDOW.=--Complete edition in one volume now ready. 16mo, -150 pages. Bound in heavy paper covers, with 13 illustrations. 25 -cents. - - -=OGILVIE'S HANDY MONITOR AND UNIVERSAL ASSISTANT,= containing Statistical -Tables of Practical Value for Mechanics, Merchants, Editors, Lawyers, -Printers, Doctors, Farmers, Lumbermen, Bankers, Bookkeepers, Politicians -and all classes of workers in every department of human effort, and -containing a compilation of facts for reference on various subjects, -being an epitome of matters Historical, Statistical, Biographical, -Political, Geographical and general interest. 192 pages bound in paper, -25 cents. - -No more valuable book has ever been offered containing so much -information of practical value in everyday life. - - -=OLD SECRETS AND NEW DISCOVERIES.=--Containing Information of Rare Value -for all Classes, in all Conditions of Society. - -=It Tells= all about _Electrical Psychology_, showing how you can -biologize any person, and, while under the influence, he will do -anything you may wish him, no matter how ridiculous it may be, and he -cannot help doing it. - -=It Tells= how to _Mesmerize_. Knowing this, you can place any person in a -mesmeric sleep, and then be able to do with him as you will. This secret -has been sold over and over again for $10. - -=It Tells= how to make persons at a distance think of you--something all -lovers should know. - -=It Tells= how you can charm those you meet and make them love you, -whether they will or not. - -=It Tells= how Spiritualists and others can make writing appear on the arm -in blood characters, as performed by Foster and all noted magicians. - -=It Tells= how to make a cheap Galvanic Battery; how to plate and gild -without a battery; how to make a candle burn all night; how to make a -clock for 25 cents; how to detect counterfeit money; how to banish and -prevent mosquitoes from biting; how to make yellow butter in winter; -Circassian curling fluid; Sympathetic or Secret Writing Ink; Cologne -Water; Artificial honey; Stammering; how to make large noses small; to -cure drunkenness; to copy letters without a press; to obtain fresh-blown -flowers in winter; to make good burning candles from lard. - -=It Tells= how to make a horse appear as though he was badly foundered; to -make a horse temporarily lame; how to make him stand by his food and not -eat it; how to cure a horse from the crib or sucking wind; how to put a -young countenance on the horse; how to cover up the heaves; how to make -him appear as if he had the glanders; how to make a true-pulling horse -balk; how to nerve a horse that is lame, etc., etc.--These horse secrets -are being continually sold at one dollar each. - -=It Tells= how to make the Eggs of Pharo's Serpents, which when lighted, -though but the size of a pea, there issues from it a coiling, hissing -serpent, wonderful in length and similarity to a genuine serpent. - -=It Tells= how to make gold and silver from block tin (the least said -about which the better). Also how to take impressions from coins. Also -how to imitate gold and silver. - -=It Tells= of a simple and ingenious method of copying any kind of drawing -or picture. Also, more wonderful still, how to print pictures from the -print itself. - -=It Tells= how to perform the Davenport Brothers "Spirit Mysteries." So -that any person can astonish an audience, as they have done. Also scores -of other wonderful things which there is no room to mention. - -=Old Secrets and New Discoveries= is worth $5 to any person; but it will -be mailed to any address on receipt of only 25 cents. - - -=OUT IN THE STREETS.=--By S. N. Cook. Price, 15 cents. - -We take pleasure in offering the strictly moral and very amusing -temperance drama entitled, "Out in the Streets," to all entertainment -committees as one that will give entire satisfaction. The parts are -taken by six male and six female characters. - - -=PHUNNY PHELLOW'S GRAB BAG;= or, Jolly Tid-Bits for Mirthful -Mortals.--Josh Billings, Danbury News Man and Bret Harte rolled into -one. It is not too much to say that the book contains the choicest humor -in the English language. Its size is mammoth, containing more than one -thousand of the raciest jests, comical hits, exhilarating stories, -flowers of wit, excruciating jokes, uproarious poems, laughable -sketches, darky comicalities, clowns' efforts, button-bursting -conundrums, endmen's jokes, plantation humors, funny caricatures, -hifalutin dialogues, curious scenes, cute sayings, ludicrous drolleries, -peculiar repartees, and nearly 500 illustrations. 25 cents. - - -=SCIENCE OF A NEW LIFE (THE).=--By John Cowan, M.D. A handsome 8vo, -containing over 400 pages, with more than 100 illustrations, and sold at -the following prices: English cloth, beveled boards, gilt side and back, -$3.00; leather, sprinkled edges, $3.50; half turkey morocco, marbled -edges, gilt back, $4.00. - - -=SOME FUNNY THINGS= said by Clever Children. Who is not interested in -children? We are satisfied that this book will give genuine satisfaction -to all who are interested in listening to the happy voices of children. -This will show that humor is not confined to adult minds by any means. -64 pages, 10 cents. - - - - -THE EVERY-DAY EDUCATOR - -OR, - -How To Do Business. - -Prepared for Ambitious Americans by -Prof. SEYMOUR EATON. - -The Brightest and Best Help Manual ever issued in this Country. - -Each of the numerous departments forms a unique feature. Here are the -titles of a few: - -[Illustration: HOW TO APPLY] - -[Illustration: _For a Situation_] - - BOOK-KEEPING, BANKING, CORRESPONDENCE, - ARITHMETIC, FRENCH, GERMAN, - LESSONS IN ELECTRICITY, ASTRONOMY, - PENMANSHIP, PHYSICAL CULTURE, - HOW TO WRITE FOR THE PRESS, - FIGURE SHORTHAND, LESSONS IN DRAWING, - TELEGRAPHY, FACTS and FIGURES, - THESE BODIES OF OURS, GAMES AND PUZZLES, - CHARACTER IN HANDS, - GOOD OPENINGS IN NEW TRADES, U. S. HISTORY, - PUBLIC SPEAKING, HOW TO GET A START, - LITERATURE, AUTHORS and BOOKS. - -[Illustration: RULES OF ORDER FOR BUSINESS MEETINGS] - -But why go further? Get the book and we guarantee you will say it is -away ahead of anything you have seen before. - -=The Every-Day Educator= contains 240 pages. Handsomely printed on fine -paper. Fully illustrated. Substantially bound in cloth, and in every -respect a perfect specimen of advanced book-making, price, 75 cents; -bound in paper cover, 25 cents. Sent by mail, postpaid, to any address -on receipt of price. Agents wanted. Address all orders and applications -for an agency to - -_J. S. OGILVIE PUBLISHING COMPANY_, -_Lock Box 2767._ _57 Rose Street, New York._ - - -AYER'S - -Hair Vigor - -cures scalp humors, prevents dandruff, restores color and vitality to -faded and gray hair, stimulates growth, makes the hair soft, glossy, and -beautiful. As a tonic and dressing for the hair and scalp it has no -equal, being used by both ladies and gentlemen - -FOR THE TOILET - -[Illustration] - -"I have used Ayer's Hair Vigor for years. It prevents the hair from -falling out, thickens the growth of the hair and gives it a fine, rich, -glossy appearance, such as no other dressing will impart. It is an -elegant toilet article, and I can cordially recommend it."--Miss DYDA -YATES, Utica, Mississippi. - -NO MORE -GRAY HAIR - -AYER'S PILLS cure Stomach Troubles. - - * * * * * - - -Typographical errors corrected by the etext transcriber: - -costly fireram come into the hands=> costly firearm come into the hands -{pg 4} - -I did make a mistep at=> I did make a mis step at {pg 8} - -his eyebrows were so baldy shape=> his eyebrows were so badly shape {pg -13} - -gifted with this elasticty=> gifted with this elasticity {pg 13} - -That is why weh aveoc me to=> That is why we have [illegible]oc me to -{pg 57} - -what has happend me=> what has happened me {pg 129} - -story of Oledipus=> story of OEdipus {pg 170} - -gold earings and chain=> gold earrings and chain {pg 14} - -the royal couch tramped men and women=> the royal coach tramped men and -women {pg 18} - -had complaisant treasures=> had complaisant treasurers {pg 20} - -Queen and their son is in the midst=> Queen and their son are in the -midst {pg 21} - -I always come with pelasure and confidence=> I always come with pleasure -and confidence {pg 34} - -probably intented to=> probably intended to {pg 49} - -But Piton did not participate=> But Pitou did not participate {pg 64} - -with the competeitors=> with the competitors {pg 67} - -started through the words=> started through the woods {pg 72} - -has anything bad happened him=> has anything bad happened to him {pg 72} - -Her recoiled on the lounge=> She recoiled on the lounge {pg 83} - -he demaded=> he demanded {pg 83} - -Rosseau was dead=> Rousseau was dead {pg 95} - -He laid peculiar streets on this name=> He laid peculiar stress on this -name {pg 100} - -villian=> villain {pg 103} - -so distinguised a man=> so distinguished a man {pg 104} - -wanting fine thousand=> wanting five thousand {pg 104} - -I have no pretention=> I have no pretension {pg 116} - -your are a friend=> you are a friend {pg 118} - -Ravaillac's or Damiens'=> Ravaillac's or Damien's {pg 119} - -Provence's owns Guards=> Provence's own Guards {pg 119} - -Govenror of Metz=> Governor of Metz {pg 120} - -neasure of greatness=> measure of greatness {pg 130} - -meetings in the craypt=> meetings in the crypt {pg 141} - -The Jacobin is a young minotaurs=> The Jacobin is a young minotaur {pg -143} - -you are funeral, count=> you are funereal, count {pg 143} - -or we shall Surgeon=> or we shall have Surgeon {pg 150} - -I could notifiy him=> I could notify him {pg 151} - -he was wearing on old uniform=> he was wearing an old uniform {pg 153} - -nails properly trimed=> nails properly trimmed {pg 153} - -A kind gentelman=> A kind gentleman {pg 158} - -While Nocole would educate the boy=> While Nicole would educate the boy -{pg 161} - -Do you not rocognize me=> Do you not recognize me {pg 167} - -what anology between=> what analogy between {pg 170} - -amoniacal dose=> ammoniacal dose {pg 189} - -this very mornng=> this very morning {pg 194} - -three corpes furnished=> three corpses furnished {pg 194} - -that this indicent broke=> that this incident broke {pg 195} - -loking steadily at her=> looking steadily at her {pg 196} - -instead of kepping it down=> instead of keeping it down {pg 197} - -yet in embyro=> yet in embryo {pg 199} - -road her down=> rode her down {pg 203} - -the vetran was=> the veteran was {pg 208} - -while her husaband rode off=> while her husband rode off {pg 211} - - - - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's The Hero of the People, by Alexandre Dumas - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HERO OF THE PEOPLE *** - -***** This file should be named 42681.txt or 42681.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/2/6/8/42681/ - -Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Chuck Greif and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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Thus, we do not necessarily -keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. - - -Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: - - http://www.gutenberg.org - -This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. diff --git a/42681.zip b/42681.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 8682eab..0000000 --- a/42681.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/42681-0.txt b/old/42681-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 0c6c285..0000000 --- a/old/42681-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,10914 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Hero of the People, by Alexandre Dumas - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: The Hero of the People - A Historical Romance of Love, Liberty and Loyalty - -Author: Alexandre Dumas - -Translator: Henry Llewellyn Williams - -Release Date: May 10, 2013 [EBook #42681] -[Last updated: October 4, 2014] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HERO OF THE PEOPLE *** - - - - -Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Chuck Greif and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - -Many spelling and punctuation errors have been corrected. A list of the -etext transcriber’s spelling corrections follows the text. Consistent -archaic spellings have not been changed. (Note of etext transcriber.) - - - - -PRICE, 25 CENTS. No. 80. - -THE SUNSET SERIES. -By Subscription, per Year, Nine Dollars. February 22, 1894. -Entered at the New York Post-Office as second-class matter. - -Copyright 1891, by J. S. OGILVIE. - -The Hero Of -The People. - -BY -Alex. Dumas. - -NEW YORK: -J. S. OGILVIE PUBLISHING COMPANY, -57 ROSE STREET. - -A WONDERFUL OFFER! - -70 House Plans for $1.00. - -[Illustration] - -If you are thinking about building a house don’t fail to get the new -book - -PALLISER’S - -AMERICAN - -ARCHITECTURE, - -containing 104 pages, 11×14 inches in size, consisting of large 9×12 -plate pages giving plans, elevations, perspective views, descriptions, -owners’ names, actual cost of construction (=_no guess work_=), and -instructions =_How to Build_= 70 Cottages, Villas, Double Houses, Brick -Block Houses, suitable for city suburbs, town and country, houses for -the farm, and workingmen’s homes for all sections of the country, and -costing from $300 to $6,500, together with specifications, form of -contract, and a large amount of information on the erection of buildings -and employment of architects, prepared by Palliser, Palliser & Co., the -well-known architects. - -This book will save you hundreds of dollars. - -There is not a Builder, nor anyone intending to build or otherwise -interested, that can afford to be without it. It is a practical work, -and the best, cheapest and most popular book ever issued on Building. -Nearly four hundred drawings. - -It is worth $5.00 to anyone, but we will send it bound in paper cover, -by mail, post-paid for only $1.00; bound in handsome cloth, $2.00. -Address all orders to - -_J. S. OGILVIE PUBLISHING CO., -Lock Box 2767. 57 Rose Street, New York._ - - - - -THE HERO OF THE PEOPLE. - -A HISTORICAL ROMANCE -OF -LOVE, LIBERTY AND LOYALTY. - -BY ALEX. DUMAS. -Author of “The Queen’s Necklace,” “The Three Musketeers,” -“Balsamo the Magician,” “Monte Cristo,” “Taking the Bastile,” -“Chicot the Jester,” etc. - -TRANSLATED FROM THE AUTHOR’S REVISED -LATEST EDITION. - -BY -HENRY LLEWELLYN WILLIAMS - -NEW YORK: -J. S. OGILVIE PUBLISHING COMPANY, -57 ROSE STREET. - -_Entered according to act of Congress in the year 1892, by A. E. Smith & -Co., in the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington._ - - - - -THE HERO OF THE PEOPLE. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -LOCKSMITH AND GUNSMITH. - - -The French Revolution had begun by the Taking of the Bastile by the -people of Paris on the Fourteenth of July, 1789, but it seemed to have -reached the high tide by King Louis XVI, with his Queen Marie Antoinette -and others of the Royal Family, leaving Versailles, after some -sanguinary rioting, for the Capital, Paris. - -But those who think, in such lulls of popular tempests, that all the -mischief has blown over, make a mistake. - -Behind the men who make the first onset, are those who planned it and -who wait for the rush to be made and, then, while others are tried or -satisfied, glide into the crowds to stir them up. - -Mysterious agents of secret, fatal passions, they push on the movement -from where it paused, and having urged it to its farthest limit, those -who opened the way are horrified, at awakening to see that others -attained the end. - -At the doorway of a wine saloon at Sevres by the bridge, over the Seine, -a man was standing who had played the main part, though unseen, in the -riots which compelled the Royal Family to renounce an attempt to escape -out of the kingdom like many of their sycophants, and go from Versailles -Palace to the Tuileries. - -This man was in the prime of life: he was dressed like a workingman, -wearing velveteen breeches shielded by a leather apron with pockets such -as shinglers wear to carry nailes in, or blacksmith-farriers or -locksmiths. His stockings were grey, and his shoes had brass buckles; on -his head was a fur cap like a grenadier’s cut in half or what is called -nowadays an artillerist’s busby. Grey locks came straggling from under -its hair and mingled with shaggy eyebrows; they shaded large bulging -eyes, keen and sharp, quick, with such rapid changes that it was hard to -tell their true color. His nose was rather thick than medium, the lips -full, the teeth white, and his complexion sunburnt. - -Without being largely built, this man was well formed: his joints were -not course and his hands were small and might have seemed delicate but -for their being swart like those of workers in metal. - -Despite the vigor of the biceps muscle shown from his having rolled up -his shirt sleeves, the skin was remarkable for its whiteness, and almost -aristocratically fine. - -Within his reach was a richly gold-inlaid double-barrelled fowling -piece, branded with the name of Leclere, the fashionable gunsmith of -Paris. You may ask how could such a costly firearm come into the hands -of a common artisan? In times of riot it is not always the whitest hands -which grasp the finest weapons. - -This man had only arrived from Versailles since an hour, and perfectly -well knew what had happened there: for to the landlord’s questions as he -supplied him with a bottle of wine which he did not touch, he had -answered as follows: - -“The Queen is coming along with the King and the Dauphin. They had -started at half afternoon, having at last decided to live at the -Tuileries; in consequence of which for the future Paris would no longer -want for bread, as it would have in her midst, the Baker, the Baker’s -Wife and the Baker’s Boy, as the popular slang dubbed the three -‘Royals'.” - -As for himself, he was going to hang round to see the procession go by. - -This last assertion might be true, although it was easy to tell that his -glance was more often bent on the side towards Paris than Versailles, -which led one to surmise that he did not feel obliged to tell Boniface -exactly what his intentions were. - -In a few seconds his attraction seemed gratified, for he spied a man, -garbed much like himself, and appearing of the same trade, outlined on -the ridge of the road. He walked heavily like one who had journeyed from -afar. - -His age appeared to be like his awaiter’s, that is, what is called the -wrong side of forty. His features were those of a common fellow with low -inclinations and vulgar instincts. - -The stranger’s eye was fastened on him with an odd expression as if he -wished with a single scrutiny to measure the gold, if any, and the alloy -in his composition. - -When the wayfarer from the town was within twenty steps of this man -lounging in the doorway, the latter stepped inside, poured the wine from -the bottle into two glasses and returning to the doorstep with one -tumbler held up, he hailed him: - -“Hello, mate! it is pretty cold weather, and the road is a long one. -What do you say to our having a drop of the red to cheer us up and warm -us?” - -The workman from town looked round to make sure that he was alone and -that the greeting was addressed to him. - -“Speaking to me, are you?” - -“Who else, as you are alone?” - -“And offering me a go of wine?” - -“Why not, as we are brothers of the file and bossing-hammer alike? or -some at nigh.” - -“Anybody can belong to a trade,” said the other looking hard at the -speaker; “but the point is, are you a greenhand or a master of the -craft?” - -“I reckon we shall tell how far we have learnt the trade while drinking -and chatting together.” - -“All right then!” said the other, walking up to the door, while the -inviter showed the table set out with the wine. The man took the -tumbler, eyed the contents as if he had doubts, but they disappeared -when the stranger poured himself out a second brimmer. - -“Why, hang it all, are you getting so proud that you will not drink with -a shopmate?” - -“No, dash me if I am--here is Good Luck to the Nation!” - -The workman’s grey eyes were fixed on the toast-giver’s. - -He tossed off the glass at a draft, and wiped his lips on his sleeve. - -“Deuse take it, but it is Burgundy wine,” he remarked. - -“And good liquor, too, eh? the vintage was recommended to me; and -happening along I dropped in, and I am not repenting it. But why not sit -down and be at home? there is some more in the bottle and more in the -cellar when that is gone.” - -“I say, what are you working at here?” - -“I have knocked off for the day. I finished a job at Versailles and I am -going on to Paris with the royal procession as soon as it comes along.” - -“What procession?” - -“Why, the King and the Queen and the little Prince, who are returning to -the city with the Fishmarket women and two hundred Assemblymen, all -under protection of Gen. Lafayette and the National Guard.” - -“So the fat old gentleman has decided to come to town?” - -“They made him do it.” - -“I suspected so when I started for Paris at three this morning.” - -“Hello! did you leave Versailles at three without any curiosity about -what was going off?” - -“No, no, I itched to know what the gent was up to, being an -acquaintance, a chum of mine, by the way, though I am not bragging; but -you know, old man, one must get on with the work. I have a wife and -children to provide for, and it is no joke now. I am not working at the -royal forge.” - -The listener let what he heard pass without putting any questions. - -“So, it was on a pressing job that you went back to Paris?” he only -inquired. - -“Just that, as it appears, and handsomely paid too,” said the workman, -jingling some coin in his pocket, “though it was paid for by a kind of -servant, which was not polite, and by a German, too, which blocked me -from having any pleasant chatter during the work. I am not one for gab, -but it amuses one if no harm is spoken of others.” - -“And it is no harm when harm is spoken of the neighbors, eh?” - -Both men laughed, the stranger showing sound teeth against the other’s -snaggy ones. - -“So, then, you have knocked off a good job, wanted doing in a hurry, and -well paid?” said the former, like one who advances only a step at a -time, but still does advance. “Hard work, no doubt?” - -“You bet it was hard. Worse than a secret lock--an invisible door. What -do you think of one house inside of another? some one who wants to hide -away, be sure. What a game he could have--in or out, as he pleased. -‘Your master in?’ ‘No, sir: just stepped out.’ ‘You are a liar--he came -in just now.’ ‘You had better look, since you are so cocksure.’ So they -look round, but I defy them to find the gentleman. An iron door, you -will understand, which closes on a beading-framed panel, while it runs -on balls in a groove as on wheels. On the metal is a veneer of old oak, -so that you can rap with your knuckles on it and the sound is identical -with that of a solid plank. I tell you when the job was done, it would -take me in myself.” - -“Where the mischief would you do a job like that? but I suppose you -would not tell even a pal?” - -“I cannot tell because I do not know.” - -“What hoodwinked you?” - -“Guess again and you will be wrong. A hack was waiting for me at the -city turnpike bars. A chap came up and asked: ‘Are you so and-so?’ I -said ‘I am.’ ‘Good, we are waiting for you: jump in.’ So I got inside -the coach, where they bandaged my eyes, and after the wheels had gone -round for about half an hour, a big carriage-door was opened. They took -me out and up ten steps of a flight of stairs into a vestibule, where I -found a German servant who said to the others: ‘Goot! make scarce of -yourseluffs; no longer want we you.’ They slung their hook out of it, -while the blinders were taken me off, and I was shown what I had to do. -I had pitched into the work like a good hand, and was done in an hour. -They paid me in bran-new gold, tied up my eyes, put me back in the -carriage, dropped me on the same spot where I was taken up, wished me -safe home--and here I am.” - -“Without your having seen anything, even out of the tail of the eye? -Deuse take me if ever I heard of a bandage which would stop a man -catching a glimpse on one side or t’other. Better own up that you had a -peep at something?” pursued the stranger. - -“Well, I did make a misstep at the first stone of the stairs so that, in -throwing up my hands to keep from falling, I got a peep from its -disarranging the handkerchief. I saw a regular row of trees on my left -hand which made me think that I was in some avenue. That is all, on my -honor.” - -“I can’t say it is much. For the main avenue is long and more than one -house has a carriage-doorway betwixt the St. Honore Coffeehouse and the -Bastile.” - -“The fact is,” said the locksmith, scratching his head, “I don’t think I -am up to telling the house.” - -The questioner appeared satisfied, although his countenance did not -usually betray his feelings. - -“But,” exclaimed he, as if skipping to another topic, “are there no good -locksmiths at Paris that they have to send to Versailles for one?” - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -THE THREE ODDITIES. - - -The locksmith lifted his tumbler to his eye’s level, admired the liquor -with pleasure, and said after sipping it with gratification: - -“Bless you, yes, plenty of locksmiths at Paris.” - -He drank a few drops more. - -“Ay, and masters of the craft.” He drank again. “Yes, but there is a -difference between them.” - -“Hang me,” said the other, “but I believe you are like St. Eloi, our -patron saint, master among the master-workmen.” - -“Are you one of us?” - -“Akin, my boy: I am a gunsmith. All smiths are brothers. This is a -sample of my work.” - -The locksmith took the gun from the speaker’s hands, examined it with -attention, clicked the hammers and approved with a nod of the sharp -action of the lock: but spying the name on the plate, he said: - -“Leclere? this won’t do, friend, for Leclere is scanty thirty, and we -are both a good forty, without meaning to hurt your feelings.” - -“Quite true, I am not Leclere, but it is the same thing, only a little -more so. For I am his master.” - -“Oh, capital!” chuckled the locksmith; “it is the same as my saying ‘I -am not the King but I am the same thing, only more so, as I am his -master.'” - -“Oho,” said the other rising and burlesquing the military salute, “have -I the honor of addressing Master Gamain, the King of Locksmiths?” - -“Himself in person, and delighted if he can do anything for you,” -replied Gamain, enchanted at the effect his name had produced. - -“The devil! I had no idea I was talking to one of the high flyers in our -line,” said the other. “A man so well considered.” - -“Of such consequence, do you mean?” - -“Well, maybe I have not used the right word, but then I am only a poor -smith, and you are the master smith for the master of France. I say,” he -went on in another tone, “it can’t be always funny to have a king for a -‘prentice, eh?” - -“Why not?” - -“Plain enough. You cannot eternally be wearing gloves to say to the mate -on your bench: ‘Chuck us the hammer or pass the retail file along.'” - -“Certainly not.” - -“I suppose you have to say: ‘Please your gracious Majesty, don’t hold -the drill askew.'” - -“Why, that is just the charm with him, d’ye see, for he is a -plain-dealer at heart. Once in the forge, when he has the anvil to the -fore, and the leathern apron tied on, none would ever take him for the -Son of St. Louis, as he is called.” - -“Indeed you are right, it is astonishing how much he is like the next -man.” - -“And yet these perking courtiers are a long time seeing that.” - -“It would be nothing if those close around him found that out,” said the -stranger, “but those who are at a distance are beginning to get an idea -of it.” - -His queer laugh made Gamain look at him with marked astonishment. But he -saw that he had blundered in his pretended character by making a -witticism, and gave the man no time to study his sentence, for he -hastened to recur to the topic by saying: - -“A good thing, too; for I think it lowers a man to have to slaver him -with Your Majesty here and My Noble Sire there.” - -“But you do not have to call him high names. Once in the workshop we -drop all that stuff. I call him Citizen, and he calls me Gamain, but I -ain’t what you would call chummy with him, while he _is_ familiar with -me.” - -“That is all very well; but when the dinner hour comes round I expect he -sends you off to the kitchen to have your bread and cheese with the -flunkeys.” - -“Oh, Lor', No! he has never done that; quite the other way about, for he -gets me to bring in a table all set into the workshop and he will often -put his legs under the mahogany with me, particularly at breakfast, -saying: ‘I shall not bother about having breakfast with the Queen, as I -should have to wash my hands.'” - -“I can’t make this out.” - -“You can’t understand that when the King works like us, he has his hands -smeared with oil and rust and filings, which does not prevent us being -honest folks, and the Queen would say to him, with her hoity-toity -prudish air: ‘Dirty beggar, your hands are foul.’ How can a man have a -fop’s hands if he works at the forge?” - -“Don’t talk to me about that--I might have married high if I could have -kept my fingers nice,” sighed the stranger. - -“Let me tell you that the old chap does not have a lively time in his -geographical study or his library; but I believe he likes my company the -best.” - -“That is all very amusing for you, except having to endure so poor a -pupil.” - -“Poor,” repeated Gamain. “Oh, no, you must not say that. He is to be -pitied, to tell the truth, in his coming into the world as a king, for -he is but a man--and having to waste himself on a pack of nonsense -instead of sticking to our art, in which he makes good way. He will -never be but a third-rate king for he is too honest, but he would have -made an excellent locksmith. There is one man I execrate for stealing -away his time--that Necker fellow, who made him lose such a lot of -time!” - -“You mean with his accounts and financing.” - -“Ay, his fine-Nancy-ing, indeed.” - -“But you must make a fat thing out of such a lad to bring on.” - -“No, that is just where you are in error: that is why I bear a grudge to -him, Louis the Father of the Kingdom, the Restorer of the French Nation! -People believe that I am rich as _Creases_, while I am as poor as Job.” - -“You, poor? why, what does he do with all his money?” - -“He gives half to the poor and the other half is got away by his -parasites, so that he never has any brass. The Coigny, Polignac and -Vaudreuil families eat him up, poor dear old boy! One day he wanted to -cut down Lord Coigny’s appointments, and the gentleman waylaid him at -our forge door: after going out for five minutes, the King came back, -pale as a ghost, muttering: ‘Faith, I believe he would have caned me.’ -‘Did he get the appointments reduced, Sire?’ I inquired. ‘I let them -stand,’ he said: ‘what else could I do?’ Another time he wanted to scold -the Queen for giving Duchess Polignac three hundred thousand francs for -the linen for her baby, and what do you think?” - -“It is a pretty sum for a baby!” - -“Right you are: but it was not enough: the Queen made him give her five -hundred thousand. You have only to look how these Polignacs have got on, -who had not a penny when they started in, but are running away from -France with millions. I should not have minded if they had any talent, -but just give those neerdowells a hammer or cold chisel; they could not -forge a horseshoe: give them file and screw-driver and see how they -would get on at a common lock! However, they can wag the tongue to some -purpose, since they hounded the King on so that they leave him in a -quagmire. He may flounder out as best he can, with the help of General -Lafayette and Mayor Bailly, and Lord Mirabeau. I gave him good advice, -but he would not listen to me, and he leaves me with fifteen hundred -livres a-year, though I am his trainer, who first showed him to hold a -file properly.” - -“But I suppose that when you worked with him, there were some pickings?” - -“But am I working with him now? Since the Taking of the Bastile, I have -not set foot inside his palace. Once or twice I met him: the first time, -as there was a crowd about in the street, he just bobbed his head; the -next, on the Satory Road, he stopped the coach for the coast was clear. -‘Good morning, my poor Gamain, how goes it?’ he sighed. ‘How goes it -with you, Sire? but I know it is rough--but that will be a lesson to -you.’ ‘Are your wife and children well?’ he said to shift the talk. ‘All -fine but with appetites like ogres.’ ‘You must make them a little -present from me.’ He searched his pockets, but he could rake up only -nine louis. ‘That is all I carry with me, my poor Gamain,’ he said with -a kind of groan, ‘and I am ashamed to do so little.’ Of course, it was -small cash for a monarch to give, short of ten gold pieces, so paltry a -sum to a work-fellow--So----“ - -“You refused them?” - -“Catch me? No, I said: ‘I had better grab, for he will meet somebody -else not so delicate as me, who would take them.’ Still, he need not -fret himself, I shall never walk into Versailles unless I am sent for, -and I do not know as I shall then.” - -“What a grateful heart this rogue has,” muttered the stranger, but all -he said aloud was: “It is very affecting, Master Gamain, to see devotion -like yours survive misfortune. A last glass to the health of your -‘prentice.” - -“Faith, he does not deserve it, but never mind! here’s to his health, -all the same!” He drank. “Only to think that he had thousands of bottles -in his cellar which would beat this, and he never said to a footman: -Take a basket of this lush to my friend Gamain!’ Not he--he would sooner -have it swilled by his Lifeguardsmen, the Swiss, or his Flanders -Regiment. They did him a lot of good, I do not think!” - -“What did you expect?” questioned the other, sipping his wine, “kings -are ungrateful like this one. But hush! we are no longer alone.” - -In fact, three persons were entering the drinking saloon, two men of the -common sort and a fishfag, and they took seats at the table matching -that at which Gamain and his “treater” were sitting. - -The locksmith raised his eyes to them and stared with an attention -making the other smile. They were truly worthy of some remark. - -One of the two men was all body: the other all legs: it was hard to say -anything about the woman. - -All-Body resembled a dwarf: he was under five feet in hight: he may have -lost an inch or so from his knees knocking although when he stood up, -his feet kept apart. Instead of his countenance redeeming the deformity, -it seemed to highten it;--for his oily and dirty hair was flattened down -on his bald forehead; his eyebrows were so badly shaped as to seem -traced at random; his eyes were usually dull but when lighted up sheeny -and glassy as the toad’s. In moments of irritation, they threw out -sparks like a viper’s, from concentrated pupils. His nose was flat, and -deviated from the straight line so that his prominent cheek bones stood -out all the more. Lastly, to complete the hideous aspect, his yellow -lips only partly covered the few, black and loose teeth in his twisted -mouth. - -At first glance you would say that gall, not blood, flowed in his veins. - -The other was so opposed to the short-legged one that he seemed a heron -on its stilts. The likeness to the bird was the closer from his head -being lost between his humped shoulders so as to be distinguished solely -by the eyes, like blood-spots, and a long, pointed, beak-like nose. Like -the heron, too, he seemed to have the ability to stretch his neck, and -put out the eyes of one at a distance. His arms also were gifted with -this elasticity, and while seated, he might pick up a handkerchief -dropped at his feet without moving his body. - -The third person was ambiguous; it being difficult to divine the sex. If -a man, he was upwards of thirty-four, wearing a stylish costume of the -fishmarket stallkeepers, with lace kerchief and tucker, and gold -earrings and chain. His features, as well as could be made out through -layers of rouge and flake white, together with beauty-patches of -sticking plaster of all fancy shapes, were slightly softened as in -degenerated races. As soon as one caught sight of him one wanted to hear -him speak in the hope that the voice’s sound would give his dubious -appearance a stamp by which he could be classed. But it was nothing to -the purpose: his soprano voice left the curious observer still deeper -plunged into doubt. - -The shoes and stockings of the trio were daubed in mud to show that they -had been tramping in the road for some time. - -“Lord save us, I seem to know that woman, from having met her before,” -said Gamain. - -“Very likely at court,” sneered the pretended workman “their manners -have been there quite a while and they have been visitors, the -fishmarket dames, of late. But,” he went on, pulling his cap down on his -brow and taking up his gun, “they are here on business: consequently, we -had better leave them alone.” - -“Do you know them?” - -“By sight. Do you?” - -“I say that I have met the woman before: tell me who the men are and I -may put my finger on her name.” - -“Of the two men, the knock-kneed one is the surgeon, Jean Paul Marat; -while the humpback is Prosper Verrieres.” - -“Aha!” - -“Does not that put you on the right track?” - -“My tongue to the dogs if it does!” - -“The fishwoman is----“ - -“Wait, it is--but, no--impossible----“ - -“I see that you will not name _him_--the fish_woman_ is the Duke of -Aiguillon.” - -At this utterance of the title, the disguised nobleman started and -turned, as well as his companions. They made a movement to rise as men -do when in presence of a leader: but the pretended gunsmith laid a -finger on his lips and passed them by. - -Gamain followed him, believing he was in a dream. - -At the doorway he was jostled by a running man, who seemed to be pursued -by a mob, shouting: - -“Stop him--that is the Queen’s hairdresser! stop the hairdresser!” - -Among the howling and racing men were two who carried each a human head -on a pikestaff. They were those of two Lifeguards, killed at Versailles -in defending the Queen from the mob. - -“Halloa, it is Leonard,” said the strange workman, to the fugitive. - -“Silence, do not name me,” yelled the barber, dashing into the saloon. - -“What do they chase him for?” inquired Gamain. - -“The Lord knows,” was the response: “maybe they want him to curl the -hair of the poor soldiers. In Revolutionary times, fellows have such -quaint fancies!” - -He mixed in with the throng, leaving Gamain, from whom he had probably -extracted all he wanted, to make his way alone to his workshop at -Versailles. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -THE UNDYING MAN. - - -It was the more easy for the pretended gunsmith to blend with the crowd -as it was numerous. - -It was the advance guard of the procession around the King, Queen and -the Prince Royal, leaving the court suburb at half past one. - -In the royal coach were the Queen, her son, her daughter, called Madam -Royale though a child, Count Provence, the King’s brother. Lady -Elizabeth his sister, and the Queen’s favorite lady of the household, -Andrea Taverney Countess of Charny. - -In a hundred carriages came the National Assemblymen who had declared -they would henceforth be inseparable from the monarch. - -This mob was about a quarter of an hour ahead of the royal party, and -rallied round the two royal guardsmen’s heads as their colors. All -stopped at the Sevres wine saloon. The collection was of tattered and -half-drunken wretches, the scum that comes to the surface whether the -inundation is water or lava. - -Suddenly, great stir in the concourse, for they had seen the National -Guards’ bayonets and General Lafayette’s white horse, immediately -preceding the royal coach. - -Lafayette was fond of popular gatherings: he really reigned among the -Paris people whose idol he was. But he did not like the lowest orders. -Paris, like Rome, had a grade under the mere mob. - -In particular, he did not approve of Lynch Law, and he had done his -utmost to try to save those aristocrats whom the crowd had executed. It -was to hide their trophies and preserve the bloody tokens of victory -that the multitude kept on ahead. But on being encouraged by the trio of -captains waiting at the Sevres saloon, they decided to keep the heads up -and wait for the King, so that he should not be parted from his faithful -guards. - -The mob was increased by the country folks flocking to the road from all -quarters to see the cortege go by. A few cheered, adding their uproar to -the howls, hoots and groans of the marching column, but the majority, -stood dull and quiet on both sides of the road. - -Did this mean that they were for the Royal Family? No: or at least -unless they belonged to the court party, everybody, even the upper -middle class, suffered more or less from the dreadful famine spreading -over the kingdom. If they did not insult the King and Queen, they -remained hushed, and the silence of an assemblage is often worse than an -insult. - -On the other hand the myriads roared with all their lung power: “Hurrah -for Lafayette!” who took off his hat now and then or waved the sword in -his right hand: and “Long live Mirabeau!” who thrust his head out of the -carriage window, where he was one of six, to get a whiff of the air -necessary for his broad chest. - -Hence, amid the silence for himself, the unfortunate Louis XVI. heard -applauded that Popularity which he had lost and that Genius which he had -never possessed. - -By the King’s right side carriage-window walked a man in a black suit -whose dress pointed him out as one of the Philosophers, as they were -termed, or Revolutionists who worked intellectually for the amelioration -of the monarchy. This was the royal honorary physician, Dr. Honore -Gilbert. The crowd cheered him at times, for he was a hero of their own. -Born a Frenchman, of humble degree, a boy on the estate of the -ultra-royalist Baron Taverney, he had educated himself in democratic -learning. Falling in love with his master’s lovely daughter, Andrea, -since Countess of Charny, he had followed her to court. At Paris he -became favorite pupil of Rousseau, the revolutionist, and this farther -confirmed him in his subversive principles. - -But having taken advantage of Andrea while she was powerless under the -influence of a mesmeric sleep, he fled the country. He had deposited in -sure hands the living evidence of his crime, a boy named Emile (In honor -of Rousseau, who wrote a book so called) Sebastian Gilbert, and fled the -country. But at the Azores Islands he came in contact with the young -lady’s brother Philip, who shot him down and believed he left him dead. - -But, restored to life by his friend, the Baron Balsamo, otherwise -Cagliostro the Magician he accompanied him to America. - -The two formed part of the legion of Frenchmen who helped the revolted -Thirteen Colonies to throw off the British yoke. - -Returning to his country he was arrested at Havre and thown into the -Bastile. When that hated prison was stormed by the Parisians led by the -Farmer Billet, he was rescued. He had gone to court to learn who had -caused this arrest, and to his amazement discovered that its author was -the woman whom he had unutterably wronged. Yes, the baron’s daughter had -married the Queen’s favorite, thought by some to be her paramour, Count -George Charny, very rich, very brave and altogether fit to create her a -power in the realm. - -Gilbert had a sincere pity for royalty under a cloud. He was known to -the King as the author of certain articles on the way to steer the Ship -of State, and his offer to serve him was gladly accepted. - -The mob cheered at the remarkable shaking up of the sands in Time’s box -by which the revolutionary advocate, fresh from the Bastile dungeons, -should walk at the side of the King’s coach to shield his life from the -assassin. No mere touch of rhetoric, for on the royal visit to Paris -lately a bullet had cut a button off the doctor’s coat and slain a woman -in the throng: this graceful gentlemen in black was then a better -safeguard than the soldiers whose heads were now garnishing the pikes -there in advance. - -Queen Marie Antoinette looked with wonder at this doctor, whose stoicism -she could not understand, while to it the American manner of forced -quiet added more sternness. Without love or devotion for his sovereigns, -he carried out what he considered duty towards them, as ready to die for -them as those who had the qualities of the loyalist he lacked. - -On both sides of the royal coach tramped men and women, in mud six -inches deep, while amid the ribbons and rags, the Fishmarket women and -porters of the Paris Markets swarmed round waves more compact than the -rest of the human sea. These clumps were cannon or ammunition wagons, on -which sat women singing at the top of their voices. An old song which -had been applied to King Louis XV.'s mistress Jeanne Dubarry, and was -now altered to suit Marie Antoinette and the situation of affairs, was -their choice. They roared: - - “The Baker’s wife has got the cash, which costs her very little.” - -They also kept reiterating: “We shall not want for bread any more, as we -have got the Baker, the Baker’s Wife and the Baker’s Little Boy along.” - -The Queen seemed to listen to it all without understanding. Between her -knees she held her son, who looked at the multitude as frightened -princes stare when appalled. - -The King watched with a dull and heavy eye. He had little sleep in the -night; he had not made a good breakfast though usually a hearty eater; -he had no time to have his hair dressed and his beard had grown long. -His linen was limp and roughened, too--all things to his disadvantage. -Alas, Louis was not the man for emergencies, and this was a period of -emergencies. He bent his head when they came: save once when he held his -chin up--it was when he walked upon the scaffold. - -Lady Elizabeth was the angel of sweetness and resignation placed by -heaven beside those doomed creatures to console the King during the -Queen’s absence; and the Queen after the King’s death. - -Count Provence, here as everywhere, had the squinting glance of a false -man; he knew that he ran no present danger; he was the popular member of -the family--no one knew why--perhaps because he remained in France when his -brother Artois fled. - -Could the King have read his heart, he might not have felt any gratitude -to him for what he pledged in the way of devotion. - -Countess Andrea seemed of marble. She had recognized the man she most -hated in the King’s new confidential adviser, and one whom the Queen -seemed bound to win to her side. Like a statue, the stir round her -seemed not to affect her, and she looked in attire as trim as if fresh -from a band-box. One thought was alive within her, fierce and -luminous--love for some unknown--perchance her husband, or hate for -Gilbert--at whom she darted lightnings involuntarily whenever their -glances crossed. But she felt that she might not defy his with impunity, -for he was a pupil of Balsamo Cagliostro, the arch-mesmerist, and might -sway her with the same art. - -A hundred paces on the other side of the little drinking saloon, the -royal train stopped. All along the line the clamor doubled. - -The Queen bent out of the window and as the movement looked like a bow -to the crowd, there was a long murmur. She called Dr. Gilbert. - -He went up to the window: as he had kept his hat off all the way, he -had no need to bare his head in respect. His attitude showed he was -entirely under her orders. - -“What are your people shouting and singing?” she requested to know. - -The Queen’s form of putting the question showed that she had been -ruminating it for some time. He sighed as much as to say, it is the same -old story. - -“Alas, my lady,” he proceeded with profound melancholy, “those you call -my people, were yours in former times, and it is less than twenty years -ago when Lord Brissac, a delightful courtier whom I look in vain for -here, showed you the same people shouting for the Dauphin under the City -Hall windows and said: ‘You behold twenty thousand admirers there.'” - -The Queen bit her lips from the impossibility of catching this man in -want of a repartee or of respect. - -“That is true--it only proves that the many-headed change,” she said. - -Gilbert bowed this time, without retort. - -“I asked you a question, doctor,” persisted the lady, with the obstinacy -she had for even disagreeable matters. - -“Yes, and I answer since your Majesty insists. They are singing that the -Baker’s Wife has plenty of money which it gave her no trouble to get. -You are aware that they style your Majesty the Baker’s Wife?” - -“Just as they called me Lady Deficit before. Is there any connection -between the nicknames?” - -“So much also as the finances are concerned. They mean by your money -being easily come by that you had complaisant treasurers such as Calonne -in particular, who gave you whatever you asked; the people therefore -assume that you got your money readily for the asking.” - -The Queen’s hand was clenched on the red velvet carriage-window ledge. - -“So much for what they are singing. Now, for what they bellow out?” - -“They say that they shall no longer want for bread since they have the -Baker, the Baker’s Wife and the Baker’s Son among them.” - -“I expect you to make this second piece of insolence clear.” - -“You would see that they are not so much to blame as you fancy if you -were to look to the intention and not weigh the words of the people. -Wrongly or rightfully, the masses believe that a great Grain Trust is -carried on at Versailles. This prevents flour from coming freely into -the capital. Who feeds the Paris poor? the Baker. Towards whom does the -working man and his wife hold out their supplicating hands when their -children cry for food? the baker and the baker’s wife. Who do they pray -to after the Sender of the harvest? the lady of the estate--that is, the -loaf-giver, as the name is derived. Are not you three the loaf-givers -for the country, the King, yourself and this august child? Do not be -astonished at the mighty, blessed name the people give you, but thank -them for cherishing the hope that as soon as the King, the Queen and -their son are in the midst of the famished thousands, they will no -longer be in want.” - -For an instant the royal lady closed her eyes, and she made the movement -of swallowing as though to keep down her hatred as well as bitter saliva -which scorched her throat. - -“So we ought to thank these howlers for their songs and nick-names upon -us?” - -“Yes, and most sincerely: the song is but an expression of their good -humor as the shouts are of their expectations. The whole explains their -desire.” - -“So they want Lafayette and Mirabeau to live long?” - -“Yes,” returned Gilbert, seeing that the Queen had clearly heard the -cries, “for those two leaders, separated by the gulf over which you -hang, may, united, save the monarchy.” - -“Do you mean that the monarchy has sunk so low that it can be picked up -by those two?” queried the lady. - -He was going to make some kind of reply when a burst of voices, in -dread, with atrocious peals of laughter and a great swaying of the -gathering, driving Gilbert closer to the vehicle, announced that he -would be needed in defense of the Queen by speech or action. It was the -two head-carriers, who, after having made Leonard barb and curl the -hair, wanted to have the fun of presenting them to Marie Antoinette--as -other roughs, or perhaps the same--had presented the dead heads of sons -to their fathers. - -The crowd yelled with horror and fell away as these ghastly things came -up. - -“In heaven’s name, do not look to the right,” cried Gilbert. - -The Queen was no woman to obey such an injunction without a peep to see -the reason. So her first movement was to turn her gaze in the forbidden -direction and she uttered a scream of fright. But, all of a sudden, as -she tore her sight from this horrible spectacle as if they were Gorgon -heads, they became fixed as though they met another view even more -awful, from which she could not detach it. - -This Medusa’s head was the stranger’s who had been drinking and chatting -with Locksmith Gamain in the wine-store: with folded arms, he was -leaning against a tree. - -The Queen’s hand left the window cushion, and resting on Gilbert’s -shoulder, he felt her clench her nails into its flesh. He turned to see -her pale, with fixed eyes and quivering, blanched lips. - -He would have ascribed the emotion to the two death’s heads but for her -not looking at either. The gaze was in another direction, traveling -visually in which he descried the object and he emitted a cry of amaze. - -“Cagliostro!” both uttered at the same time. - -The man at the tree clearly saw the Queen, but all he did was beckon for -Gilbert to come to him. - -At this point of time the carriages started on once more. By a natural -and mechanical impulse the Queen gave Gilbert an outward push to prevent -his being run over by the wheel. It looked as though she urged him -towards the summoner. Anyhow, he was not sufficiently master of himself -not to obey the mandate. Motionless, he let the party proceed; then, -following the mock gunsmith who merely looked back to be sure he was -followed, he entered behind him a little lane going uphill to Bellevue, -where they disappeared behind a wall at the same time as the procession -went out of sight in a declivity of the hills, as though plunging into -an abyss. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -FATALITY. - - -Gilbert followed his guide half-way up the slope where stood a handsome -house. The foregoer pulled out a key and opened a side door intended for -the master to go in or come out without the servants knowing when he did -so. He left the door ajar to signify that the companion of the journey -was to use it. Gilbert entered and shut the door gently but it silently -closed itself tightly with a pneumatic arrangement at the hinges which -seemed the work of magic. Such an appliance would have been the delight -of Master Gamain. - -Through luxuriously fitted passages Gilbert finally came into a drawing -room, hung with Indian satin tapestry; a fantastic Oriental bird held -the lustre in its beak and it emitted a light which Gilbert knew was -electricity, though its application thus would have been a puzzle to -others than this specialist in advanced science. The lights represented -lily-blooms, which again was an anticipation of modern illuminators. - -One picture alone adorned this room but it was Raphael’s Madonna. - -Gilbert was admiring this masterpiece when the host entered by a secret -door behind him from a dressing room. - -An instant had sufficed for him to wash off the stain and the -pencillings and to give his black hair, without any grey, a stylish -turn. He had also changed his clothes. Instead of the workman was an -elegant nobleman. His embroidered coat and his hands glittering with -rings in the Italian style, strongly contrasted with Gilbert’s American -black coat and his plain gold ring, a keepsake from General Washington. - -Count Cagliostro advanced with a smiling open face and held out his hand -to Gilbert. - -“Dear Master,” cried the latter rushing to him. - -“Stop a bit,” interrupted the other, laughing: “since we have parted, -my dear Gilbert, you have made such progress in revolutionary methods at -all events, that you are the master at present and I not fit to undo -your shoestrings.” - -“I thank you for the compliment,” responded the doctor, “but how do you -know I have made such progress, granting I have progressed?” - -“Do you believe you are one of those men whose movement is not marked -although not seen? Since eight years I have not set eyes on you but I -have had a daily report of what you did. Do you doubt I have -double-sight?” - -“You know I am a mathematician.” - -“You mean, incredulous? Let me show you, then. In the first place you -returned to France on family matters; they do not concern me, and -consequently----“ - -“Nay, dear master, go on,” interposed the other. - -“Well, you came to have your son Sebastian educated in a boarding school -not far from Paris in quiet, and to settle business affairs with your -farmer, an honest fellow whom you are now retaining in town against his -wishes. For a thousand reasons he wants to be home beside his wife.” - -“Really, master, you are prodigious!” - -“Wait for something stronger. The second time you returned to France -because political questions drew you, like many others; besides you had -published several political treatises which you sent to King Louis XVI., -and as there is much of the Old Man in you--you are prouder for the -approval of the King than perhaps you would be of that of my predecessor -in your training, Rousseau--who would be higher than a king this day, -had he lived--you yearn to learn what is thought of Dr. Gilbert by the -descendant of St. Louis, Henry Fourth and Louis XIV. Unfortunately a -little matter has kept alive which you did not bear in mind, as a sequel -to which I picked you up in a cave in the Azores, where my yacht put in. -I restored you from the effects of a bullet in your breast. This little -affair concerned Mdlle. Andrea Taverney, become Countess Charny, which -she deserves, to save the Queen’s reputation, compromised by the King -coming upon her and Count Charny by surprise. - -“As the Queen could refuse nothing to this saver, she got a blank -warrant and committal to prison for you, so that you were arrested on -the road out of Havre and taken to the Bastile. There you would be to -this day, dear doctor, if the people, prepared for a rising by a person -whom you may divine, had not in a day knocked the old building lower -than the gutter. I was not sorry, for I had a taste of the fare myself -before I was banished the Kingdom. This morning early, you contributed -to the rescue of the Royal Family, by running to arouse Lafayette, who -was sleeping the sleep of the virtuous; and just now, when you saw me, -you were about to make a breastwork of your body for the Queen who -seemed threatened--though, between ourselves, she detests you. Is this -right? Have I forgotten anything of note, such as a hypnotic seance -before the King when Countess Charny was made to disclose how she had -led to your imprisonment and how she obtained a certain casket of your -papers by one Wolfstep, a police agent? Tell me and if I have omitted -any point, I am ready to do penance for it.” - -Gilbert stood stupefied before this extraordinary man, who knew so well -to prepare his march that his hearer was inclined to attribute to him -the faculty of comprising heavenly as well as mundane things, and to -read in the heart of man. - -“Yes, it is thus and you are still the magician, the fortune-teller, the -thaumaturgist, Cagliostro!” - -The wonder-worker smiled with satisfaction, for it was evident that he -was proud of having worked on Gilbert such an impression as the latter’s -visage revealed. - -“And now,” continued Gilbert, “as I love you as much as you do me, dear -master, and my desire to learn what you have been doing is equal to -yours and how I have fared, will you kindly tell me, if I am not -intruding too far, in what part of the globe you have exhibited your -genius and practiced your power?” - -“Oh, I?” said Cagliostro, smiling, “like yourself I have been rubbing -shoulders with kings, but with another aim. You go up to them to uphold -them; I to knock them over. You try to manufacture a constitutional -monarch and will not succeed; I, to make emperors, kings and princes -democratic, and I am coming on.” - -“Are you really?” queried Gilbert with an air of doubt. - -“Decidedly. It must be allowed that they were prepared for me by -Voltaire, Alembert and Diderot, admirable Mecaenases, sublime contemners -of the gods, and also by the example of Frederick the Great, whom we -have the misfortune to lose. But you know we are all mortal, except the -Count of St. Germain and myself. - -“So long as the Queen is fair, my dear Gilbert, and she can recruit -soldiers to fight among themselves, kings who fret to push over thrones -have never thought of hurling over the altar. But we have her brother, -Kaiser Joseph II. who suppresses three-fourths of the monasteries, -seizes ecclesiastical property, drives even the Camelite nuns out of -their cells, and sends his sister prince of nuns trying on the latest -fashions in hats and monks having their hair curled. We have the King of -Denmark, who began by killing his doctor Struensee, and who, at -seventeen, the precocious philosopher, said: ‘Voltaire made a man of me -for he taught me to think.’ We have the Empress Catherine, who made such -giant strides in philosophy that--while she dismembered Poland, Voltaire -wrote to her: ‘Diderot, Alembert and myself are raising altars to you. -We have the Queen of Sweden and many princes in the Empire and -throughout Germany.'” - -“You have nothing left you but to convert the Pope, my dear master, and -I hope you will, as nothing is beyond you.” - -“That will be a hard task. I have just slipped out of his claws. I was -locked up in Castle Sanangelo as you were in the Bastile.” - -“You don’t say so? did the Romans upset the castle as the people of St. -Antoine Ward overthrew the Bastile?” - -“No, my dear doctor, the Romans are a century behind that point. But, be -easy: it will come in its day: the Papacy will have its revolutionary -days, and Versailles and the Vatican can shake hands in equality at that -era.” - -“I thought that nobody came alive out of Castle Sanangelo?” - -“Pooh! what about Benvenuto Cellini, the sculptor?” - -“You had not wings such as he made, had you, and did you flit over the -Tiber like a new Icarus?” - -“It would be the more difficult as I was lodged for the farther security -in the blackest dungeon of the keep. But I did get out, as you see.” - -“Bribed the jailor with gold?” - -“I was out of luck, for my turnkey was incorruptible. But, fortunately, -he was not immortal. Chance--the believers say, Providence--well, the -Architect of the Universe granted that he should die on the morrow of -his refusing to open the prison doors. He died very suddenly! and he had -to be replaced.” - -“The new hand was not unbribable?” - -“The day of his taking up his office, as he brought me the soup, he -said: ‘Eat heartily and get your strength, for we have to do some stiff -traveling this night.’ By George, the good fellow told no lie. That same -night we rode three horses out dead, and covered a hundred miles.” - -“What did the government say when your disappearance was known?” - -“Nothing. The dead and still-warm other jailer was clad in the clothes I -left behind; and a pistol was fired in his face; it was laid by his side -and the statement was given out that in despair at having no escape and -with the useless weapon which I had procured none could tell how, I had -blown out my brains. It follows that I am officially pronounced dead and -buried; the jailer being interred in my name. It will be useless, my -dear Gilbert, my saying that I am alive, for the certificate of my death -and burial will be produced to prove that I am no more. But they will -not have to do anything of the sort as it suits me to be thought passed -away at this date. I have made a dive into the sombre river, as the -poets say, but I have come up under another name. I am now Baron Zanone, -a Genoese banker. I discount the paper of princes--good paper in the -sort of Cardinal Prince Rohan’s, you know. But I am not lending money -merely for the interest. By the way, if you need cash, my dear Gilbert, -say so? You know that my purse, like my heart, is always at your call.” - -“I thank you.” - -“Ah, you think to incommode me, because you met me in my dress as a -workman? do not trouble about that; it is merely one of my disguises; -you know my ideas about life being one long masquerade where all are -more or less masked. In any case, my dear boy, if ever you want money, -out of my private cash box here--for the grand cash box of the -Invisibles is in St. Claude Street--come to me at any hour, whether I am -at home or not--I showed you the little, side door; push this spring -so--“ he showed him the trick--“and you will find about a million -ready.” - -The round top of the desk opened of itself on the spring being pressed, -and displayed a heap of gold coin and bundles of banknotes. - -“You are in truth a wonderful man!” exclaimed Gilbert; “but you ought to -know that with twenty thousand a-year, I am richer than the King. But do -you not fear being disquieted in Paris?” - -“On account of the matter of the Queen’s Necklace for which I was forbid -the realm? Go to! they dare not. In the present ferment of minds I have -only to speak one word to evoke a riot: you forget that I am friendly -with all the popular leaders--Lafayette, Necker, Mirabeau and yourself.” - -“What have you come to do at Paris?” - -“Who knows? perhaps what you went over to the United States to do--found -a republic.” - -“France has not a republican turn of mind,” said the other, shaking his -head. - -“We shall teach her that way, that is all. It has taken fifteen hundred -years to rule with a monarchy; in one hundred the Republic will be -founded to endure--why not as long?” - -“The King will resist; the nobility fly to arms; and then what will you -do?” - -“We will make a revolution before we have the Republic.” - -“It will be awful to do that, Joseph,” said Gilbert, hanging his head. - -“Awful indeed, if we meet many such as you on the road.” - -“I am not strong, but honest,” said the doctor. - -“That is worse: so I want to bring you over.” - -“I am convinced--not that I shall prevent you in your work, but will -stay you.” - -“You are mad, Gilbert; you do not understand the mission of France in -Europe. It is the brain of the Old World, and must think freely so that -the world will be the happier for its thought. Do you know what -overthrew the Bastile?” - -“The people.” - -“No: public opinion. You are taking the effect for the cause.” - -“For five hundred years they have been imprisoning nobles in the Bastile -and it stood. But the mad idea struck an insane monarch one day to lock -up thought--the spirit which must be free, and requires space unto -immensity, and crack! it burst the walls and the mob surged in at the -breach.” - -“True enough,” mused the younger man. - -“Twenty-six years ago, Voltaire wrote to Chauvelin: ‘All that I see is -sowing Revolution round us, and it will inevitably come though I shall -not have the bliss to see the harvest. The French are sometimes slow to -come into the battle but they get there before the fight is over. Light -is so spread from one to another, that it will burst forth in a mass -soon, and then there will be a fine explosion. The young men are happy -for they will behold splendors. What do you say about the flare-ups of -yesterday and what is going on to-day?'” - -“Terrible!” - -“And what you have beheld in the way of events?” - -“Dreadful!” - -“We are only at the beginning.” - -“Prophet of evil!” - -“For instance, I was at the house of a man of merit, a doctor of -medicine and a philanthropist: what do you think he was busy over?” - -“Seeking the remedy for some great disease.” - -“You have it. He is trying to cure, not death, but life.” - -“What do you mean?” - -“Leaving epigrams aside, I mean that there not being means enough for -quitting life, he is inventing a very ingenious machine which he reckons -to present to his fellow countrymen, to put fifty or eighty persons to -death in an hour. Well, my dear Gilbert, do you believe that so human a -philanthropist, so distinguished a physician as Dr. Louis Guillotin, -would busy himself about such an instrument unless he felt the want of -it? - -“I know that this is not so much a novelty as a machine forgotten, as a -proof of which I showed it as an image in a glass of water to Marie -Antoinette. She was then espoused to the Dauphin of France, now its -sovereign, and it was down at Taverney where you were a dependent. The -old baron was alive then, and the lady of the manor was Mdlle. Andrea.” - -“Ah,” sighed Gilbert at this reminder of his boyhood. - -“But at the first you had eyes only for the servant-maid, Nicole, -afterwards Olive Legay, as the Dauphiness, to whom she bore an amazing -resemblance by the bye, is the Queen of France. Well I repeat that the -future Queen was shown by me this instrument to which I shall suggest no -name, though the olden ones are the Maiden, the Widow and the _Mannaya_ -in my country. The thing so alarmed her that she swooned dead away. It -was in limbo at the era, but you shall see it at work presently if it be -successful; and then you must be blind if you do not spy the hand of -heaven in it all, it being foreseen that the time would come when the -headsman would have his hands too full and that a new method must be -devised.” - -“Count, your remarks were more consoling when we were in America.” - -“I should rather think they were! I was in the midst of a people who -rose and here in society which falls. In our Old World, all march -towards the grave, nobility and royalty, and this grave is a bottomless -pit.” - -“Oh, I abandon the nobility to you, count, or rather it threw itself -away in the night of the fourth of August; but the royalty must be saved -as the national palladium.” - -“Big words, my dear Gilbert: but did the palladium save Troy? Do you -believe it will be easy to save the realm with such a king?” - -“But in short he is the descendant of a grand race.” - -“Eagles that have degenerated into parrots. They have been marrying in -and out till they are rundown.” - -“My dear sorcerer,” said Gilbert, rising and taking up his hat, “you -frighten me so that I must haste and take my place by the King.” - -Cagliostro stopped him in making some steps towards the door. - -“Mark me, Gilbert,” he said, “you know whether I love you or not and if -I am not the man to expose myself to a hundred sorrows to aid you to -avoid one--well, take this piece of advice: let the King depart, quit -France, while it is yet time. In a year, in six months, in three, it -will be too late.” - -“Count, do you counsel a soldier to leave his post because there is -danger in his staying?” - -“If the soldier were so surrounded, engirt, and disarmed that he could -not defend himself: if, above all, his life exposed meant that of half a -million of men--yes, I should bid him flee. And you yourself, Gilbert, -you shall tell him so. The King will listen to you unless it is all too -late. Do not wait till the morrow but tell him to-day. Do not wait till -the afternoon but tell him in an hour.” - -“Count, you know that I am of the fatalist school. Come what come may! -so long as I shall have any hold on the King it will be to retain him in -France, and I shall stay by him. Farewell, count: we shall meet in the -action: perhaps we shall sleep side by side on the battlefield.” - -“Come, come, it is written that man shall not elude his doom however -keen-witted he may be,” muttered the magician: “I sought you out to tell -you what I said, and you have heard it. Like Cassandra’s prediction it -is useless, but remember that Cassandra was correct. Fare thee well!” - -“Speak frankly, count,” said Gilbert, stopping on the threshold to gaze -fixedly at the speaker, “do you here, as in America, pretend to make -folk believe that you can read the future?” - -“As surely, Gilbert,” returned the self-asserted undying one, “as you -can read the pathway of the stars, though the mass of mankind believe -they are fixed or wandering at hazard.” - -“Well, then--someone knocks at your door.” - -“Yes.” - -“Tell me his fate: when he shall die and how?” - -“Be it so,” rejoined the sorcerer, “let us go and open the door to him.” - -Gilbert proceed towards the corridor end, with a beating of the heart -which he could not repress, albeit he whispered to himself that it was -absurd to take this quackering as serious. - -The door opened. A man of lofty carriage, tall in stature, and with -strong-will impressed on his lineaments, appeared on the sill and cast a -swift glance on Dr. Gilbert not exempt from uneasiness. - -“Good day, marquis,” said Cagliostro. - -“How do you do, baron?” responded the other. - -“Marquis,” went on the host as he saw the caller’s gaze still settled on -the doctor, “this is one of my friends, Dr. Gilbert. Gilbert, you see -Marquis Favras, one of my clients. Marquis, will you kindly step into my -sitting-room,” continued he as the two saluted each other, “and wait for -a few seconds when I shall be with you.” - -“Well?” queried Gilbert as the marquis bowed again and went into the -parlor. - -“You wished to know in what way this gentleman would die?” said -Cagliostro with an odd smile; “have you ever seen a nobleman hanged?” - -“Noblemen are privileged not to die by hanging.” - -“Then it will be the more curious sight; be on the Strand when the -Marquis of Favras is executed.” He conducted his visitor to the street -door, and said: “When you wish to call on me without being seen and to -see none but me, push this knob up and to the left, so--now, -farewell--excuse me--I must not make those wait who have not long to -live.” - -He left Gilbert astounded by his assurance, which staggered him but -could not vanquish his incredulity. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -THE CANDLE OMEN. - - -In the meantime the Royal Family had continued their road to Paris. The -pace was so slow and delayed that it was six o’clock before the carriage -containing so much sorrow, hatred, passions and innocence, arrived at -the city bars. - -During the journey the Dauphin had complained of being hungry. There was -no want of bread as many of the pikes and bayonets were holding up -loaves and the Queen would have asked Gilbert to get one, if he had been -by. She could not ask the mob, whom she held in horror. - -“Wait till we are in the Tuileries Palace this evening,” she said, -hugging the boy to her. - -“But these men have plenty,” he protested. - -“But that is theirs, not ours. And they went all the way to Versailles -for it as there was none in Paris, these three days.” - -“Have they not eaten for three days?” said the Prince. “Then they must -be awful hungry, mamma.” - -Etiquet ordered him to address his mother as Madam, but he was hungry as -a poor boy and he called her mamma as a poor boy would his mother. - -Ceasing to grieve, he tried to sleep. Poor royal babe, who would cry -many times yet for bread before he died. - -At the bars a halt was made, not to repose but to rejoice over the -arrival. It was hailed with song and dance. A strange scene almost as -terrifying in this joy as the others had been for ghastliness. - -The fishmarket-women got off their horses, captured from the slain -Lifeguardsmen, hanging their swords and carbines to the horns. Other -women and the market-girls jumped off their cannon, which appeared in -their alarming smoothness. - -They all joined hands and danced around the royal carriage. Separating -it from the deputies and the National Guard, an omen of what was to -follow. This round dance had the good intention to set the enforced -guests at ease: the men and women capered, kissed, hugged and sang -together. The men lifted up their partners as in Teniers’ pictures. - -This went on as night was falling, on a dark and rainy day, so that the -dancing by the light of torches and the gun-stocks and fireworks, took -fantastic effects of light and shade almost infernal. - -After half an hour all shouted a general hurrah; all the firearms were -shot off at risk of shooting somebody; and the bullets came down in the -puddles with a sinister plash. - -The prince and his sister wept; they were too frightened to feel -hungered. - -At the City Hall a line of troops prevented the crowd from entering the -place. Here the Queen perceived her foster-brother, and confidential -servant, Weber, an Austrian who had followed her fortunes from home, and -was trying to pass the cordon and go in with her. To be more useful to -the Queen he had put on a National Guard uniform and added the insignia -of a staff-officer. The Royal Groom had lent him a horse. Not to excite -suspicion he kept at a distance during the journey. Now he ran up at her -call. - -“What have you come for?” she demanded; “you will be useless here while -at the Tuileries you will be needed. If you do not go on before, nothing -will be ready for our accommodation.” - -“Capital idea that,” said the King. - -The Queen had spoken in German and the King had replied in English as he -did not speak the other tongue though understanding it. - -The bystanders held foreign tongues in horror, and they murmured and -this swelled to a roar when the square opened and let the coach roll -through. - -The welcoming speech was made by Billy, Mayor of Paris, who played the -King a scurvy trick by repeating his answer: “I always come with -pleasure and confidence among my good people of Paris,” without the word -“confidence” which spoilt matters, and he was taken to task by the Queen -for it. - -It was not till ten o’clock that the royal carriage got back to the -Tuileries where Weber had done the best he could for them. - -Count Provence had gone to Luxembourg Palace. - -Weber had located the Royal Family in Countess Lamarck’s rooms, but the -comforts were limited. For instance there was no room for Countess -Charny at supper and she talked of spending the night in a chair for -want of a bed. But knowing the great favor in which the Queen held the -countess, they placed a couch for her in the next room to the Queen’s. - -The latter shuddered at this for she thought of the count being with his -wife, and Andrea saw the emotion. - -“There must be some corner for me elsewhere,” said she; “I will go find -it.” - -“You are right, countess,” said the King while Marie Antoinette mumbled -something unintelligible. “We will do something better to-morrow.” - -The King watched the stately countess go out, while he held the plate to -his mouth. - -“That lady is a delightful creature,” he said, “and Charny ought to be -happy to find such a phoenix at court.” - -The Queen leant back in her chair to hide her sensation, not from the -speaker, but from his sister Elizabeth, who was frightened lest she had -fallen ill. - -The Queen did not breathe at ease till alone in her room. - -She had heard her daughter say her prayers, speaking a little longer -than usual as she was pleading for her brother who had gone to rest -forgetting to say his. - -Sitting alone at a table, somehow she had the panorama of her life pass -before her. - -She recalled that she was born on the second of November, 1755, the day -of the Lisbon earthquake, which swallowed up fifty thousand souls and -extended five thousand miles. - -She recalled that the room she slept in, in France, at Strasburg, -represented the Massacre of the Innocents and so frightened her in the -flickering lamplight that she had always retained a terrible memory of -her first night on French soil. - -She recalled how, stopping at Taverney House, she had been shown in the -gardens by Baron Balsamo the image of an unknown instrument for -decapitation: this was the man who, under the name of Cagliostro, had -exercised a fatal influence on her destiny, as witness his hand in the -Queen’s Necklace trial; though she was advised that he had perished in -the papal dungeons as a magician and atheist, had she not seen him this -day in the mob during the halt at Sevres? - -She recalled that in Madam Lebrun’s portrait she had unwittingly made -her pose as the unfortunate Henrietta Maria of England, in her portrait, -as Wife of Charles I. the Beheaded. - -She recalled how, when she got out of her coach for the first time at -Versailles, in that Marble Court where so much blood lately flowed on -her behalf, a lightning stroke had flashed so extraordinarily that -Marshal Richelieu had said: “An evil omen!” albeit he was a cynic not -easily startled by superstition. - -She was recalling all this when a reddish cloud, from her eyes being -strained, thickened around her, and one of the four candles in the -candelabrum went out without evident cause. - -While she was looking at it, still smoking, it seemed to her that the -next taper to it paled sensibly, and turning red and then blue in the -flame, faded away and lengthened upward, as if to quit the wick, from -which it leaped altogether. It was extinguished, as though by an unseen -breath from below. - -She had watched the death of this with haggard eyes and panting bosom, -and her hands went out towards the candlestick proportionable to the -eclipse. When gone out, she closed her eyes, drew back in her armchair, -and ran her hand over her forehead, streaming with perspiration. - -When she opened them anew, after ten minutes, she perceived that the -flame of the third candle was affected like the rest. - -She believed it was a dream or that she was under some hallucination. -She tried to rise but seemed nailed to her chair. She wanted to call her -daughter, whom she would not have aroused a few minutes before for a -second crown, but her voice died away in her throat. She tried to turn -her head but it was rigid as if the third light expiring attracted her -eyes and breath. Like the other pair, it changed hue and swaying to one -side and the other, finally shot itself out. - -Then fear had such mastery that speech returned to her and that made her -feel restored in courage. - -“I am not going to distress myself because three candles happened to go -out,” she said; “but if the fourth suffers the same fate, then woe is -me!” - -Suddenly, without going through the transitions of the others, without -lengthening or fluttering to left or right as if the death-angel wing -had wafted it, the fourth flame went out. - -She screamed with terror, rose, reeled and fell to the floor. - -At this appeal the door opened and Andrea, white and silent in her -night-wrapper appeared like a ghost on the sill. When she had revived -her mistress with the mechanical action of one impelled by sheer duty, -the Queen remembered all the presage, and aware that it was a woman -beside her, flung her arms round her neck, and cried: - -“Save me, defend me!” - -“Your Majesty needs no defense among her friends,” said Andrea, “and you -appear free of the swoon in which you fell.” - -“Countess Charny,” gasped the other, letting go of her whom she had -embraced, and almost repelling her in the first impulse. - -Neither the feeling nor the expression had escaped the lady. But she -remained motionless to impassibility. - -“I shall undress alone,” faltered the Queen. “Return to your room, as -you must require sleep.” - -“I shall go back, not to sleep but to watch over your Majesty’s -slumber,” returned Andrea, respectfully curtseying to the other and -stalking away with the solemn step of a vitalized statue. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -THE REVOLUTION IN THE COUNTRY. - - -Our intention being to temporarily abandon the fortunes of our high and -mighty characters to follow those of more humble but perhaps no less -engaging heroes, we take up with Sebastian Gilbert whom his father, -immediately after his release from the Bastile, confided to a young -peasant named Ange Pitou, foster-brother of the youth, and despatched -them to the latter’s birthplace, Villers Cotterets. - -It was eighteen leagues from the city, and Gilbert might have sent them -down by stage-coach or his own carriage; but he feared isolation for the -son of the mesmerists’ victim, and nothing so isolates a traveler as a -closed carriage. - -Ange Pitou had accepted the trust with pride at the choice of the King’s -honorary physician. He travelled tranquilly, passing through villages -trembling with the thrill from the shock of the events at Paris as it -was the commencement of August when the pair left town. - -Besides Pitou had kept a helmet and a sabre picked up on the battlefield -where he had shown himself more brave than he had expected. One does not -help in the taking of a Bastile without preserving some heroic touch in -his bearing subsequently. - -Moreover he had become something of an orator; he had studied the -Classics and he had heard the many speeches of the period, scattered out -of the City Hall, in the mobs, during lulls in the street fights. - -Furnished with these powerful forces, added to by a pair of ponderous -fists, plenty of broad grins, and a most interesting appetite for -loiters-on who did not have to pay the bill, Pitou journeyed most -pleasantly. For those inquisitive in political matters, he told the -news, inventing what he had not heard, Paris having a knack that way -which he had picked up. - -As Sebastian ate little and spoke hardly at all, everybody admired -Pitou’s vigorous paternal care. - -They went through Haramont, the little village where the mother of one -and the nurse of the other had died and was laid in earth. - -Her living home, sold by Pitou’s Aunt Angelique, her sister-in-law, had -been razed by the new owner, and a black cat snarled at the young men -from the wall built round the garden. - -But nothing was changed at the burying-ground; the grass had so grown -that the chances were that the young peasant could not find his mother’s -grave. Luckily he knew it by a slip of weeping willow, which he had -planted; while the grass was growing it had grown also and had become in -a few years a tolerable tree. - -Ange walked directly to it, and the pair said their prayers under the -lithe branches which Pitou took in his arms as they were his mother’s -tresses. - -Nobody noticed them as all the country folk were in the field and none -seeing Pitou would have recognized him in his dragoon’s helmet and with -the sword and belt. - -At five in the afternoon they reached their destination. - -While Pitou had been away from Haramont three years, it was only as many -weeks since he quitted Villers Cotterets, so that it was simple enough -that he should be recognized at the latter place. - -The two visitors were reported to have gone to the back door of Father -Fortier’s academy for young gentlemen where Pitou had been educated with -Sebastian, and where the latter was to resume his studies. - -A crowd collected at the front door where they thought Pitou would come -forth, as they wanted to see him in the soldier’s appurtenances. - -After giving the doctor’s letter and money for the schooling to Abbé -Fortier’s sister, the priest being out for a walk with the pupils, Pitou -left the house, cocking his helmet quite dashingly on the side of his -head. - -Sebastian’s chagrin at parting was softened by Ange Pitou’s promise to -see him often. Pitou was like those big, lubberly Newfoundland dogs who -sometimes weary you with their fawning, but usually disarm you by their -jolly good humor. - -The score of people outside the door thought that as Pitou was in battle -array he had seen the fights in Paris and they wanted to have news. - -He gave it with majesty; telling how he and Farmer Billet, their -neighbor, had taken the Bastile and set Dr. Gilbert free. They had -learnt something in the Gazettes but no newspaper can equal an -eye-witness who can be questioned and will reply. And the obliging -fellow did reply and explain and at such length that in an hour, one of -the listeners suddenly remarked that he was flagging and said: - -“But our dear Pitou is tired, and here we are keeping him on his legs, -when he ought to go home, to his Aunt Angelique’s. The poor old girl -will be delighted to see him again.” - -“I am not tired but hungry,” returned the other. “I am never tired but I -am always sharpset.” - -Before this plain way of putting it, the throng broke up to let Pitou -go through. Followed by some more curious than the rest, he proceeded to -his father’s sister’s house. - -It was a cottage where he would have been starved to death by the pious -old humbug of an old maid, but for his poaching in the woods for -something that they could eat while the superfluity was sold by her to -have the cash in augmentation of a very pretty hoard the miser kept in a -chair cushion. - -As the door was fastened, from the old lady being out gossiping, and -Pitou declared that an aunt should never shut out a loving nephew, he -drew his great sabre and opened the lock with it as it were an oyster, -to the admiration of the boys. - -Pitou entered the familiar cottage with a bland smile, and went straight -up to the cupboard where the food was kept. He used in his boyish days -to ogle the crust and the hunk of cheese with the wish to have magical -powers to conjure them out into his mouth. - -Now he was a man: he went up to the safe, opened it, opened also his -pocket-knife, and taking out a loaf, cut off a slice which might weigh a -fair two pounds. - -He seemed to hear Aunt Angelique snarl at him, but it was only the creak -of the door hinges. - -In former times, the old fraud used to whine about poverty and palm him -off with cheap cheese and few flavors. But since he had left she got up -little delicacies of value which lasted her a week, such as stewed beef -smothered in carrots and onions; baked mutton with potatoes as large as -melons; or calves-foot, decked with pickled shallots; or a giant omelet -sprinkled with parsley or dotted with slices of fat pork of which one -sufficed for a meal even when she had an appetite. - -Pitou was in luck. He lighted on a day when Aunt Angelique had cooked an -old rooster in rice, so long that the bones had quitted the flesh and -the latter was almost tender. It was basking in a deep dish, black -outside but glossy and attractive within. The coxcomb stuck up in the -midst like Ceuta in Gibraltar Straits. - -Pitou had been so spoilt by the good living at Paris that he never even -reflected that he had never seen such magnificence in his relative’s -house. - -He had his hunk of bread in his right hand: he seized the baking dish -in his left and held it by the grip of his thumb in the grease. But at -this moment it seemed to him that a shadow clouded the doorway. - -He turned round, grinning, for he had one of those characters which let -their happiness be painted on their faces. - -The shadow was cast by Angelique Pitou, drier, sourer, bonier, not -bonnier, and more mean than ever. - -Formerly, at this sight, Pitou would have dropped the bread and dish and -fled. - -But he was altered. His helmet and sword had not more changed his aspect -than his mind was changed by frequenting the society of the -revolutionary lights of the capital. - -Far from fleeing, he went up to her and opening his arms he embraced her -so that his hands, holding the knife, the bread and the dish, crossed -behind her skeleton back. - -“It is poor Pitou,” he said in accomplishing this act of nepotism. - -She feared that he was trying to stifle her because she had caught him -red-handed in plundering her store. Literally, she did not breathe -freely until she was released from this perillous clasp. - -She was horrified that he did not express any emotion over his prize and -at his sitting in the best chair: previously he would have perched -himself on the edge of a stool or the broken chair. Thus easily lodged -he set to demolishing the baked fowl. In a few minutes the pattern of -the dish began to appear clean at the bottom as the rocks and sand on -the seashore when the tide goes out. - -In her frightful perplexity she endeavored to scream but the ogre smiled -so bewitchingly that the scream died away on her prim lips. - -She smiled, without any effect on him, and then turned to weeping. This -annoyed the devourer a little but did not hinder his eating. - -“How good you are to weep with joy at my return,” he said. “I thank you, -my kind aunt.” - -Evidently the Revolution had transmogrified this lad. - -Having tucked away three fourths of the bird he left a little of the -Indian grain at the end of the dish, saying: - -“You are fond of rice, my dear auntie: and, besides, it is good for your -poor teeth.” - -At this attention, taken for a bitter jest, Angelique nearly suffocated. -She sprang upon Pitou and snatched the lightened platter from his hand, -with an oath which would not have been out of place in the mouth of an -old soldier. - -“Bewailing the rooster, aunt?” he sighed. - -“The rogue--I believe he is chaffing me,” cried the old prude. - -“Aunt,” returned the other, rising majestically, “my intention was to -pay you. I have money. I will come and board with you, if you please, -only I reserve the right to make up the bill of fare. As for this snack, -suppose we put the lot at six cents, four of the fowl and two of bread.” - -“Six? when the meat is worth eight alone and the bread four,” cried the -woman. - -“But you did not buy the bird--I know the old acquaintance by his nine -years comb. I stole him for you from under his mother and by the same -token, you flogged me because I did not steal enough corn to feed him. -But I begged the grain from Miss Catherine Billet; as I procured the -bird and the food, I had a lien on him, as the lawyers say. I have only -been eating my own property.” - -“Out of this house,” she gasped, almost losing her voice while she tried -to pulverize him with her gaze. - -Pitou remarked with satisfaction that he could not have swallowed one -grain more of rice. - -“Aunt, you are a bad relative,” he said loftily. “I wanted you to show -yourself as of old, spiteful and avaricious. But I am not going to have -it said that I eat my way without paying.” - -He stood on the threshold and called out with a voice which was not only -heard by the starers without but by anybody within five hundred paces: - -“I call these honest folk for witnesses, that I have come from Paris -afoot, after having taken the Bastile. I was hungered and tired, and I -have sat down under my only relation’s roof, and eaten, but my keep is -thrown up at me, and I am driven away pitilessly!” - -He infused so much pathos in this exordium that the hearers began to -murmur against the old maid. - -“I want you to bear witness that she is turning from her door a poor -wayfarer who has tramped nineteen leagues afoot; an honest lad, honored -with the trust of Farmer Billet and Dr. Gilbert; who has brought Master -Sebastian Gilbert here to Father Fortier’s; a conqueror of the Bastile, -a friend of Mayor Bailly and General Lafayette.” - -The murmuring increased. - -“And I am not a beggar,” he pursued, “for when I am accused of having a -bite of bread, I am ready to meet the score, as proof of which I plank -down this silver bit--in payment of what I have eaten at my own folk’s.” - -He drew a silver crown from his pocket with a flourish, and tossed it on -the table under the eyes of all, whence it bounced into the dish and -buried itself in the rice. This last act finished the mercenary aunt; -she hung her head under the universal reprobation displayed in a -prolonged groan. Twenty arms were opened towards Pitou, who went forth, -shaking the dust off his brogans, and disappeared, escorted by a mob -eager to offer hospitality to a captor of the Bastile, and -boon-companion of General Lafayette. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -THE ABDICATION IN A FARMHOUSE. - - -After having appeased the duties of obedience, Pitou wished to satisfy -the cravings of his heart. It is sweet to obey when the order chimes in -with one’s secret sympathies. - -Ange Pitou was in love with Catherine, daughter of farmer Billet who had -succored him when he fled from his aunt’s and with whom he had taken the -trip to Paris which returned him a full-fledged hero to his -fellow-villagers. - -When he perceived the long ridge of the farmhouse roofs, measured the -aged elms which twisted to stand the higher over the smoking chimneys, -when he heard the distant lowing of the cattle, the barking of the -watchdogs, and the rumbling of the farm carts, he shook his casque on -his head to tighten its hold, hung the calvary sabre more firmly by his -side, and tried to give himself the bold swagger of a lover and a -soldier. As nobody recognized him at the first it was a proof that he -had fairly succeeded. - -The farmhands responded to his hail by taking off their caps or pulling -their forelocks. - -Through the dininghall window pane Mother Billet saw the military -visitor. She was a comely, kind old soul who fed her employes like -fighting cocks. She was, like other housewives, on the alert, as there -was talk of armed robbers being about the country. They cut the woods -down and reaped the green corn. What did this warrior’s appearance -signify? attack or assistance? - -She was perplexed by the clodhopper shoes beneath a helmet so shining -and her supposition fluctuated between suspicion and hope. - -She took a couple of steps towards the new-comer as he strode into the -kitchen, and he took off his headpiece not to be outdone in politeness. - -“Ange Pitou?” she ejaculated. “Whoever would have guessed that you would -enlist.” - -“Enlist indeed?” sneered Pitou, smiling loftily. - -As he looked round him, seeking someone, Mistress Billet smiled, -divining who he was after. - -“Looking for Catherine?” she asked unaffectedly. - -“To present her with my duty,” said Pitou. - -“She is ironing,” responded Mrs. Billet; “but sit ye down and talk to -me.” - -“Quite willing, mother.” And he took a chair. - -In all the doorways and windows the servants and laboring men flocked to -see their old fellow. He had a kindly glance for them all, a caress in -his smile for the most part. - -“So you come from town, Ange?” began Mother Billet. “How did you leave -the master?” - -“He is all right, but Paris is all wrong.” - -The circle of listeners drew in closer. - -“What about the King?” inquired the mistress. - -Pitou shook his head and clacked his tongue in a way humiliating to the -head of the monarchy. - -“And the Queen?” - -Pitou said never a word. - -“Oh,” groaned the crowd. - -Pitou was aching for Catherine’s coming. - -“Why are you wearing a helmet?” - -“It is a trophy of war,” rejoined the young peasant. “A trophy is a -tangible testimonial that you have vanquished an enemy.” - -“Have you vanquished an enemy, Pitou?” - -“An enemy--pooh!” said the valiant one, disdainfully. “Ah, good Mother -Billet, you do not know that Farmer Billet and yours truly took the -Bastile between us.” - -This speech electrified the auditory. Pitou felt the breath on his hair -and the helmet mane, while their hands grasped the back of his chair. - -“Do tell us what our master has done,” pleaded Mrs. Billet, proud and -tremulous at the same time. - -Pitou was hurt that Catherine did not leave her linen to come and hear -such a messenger as he was. He shook his head for he was growing -discontented. - -“It will take a time,” he observed. - -“Are you hungry, or thirsty?” - -“I am not saying no.” - -Instantly all the men and maids bustled about so that Pitou found under -his hand goblets, mugs, bread, meat, cheese, without realizing the -extent of his hint. He had a hot liver, as the rustics say: that is, he -digested quickly. But he had not shaken down the Angelican fowl in rice; -he tried to eat again but had to give up at the second mouthful. - -“If I begin now,” he said, “I should have to do it all over again when -Miss Catherine comes.” - -While they were all hunting after the young girl, Pitou happened to look -up and saw the girl in question leaning out of a window on the upper -landing. She was gazing towards Boursonne Woods. - -“Oh,” he sighed, “she is looking towards the manor of the Charnys. She -is in love with Master Isidor Charny, that is what it is.” - -He sighed again, much more lamentably than before. - -Taking the farmer’s wife by the hand as the searchers returned fruitless -in their search, he took her up a couple of the stairs and showed her -the girl, mooning on the window sill among the morning glories and -vines. - -“Catherine!” she called: “Come, Catherine, here is Ange Pitou, with news -from town.” - -“Ah,” said Catherine coldly. - -So coldly that Pitou’s heart failed him as he anxiously waited for her -reply. - -She came down the stairs with the phlegm of the Flemish girls in the old -Dutch paintings. - -“Yes, it is he,” she said, when on the floor. - -Pitou bowed, red and trembling. - -“He’s wearing a soldier’s helmet,” said a servant-woman in her young -mistress’s ear. - -Pitou overheard and watched for the effect. But her somewhat pallid -though evercharming face showed no admiration for the brazen cap. - -“What is he wearing that thing for?” she inquired. - -This time indignation got the upperhand in the peasant. - -“I am wearing helmet and sabre,” he retorted proudly, “because I have -been fighting and have killed Swiss and dragoons: and if you doubt me, -Miss Catherine, you can ask your father, and that is all.” - -She was so absent-minded that she appeared to catch the latter part of -the speech alone. - -“How is my father?” asked she; “and why does he not return home with -you? Is the news from Paris bad?” - -“Very,” replied the young man. - -“I thought that all was settled,” the girl objected. - -“Quite true, but all is unsettled again.” - -“Have not the King and the people agreed and is not the recall of -Minister Necker arranged?” - -“Necker is not of much consequence now,” said Pitou jeeringly. - -“But that ought to satisfy the people.” - -“It falls so short of that, that the people are doing justice on their -own account and killing their enemies.” - -“Their enemies? who are their enemies?” cried the girl astonished. - -“The aristocrats, of course,” answered the other. - -“Whom do you call aristocrat?” she asked, turning paler. - -“Why, naturally, they that have grand houses, and big properties, and -starve the nation--those that have everything while we have nothing; -that travel on fine horses or in bright coaches while we jog on foot.” - -“Heavens,” exclaimed the girl, so white as to be corpselike. - -“I can name some aristo’s of our acquaintance,” continued he, noticing -the emotion. “Lord Berthier Sauvigny, for instance, who gave you those -gold earrings you wore on the day you danced with Master Isidore. Well, -I have seen men eat the heart of him!” - -A terrible cry burst from all breasts and Catherine fell back in the -chair she had taken. - -“Did you see that?” faltered Mother Billet, quivering with horror. - -“And so did Farmer Billet. By this time they have killed or burnt all -the aristocrats of Paris and Versailles. What do you call it dreadful -for? you are not of the higher classes, Mother Billet.” - -“Pitou, I did not think you were so bloodthirsty when you started for -Paris,” said Catherine with sombre energy. - -“I do not know as I am so, now; but----“ - -“But then do not boast of the crimes which the Parisians commit, since -you are not a Parisian and did not do them.” - -“I had so little hand in them that Farmer Billet and me were nigh -slaughtered in taking the part of Lord Berthier--though he had famished -the people.” - -“Oh, my good, brave father! that is just like him,” said Catherine, -excitedly. - -“My worthy man,” said Mrs. Billet with tearful eyes. “What has he been -about?” - -Pitou related that the mob had seized Foulon and Berthier for being the -active agents for higher personages in the great Grain Ring which held -the corn from the poor, and torn them to pieces, though Billet and he -had tried to defend them. - -“The farmer was sickened and wanted to come home, but Dr. Gilbert would -not let him.” - -“Does he want my man to get killed there?” sobbed poor Mother Billet. - -“Oh, no,” replied Pitou. “It is all fixed between master and the doctor. -He is going to stay a little longer in town to finish up the revolution. -Not alone, you understand, but with Mayor Bailly and General Lafayette.” - -“Oh, I am not so much alarmed about him as long as in the gentlemen’s -company,” said the good old soul with admiration. - -“When does he think of returning?” inquired the daughter. - -“I don’t know in the least.” - -“Then, what have you come back for?” - -“To bring Sebastian Gilbert to Father Fortier’s school, and you, Farmer -Billet’s instructions.” - -Pitou spoke like a herald, with so much dignity that the farmer’s wife -dismissed all the gapers. - -“Mrs. Billet,” began the messenger, “the master wants you to be worried -as little as possible, so he thinks that while he is away, the -management of the farm should be in other hands, younger and livelier.” - -“Oh!” - -“Yes, and he has selected Miss Catherine.” - -“My daughter to rule in my house,” cried the woman, with distrust and -inexpressible jealousy. - -“Under your orders,” the girl hastened to say, while reddening. - -“No, no,” persisted Pitou, who went on well since he was in full swing: -“I bear the commission entire: Master Billet delegates and authorizes -Miss Catherine to see to all the work and govern the house and household -in his stead.” - -As Billet was infallible in his wife’s eyes, all her resistance ceased -instantly. - -“Billet is right,” she declared after a glance at her daughter; “she is -young but she has a good head, and she can even be headstrong. She can -get along outdoors better than me; she knows how to make folks obey. But -to be running about over field and hills will make a tomboy of her----“ - -“Fear nothing for her,” interposed Pitou with a consequential air; “I am -here and I will go around with her.” - -This gracious offer, by which Ange probably intended to make an effect, -drew such a strange glance from Catherine that he was dumbfounded. - -Pitou was not experienced in feminine ways but he guessed by her blush -that she was not giving complete acquiescence, for he said with an -agreeable smile which showed his strong teeth between the large lips: - -“Even the Queen has a Lifeguard. Besides, I may be useful in the woods.” - -“Is this also in my husband’s instructions?” queried Madam Billet who -showed some tendency towards cutting sayings. - -“Nay,” said Catherine, “that would be an idle errand and father would -not have set it for Master Pitou while he would not have accepted it.” - -Pitou rolled his frightened eyes from one to the other: all his castle -in the air came tumbling down. A true woman, the younger one understood -his painful disappointment. - -“Did you see the girls in Paris with the young men tagging at their -gown-tails?” - -“But you are not a girl, after you become mistress of the house,” -remonstrated Pitou. - -“Enough chatter,” interrupted Mother Billet; “the mistress of the house -has too much work to do. Come, Catherine, and let me turn over things to -you, as your father bids us.” - -As soon as the house was placed under the new ruler the servants and -workmen were presented to her as the one from whom in the future orders -would flow. Each departed with the alacrity shown by the new officials -at the beginning of a fresh term. - -“What about me?” inquired Pitou, left alone and going up to the girl. - -“I have no orders for you. What do you think of doing?” - -“What I did before I went away.” - -“Then you worked for my father and mother. I have nothing in your line, -for you are a scholar and a fine Paris gentleman now.” - -“But look at the muscle in my arms,” protested the poor fellow in -desperation. “Why do you force me to die of hunger under the pretence -that I am a learned man? Are you ignorant that Epictetus the philosopher -was a tavern waiter to earn his bread, and that Æsop the fabulist had to -work for a living? and yet they were more learned than ever I shall be. -But Master Billet sent me down here to help on the farm.” - -“Be it so; but my father can force you to do things that I should shrink -from imposing upon you.” - -“Don’t shrink, and impose on me. You will see that I can stand anything. -Besides you have books to keep and accounts to make out; and my strong -point is figuring and ciphering.” - -“I do not think it enough for a man,” rejoined Catherine. - -“Am I good for nothing, then?” groaned Pitou. - -“Well, live here a bit,” she said; “I will think it over and we shall -see what turns up.” - -“You want to think it over, about my staying. What have I done to you, -Miss Catherine? you do not seem to be the same as before.” - -Catherine shrugged her shoulders very slightly. She had no good reasons -to fear Pitou and yet his persistency worried her. - -“Enough of this,” she said, “I am going over to Fertemilon.” - -“I will saddle a horse and go with you.” - -“No; stay where you are.” - -She spoke so imperiously that the peasant remained riveted to the spot, -hanging his head. - -“She thinks I am changed, but,” said he, “it is she who is another sort -altogether.” - -When he was roused by hearing the horse’s hoofs going away, he looked -out and saw Catherine riding by a side path towards the highway. - -It occurred to him that though she had forbid him to accompany her, she -had not said he must not follow her. - -He dashed out and took a short cut through the woods, where he was at -home, till he reached the main road. But though he waited a half-hour, -he saw nobody. - -He thought she might have forgotten something at the farm and started -back for it; and he returned by the highway. But on looking up a lane he -spied her white cap at a distance. - -Instead of going to Fertemilon, as she distinctly stated, she was -proceeding to Boursonne. - -He darted on in the same direction but by a parallel line. - -It was no longer to follow her but to spy her. - -She had spoken a falsehood. In what end? - -He was answered by seeing her thrash her horse into the trot in order to -rejoin a horseman who rode to meet her with as much eagerness as she -showed on her part. - -On coming nearer, as the pair halted at meeting, Pitou recognized by his -elegant form and stylish dress the neighboring lord, Isidore Charny. He -was brother of the Count of Charny, lieutenant of the Royal Lifeguards, -and accredited as favorite of the Queen. - -Pitou knew him well and lately from having seen him at the village -dances where Catherine chose him for partner. - -Dropping to the ground in the brush and creeping up like a viper, he -heard the couple. - -“You are late to-day, Master Isidore,” began Catherine. - -“To-day?” thought the eavesdropper; “it appears that he has been -punctual on other meetings.” - -“It is not my fault, my darling Kate,” replied the young noble. “A -letter from my brother delayed me, to which I had to reply by the -bearer. But fear nothing, I shall be more exact another time.” - -Catherine smiled and Isidore pressed her hand so tenderly that Pitou -felt upon thorns. - -“Fresh news from Paris?” she asked. “So have I. Did you not say that -when something alike happens to two persons, it is called sympathy?” - -“Just so. Who brings you news?” - -“Pitou.” - -“And pray who is Pitou?” asked the young noble with a free and easy air -which changed the red of the listener’s cheek to crimson. - -“You know well enough,” was her reply: “Pitou is the farmboy that my -father took on out of charity: the one who played propriety for me when -I went to the dance.” - -“Lord, yes--the chap with knees that look like knots tied in a rope.” - -Catherine set to laughing. Pitou felt lowered; he looked at his knees, -so useful lately while he was keeping pace with a horse, and he sighed. - -“Come, come, do not tear my poor Pitou to pieces,” said Catherine; “Let -me tell you that he wanted to come with me just now--to Fertemilon, -where I pretended I was going.” - -“Why did you not accept the squire--he would have amused you.” - -“Not always,” laughed the girl. - -“You are right, my pet,” said Isidore, fixing his eyes, brilliant with -love, on the pretty girl. - -She hid her blushing face in his arms closing round it. - -Pitou closed his eyes not to see, but he did not close his ears, and the -sound of a kiss reached them. He tore his hair in despair. - -When he came to his senses the loving couple were slowly riding away. - -The last words he caught were: - -“You are right, Master Isidore; let us ride about for an hour which I -will gain by making my nag go faster--he is a good beast who will tell -no tales,” she added, merrily. - -This was all: the vision vanished. Darkness fell on Pitou’s spirit and -he said: - -“No more of the farm for me, where I am trodden on and made fun of. I am -not going to eat the bread of a woman who is in love with another man, -handsomer, richer and more graceful than me, I allow. No, my place is -not in the town but in my village of Haramont, where I may find those -who will think well of me whether my knees are like knots in a rope or -not.” - -He marched towards his native place, where his reputation and that of -his sword and helmet had preceded him, and where glory awaited him, if -not happiness. But we know that perfect bliss is not a human attribute. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -ANOTHER BLOW. - - -As everybody in his village would be abed by ten o’clock, Pitou was glad -to find accommodation at the inn, where he slept till seven in the -morning. At that hour everybody had risen. - -On leaving the Dolphin Tavern, he noticed that his sword and casque won -universal attention. A crowd was round him in a few steps. - -Undoubtedly he had attained popularity. - -Few prophets have this good fortune in their own country. But few -prophets have mean and acrimonious aunts who bake fowls in rice for them -to eat up the whole at a sitting. Besides, the brazen helmet and the -heavy dragoon’s sabre recommended Pitou to his fellow-villager’s -attention. - -Hence, some of the Villers Cotterets folk, who had escorted him about -their town, were constrained to accompany him to his village of -Haramont. This caused the inhabitants of the latter to appreciate their -fellow-villager at his true worth. - -The fact is, the ground was prepared for the seed. He had flitted -through their midst before so rapidly that it was a wonder he left any -trace of memory: but they were impressed and they were glad of his -second appearance. They overwhelmed him with tokens of consideration, -begged him to lay aside his armor, and pitch his tent under the four -lime trees shading the village green. - -Pitou yielded all the more readily as it was his intention to take up -residence here and he accepted the offer of a room which a bellicose -villager let him have furnished. Settling the terms, the rent _per -annum_ being but six livres, the price of two fowls baked in rice, Ange -took possession, treated those who had accompanied him to mugs of cider -all round, and made a speech on the doorsill. - -His speech was a great event, with all Haramont encircling the doorstep. -Pitou had studied a little; he had heard Paris speechifying -inexhaustibly; there was a space between him and General Lafayette as -there is between Paris and Haramont, mentally speaking. - -He began by saying that he came back to the hamlet as into the bosom of -his only family. This was a touching allusion to his orphanage for the -women to hear. - -Then he related that he and Farmer Billet had gone to Paris on hearing -that Dr. Gilbert had been arrested and because a casket Gilbert had -entrusted to his farmer had been stolen from him by the myrmidons of the -King under false pretences. Billet and he had rescued the doctor from -the Bastile by attacking it, with a few Parisians at their back. At the -end of his story his helmet was as grand as the cupola of an -observatory. - -He ascribed the outbreak to the privileges of the nobility and clergy -and called on his brothers to unite against the common enemy. - -At this point he drew his sabre and brandished it. - -This gave him the cue to call the Haramontese to arms after the example -of revolted Paris. - -The Revolution was proclaimed in the village. - -All echoed the cry of “To arms!” but the only arms in the place were -those old Spanish muskets kept at Father Fortier’s. - -A bold youth, who had not, like Pitou, been educated under his knout, -proposed going thither to demand them. Ange wavered, but had to yield to -the impulse of the mob. - -“Heavens,” he muttered: “if they thus lead me before I am their leader, -what will it be when I am at their head?” - -He was compelled to promise to summon his old master to deliver the -firearms. Next day, therefore, he armed himself and departed for Father -Fortier’s academy. - -He knocked at the garden door loud enough to be heard there, and yet -modestly enough not to be heard in the house. - -He did it to tranquilize his conscience, and was surprised to see the -door open; but it was Sebastian who stood on the sill. - -He was musing in the grounds, with an open book in his hand. - -He uttered a cry of gladness on seeing Pitou, for whom he had a line in -his father’s letter to impart. - -“Billet wishes you to remind him to Pitou and tell him not to upset the -men, and things on the farm.” - -“Me? a lot I have to do with the farm,” muttered the young man: “the -advice had better be sent on to Master Isidore.” - -But all he said aloud was: “Where is the father?” - -Sebastian pointed and walked away. Priest Fortier was coming down into -the garden. Pitou composed his face for the encounter with his former -master. - -Fortier had been almoner of the old hunting-box in the woods and as such -was keeper of the lumber-room. Among the effects of the hunting -establishment of the Duke of Orleans were old weapons and particularly -some fifty musketoons, brought home from the Ouessant battle by Prince -Joseph Philip, which he had given to the township. Not knowing what to -do with them, the section selectmen left them under charge of the -schoolmaster. - -The old gentleman was clad in clerical black, with his cat-o’-nine tails -thrust into his girdle like a sword. On seeing Pitou, who saluted him, -he folded up the newspaper he was reading and tucked it into his band on -the opposite side to the scourge. - -“Pitou?” he exclaimed. - -“At your service as far as he is capable,” said the other. - -“But the trouble is that you are not capable, you Revolutionist.” - -This was a declaration of war, for it was clear that Pitou had put the -abbe out of temper. - -“Hello! why do you call me a Revolutionist? do you think I have turned -the state over all by myself?” - -“You are hand and glove with those who did it.” - -“Father, every man is free in his mind,” returned Pitou. “I do not say -it in Latin for I have improved in that tongue since I quitted your -school. Those whom I frequent and at whom you sneer, talk it like their -own and they would think the way you taught it to be faulty.” - -“My Latin faulty?” repeated the pedagogue, visibly wounded by the -ex-pupil’s manner. “How comes it that you never spoke up in this style -when you were under my--whip--that is, roof?” - -“Because you brutalized me then,” responded Pitou: “your despotism -trampled on my wits, and liberty could not lay hold of my speech. You -treated me like a fool, whereas all men are equal.” - -“I will never suffer anybody to utter such rank blasphemy before me,” -cried the irritated schoolmaster. “You the equal of one whom nature and -heaven have taken sixty years to form? never!” - -“Ask General Lafayette, who has proclaimed the Rights of Man.” - -“What, do you quote as an authority that traitor, that firebrand of all -discord, that bad subject of the King?” - -“It is you who blaspheme,” retaliated the peasant: “you must have been -buried for the last three months. This bad subject is the very one who -most serves the King. This torch of discord is the pledge of public -peace. This traitor is the best of Frenchmen.” - -“Oh,” thundered the priest, “that ever I should believe that the royal -authority should sink so low that a goodfornothing of this sort invokes -Lafayette as once they called on Aristides.” - -“Lucky for you the people do not hear you,” said Pitou. - -“Oho, you reveal yourself now in your true colors,” said the priest -triumphantly: “you bully me. The people, those who cut the throats of -the royal bodyguard; who trample on the fallen, the people of your -Baillys, Lafayettes and Pitous. Why do you not denounce me to the people -of Villers Cotterets? Why do you not tuck up your sleeves to drag me out -to hang me up to the lamppost? where is your rope--you can be the -hangman.” - -“You are saying odious things--you insult me,” said Pitou. “Have a care -that I do not show you up to the National Assembly!” - -“Show me up? I will show you up, sirrah! as a failure as a scholar, as a -Latinist full of barbarisms, and as a beggar who comes preaching -subversive doctrines in order to prey upon your clients.” - -“I do not prey upon anybody--it is not by _preying_ I live but by work: -and as for lowering me in the eyes of my fellow-citizens, know that I -have been elected by them commander of the National Guards of Haramont.” - -“National Guards at Haramont? and you, Pitou, the captain? Abomination -of desolation! Such gangs as you would be chief of must be robbers, -footpads, bandits, and highwaymen.” - -“On the contrary, they are organized to defend the home and the fields -as well as the life and liberties of all good citizens. That is why we -have [illegible]oc me to--for the arms.” - -“Arms? oh, my museum?” shrieked the schoolmaster. “You come to pillage -my arsenal. The armor of the paladins on your ignoble backs. You are mad -to want to arm the ragamuffins of Pitou with the swords of the Spaniards -and the pikes of the Swiss.” - -The priest laughed with such disdainful menace that Pitou shuddered in -every vein. - -“No, father, we do not want the old curiosities, but the thirty marines’ -guns which you have.” - -“Avaunt!” said the abbe, taking a step towards the envoy. - -“And you shall have the glory of contributing to deliver the country of -the oppressors,” said Pitou, who took a backward step. - -“Furnish weapons against myself and friends,” said the other, “give you -guns to be fired against myself?” He plucked his scourge from his belt. -“Never, never!” - -He waved the whip over his head. - -“But your refusal will have a bad effect,” pleaded Pitou, retreating, -“you will be accused of national treason, and of being no citizen. Do -not expose yourself to this, good Father Fortier!” - -“Mark me a martyr, eh, Nero? is that what you intend?” roared the -priest, with flaring eye and much more resembling the executioner than -the victim. - -“No, father, I come as a peaceful envoy to----“ - -“Pillage my house for arms as your friends gutted the Soldiers’ Home at -Paris.” - -“We received plenty of praise for that up there,” said Ange. - -“And you would get plenty of strokes of the whip down here.” - -“Look out,” said Pitou, who had backed to the door, and who recognized -the scourge as an old acquaintance, “you must not violate the rights of -man!” - -“You shall see about that, rascal.” - -“I am protected by my sacred character as an ambassador----“ - -“Are you?” - -And just as Pitou had to turn after getting the street door open, for he -had backed through the hall, the infuriated schoolmaster let him have a -terrible lash where his backplate would have to be unusually long to -defend him. Whatever the courage of the conqueror of the Bastile, he -could not help emitting a shriek of pain as he bounded out among the -crowd expecting him. - -At the yell, neighbors ran forth from their dwellings and to the -profound general astonishment all beheld the young man flying with all -swiftness under his helmet and with his sabre, while Father Fortier -stood on the doorstep, brandishing his whip like the Exterminating Angel -waves his sword. - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -PITOU BECOMES A TACTICIAN. - - -Our hero’s fall was deep. How could he go back to his friends without -the arms? How, after having had so much confidence shown in him, tell -them that their leader was a braggart who, in spite of his sword and -helmet, had let a priest whack him in the rear? - -To vaunt of carrying all before him with Father Fortier and fail so -shamefully--what a fault! - -To obtain the muskets, force or cunning was the means. He might steal -into the school and steal out the arms. But the word “steal,” sounded -badly in the rustic’s ears. There were still left some people in France -who would call this the high-handed outrage of brigands. - -So he recoiled before force and treachery. - -His vanity was committed to the task, and prompted a fresh direction for -his searches. - -General Lafayette was Commander-in-chief of the National Guards of -France; Haramont was in France and had a National Guards company. -Consequently, General Lafayette commanded the latter force. He could not -tolerate that his soldiers at Haramont should go unarmed when all his -others were armed. To appeal to Lafayette, he could apply to Billet who -would address Gilbert, and he the general. - -Pitou wrote to Billet but as he could not read, it must be Gilbert who -would have the letter placed before him. - -This settled, he waited for nightfall, returned to his lodgings -mysteriously and let his friends there see that he was writing at night. -This was the large square note which they also saw him post next day: - - “DEAR AND HONORED FRIEND BILLET: - - “The Revolutionary cause gains daily hereabouts and while the - aristocrats lose, the patriots advance. The Village of Haramont - enrolls itself in the active service of the National Guard; but it - has no arms. The means to procure them lies in those who harbor - arms in quantity should be made to surrender the overplus, so that - the country would be saved expense. If it pleases General Lafayette - to authorize that such illegal magazines of arms should be placed - at the call of the townships, proportionately to the number of men - to be armed, I undertake for my part to supply the Haramont Arsenal - with at least thirty guns. This is the only means to oppose a dam - to the contra-Revolutionary movements of the aristocrats and - enemies of the Nation. - -“Your fellow-Citizen and most humble Servant, - -“ANGE PITOU.” - - -When this was written the author perceived that he had omitted to speak -to his correspondent of his wife and daughter. He treated him too much -in the Brutus style; on the other hand, to give Billet particulars -about Catherine’s love affair was to rend the father’s heart; it was -also to re-open Pitou’s bleeding wounds. He stifled a sigh and appended -this P. S. - -“Mistress Billet and Miss Catherine and all the household are well, and -beg to be remembered to Master Billet.” - -Thus he entangled neither himself nor others. - -The reply to this was not slow in coming. Two days subsequently, a -mounted express messenger dashed into Haramont and asked for Captain -Ange Pitou. His horse was white with foam. He wore the uniform of a -staff-officer of the Parisian National Guards. - -Judge of the effect he produced and the trouble and throbs of Pitou! He -went up to the officer who smiled, and pale and trembling he took the -paper he bore for him. It was a response from Billet, by the hand of -Gilbert. - -Billet advised Pitou to move moderately in his patriotism. - -He enclosed General Lafayette’s order, countersigned by the War -Minister, to arm the Haramont National Guards. - -The bearer was an officer charged to see to the arming of cities on the -road. - -Thus ran the Order: - -“All who possess more than one gun or sword are hereby bound to place -the excess at the disposal of the chief officials in their cantons. The -Present Measure is to be executed throughout the entire country.” - -Red with joy, Pitou thanked the officer, who smiled again, and started -off for the next post for changing horses. - -Thus was our friend at the high tide of honor: he had received a -communication from General Lafayette, and the War Minister. - -This message served his schemes and plans most timely. - -To see the animated faces of his fellows, their brightened eyes and -eager manner; the profound respect all at once entertained for Ange -Pitou, the most credulous observer must have owned that he had become an -important character. - -One after another the electors begged to touch the seal of the War -Department. - -When the crowd had tapered down to the chosen friends, Pitou said: - -“Citizens, my plans have succeeded as I anticipated. I wrote to the -Commander-in-chief your desire to be constituted National Guards, and -your choice of me as leader. Read the address on the order brought me.” - -The envelope was superscribed: “CAPTAIN ANGE PITOU, Commander of the -National Guards. Haramont.” - -“Therefore,” continued the martial peasant, “I am known and accepted as -commander by the Chief of the Army. You are recognized and approved as -Soldiers of the Nation by General Lafayette and the Minister of War.” - -A long cheer shook the walls of the little house which sheltered Pitou. - -“I know where to get the arms,” he went on. “Select two of your number -to accompany me. Let them be lusty lads, for we may have a difficulty.” - -The embryo regiment chose one Claude Tellier sergeant and one Desire -Maniquet lieutenant. Pitou approved. - -Accompanied by the two, Captain Pitou proceeded once more to Villers -Cotterets where he went straight to the mayor to be still farther -supported in his demand. - -On the way he was puzzled why the letter from Billet, written by -Gilbert, asked no news of Sebastian. - -On the way he fretted over a paragraph in the letter from Billet, -written as it was by Dr. Gilbert, which read: - -“Why has Pitou forgot to send news about Sebastian and why does not the -boy himself write news?” - -Meanwhile, Father Fortier was little aware of the storm he had aroused; -and nobody was more astounded when a thunderclap came to his door. When -it was opened he saw on the sill the mayor, his vice, and his secretary. -Behind them appeared the cocked hats of two gendarmes, and half-a-dozen -curious people behind them. - -“Father Fortier,” said the mayor, “are you aware of the new decree of -the Minister of War?” - -“No, mayor,” said he. - -“Read it, then.” - -The secretary read the warrant to take extra arms from the domiciles. -The schoolmaster turned pale. - -“The Haramont National Guard have come for the guns.” - -Fortier jumped as if he meant to fly at the guardsmen. - -Judging that this was the nick for his appearance, Pitou approached, -backed by his lieutenant and sergeant. - -“These rogues,” cried the abbe, passing from white to red, “these -scums!” - -The mayor was a neutral who wanted things to go on quietly; he had no -wish to quarrel with the altar or the guard-house; the invectives only -called forth his hearty laugh. - -“You hear how the reverend gentleman treats the Haramont National -Guards,” he said to Pitou and his officers. - -“Because he knew us when boys and does not think we have grown up,” said -Ange, with melancholy mildness. - -“But we have become men,” roughly said Maniquet, holding out towards the -priest his hand, maimed by a gun going off prematurely while he was -poaching on a nobleman’s warren. Needless to say he was determined the -nobility should pay for this accident. - -“Serpents,” said the schoolmaster in irritation. - -“Who will sting if trodden on,” retorted Sergeant Claude, joining in. - -In these threats the mayor saw the extent of the Revolution and the -priest martyrdom. - -“We want some of the arms here,” said the former, to conciliate -everybody. - -“They are not mine but belong to the Duke of Orleans,” was the reply. - -“Granted,” said Pitou, “but that does not prevent us asking for them all -the same.” - -“I will write to the prince,” said the pedagogue loftily. - -“You forget that the delay will avail nothing,” interposed the mayor; -“the duke is for the people and would reply that they ought to be given -not only the muskets but the old cannon.” - -This probability painfully struck the priest who groaned in Latin: “I am -surrounded by foes.” - -“Quite true, but these are merely political enemies,” observed Pitou; -“we hate in you only the bad patriot.” - -“Absurd and dangerous fool,” returned the priest, in excitement which -gave him eloquence of a kind, “which is of us the better lover of his -country, I who wish to keep cruel weapons in the shade, or you demanding -them for civil strife and discord? which is the true son, I who seek -palms to decorate our common mother, or you who hunt for the steel to -rend her bosom?” - -The mayor turned aside his head to hide his emotion, making a slight nod -as much as to say: “That is very neatly put.” The deputy mayor, like -another Tarquin, was cropping the flowers with his cane. Ange was set -back, which caused his two companions to frown. - -Sebastian, a Spartan child, was impassible. Going up to Pitou he asked -him what was the to-do. - -“An order signed by General Lafayette, and written by my father?” he -repeated when briefly informed. “Why is there any hesitation in obeying -it?” - -He revealed the indomitable spirit of the two races creating him in his -dilated pupils, and the rigidity of his brow. - -The priest shuddered to hear the words and lowered his crest. - -“This is rebellion,” continued Sebastian; “beware, sir!” - -“Thou, also?” cried the schoolmaster, draping himself in his gown after -the manner of Caesar. - -“And I,” said Pitou, comprehending that his post was at stake. “Do you -style me a traitor, because I came to you with the olive branch in my -hand to ask the arms, and am forced this day to wrench them from you -under support of the authorities? Well, I would rather appear as a -traitor to my duties than give a favoring hand to the Anti-Revolution. -The Country forever and above all! hand over the arms, or we will use -ours!” - -The mayor nodded on the sly to Pitou as he had to the priest to signify: -“You have said that finely.” - -The speech had thunderstricken the priest and electrified the hearers. -The mayor slipped away, and the deputy would have liked to follow his -example, but the absence of the two principal functionaries would look -bad. He therefore followed the secretary, who led the gendarmes along to -the museum, guided by Pitou who, instructed in the place was also -instructed on the place of deposit. - -Like a lion cub, Sebastian bounded with the patriots. The schoolmaster -fell half dead on a chair. - -The invaders wanted to pillage everything, but Pitou only selected -thirty-three muskets, with an extra one, a rifle, for himself, together -with a straight sword, which he girded on. - -The others, made up into two bundles, were carried by the joyous pair of -officers in spite of the weight, past the disconsolate priest. - -They were distributed to the Haramontese that evening, and in presenting -a gun to each, Pitou said, like the Spartan mother giving out the -buckler: “Come home with it, or go to sleep on it!” - -Thus was the little place set in a ferment by Pitou’s act. The delight -was great to own a gun where firearms had been forbidden lest the lords’ -game should be injured and where the long oppression of the gamekeepers -had infused a mania for hunting. - -But Pitou did not participate in the glee. The soldiers had weapons but -not only was their captain ignorant how to drill them but to handle them -in file or squad. - -During the night his taxed brain suggested the remedy. - -He remembered an old friend, also an old soldier, who had lost a leg at -the Battle of Fontenoy; the Duke of Orleans gave him the privilege to -live in the woods, and kill either a hare or a rabbit a-day. He was a -dead shot and on the proceeds of his shooting under this license he -fared very well. - -His manual of arms might be musty but then Pitou could procure from -Paris the new Drill-book of the National Guards, and correct what was -obsolete by the newest tactics. - -He called on old Clovis at a lucky moment as the old hunter was saddened -by his gun having burst. He welcomed the present of the rifle which Ange -brought him and eagerly embraced the opportunity of paying him in -kindness by teaching him the drill. - -Each day Pitou repeated to his soldiery what he had learnt overnight -from the hunter, and he became more popular, the admired of men, -children and the aged. Even women were quieted when his lusty voice -thundered: “Heads up--eyes right! bear yourselves nobly! look at me!” -for Pitou looked noble. - -As soon as the manoeuvres became complicated, Pitou went over to a large -town where he studied the troops on the parade grounds, and picked up -more in a day from practice than from the books in three months. - -Thus two months passed by, in fatigue, toil and feverish excitement. - -Pitou was still unhappy in love, but he was satiated with glory. He had -run about so much, so moved his limbs, and whetted his mind, that you -may be astonished that he should long to appease or comfort his heart. -But he was thinking of that. - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -THE LOVER’S PARTING. - - -Many times after drill, and that followed nights spent in learning the -tactics, Pitou would wander in the skirts of Boursonne Wood to see how -faithful Catherine was to her love-trysts. - -Stealing an hour or two from her farm and house duties, the girl would -go to a little hunting-box, in a rabbit warren belonging to Boursonne -Manor, to meet the happy Isidore, the mortal more than ever proud and -handsome, when all the country was in suffering around him. - -What anguish devoured poor Pitou, what sad reflections he was driven to -make on the inequality of men as regards happiness. - -He whom the pretty maids were ogling, preferred to come and mope like a -dog whipped for following the master too far from home, at the door of -the summerhouse where the amorous pair were billing and cooing. - -All because he adored Catherine and the more as he deemed her vastly -superior to him. He did not regard her as loving another, for Isidore -Charny had ceased to be an object of jealousy. He was a lord, handsome -and worthy of being loved: but Catherine as a daughter of the lower -orders ought not for that reason disgrace her family or drive Pitou to -despair. - -Meditation on this cut him with sharp edges and keen points. - -“She showed no proper feeling in letting me go from the farm,” he mused, -“and since I went off, she has not inquired whether I starved to death -or not. What would Father Billet say if he knew how his friends are thus -cast off, and his business neglected? What would he say if he heard -that, instead of looking after the working people, his daughter goes to -keep appointments with the aristocrat, Lord Charny? He would not say -much, but he would kill her. It is something to have the means of -revenge in one’s hand,” thought Pitou. - -But it is grander not to use them. - -Still, Pitou had learnt that there is no benefit in doing good unless -the actions are known to the person befriended. - -Would it be possible to let Catherine know that he was helping her? - -He knew that she came through the woods to go to the hunting-box, and it -was very easy for him to plant himself under the trees, a book in hand -as if he were studying, where she would be sure to come along. - -Indeed, as he was pretending to pore over the “Perfect National -Guardsman,” after having watched her to her rendezvous, he heard the -soft shutting of a door. The rustle of a dress in the brush came next. -Catherine’s head appeared above the bushes, looking with an apprehensive -air all round for fear somebody would see her. - -She was ten paces from her rustic worshipper, who kept still with the -book on his knee. But he no longer looked on it but at the girl so that -she should mark that he saw her. - -She uttered a slight faint, stifled scream, recognized him, became pale -as though death had flitted by and grazed her, and, after a short -indecision betrayed in her trembling and the shrug of her shoulders, she -flew wildly into the underwood and found her hitched-up horse in the -forest. She mounted and fled. - -Pitou’s plot was well laid and she had fallen into it. - -He went home, half-frightened, half delighted. - -He perceived a number of details most alarming in the accomplished -trick. - -The following Sunday was appointed for a grand military parade at -Haramont. Sufficiently drilled, the Haramontese meant to give warlike -exercises. Several rival villages also making military studies, were to -contest with them in the career of arms. - -The announcement drew a great crowd, and the people in holiday attire -gathered on the green, where they feasted frugally on homemade cake and -fruit, washed down with spring water. - -Some of the spectators were the gentry and squires, come to laugh at the -clowns playing at soldiers. - -Haramont had become a centre, for four corps of other Guards came -hither, headed by fife and drum. - -Among the farmers, came Catherine and Mother Billet on horseback. - -This was at the same time as the Haramont National Guard marched up, -with fife and drum, with Commander Pitou on a borrowed white horse, in -order that the likeness should be complete to General Lafayette -reviewing the National Guards at Paris. - -Without joking, if he did not look stylish and aristocratic, he was -noble and valiant and pleasant to behold. - -This company of Guards had shining muskets, the national cockades, and -marched with most satisfactory time in two files. It had won the tribute -before reaching the parade ground. - -Out of the corner of his eye, Pitou saw that Catherine changed color. -From that moment the review had more interest to him than anything in -the world. - -He passed his men through the simple manual of arms, and they did it so -smartly and neatly that it elicited applause. - -Not so with the competitors, who were irregularly armed and had not been -trained steadily. Others exaggerated from their conceit what they could -have done properly. - -On the whole imperfect results. - -For the grand array, Pitou was outranked in seniority by an army -sergeant who took the general command; but unhappily he had grasped more -than he could hold: he bunched his men, lost grip of some files, let a -company meander under the surrounding trees, and finally lost his head -so that his own soldiers began to grumble. - -From the Haramont side rose a shout: - -“Let Pitou try!” - -“Yes, yes Pitou!” caught up the other villagers, furious at their -inferiority being manifested through their own instructors. - -Pitou jumped on his white charger, and replacing himself at the head of -his troop, become the rallying point of the little army, uttered a word -of command so superbly that the oaks shivered. On the instant, and as by -miracle, order was re-established: the movements fitted in with one -another with such uniformity that the enthusiasm did not disturb the -regularity. Pitou so well applied the theory of the instruction books -and the practice of old Clovis that he obtained immense success. - -Formed into a hollow square, the whole army raised but one voice and -proclaimed him Colonel on the spot. - -Bathed in perspiration and drunk with glory, Pitou got down off his -horse and received the people’s felicitations when he alighted. - -But at the same time he glanced round for Catherine. He heard her voice -by his side; he had no need to hunt for her, as she had come to him. -Great was this triumph. - -“Have you not a word for us, Captain Pitou?” she demanded, with a -laughing air belied by her pale face; “I suppose you have grown proud -since you are a great general?” - -“Oh, no,” responded he, saluting, “I am not that, but just a poor fellow -who loves his country and desires to serve her.” - -This reply was carried away on the waves of the multitude and was -proclaimed sublime by the acclamation in unison. - -“Ange, I want to speak with you,” whispered Catherine. “Do come back to -the farm with mother and me.” - -“All right.” - -Catherine had already arranged that they should be alone together on the -road. She had switched her mother into the train of several neighbors -and gossips who held her in talk so that the girl could walk through -the woods with the National Guardsman. - -“Why have you kept aloof from the farm so long?” began Catherine when -they were beneath the hoary oaks. “It is bad behavior on your part.” - -Pitou was silent, for it hurt him to hear Catherine tell lies. - -“But, I have something else to speak about,” she continued, seeing that -he was avoiding her with his usually straight and loyal glance. “The -other day I saw you in the copse. Did you know me?” - -“Not at first, but I did know you.” - -“What were you doing there in hiding?” - -“Why should I be in hiding? I was studying a military book.” - -“I only thought that curiosity----“ - -“I am not a Peeping Tom.” - -She stamped testily with her small foot. - -“You are always stuck there and it is not a regular place for students.” - -“It is very secluded--nothing disturbs one there.” - -“Nothing? do you stay there any length of time?” - -“Sometimes whole days.” - -“And have you been in the habit of making that your resort?” she -inquired quickly. - -“Since a good while back.” - -“It is astonishing that I should not have seen you before,” she said, -lying so boldly that Pitou was almost convinced. - -But he was ashamed for her sake; he was timid from being in love and -this led him to be guarded. - -“I may have dozed off,” he replied; “it has happened when I have taxed -my brain too much.” - -“Then in your sleep you would not have noticed where I strayed for -shade--I would go as far as the walls of the old shooting-lodge.” - -“What lodge?” questioned Pitou. - -“The Charny Hunting-lodge,” replied she, blushing from his innocence -being too thickly laid on not to be suspicious. “It is there grow the -finest houseleeks in the section. I burnt myself while ironing and -wanted to make a poultice of them.” - -As if willing to believe her, he looked at her hands. - -“No, not my hand, my foot,” she said quickly. “I--I dropped the iron: -but it has done me good; you see, that I do not limp.” - -“She did not limp either when she scampered through the wood like a -fawn,” thought Ange. - -She imagined she had succeeded and that Pitou had seen and heard -nothing. Giving way to delight, mean in so fine a spirit, she said: - -“So Captain Pitou is riding his high horse; proud of his new rank, he -scorns us rustics from being a military officer.” - -Pitou felt wounded. Even a dissimulated sacrifice almost requires some -reward, and as Catherine only mystified Pitou or jested at him, no doubt -contrasting him with the intelligent Charny, all his good intentions -vanished. Self-esteem is a charmed serpent, on which it is perillous to -step unless you crush it once for all. - -“It seems to me that you are the haughty one,” he returned, “for you -drove me off the farm on the grounds that there was no work for me. I -haven’t told Master Billet so far I have arms for earning my bread, -thank God! However, you are the mistress under your own roof. In short, -you sent me away. Hence, as you saw me at the Charny Lodge, and we were -not enemies, it was your place to speak to me instead of running away -like a boy stealing apples.” - -The viper had bitten; Catherine dropped out of her calm. - -“I, run away?” she exclaimed. - -“As though fire had broken out on the farm. I had not time to shut up my -book before you were on the back of Younker, where he was concealed in -the foliage, after barking an ashtree, and ruining it.” - -“What do you mean by ruining?” - -“That is right enough,” continued Pitou: “while you were gathering -houseleeks, Younker was browsing, and in an hour a horse eats a heap of -stuff. It must have taken quite an hour for him to strip that sized tree -of bark. You must have collected enough plants to cure all the wounds -inflicted in taking the Bastile--it is a great thing for poultices!” - -Pale and in despair, Catherine could not find a word to speak. Pitou was -silent also, as he had said quite enough. - -Mother Billet, stopping at the road forks, was bidding adieu to her -cronies. - -“What does the officer say?” queried the woman. - -“He says goodnight to you, Mother Billet.” - -“Not yet,” cried Catherine with a desperate tone. “Tell me the -truth--are we no longer friends?” - -Pitou felt his secret well up to his lips: but it was all over with him -if he spoke; so he bowed mutely with respect which touched her heart; -gave Mother Billet a pleasant smile, and disappeared in the dense wood. - -“Is that what is called love?” Pitou monologued to himself; “it is sweet -at times and then again bitter.” - -He returned to Haramont, singing the most doleful of rural ballads to -the mournfullest tunes. - -Luckily he did not find his warriors in any such mood. On the contrary, -they were preparing for a feast and they had set aside the chair of -honor for their Caesar who had overcome the other villages’ Pompeys. - -Dragged by his officers into the banquet room, he saluted in silence in -return for the greetings, and with the calmness we know as his, attacked -the roast veal and potatoes. His action lasted so long that his -“digester” was filled while his heart was freed of gall. At the end of a -couple of hours he perceived that his grief was no worse. - -He stood up when his brother revellers could not stand, while the ladies -had fled before the dessert. He made a speech on the sobriety of the -Spartans--when all were dead drunk. He said that it was healthier to -take a stroll than sleep under the table. - -Alone he set the example; he asked of the shadows beneath the glades, -why he should be so stern towards a young woman, made for love, grace -and sweetness; one who might also cherish a fancy at the outset of life? -Alas, why had she not fancied him? - -Why should an ugly, uncouth bear like him inspire amorous sentiments in -a pretty girl, when a handsome young nobleman--a very peacock beside -him--was there to glitter and enchant? - -He reasoned that, dazzled by Charny’s brilliancy, she would not see -Pitou’s real value if he acted harshly towards her. Consequently, he -ought to behave nicely to her. - -The good soul, heated white hot by wine and love, vowed to make -Catherine ashamed of having scorned the affection of such a sterling -lover as he was. - -He could not admit that the fair, chaste and proud Catherine was -anything like a plaything to the dashing gallant, or a bright flirt, -smiling on the lace ruffles and spurred boots. - -Some day Master Isidore would go to the city to marry a countess, and -the romance would end by his never looking at Catherine again. - -To prove to the maid that he was not ugly, he resolved to take back any -harsh words he had used; to do which it was necessary for him to see -her. - -He started through the woods for the Billet Farm, slashing the bushes -with his stick--which blows the shrubs returned with usury. - -During this time Catherine was pensively following her mother. - -A few steps from the farm was a swamp. The road narrows there so that -two horses can hardly go abreast. Mother Billet had gone through and the -girl was about to follow when she heard a whistle. - -In the shadow she spied the laced cap of Isidore’s groom. She let her -mother ride on and waited for the messenger. - -“Master wants to see you very particular this evening at eleven, -wherever you like,” said the man. - -“Good gracious, has anything bad happened to him?” she said. - -“I do not know; but he had a letter from town sealed with black wax. I -have been waiting an hour for you.” - -Ten o’clock struck on the village church bell. Catherine looked round -her. - -“This place is dark and out of the way,” she said; “I will await your -Master here.” - -At the fixed time she ran out to the spot, warned by the sound of a -galloping horse. It was Isidore, attended by the groom, who stood at a -space while the noble advanced, without getting off his horse. - -He held out his arms to her, lifted her on the stirrup, kissed her and -said: - -“My brother Valence was killed yesterday at Versailles and my brother -the count calls me. I am off, Catherine!” - -“Oh,” she moaned painfully, as she furiously embraced him, “if they have -killed him, they will kill you as well.” - -“Catherine, whatever betides, my eldest brother awaits me; Catherine, -you know that I love you.” - -“Oh, stay, stay,” she cried, only knowing one thing--that her beloved -talked of leaving her. - -“But, honor, Catherine--my murdered brother! vengeance!” - -“Oh, what an unhappy girl I am,” moaned she, collapsing, palpitating but -rigid in the horseman’s arms. - -Resigned, for she at last comprehended that the brother’s summons was an -order, she glided to the ground after a farewell kiss. - -He turned his eyes, sighed and wavered for a time; but, attracted by the -imperative order received, he set his horse to the gallop, and flung -Catherine a final farewell. - -The lackey followed him across the country. - -Catherine remained on the ground, where she had dropped, barring the way -with her body. - -Almost immediately a man appeared on the hill, striding towards the -farm. In his rapid course he could not fail to stumble on the body. He -staggered and rolled in the fall, and his groping hands touched the -inert form. - -“Catherine--dead!” he yelled so that the farm dogs’ took up the howling. -“Who has killed Catherine?” - -He knelt down, pale and ice-cold, beside the inanimate body with its -head across his knee. - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - -THE ROAD TO PARIS. - - -On this same evening, a no less grave event set the college of Father -Fortier in an uproar. Sebastian Gilbert had disappeared about six -o’clock and had not been found up to midnight by the most active search. - -Nobody had seen him save Aunt Angelique, who, coming from the church, -where she let out the chairs, had thought to see him going up a lane. -This report added to the schoolmaster’s disquiet. He knew that the youth -had strange delusions, during which he believed he was following a -beautiful lady; more than once when on a walk he had seen him stare at -vacancy and if he plunged too deeply into the copse, he would start the -best pedestrians of the class after him. - -But he had never gone off in the night. - -This time, he had taken the road to Haramont, and Angelique had really -seen him. He was going to find Pitou. But the latter left the village by -one end, to go and see Catherine, at the same time as the doctor’s son -quitted it by the other. - -Pitou’s door was open, for the captain was still simple in his habits. -He lit the candle and waited: but he was too fretful. He found a sheet -of paper, half of that on which Pitou had inscribed the name of his -company of soldiers, and wrote as follows: - - “MY DEAR PITOU: I have come to tell you of a conversation I - overheard between Father Fortier and the Villers Cotterets Vicar. - Fortier is in connivance with the aristocratic party of Paris and - says that a counter-revolutionary movement is hatching at - Versailles. The cue was given when the Queen wore the black cockade - and trampled the tricolor under-foot. This threat already made me - uneasy about my father, who is the aristocrats’ enemy, as you know: - but this time it is worse. - - “The vicar has returned the priest’s visit, and as I feared for my - father, I listened to their talk to hear the sequel to what I - overheard by accident last time. It appears, my dear Pitou, that - the people stormed Versailles and killed a great many royalists, - among them Lord Valence Charny. - - “Father Fortier said: ‘Speak low, not to startle little Gilbert, - whose father has gone to Versailles and may be killed in the lot!’ - - “You understand, Pitou, that I did not wait for more, but I have - stolen away and I come to have you take me back to Paris. I will - not wait any longer, as you may have gone to lay snares in the - woods and would not be home till to-morrow. So I proceed on my road - to Paris. Have no anxiety as I know the way and besides I have two - gold pieces left out of the money my father gave me, so that I can - take a seat in the first conveyance I catch up with. - - “P. S.--I make this rather long in order to explain my departure, - and to delay me that you may return before I finish. But no, I have - finished, and you have not come, so that I am off. Farewell, until - we meet again! if nothing has happened to my father and he runs no - danger, I will return. If not, I shall ask his leave to stay beside - him. Calm Father Fortier about my absence; but do not do so until - it is too late for him to overtake me. Good-bye, again!” - -Knowing his friend’s economy, he put out the candle, and set off. - -He went by the starlight at first till he struck through byways the main -road at Vauciennes. At the branch of the Paris and Crespy roads, he had -to stop as he did not know which to take. They were both alike. He sat -down discouraged, partly to rest, partly to reflect, when he heard the -galloping of horses from Villers Cotterets way. - -He waited to ask the riders the information he wanted. Soon he saw two -shadows in the gloom, one riding at a space behind the other so that he -judged the foremost to be the master and the other his groom. - -He walked out three steps from the roadside to accost him when the -horseman clapped his hand to his holster for a pistol. - -“I am not a thief, sir,” cried Sebastian, interpreting the action -correctly, “but a boy whom recent events at Versailles calls thither to -seek his father. I do not know which of these roads I ought to take to -get to Paris--point it out, please, and you will do me a great service.” - -The speaker’s stylish language and his juvenile tone did not seem -unknown to the rider, who reined in his steed, albeit he seemed in -haste. - -“Who are you, my boy, and how comes it you are out on the highway at -such an hour?” he inquired. - -“I am not asking you who you are--only my road--the way for a poor boy -to reach his father in distress.” - -In the almost childish voice was firmness which struck the cavalier. - -“My friend, we are on the road to Paris,” he replied: “I have only been -there twice and do not know it very well, but I am sure this is the -right one.” - -Sebastian drew back a step offering his thanks. The horses had need of -getting their wind and started off again not very rapidly. - -“My Lord Viscount,” said the lackey to his master, “do you not recognize -that youth?” - -“No: though I fancied----“ - -“It is young Sebastian Gilbert, who is at boarding school, at Abbé -Fortier’s; and who comes over to Billet’s Farm with Ange Pitou.” - -“You are right, by Jove!” Turning his horse and stopping, he called out: -“Is this you, Sebastian?” - -“Yes, my lord,” returned the boy, who had known the horseman all the -time. - -“Then, come, and tell me how I find you here?” - -“I did tell you--I want to learn that my father in Paris is not killed -or hurt.” - -“Alas, my poor boy,” said Isidore with profound sadness, “I am going to -town on the like errand: only I have no doubt; one of my brothers, -Valence, was slain at Versailles yesterday.” - -“Oh, I am so sorry,” said the youth, holding out his hand to the -speaker, which the latter took and squeezed. - -“Well, my dear boy, since our fate is akin,” said the cavalier, “we must -not separate; you must like me be eager to get to Paris.” - -“Oh, dear, yes!” - -“You can never reach it on foot.” - -“I could do it but it would take too long; so I reckon on taking a place -in a stage going my way, and get what lift I can do the journey.” - -“Better than that, my boy; get up behind my man.” - -Sebastian plucked his hands out of the other’s grasp. - -“I thank you, my lord,” said he in such a tone that the noble understood -that he had hurt the youth’s feelings by offering to mount him behind -his inferior. - -“Or, better still, now I think of it,” he went on, “take his place. He -can come on afterwards. He can learn where I am by asking at the -Tuileries Palace.” - -“I thank you again, my lord,” replied the adolescent, in a milder voice, -for he had comprehended the delicacy of the offer: “I do not wish to -deprive you of his services.” - -It was hard to come to an arrangement now that the terms of peace were -laid down. - -“Better again, my dear Sebastian. Get up behind me. Dawn is peeping: at -ten we shall be at Dammartin, half way; there we will leave the two -horses, which would not carry us much farther, under charge of -Baptistin, and we will take the post-chaise to Paris. I intended to do -this so that you do not lead to any change in my arrangements.” - -“If this be true, then, I accept,” said the young man, hesitating but -dying to go. - -“Down with you, Baptistin, and help Master Sebastian to mount.” - -“Thanks, but it is useless,” said the youth leaping up behind the -gentleman as light as a schoolboy. - -The three on the two horses started off at the gallop, and disappeared -over the ridge. - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - -THE SPIRIT MATERIALIZED. - - -At five next afternoon, Viscount Charny and Sebastian reached the -Tuileries Palace gates. The name of his brother passed Isidore and his -companion into the middle courtyard. - -Young Gilbert had wanted to go to the house in Honore Street where his -father dwelt, but the other had pointed out that as he was honorary -physician to the Royal Household, he might be at the palace, where the -latest news of him could be had. - -While an usher made inquiries, Sebastian sat on a sofa and Isidore -walked up and down the sitting-room. - -In ten minutes the man returned: Count Charny was with the Queen; Dr. -Gilbert had had nothing happen to him; he was supposed to be with the -King, as a doctor was with his Majesty. If it were so, he would be -informed on coming out that a person was waiting to see him. - -Isidore was much affected in parting with him as his joy at recovering -his father made the loss of his brother more painful. - -At this the door opened for a servant to call: “The Viscount of Charny -is asked for in the Queen’s apartments.” - -“You will wait for me,” said Isidore; “unless your father comes, promise -me, Gilbert, for I am answerable for you to the doctor.” - -“Yes, and receive my thanks in the meantime,” rejoined Sebastian, -resuming his place on the sofa as the Viscount left the room with the -domestic. - -Easy about his father’s fate, and himself, certain that the good intent -would earn his forgiveness for the journey, he went back in memory to -Father Fortier, and on Pitou, and reflected on the trouble which his -flight and his note would cause them severally. - -And naturally, by the mechanism of ideas, he thought of the woods around -Pitou’s home, where he had so often pursued the ghost in his reverie. -The White Lady seen so oft in visions, and once only in reality, he -believed in Satory Wood, appearing and flitting away in a magnificent -carriage drawn by a galloping pair. - -He recalled the profound emotion this sight had given him and half -plunged in dreams anew, he murmured: - -“My mother?” - -At this juncture, a door in the wall over against him opened. A woman -appeared. This appearance was so much in harmony with what happened in -his fancy, that he started to see his ghost take substance. In this -woman was the vision and the reality--the lady seen at Satory. - -He sprang up as though a spring had acted under his feet. - -His lips tightened on one another, his eyes expanded, and the pupils -dilated. His heaving breast in vain endeavored to form a sound. - -Majestic, haughty and disdainful, the lady passed him without any heed. -Calm as she was externally, yet her pale countenance, frowning brow and -whistling respiration, betrayed that she was in great nervous -irritation. - -She crossed the room diagonally, opened another door, and walked into a -corridor. - -Sebastian comprehended that she was escaping him, if he did not hasten. -He still looked as if apprehensive that it was a ghost, but then darted -after her, before the skirt of her silken robe had disappeared round the -turning of the lobby. - -Hearing steps behind her, she walked more briskly as if fearing pursuit. - -He quickened his gait as much as he could, fearing as the corridor was -dark that he might miss her. This caused her to accelerate her pace -also, but she looked round. - -He uttered a cry of joy for it was clearly the vision. - -Seeing but a boy with extended arms and understanding nothing why she -should be chased, the lady hurried down a flight of stairs. But she had -barely descended to one landing than Sebastian arrived at the end of the -passage where he called out: - -“Lady, oh, lady!” - -This voice produced a strange sensation throughout the hearer; she -seemed struck in the heart by a pain which was half delight, and from -the heart a shudder sent by the blood through all her veins. - -Nevertheless, as all was a puzzle to her; she doubled her speed, and the -course resembled a flight. - -They reached the foot of the stairs at the same time. - -It was the courtyard into which the lady sped. A carriage was waiting -for her, for a servant was holding the door open. She stepped in swiftly -and took her seat. - -Before the door could be closed, Sebastian glided in between it and the -footman, and seizing the hem of her dress, kissed with frenzy and cried: - -“Oh, lady!” - -Looking at the pretty boy who had frightened her at first, she said in a -sweeter voice than she usually spoke, though it was yet shaken with fear -and emotion: - -“Well, my little friend, why are you running after me? why do you call -me? what do you want?” - -“I want to see you, and kiss you,” replied the child. “I want to call -you ‘Mother,'” he added in so low a voice that only she could hear him. - -She uttered a scream, embraced him, and approaching him as by a sudden -revelation, fastened her ardent lips on his brow. Then, as though she -dreaded someone coming to snatch away this child whom she had found, she -drew him entirely into the vehicle, pushed him to its other side, shut -the door with her own hand, and lowering the glass to order: “Drive to -No. 9 Coq-Heron Street, the first carriage-doorway from Plastriere -Street,” she shut the window instantly. - -Turning to the boy she asked his name. - -“Sebastian? come, Sebastian, come here, on my heart.” - -She threw herself back as if going to swoon, muttering: “What new -sensation is this? can it be what is called happiness?” - -The journey was one long kiss of mother and son. - -She had found this son by a miracle, whom the father had torn from her -in a terrible night of anguish and dishonor; he had disappeared with no -trace but the abductor’s tracks in the snow; this child had been -detested until she heard its first wail, whereupon she had loved him; -this child had been prayed for, called for, begged for. Her brother had -uselessly hunted for him over land and ocean. For fifteen years she had -yearned for him, and despaired to behold him again; she had begun to -think no more of him but as a cherished spirit. Here he was, running and -crying after her, seeking her, in his turn, calling her “Mother!” - -He was pillowed on her heart, pressing on her bosom, loving her filially -although he had never seen her, as she loved him with maternal -affection. Her pure lips recovered all the joys of a lost life in this -first kiss given her son. - -Above the head of mankind is Something else than the void in which the -spheres revolve: in life there is Another Thing than chance and -fatality. - - -After fourteen years she was taken back to the house where he was born, -this offspring of the union of the mesmerist Gilbert and the daughter of -the House of Taverney, his victim. There he had drawn the first breath -of life and thence his father had stolen him. - -This little residence, bought by the late Baron Taverney, served as -lodging for his son when he came to town, which was rarely, and for -Andrea, when she slept in town. - -After her conflict with the Queen, unable to bear meeting the woman who -loved her husband, Andrea had made up her mind to go away from the -rival, who visited on her retaliation for all her griefs, and whom the -woes of the Queen, great though they were, always remained beneath the -sufferings of the loving woman. - -All concurred then in making this evening a happy one for the ex-Queen’s -maid of honor. Nothing should trouble her. Instead of a room in a palace -where the walls are all ears and eyes, she was harboring her child in -her own little, secluded house. - -As soon as she was closeted with Sebastian in her boudoir, she drew him -to a lounge, on which were concentrated the lights from both candles and -fire. - -“Oh, my boy, is it really you?” she exclaimed with a joy which still -quivered with lingering doubt. - -“Mother!” ejaculated Sebastian with an outburst of the heart, flowing -like refreshing dews on Andrea’s burning heart and enfevered veins. - -“And the meeting to be here,” said she, looking round with terror -towards the room whence he had been stolen. - -“What do you mean by ‘Here?'” - -“Fifteen years ago, my boy, you were born in this room, and I bless the -mercy of the Almighty that you are miraculously restored to me.” - -“Yes, miraculously indeed,” said the youth, “for if I had not feared for -my father----“ - -Andrea closed her eyes and leaned back, so sharp was the pang shooting -through her. - -“If I had not set out alone in the night, I should not have been -perplexed about the road: and then I should not have been recognized by -Lord Isidore Charny, who offered his help and conducted me to the -Tuileries----“ - -Her eyes re-opened, her heart expanded and her glance thanked heaven: -for it increased the miracle that Sebastian should be led to her by her -husband’s brother. - -“I should not have seen you passing through the palace and not following -you might never have called you ‘Mother!’ the word so sweet and tender -to utter.” - -Recalled to her bliss, she hugged him again and said: - -“Yes, you are right, my boy; it is most sweet: but there is perchance -another one more sweet and tender; ‘My son!’ which I say to you as I -press you to my heart. But in short,” she suddenly said, “it is -impossible that all should remain mysterious around us. You have -explained how you come here, but not how you recognized me and ran after -me, calling me your mother.” - -“How can I tell? I do not myself know,” replied Sebastian, looking at -her with love unspeakable. “You speak of mysteries? all is mysterious -about you and me. List to me, and I will tell you what seems a prodigy.” - -Andrea bent nearer. - -“It is ten years since I knew you. You do not understand. I have dreams -which my father calls hallucinations.” - -At the reminder of Gilbert, passing like a steel point from the boyish -lips, Andrea started. - -“I have seen you twenty times, mother. In the village, while playing -with the other schoolboys, I have followed you as you flitted through -the woods and pursued you with useless calls till you faded away. -Crushed by fatigue I would drop on the spot, as if your presence alone -had sustained me.” - -This kind of second existence, this living dream, too much resembled -what the medium herself experienced for her not to understand him. - -“Poor darling,” she said as she pressed him more closely, “it was vainly -that hate strove to part us. Heaven was bringing us together without my -suspecting it. Less happy than you, I saw my dear child neither in dream -nor reality. Still, when I passed through that Green Saloon I felt a -shiver; when I heard your footsteps behind mine, giddiness thrilled my -heart and brain; when you called me ‘Lady’ I all but stopped; when you -called me ‘Mother!’ I nearly swooned; when I embraced you, I believed.” - -“My mother,” repeated Sebastian, as if to console her for not having -heard the welcome title for so long. - -“Yes, your mother,” said the countess, with a transport of love -impossible to describe. - -“Now that we have found each other,” said the youth, “and as you are -contented and happy at our union, we are not going to part any more, -tell me?” - -She shuddered: she was enjoying the present to the exclusion of the past -and totally closing her eyes on the future. - -“How I should bless you, my poor boy, if you could accomplish this -miracle!” she sighingly murmured. - -“Let me manage it; I will do it. I do not know the causes separating you -from my father,”--Andrea turned pale--“but they will be effaced by my -tears and entreaties, however serious they may be.” - -“Never,” returned the countess, shaking her head. - -“I tell you that my father adores you,” said Sebastian, who believed -that the woman was in the wrong from the way his father had forbidden -him ever to mention her name. - -Her hands holding the speaker’s relaxed but he did not notice this, as -he continued: - -“I will prepare him to greet you; I will tell him all the happiness you -give me; one of these days, I will take you by the hand and lead you to -him, saying: ‘Here she is, father--look, how handsome she is!'” - -Repulsing Sebastian, she sprang up. - -“Never,” repeated she, while he stared with astounded eyes for she was -so white as to alarm him. This time her accent expressed a threat rather -than fright. - -She recoiled on the lounge; in that face he had seen the hard lines -which Raphael gives to irritated angels. - -“Why do you refuse to receive my father?” he demanded, in a sullen -voice. - -At these words, the lightning burst as at the contact of two clouds. - -“Why? do you ask me why? well, never shall you know.” - -“Still, I ask why,” said Sebastian, with firmness. - -“Because, then,” said Andrea, incapable of self-restraint under the -sting of the serpent gnawing at her heart, “because your father is an -infamous villain!” - -He bounded up from the divan and stood before her. - -“Do you say that of my father,” he cried, “of Dr. Gilbert, who brought -me up and educated me, the only friend I ever knew? I am making a -mistake--you are no mother of mine!” - -She stopped him darting towards the door. - -“Stay,” she said, “you cannot know, ought not understand, may not -judge.” - -“No; but I can feel, and I feel that I love you no more.” - -She screamed with pain. - -Simultaneously, a diversion was given to the emotion overwhelming her by -the sound of a carriage coming up to the street doorway. Such a shudder -ran over her that he thrilled in sympathy. - -“Wait, and be silent,” she said so that he was subjugated. - -“Who am I to announce?” she heard the old footman demand in the -ante-room. - -“The Count of Charny; and inquire if my lady will do me the honor to -receive me?” - -“Into this room, child,” said Andrea, “he must not see you--he must not -know that you exist!” - -She pushed the frightened youth into the adjoining apartment. - -“Remain here till he shall have gone, when I will relate to--No, nothing -of that can be said? I will so love you that you will not doubt that I -am your own loving mother.” - -His only reply was a moan. - -At this moment the door opened and the servant, cap in hand, acquitted -himself of the errand entrusted to him. - -“Show in the Count of Charny,” she said in the firmest voice she could -find. - -As the old man retired, the nobleman appeared on the sill. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - -HUSBAND AND WIFE. - - -Count Charny was clad in black, mourning for his brother slain two days -before. - -This mourning was not solely in his habit, but in the recesses of his -heart, and his pallid cheeks attested what grief he had undergone. Never -are handsome faces finer than after sorrow, and the rapid glance of his -wife perceived that he had never looked more superb. - -She closed her eyes an instant, slightly held back her head to draw a -full breath and laid her hand on her heart which seemed about to break. - -When she opened them, after a second, Charny was in the same place. - -“Is the carriage to wait?” inquired the servant, urged by the footman at -the door. - -An unspeakable look shot from the yearning eyes of the visitor upon his -wife, who was dazed into closing her own again, while she stood -breathless as though she had not noticed the glance or heard the -question. Both had penetrated to her heart. - -Charny sought in this lovely living statue for some token to indicate -what answer he should make. As her shiver might be read both ways, he -said: “Bid the coachman wait.” - -The door closed and perhaps for the first time since their wedding the -lord and his lady were alone together. - -“Pardon me,” said the count, breaking the silence, “but is my unexpected -call intrusion? I have not seated myself and the carriage waits so that -I can depart as I came.” - -“No, my lord, quite the contrary,” quickly said Andrea. “I knew you were -well and safe, but I am not the less happy to see you after recent -events.” - -“You have been good enough then to ask after me?” - -“Of course; yesterday, and this morning, when I was answered that you -were at Versailles; and this evening, when I learnt that you were in -attendance on the Queen.” - -Were those last words spoken simply or did they contain a reproach? Not -knowing what to make of them, the count was evidently set thinking by -them. But probably leaving to the outcome of the dialogue the lifting of -the veil lowered on his mind for the time, he replied almost instantly: - -“My lady, a pious duty retained me at Versailles yesterday and this day; -one as sacred in my eyes brought me instantly on my arrival in town -beside her Majesty.” - -Andrea tried in her turn to discover the true intent of the words. -Thinking that she ought to respond, she said: - -“Yes, I know of the terrible loss which--_you_ have experienced.” She -had been on the point of saying “we,” but she dared not, and continued: -“You have had the misfortune to lose your brother Valence de Charny.” - -The count seemed to be waiting for the clue, for he had started on -hearing the pronoun “Your.” - -“Yes, my lady. As you say, a terrible loss for me, but you cannot -appreciate the young man, as you little knew poor Valence, happily.” - -In the last word was a mild and melancholy reproach, which his auditor -comprehended, though no outward sign was manifested that she gave it -heed. - -“Still, one thing consoles me, if anything can console me; poor Valence -died doing his duty, as probably his brother Isidore will die, and I -myself.” - -This deeply affected Andrea. - -“Alas, my lord,” she asked, “do you believe matters so desperate that -fresh sacrifices of blood are necessary to appease the wrath of heaven?” - -“I believe that the hour comes when the knell of kings is to peal; that -an evil genius pushes monarchy unto the abysm. In short I think, if it -is to fall, it will be accompanied, and should be so, by all those who -took part in its splendor.” - -“True, but when comes that day, believe that it will find me ready like -yourself for the utmost devotion,” said Andrea. - -“Your ladyship has given too many proofs of that devotion in the past, -for any one to doubt it for the future--I least of all--the less as I -have for the first time flinched about an order from the Queen. On -arriving from Versailles, I found the order to present myself to her -Majesty instantly.” - -“Oh,” said Andrea, sadly smiling; “it is plain,” she added, after a -pause, “like you, the Queen sees the future is sombre and mysterious and -wishes to gather round her all those she can depend on.” - -“You are wrong, my lady,” returned Charny, “for the Queen summoned me, -not to bid me stand by her, but to send me afar.” - -“Send you away?” quickly exclaimed the countess, taking a step towards -the speaker. “But I am keeping you standing,” she said, pointing to a -chair. - -So saying, she herself sank, as though unable to remain on foot any -longer, on the sofa where she had been sitting with Sebastian shortly -before. - -“Send you away? in what end?” she said with emotion not devoid of joy at -the thought that the suspected lovers were parting. - -“To have me go to Turin to confer with Count Artois and the Duke of -Bourbon, who have quitted the country.” - -“And you accepted?” - -“No, my lady,” responded Charny, watching her fixedly. - -She lost color so badly that he moved as if to assist her, but this -revived her strength and she recovered. - -“No? you have answered No to an order of the Queen’s, my lord?” she -faltered, with an indescribable accent of doubt and astonishment. - -“I answered that I believed my presence here at present more necessary -than in Italy. Anybody could bear the message with which I was to be -honored; I had a second brother, just arrived from the country, to place -at the orders of the King, and he was ready to start in my stead.” - -“Of course the Queen was happy to see the substitute,” exclaimed Andrea, -with bitterness she could not contain, and not appearing to escape -Charny. - -“It was just the other way, for she seemed to be deeply wounded by the -refusal. I should have been forced to go had not the King chanced in and -I made him the arbiter.” - -“The King held you to be right?” sneered the lady with an ironical -smile: “he like you advised your staying in the Tuileries? Oh, how good -his Majesty is!” - -“So he is,” went on the count, without wincing: “he said that my brother -Isidore would be well fitted for the mission and the more so as it was -his first visit to court, so that his absence would not be remarked. He -added that it would be cruel for the Queen to require my being sent away -from you at present.” - -“The King said, from me?” exclaimed Andrea. - -“I repeat his own words, my lady. Looking round and addressing me, he -wanted to know where the Countess of Charny was. ‘I have not seen her -this evening,’ said he. As this was specially directed to me, I made -bold to reply. ‘Sire,’ I said, ‘I have so seldom the pleasure of seeing -the countess that I am in the state of impossibility to tell where she -is; but if your Majesty wishes to know, he might inquire of the Queen -who, knowing, will reply!’ I insisted as I judged from the Queen looking -black, that some difference had arisen between you.” - -Andrea was so enwrapt in the listening that she did not think of saying -anything. - -“The Queen made answer that the Countess of Charny had gone away from -the palace with no intention to return. ‘Why, what motive can your best -friend have in quitting the palace at this juncture?’ inquired the King. -‘Because she is uncomfortable here,’ replied the Queen who had started -at the title you were given. ‘Well, that may be so; but we will find -accommodation for her and the count beside our own rooms,’ went on the -King. ‘You will not be very particular, eh, my lord?’ I told him that I -should be satisfied with any post as long as I could serve him in it. ‘I -know it well: so that we only want the lady called back from--’ the -Queen did not know whither you had departed. ‘Not know where your friend -has gone?’ exclaimed the King. ‘When my friends leave me I do not -inquire after them.’ ‘Good, some woman’s quarrel,’ said Louis; ‘my Lord -Charny, I have to speak a while with the Queen. Kindly wait for me and -present your brother who shall start for Turin this evening. I am of -your opinion that I shall require you and I mean to keep you by me.’ So -I sent for my brother who was awaiting me in the Green Saloon, I was -told.” - -At the mention, Andrea, who had nearly forgotten Sebastian in her -interest in her husband’s story, was made to think of all that had -passed between mother and son, and she threw her eyes with anguish on -the bedroom door where she had placed him. - -“But you must excuse me for talking of matters but slightly interesting -you while you are no doubt wishful to know why I have come here.” - -“No, my lord, what you say does engage me,” replied the countess; “your -presence can only be agreeable on account of the fears I have felt on -your account. I pray you to continue. The King asked you to wait for him -and to bring your brother.” - -“We went to the royal apartments, where he joined us in ten minutes. As -the mission for the princes was urgent he began by that. Their -Highnesses were to be instructed about what had happened. A quarter of -an hour after the King came, my brother was on the road, and the King -and I were left alone. He stopped suddenly in pacing the room and said: -‘My lord, do you know what has passed between the Queen and the -countess?’ I was ignorant. ‘Something must have happened,’ he went on, -‘for the Queen is in a temper fit to massacre everybody, and it appears -to me unjust to the countess--which is odd, as the Queen usually defends -her friends through thick and thin, even when they are wrong.’ ‘I repeat -I know nothing, but I venture to assert that the countess has done no -wrong--even if we cannot admit that a queen ever does so.'” - -“I thank your lordship for having so good an opinion of me,” said -Andrea. - -“'I suppose as the countess has a house in town that she has retired -there,’ I suggested. ‘Of course! I will give you leave of absence till -to-morrow on condition that you bring back the countess,’ said the -King.” - -Charny looked at his wife so fixedly that she was unable to bear the -glance and had to close her eyes. - -“Then, seeing that I was in mourning, he stayed me to say that my loss -was one of those which monarchs could not repair; but that if my brother -left a widow or a child he would help them, and would like them -presented to him, at any rate; the Queen should take care of the widow -and he would of the children.” - -Charny spoke with tears in his voice. - -“I daresay the King was only repeating what the Queen had said,” -remarked the lady. - -“The Queen did not honor me with a word on the subject,” returned -Charny, “and that is why the King’s speech affected me most deeply. He -ended by bidding me ‘Go to our dear Andrea; for though those we love -cannot console us they can mourn with us, and that is a relief!’ Thus it -is that I come by the King’s order, which may be my excuse, my lady,” -concluded the count. - -“Did you doubt your welcome?” cried the lady, quickly rising and holding -out both hands to him. - -He grasped them and kissed them; she uttered a scream as though they -were redhot iron, and sank back on the divan. But her hands were -clinging to his and he was drawn down so as to be placed sitting beside -her. - -But it was then that she thought she heard a noise in the next room, and -she started from him so abruptly that he rose and stood off a little, -not knowing to what to attribute the outcry and the repulsion so -suddenly made. - -Leaning on the sofa back, he sighed. The sigh touched her deeply. - -At the very time when the bereaved mother found her child, something -like the dawn of love beamed on her previously dismal and sorrowful -horizon. But by a strange coincidence, proven that she was not born to -happiness, the two events were so combined that one annulled the other: -the return of the husband thrust aside the son’s love as the latter’s -presence destroyed the budding passion. - -Charny could not divine this in the exclamation and the starting aloof, -the silence full of sadness following, although the cry was of love and -the retreat from fear, not repulsion. - -He gazed upon her with an expression which she could not have mistaken -if she had been looking up. - -“What answer am I to carry to the King?” he inquired emitting a sigh. - -“My lord,” she replied, starting at the sound and raising her clear and -limpid eyes to him, “I suffered so much while in the court that I -accepted the leave to go when accorded by the Queen, with thankfulness. -I am not fitted to live in society, and in solitude I have found repose -if not happiness. My happiest days were those spent as a girl at -Taverney and in the convent of St. Denis with the noble princess of the -House of France, the Lady Louise. But, with your lordship’s permission, -I will dwell in this summerhouse, full of recollections which are not -without some sweetness spite of their sadness.” - -Charny bowed at this suggestion of his permission being sought, like a -man who was obeying an order, far more than granting a request. - -“As this is a fixed resolve,” he said, marking how steady she was with -all her meekness, “am I to be allowed to call on you here?” - -She fastened her eyes on him, usually clear but now full of astonishment -and blandness. - -“Of course, my lord,” was her response, “and as I shall have no company, -you can come any time that your duties at the palace allow you to set -aside a little while to me.” - -Never had Charny seen so much charm in her gaze, or such tenderness in -her voice. Something ran through his veins, like the shudder from a -lover’s first kiss. He glanced at the place whence he had risen when -Andrea got up; he would have given a year of life to take his seat there -again if she would not once more repel him. But the soldier was timid, -and he dared not allow himself the liberty. - -On her part, Andrea would have given ten years, sooner than only one, to -have him in that place, but, unfortunately, each was ignorant of the -other’s mood, and they stood still, in almost painful expectation. - -“You were saying that you had to endure a great deal at court. Was not -the Queen pleasant towards you?” - -“I have nothing to blame her Majesty for,” replied the ex-lady of honor, -“and I should be unjust if I did not acknowledge her Majesty’s kind -treatment.” - -“I hinted at this, because I have lately noticed that the friendship -seemed to show a falling off,” continued the count. - -“That is possible, and that is why I am leaving the court.” - -“But you will live so lonely?” - -“Have I not always lived so, my lord?” sighed Andrea, “as maid--wife--“ -she stopped, seeing that she was going too far. - -“Do you make me a reproach?” - -“What right have I in heaven’s name to make reproaches to your -lordship?” retorted the countess: “do you believe I have forgot the -circumstances under which we were plighted? Just the opposite of those -who vow before the altar reciprocal love and mutual protection, we swore -eternal indifference and complete separation. The blame would be to the -one who forgot that oath.” - -Charny caught the sigh which these words had not entirely suppressed, -from the speaker’s heart. - -“But this is such a small dwelling,” he said: “a countess in one sitting -room with only another to eat in, and this for repose----“ - -She sprang in between him and the bedroom, seeing Sebastian behind the -door, in her mind’s eye. - -“Oh, my lord, do not go that way, I entreat you,” she exclaimed, barring -the passage with her extended arms. - -“Oh, my lady,” said he, looking at her so pale and trembling, with -fright never more plain on a human face, “I knew that you did not like -me: but I had no idea you hated me to this degree.” - -Incapable of remaining any longer beside his wife without an outburst, -he reeled for a space like an intoxicated man; recovering himself, he -rushed out of the room with an exclamation of pain which echoed in the -depths of the hearer’s heart. - -She watched him till he was out of sight; she listened till she could no -longer hear his departing carriage, and then with a breaking heart, -dreading that she had not enough motherly love to combat with this other -passion, she darted into the bedroom, calling out: - -“Sebastian,” but no voice replied. - -By the trembling of the night-lamp in a draft she perceived that the -window was open. It was the same by which the child was kidnapped -fifteen years before. - -“This is justice,” she muttered; “did he not say that I was no more his -mother?” - -Comprehending that she had lost both husband and child at the period -when she had recovered them, Andrea threw herself on the couch, at the -end of her resignation and her prayers exhausted. - -Suddenly it seemed to her that something more dreadful than her -sorrowful plight glided in between grief and her tears. - -She looked up and beheld a man, after climbing in at the open window, -standing on the floor. - -She wished to shriek and ring for help; but he bent on her the -fascinating gaze which caused her the invincible lethargy she remembered -Cagliostro could impose upon her: but in this mesmerist and his -spell-binding look and bearing, she recognized Gilbert. - -How was it the execrated father stood in the stead of his beloved son? - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. - -IN SEARCH OF THEIR SON. - - -It was Dr. Gilbert who was closeted with the King when the usher -inquired after him on the order of Isidore and the entreaty of -Sebastian. - -The upright heart of Louis XVI. had appreciated the loyalty in the -doctor’s. After half an hour, the latter came forth and went into the -Queen’s ante-chamber, where he saw Isidore. - -“I asked for you, doctor, but I have another with me who wants still -more to see you. It will be cruel to detain you from him: so let us -hasten to the Green Saloon.” - -But the room was empty and such was the confusion in the palace that no -servant was at hand to inform them what had become of the young man. - -“It was a person I met on the road, eager to get to Paris and coming -here on foot only for my giving him a ride.” - -“Are you speaking of the peasant Pitou?” - -“No, doctor--of your son, Sebastian.” - -At this, the usher who had taken Isidore away returned. - -He was ignorant of what had happened but, luckily, a second footman had -seen the singular disappearance of the boy in the carriage of a court -lady. - -They hastened to the gates where the janitor well recalled that the -direction to the coachman was “No. 9 Coq-Heron Street, first carriage -entrance from Plastriere Street.” - -“My sister-in-law’s,” exclaimed Isidore, “the countess of Charny!” - -“Fatality,” muttered Gilbert. “He must have recognized her,” he said in -a lower tone. - -“Let us go there,” suggested the young noble. - -Gilbert saw all the dangers of Andrea’s son being discovered by her -husband. - -“My lord,” he said, “my son is in safety in the hands of the Countess of -Charny, and as I have the honor to know her, I think I can call by -myself. Besides it is more proper that you should be on your road; for I -presume you are going to Turin, from what I heard in the King’s -presence.” - -“Yes, doctor.” - -“Receive my thanks for your kindness to Sebastian, and be off! When a -father says he is not uneasy, you need feel no anxiety.” - -Isidore held out his hand which the revolutionist shook with more -heartiness than he had for most of his class; while the nobleman -returned within the palace, he went along to the junction of the streets -Coq-Heron and Plastriere. - -Both were painful memories. - -In the latter he had lived, a poor boy, earning his bread by copying -music, by receiving instruction from the author Rousseau. From his -window he had contemplated Andrea at her own casement, under the hands -of her maid, Nicole, his first sweetheart, and to that window he had -made his way by a rope and by scaling the wall, to view more closely and -satisfy his passion for the high-born lady who had bewitched him. - -Rousseau was dead, but Andrea was rich and nobler still; he had also -attained wealth and consideration. - -But was he any happier than when he walked out of doors to dip his crust -in the waters of this public fountain? - -He could not help walking up to the door where Rousseau had lived. It -was open on the alley which ran under the building to the yard at the -back as well as up to the attic where he was lodged. - -He went up to the first floor back, where the window on the landing gave -a view of the rear house where Baron Taverney had dwelt. - -No one disturbed him in his contemplation; the house had come down in -the world; no janitor; the inhabitants were poor folk who did not fear -thieves. - -The garden at Taverney’s house was the same as a dozen years before. The -vine still hung on the trellis which had served him as ladder in his -night clamberings within the enclosure. - -He was unaware whether Count Charny was with his wife, but he was so -bent on learning about Sebastian that he meant to risk all. - -He climbed the wall and descended on the other side. In the garden -nothing obstructed him, and thus he reached the window of Andrea’s -Bedroom. - -In another instant, as related, the two enemies stood face to face. - -The lady’s first feeling was invincible repugnance rather than profound -terror. - -For her the Americanized Gilbert, the friend of Washington and -Lafayette, aristocratic through study, science and genius, was still the -hangdog Gilbert of her father’s manor house, and the gardener’s boy of -Trianon Palace. - -Gilbert no longer bore her the ardent love which had driven him to crime -in his youth, but the deep and tender affection, spite of her insults -and persecutions, of a man ready to do a service at risk of his life. - -With the insight nature had given him and the justice education -implanted, Gilbert had weighed himself: he understood that Andrea’s -misfortunes arose from him, and he would never be quits with her until -he had made her as happy as he had the reverse. - -But how could he blissfully affect her future. - -It was impossible for him yet to comprehend. - -On seeing this but to so much despair, again the prey to woe, all his -fibres of mercy were moved for so much misery. - -Instead of using his hypnotic power to subdue her, he spoke softly to -her, ready to master her if she became rebellious. - -The result was that the medium felt the ethereal fluid fade away like a -dissolving fog, by Gilbert’s permission, and she was able to speak of -her own free will. - -“What do you want, sir? how came you here?” - -“By the way I used before,” replied the doctor. “Hence you can be -easy--no one will know of it. Why? because I come to claim a treasure, -of no consequence to you, but precious to me, my son. I want you to tell -what has become of my son, taken away in your carriage and brought -here.” - -“How do I know? taught by you to hate his mother, he has fled.” - -“His mother? are you really a mother to him?” - -“Oh, you see my grief, you have heard my cries, and looking on my -despair, you ask me if I am his mother?” - -“How then are you ignorant what has become of him?” - -“But I tell you he has fled; that I came into this room for him and -found the window open and the room vacant.” - -“Where could he have gone--good God!” exclaimed Gilbert. “It is past -midnight and he does not know the town.” - -“Do you believe anything evil has befallen him?” asked she, approaching. - -“We shall hear, for it is you who shall tell me.” - -And with a wave of the hand he began anew to plunge her into the -mesmeric sleep. - -She uttered a sigh and fell off into repose. - -“Am I to put forth all my will power or will you answer voluntarily?” -asked Gilbert when she was under control. - -“Will you tell the boy again that I am not his mother?” - -“That depends. Do you love him?” - -“Ardently, with all my soul.” - -“Then you are his mother as I am his father, for it is thus I love him. -Loving him, you shall see him again. When did you part from the boy?” - -“About half an hour ago, when Count Charny called. I had pushed him into -this room.” - -“What were his last words?” - -“That I was no more his mother: because I had told him that you were a -villain.” - -“Look into the poor boy’s heart and see what harm you wrought.” - -“Oh, God forgive me,” said Andrea: “forgive me, my son.” - -“Did Count Charny suspect the boy was here?” - -“No, I am sure.” - -“Why did he not stay?” - -“Because he never stays long with me. Oh, wretch that I am,” she -interrupted herself, “he was returning to me after refusing that -mission--because he loves me--he loves me!” - -Gilbert began to see more clearly into this drama which his eye was -first to penetrate. - -“But do you love him?” he demanded. - -“I see your intention is good: you wish to make up to me for the grief -you have caused: but I refuse the boon coming from you. I hate you and -wish to continue in my hatred.” - -“Poor mortality,” muttered the philosopher, “have you had so much -happiness that you can dally with a certain amount offered you? so you -love him?” - -“Yes. Since first I saw him, as the Queen and I sat with him in a -hackney-carriage in which we returned from Paris to Versailles one -night.” - -“You know what love is, Andrea,” queried Gilbert, mournfully. - -“I know that love has been given as a standard by which we can measure -how much sadness we can endure,” replied she. - -“It is well: you are a true woman and a true mother: a rough diamond, -you were shaped by the stern lapidary known as Grief. Return to -Sebastian.” - -“Yes, I see him leaving the house with clenched hands and knit brow. He -wanders up the street--he goes up to a woman and asks her for St. Honore -Street----“ - -“My street: he was seeking for my house. Poor child! he will be there -awaiting me.” - -“Hold! he has gone astray--he is in New St. Roch Street. Oh, he does not -see that vehicle coming down Sourdiere Street, but I see the -horses--Ah!” - -She drew herself up with an awful scream, maternal anguish depicted on -her visage, down which rolled tears and perspiration. - -“Oh, if harm befalls him, remember that it will recoil on your head,” -hissed Gilbert. - -“Ah,” sighed Andrea in relief, without hearing or heeding him, “God in -heaven be praised! it is the horse’s breast which struck him, and he is -thrown out of the rut of the wheel. There he lies, stunned, but he is -not killed. Only swooned. Hasten to help him. It is my son! They form a -crowd round him: is there not a doctor or surgeon among them all?” - -“Oh, I shall run,” said Gilbert. - -“Wait,” said Andrea, stopping him by the arm, “they are dividing to let -help come. It is the doct--oh, do not let that man approach him--I -loathe him--he is a vampire, he is hideous!” - -“Oh, for heaven’s sake, do not lose sight of Sebastian,” said Gilbert, -shuddering. - -“This ghoul carries him away--up the street--into the blind alley, -called St. Hyacinthe: where he goes down some steps. He places him on a -table where books and printed papers are heaped. He takes off his coat -and rolls up his sleeve. He ties the arm with bandages from a woman as -dirty and hideous as himself. He finds a lance in a case--he is going to -bleed him. Oh, I cannot bear to see my son’s blood flow. Run, run, and -you will find him as I say.” - -“Shall I awaken you at once with recollection: or would you sleep till -the morning and know nothing of what has happened?” - -“Awaken me at once with full memory.” - -Gilbert described a double curve with his hands so that his thumbs came -upon the medium’s eyelids; he breathed on her forehead and said merely: - -“Awake!” - -Instantly her eyes became animated; her limbs were supple; she looked at -Gilbert almost without terror, and continuing, though aroused, the -impulse in her vision, she cried: - -“Oh, run, run, and snatch the boy from the hands of that man who causes -me so much fright!” - - - - -CHAPTER XV. - -THE MAN WITH THE MODEL. - - -With no need to be spurred in his quest, Gilbert darted through the -rooms and as it would have taken too long to climb the walls, he made -for the front door, which he opened himself and bounded out on the -street. - -Knowing Paris intimately, he reached the spot indicated by Andrea in her -vision without delay and his first question to a storekeeper, who had -witnessed the accident to the boy, confirmed the statement. - -He proceeded straightway to the door in the alley, and knocked. - -“Who knocks?” challenged a woman’s voice. - -“I, the father of the wounded child whom you succored,” replied the -knocker. - -“Open, Albertine,” said a man’s voice: “it is Dr. Gilbert.” - -He was let into a cellar, or rather cavern, down some moldering steps, -lighted by a lamp set on the table cumbered with printed papers, books -and manuscripts as Andrea had described. - -In the shadow, and on a mattress, young Gilbert lay, but held out his -arms to his father, calling him. However powerful the philosophical -command in Gilbert, paternal love overruled decorum, and he sprang to -the boy whom he pressed to his breast, with care not to hurt his bruised -chest or his cut arm. After a long, fond kiss, he turned to thank the -good Samaritan. He was standing with his feet far apart, one hand on the -table, the other on his hip, lit by the lamp of which he had removed the -shade the better to illumine the scene. - -“Look, Albertine,” said he, “and with me thank the chance enabling me to -do a good turn for one of my brothers.” - -The speaker was a green and sallow man, like one of those country clowns -whom Latona’s wrath pursued and who was turning to a frog. Gilbert -shuddered, thinking that he had seen this abortion before as through a -sheet of blood. - -He drew nearer to Sebastian and hugged him once more. But triumphing -over his first impulse, he went back to the strange man who had so -appalled Andrea in the second-sight vision, and said: - -“Receive all the thanks of a father, sir, for having preserved his son: -they are sincere and come right from his heart.” - -“I have merely done my duty as prescribed by nature and recommended by -science,” replied the other. “I am a man, and as Terence says, nothing -human is foreign to me; besides, I have a tender heart, and cannot see -even an insect suffer; consequently still less my fellow man.” - -“May I learn to what fervent philanthropist I have the honor to speak?” - -“Do you not know your brother-physician?” said the surgeon, laughing in -what he wanted to seem benevolence though it was ghastly. “I know you, -Dr. Gilbert, the friend of the American patriots, and of Lafayette!” He -laid peculiar stress on this name. “The republican of America and -France, the honorable Utopist who has written magnificent articles on -constitutional government, which you sent to Louis XVI. from the States, -and for which he lodged you in the Bastile, the moment you touched -French soil. You wanted to save him by clearing the road to the future, -and he opened that into jail--regular royal gratitude!” - -He laughed again, this time terribly and threateningly. - -“If you know me it is a farther reason for me to insist on learning to -whom I am indebted.” - -“Oh, it is a long while since we made acquaintance,” said the surgeon. -“Twenty years, sir, on the dreadful night of the thirtieth of May, 1770; -the night when the fireworks exploded by accident among the people in -the Paris square, and injured and killed many who came to rejoice over -the wedding of the Archduchess and our Prince Royal, but who had to -curse their names. You were but a boy whom Rousseau brought to me, -wounded and crushed almost to death, and I bled you on a board amid the -dead and the cut-off limbs. Yet that awful night is a pleasant memory to -me for I was able to save many existences by my steel knowing where to -dissever to preserve life and where to cut to spare pain.” - -“You are Jean Paul Marat, then,” cried Gilbert, falling back a step -despite himself. - -“Mark, Albertine, that my name makes some effect,” said Marat with a -sinister laugh. - -“But I thought you were physician to Count Artois; why are you in this -cave, why lighted by this smoky lamp?” - -“I was the Prince’s veterinary surgeon, you mean. But he emigrated? no -prince, no stables; no stables, no vet. Besides, I gave in my -resignation, for I would no longer serve the tyrants.” - -The dwarf drew himself up to the full extent of his form. - -“But, in short, why are you in this hole?” - -“Because, Master Philosopher, I am a sound patriot writing to decry the -ambitious; Bailly fears me, Necker detests me, and Lafayette sets the -National Guard on to hunt me down and has put a price on my head--the -aspiring dictator! but I brave him! out of my hole, I pursue him, and -denounce the Caesar. Do you know what he has done? He has had fifteen -thousand snuffboxes made with his portrait on them, which hides some -trick. So I entreat all good citizens to smash them when found. It is -the rallying sign for the great Royalist Plot, for you cannot be -ignorant that Lafayette is conspiring with the Queen while poor Louis is -blubbering scalding tears over the blunders the Austrian is leading him -into. - -“The Queen,” said Gilbert pensively. - -“Yes; don’t tell me that she is not plotting: lately she gave away so -many white cockades that white ribbon went away up in the market. It is -a fact, for I had it from one of the workgirls of Bertin the dressmaker, -her Prime Minister in Fashions, who used to say: ‘I have been discussing -matters this morning with her Majesty.'” - -“And how do you denounce such things?” inquired the doctor. - -“In my newspaper, the one I have just started, twenty numbers having -appeared. It is ‘The Friend of the people or the Parisian Publicist,’ an -impartial political organ. To pay for the paper and the printing--look -behind you--I have sold the sheets and blankets off my bed.” - -Turning, Gilbert indeed saw that Sebastian lay on the mattress -absolutely bare, but he had fallen asleep, overcome with pain and -fatigue. He went up to him to see that it was not a swoon, but reassured -by the regular breathing he, returned to this journalist, who -irresistibly inspired him with the interest we feel for a hyena, tiger -or other wild beast. - -“Who help you in this gigantic work?” he inquired. - -“My staff?” sneered Marat. “Ha, ha, ha! the geese fly in files: the -eagle soars alone. My helpers are these,” and he showed his head and -hands. “I write the whole paper single handed--I can show you the copy, -though it runs into sixteen pages octavo sometimes, and often I use -small type though I commenced with large. So, it is not merely a -newspaper--but a personality--it is Marat!” - -“Enormous labor--how do you manage it?” asked the other doctor. - -“It is the secret of nature--a compact I have made with death. I have -given ten years of my life, so that I need no rest by day and no sleep -by night. My existence is summed up in writing: I do it day and night. -Lafayette’s police coop me up in this cell, where they chain me body and -soul to my work: they have doubled my activity. It was heavy on me at -first but I am inured to it. It delights me now to see poor humanity -through this airhole, by the narrow and slanting beam. From my gloomy -den I judge mankind living, and science and politics without appeal. -With one hand I demolish the savants, with the other the politicians. I -shall upset the whole state of things, like Samson destroying the -Temple, and under the ruins perhaps crushing me, I shall bury the -throne!” - -In spite of himself the hearer shuddered: in his rags and the -poverty-stricken vault this man repeated very nearly what Cagliostro had -said in his palace under his embroidered clothes. - -“But when you are so popular, why do you not try for a nomination in the -National Assembly?” he asked. - -“Because the day has not come for that,” replied the demagogue; -expressing his regret, he continued, “Oh, were I a tribune of the -masses, sustained by only a few thousand of determined men, I answer for -the Constitution being perfectly safe in six weeks: the political -machine should move better: no villain would dare play ticks with it: -the Nation should be free and happy: in less than a year, it should be -flourishing and redoubtable: and thus would it remain while I was -erect.” - -The vain creature was transformed under Gilbert’s eyes: his eyes became -bloodshot; his yellow skin shone with sweat; the monster became great in -his hideousness as another is grand in his beauty. - -“Yes, but I am not a representative,” he proceeded, resuming his train -of ideas from where he had interrupted himself: “I have not the -thousands of followers. No, but I am a journalist, and have my weapons -and ammunition, my subscribers and readers, for whom I am an oracle, a -prophet and a diviner. I have my following for whom I am a friend, and I -lead them on, trembling, from treachery to treachery, discovery to -discovery, from one dreadful thing to another. In the first number of -The Friend of the People, I denounced the upper classes saying that -there were six hundred guilty wretches in France and that number of -ropes-ends would do the job: but I made a mistake, ha, ha! The deeds of -the fifth and sixth of October opened my eyes and I see that we must -hang twenty thousand of the patricians.” - -Gilbert smiled, for fury elevated to this point, seemed madness to him. - -“Why, there is not enough hemp in France to do this work, and rope would -go up in price,” he said. - -“That is why I am looking round for some other means,” returned Marat, -“more expeditious and novel. Do you know whom I expect this evening? one -of our brother medicos, a member of the National Assembly whom you must -know by name, Dr. Guillotin----“ - -“The one who moved that the Assembly, expelled from the Session Hall at -Versailles, should meet in the Tennis Court a learned man?” - -“Do you know what this able citizen has discovered? a marvellous machine -which kills without pain, for death must be punishment not torture; he -has invented it and we shall try it one of these mornings.” - -Gilbert started: this was the second time that this brother Invisible -reminded him of the Chief, Cagliostro; no doubt this death-machine was -the same he had spoken of. - -“But you are lucky--a knock! it is he. Run and open the door, -Albertine.” - -The hag, who was the wife--rather the female mate of Marat--rose from -the stool on which she was squatting, and staggered half asleep towards -the door. - -Giddy with terror, Gilbert went instinctively towards Sebastian, ready -to take him in his arms and flee. - -“Just think of an automatic executioner,” said Marat, enthusiastically, -“with no need of a man to set it going; which can, if the knife is -changed a couple of times, cut off three hundred heads a-day!” - -“And add,” said a bland, melodious voice, behind Marat, “which can cut -off these heads without other sensation than a slight coolness around -the neck.” - -“Oh, is this you, doctor?” exclaimed Marat, turning towards a dapper -little man of forty or so, whose gentle demeanor and spruce dress made a -marked contrast with his host: in his hand he carried a small box such -as children’s toys are kept in. “What are you bringing us?” - -“A model of my machine, my dear Marat. But I see Dr. Gilbert here, -unless I mistake,” said the little dandy, trying to pierce the -obscurity. - -“The same, sir,” said the other visitor bowing. - -“Enchanted to meet you, sir; you are only too welcome, and I shall be -happy to have the opinion of so distinguished a man on my invention. I -must tell you, my dear Marat, that I have found a skillful carpenter, -named Guidon, to make my machine on the working scale. He is dear, -though, wanting five thousand five hundred francs; but no sacrifice is -too great for me to make for humanity. In two months it will be built, -and we can try it: I shall propose it to the Assembly. I hope you will -approve of it in your excellent new paper, though, in sober earnest, the -machine recommends itself, as you will see with your own eyes, Dr. -Gilbert. But a few lines in the People’s Friend will do no harm.” - -“Be easy on that score; it is not a few lines but a whole number that I -shall dedicate to it.” - -“You are too good, Marat; but I am not going to let you puff a pig in a -poke.” - -He took out of his pocket a much smaller box, in which a sound indicated -that some little live thing or several such were fidgeting in their -prison. This noise did not escape Marat’s subtle hearing. - -“What have you got there?” he asked, putting out his hand towards the -box. - -“Mind,” said the doctor, drawing it back, “do not let them escape as we -could not catch them again; they are mice whose heads we are going to -nick off with the machine. What, are you going to leave us, Dr. -Gilbert?” - -“Alas, yes, sir, to my great regret; but my son, wounded by being run -over by a horse just now, has been relieved by Friend Marat, to whom I -also owe my own life in an almost similar affair. I have to thank him -again. The boy needs a fresh bed, cares and repose: so that I cannot -witness your interesting experiment.” - -“But you will come and see the one with the real machine, in two months, -you promise, doctor?” - -“I pledge my word.” - -“Doctor,” said Marat, “I need not say, keep my abode secret. If your -friend Lafayette were to discover it he would have me shot like a dog, -or hung like a thief.” - -“Shooting, hanging,” exclaimed Guillotin. “But we shall put an end to -these cannibal deaths. We shall have a death, soft, easy, instantaneous, -such as old people, disgusted with their life and wishful to pass away -like sages and philosophers, will prefer to a natural one. Come and see -how it works, Marat!” - -And without troubling any farther about Dr. Gilbert, the enthusiast -opened his larger box and began to set up on the table a model -apparatus which the surgeon regarded with curiosity equal to his -enthusiasm. - -Gilbert profited by their being so engaged, to carry away Sebastian, -guided by Albertine who fastened up the outer door after him. - -Once in the street, he felt the night wind chill the perspiration -gathered on his brow. - -“Heavens,” he muttered, “what will happen to a city where the cellars -perhaps hide five hundred lovers of mankind who are occupied with such -work as we have a sample of there? one day they will perform in broad -daylight before the crowd.” - -It was little distance to his house in St. Honore Street. - -The cold revived Sebastian but his father would not let him walk. When -he knocked at his door, a heavy step was heard approaching. - -“Is that you, Dr. Gilbert?” challenged one within. - -“That is Pitou’s voice,” said the boy. - -“Praise heaven, Sebastian is found,” shouted Pitou on opening the door. -“Master Billet,” he shouted still more loudly, “Sebastian is found, and -all right, I hope, doctor?” - -“Without any serious hurt, anyway,” replied the other, “Come, -Sebastian.” - -He carried his son up to his bed. - -Pitou followed with the light; by his mud-bespattered shoes and -stockings it was plain that he had come a long journey. - -Indeed, after taking the broken-hearted Catherine home and learning from -her lips that her deep sorrow came from Isidore Charny being called away -to Paris, he took leave of her and Mother Billet, weeping by her -bedside, and went home to Haramont. He walked so slowly that he did not -get there until daybreak. - -He fell off to sleep so that it was not till he awoke, that he found the -youth’s letter. Immediately he started to overtake him. - -He girded up with a leather strap, took some bread and with a walking -stick in his fist, proceeded to town, where he arrived at eight that -night. - -He found neither the doctor nor his son at home--only Farmer Billet. - -This hearty, robust man, unnerved by the bloody scenes witnessed since -the Taking of the Bastile, of which enterprise he was the leader, had no -news for Pitou. - -Their sad waiting was rewarded by the double arrival. - -Though tranquil about Sebastian, Pitou, when sent to bed had his budget -to unfold to the farmer. Let no reader think that he revealed -Catherine’s secrets and spoke of her amour with the young noble. The -honest soul of the Commander of the Haramont National Guard would not -stoop to that story. But he told Billet that the harvest was bad, the -barley a failure, part of the wheat wind-laid, and the barns but a third -full--and that he had found Catherine on the road. - -Billet was little vexed about the grain, but the illness of his daughter -distressed him. - -He ran to Dr. Gilbert with a sad face as the latter was finishing this -note to Andrea: “Be of good heart; the child is found, with no one -hurt.” - -“Dr. Gilbert, you were right to retain me in town where I might be -useful; but everything has been going wrong in the country while the -good man is away.” - -Gilbert agreed with his friend that a hearty buxom girl like Catherine -should not faint on the public road. Feeling with a parent, he -responded: - -“Go home, my dear Billet, since land and family call you. But do not -forget that I shall claim you in the name of the country.” - -Thus Billet returned home after an absence of three months, although he -had intended to be away only a week. - -Pitou followed him, bearing twenty-five louis destined from Gilbert for -the equipment and maintenance of the Haramont National Guard. - -Sebastian stayed with his father. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI. - -THE PORTRAIT OF CHARLES FIRST. - - -A week has passed since the events related. Everybody was saying: The -Revolution is finished; the King is delivered from Versailles, and his -courtiers and evil counsellors. The King is placed in life and -actuality. He had heretofore the license to work wrong; now he has full -liberty to do good. - -The dread from the riots had brought the conservatives over to the -royalty. The Assembly had been frightened, too, and saw that it depended -on the King. A hundred and fifty of its members took to flight. - -The two most popular men, Lafayette and Mirabeau, became royalists. The -latter wanted the other to unite with him to save the crown, but while -honorable Lafayette had a limited brain, he did not see the orator’s -genius. - -Mirabeau was all for the Duke of Orleans, whom Lafayette advised, nay, -ordered to quit the kingdom. - -“But suppose I come back without your permission?” said the prince. - -“Then, I hope you will do me the honor to cross swords with me at the -first battle,” replied the marquis. - -He was the veritable ruler and the duke had to depart; he did not return -until called to be King of the French. - -Lafayette had saved the Queen and protected the King; he was perfectly a -royalist. - -But still, like Gilbert, he was not so much the friend of the King as of -the crown. - -The monarch had too just a mind not to see this clearly. - -Although he had not seen the doctor lately he remembered that this was -his day of duty and he called him. - -The King was pacing the bedroom, but stopping now and then to look at -the Vandyke picture of Charles First, now in the Louvre. - -The sovereign of England is painted as a Cavalier, with his horse, as -ready for flight as for battle. - -This picture seemed fatally the goal of the King’s wanderings. - -At the step, Louis turned round. - -“Oh, is it you, doctor?” he said. “Come in, I am glad to see you.” -Leading him up to the painting he said: “Do you know this? where did you -see it?” - -“In Lady Dubarry’s house, when I was a boy, but it deeply struck me.” - -“Yes, she pretended to be descended from the page who holds the horse. -Jeanne Dubarry was the woman chosen by Marshal Richelieu to be the sole -feminine ruler over the worn-out monarch Louis XV. and to induce him to -shut up the infamous Deerpark, which was the harem ruining the old man. -She was an adroit actress and played her part marvellously. She -entertained while making sport of him, and he became manly because she -persuaded him he was so.” - -He stopped as if blaming himself for his imprudence in speaking of his -grandfather thus openly before a stranger; but one glance at Gilbert’s -frank face encouraged him, for he saw that he could speak all to a man -who understood every thing. - -“This melancholy, lofty face,” went on the King, referring to the -portrait, “was placed in the strange Egeria’s boudoir, where it heard -her impudent laughs and saw her lascivious gambols. Merrily she would -take Louis by the arm and show him Charles, saying: ‘Old gossip, this -King had his neck cut through because he was too weak towards his -Parliament. Take warning about your own!’ Hence Louis broke up his -Parliament and died peacefully on his throne. Thereupon we exiled the -poor woman, for whom we ought to have been most indulgent. The picture -was packed away in the lumber room of Versailles and I never thought -about it. Now, how comes it here, in my bedroom? why does it haunt me?” -He shook his head. “There is some fate in this.” - -“Fatality, if the portrait reads no lesson, Sire; Providence if it does. -What does it say to your Majesty?” - -“That Charles lost his throne from having made war on his subjects, and -James the Second for having tired his own.” - -“Like me, then, it speaks the truth.” - -“Well?” inquired the sovereign, questioning the doctor with his glance. - -“Well, I beg to ask for your answer to the portrait.” - -“Friend Gilbert, I have resolved on nothing: I will take the cue from -circumstances.” - -“The people fear that your Majesty purposes war upon them.” - -“No, sir,” he rejoined, “I cannot make war on them without foreign -support and I know the state of Europe too well to rely on that. The -King of Prussia offers to enter France at the head of a hundred thousand -men; but I too well know his ambitious and intriguing spirit--a petty -monarchy which wishes to become a great one, thriving on turmoil and -hoping to catch some fish like another Silesia. On her part, Austria -places a hundred thousand men at my call; but I do not like my -brother-in-law Leopold, a two-faced Janus, whose mother, Marie Theresa, -had my father poisoned. - -“My brother Artois proposes the support of Sardinia and Spain, but I do -not trust those powers, led by Artois. Beside him is Calonne, in other -words, the Queen’s worst enemy, the one who annotated with his own hand -the pamphlet of the Countess Lamotte Valois anent the conspiracy of the -Queen’s Necklace, for which she was branded. I know all that is going on -yonder. In their last council a debate ensued about deposing me and -appointing a regent who would be probably my dear, very dear brother -Count Provence. Prince Conde suggested marching with an enemy upon -Lyons, ‘whatever happened me at Paris!’ - -“It is another thing with the Great Empress Catherine; she confines -herself to advice, bless her! you can understand that when you reflect -that she is at table digesting Poland and cannot rise until she has -finished her feast. She gives me advice which aims to be sublime but is -only ridiculous, considering what has lately occurred. She says: -‘Monarchs ought to proceed on their course like the moon in her orbit, -without being disturbed by the baying of curs!’--that is, the protests -of the common people. It appears that the Russian curs merely bark; -ours do some biting, as you may learn of my poor Lifeguardsmen, torn to -pieces by them.” - -“The people thought that your Majesty was going to quit the country.” - -“Doctor,” said the King after hesitating, and he laid his hand on the -other’s shoulder, “I have promised you the truth and you shall have it -thoroughly. Such a matter has been broached; it is the opinion of many -faithful servitors surrounding me that I ought to flee. But on the sixth -of October night, when weeping in my arms, the Queen besought me never -to flee without her, and that we should all depart together, to be saved -or die in company. I shall keep my word; and as I do not think that we -could flee in such a number without being stopped, a dozen times before -we got to the frontier, I conclude that we shall never get away.” - -“Well, Sire, there is indeed no need of the foreigners. What would be -the use until you shall exhaust your own resources? My advice is that we -are only beginning the fight and that the Taking of the Bastile and the -attack on the Palace at Versailles are only the two first acts in the -tragedy to be played by France under the eyes of Europe.” - -“I hope you are mistaken, sir,” replied Louis, slightly turning pale: -“My police tell me nothing like this.” - -“I have no police or information to check them; but in my position I am -the natural conductor between the heavens and what is still concealed in -the bowels of the earth. Sire, what we have experienced is merely the -rumble that runs before the earthquake; we have yet to meet the lava, -the fire and the smoke. I fear that the Revolutionary torrent will run -ahead of us. There are only two methods to save yourself. One is to -place yourself on the foremost breaker and be carried on with it.” - -“I do not wish to go where it would carry me.” - -“The second is to place a barrier across the tide. It is Genius and -Popularity in one dam: and it is named Mirabeau.” - -“The King looked Gilbert in the face as though he had misunderstood him; -then turning to the portrait, he said: - -“What would you have replied, Charles Stuart, if when you felt the -ground quake beneath your feet, some one had suggested your leaning on -Cromwell?” - -“He would have refused, and rightly; for there is no likeness between -Cromwell and Mirabeau.” Such was Gilbert’s answer. - -“They were both traitors.” - -“Sire,” replied the other with profound respect but invincible firmness; -“neither were traitors: Cromwell was a rebellious subject, and Mirabeau -is a discontented nobleman.” - -“What is he discontented with?” - -“With his father, who locked him up in prison; the courts which -condemned him to death; with the King who miscomprehended and still -miscomprehends his genius.” - -“The spirit of a public man is honesty,” said the King quickly. - -“The reply is fine, worthy of Titus, Trajan or Marcus Aurelius, -unluckily many examples arise to the contrary.” - -“How can you ask me to confide in a man who has a price?” - -“Because he is a man of his price. If he will sell himself for a -million, it is a bargain. Do you think he is worth twice a Polignac?” - -“You are pleading for a friend.” - -“I have not that honor: but he has a friend who is of the Queen’s party, -too.” - -“Count Lamarck? We cast it up to him every day.” - -“On the contrary, your Majesty ought to dissuade him breaking the -friendship with him, under pain of death. Mirabeau is a noble, an -aristocrat, a King’s-man above all. He was elected by the people because -the nobles scorned him and he had sublime disdain of the means to attain -an end which genius thirsted for. You may say that he will never quit -the party of his constituents to join the court party? Why is there not -union of the court and plebeians? Mirabeau could make them one. Take -him, my lord! To-morrow, rebuffed by your despisal, he may turn against -you, and then you will say, as the portrait of your Martyr King will -say: All is lost!” - -“I will talk this over with the Queen, sir,” said the monarch, having -turned pale and hesitatingly glanced at the royal portrait. “She may -decide on speaking with Mirabeau: but I will not. I like to be able to -shake hands with those I confer with, and I could never take the hand of -a Mirabeau, though my life, my liberty, and my throne were at -stake--After she shall have seen him, we will see----“ - -“I pray God that it will not be too late.” - -“Do you believe the peril so imminent?” - -“Sire, do not let the portrait of Charles First be removed from your -room,” said Gilbert; “it is a good adviser.” - -Bowing, he went forth as another visitor appeared on the sill. He could -not restrain from a cry of surprise. This gentleman was Marquis Favras, -whom he had met at Cagliostro’s a week or so before and to whom the -magician had predicted a near and shameful death. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII. - -THE KING ATTENDS TO PRIVATE MATTERS. - - -Louis the King displayed the usual irresolution in dealing with Favras’ -proposition, approved by the Queen, to make a rush out of the kingdom. -He reflected all the night and at breakfast called for Count Charny. - -He was still at table when the officer walked in. - -“Won’t you take breakfast with me, count?” - -Charny was obliged to excuse himself from the honor as he had broken his -fast. - -“I must ask you to wait a while as I never care to speak of important -matters while at meals and I have something to talk over with your -lordship. Let us speak of other matters for the moment. Of yourself, for -instance. I hear that you are badly lodged here; somewhere in the -garret, my lord, while the countess is lodging in Paris.” - -“Sire, I am in a room of my own choice: the countess is dwelling in her -own house in Coq-Heron Street.” - -“I must confess my ignorance; is it near the palace?” - -“Tolerably, Sire.” - -“What does this mean that after only three years of married life, you -have separate establishments?” - -“Sire, I have no answer to make than that my lady wishes to live alone. -I have not had the pleasure of seeing her since your Majesty sent me for -news. That is, better than a week ago.” - -The King understood grief more readily than melancholy and noticed the -difference in the tone. - -“Count, there is some of your fault in this estrangement,” said the -monarch, with the familiarity of the family man, as he called himself. - -“The man must be to blame when so charming a woman keeps aloof from him. -Do not tell me that this is none of my business: for a king can do a -great deal by speaking a word. You must treat the lady ungratefully, for -she loves you dearly--or did when Lady Taverney.” - -“Sire, you know that one must not dispute with a king.” - -“I do not know that the signs were visible to me alone; but this I know -very well that on that dreadful October night, when she came to join us, -she did not lose sight of you throughout, and her eyes expressed all her -soul’s anguish, so much so that I saw her make a movement to fling -herself between you and danger when the Bullseye Saloon door was beaten -down.” - -Count Charny was not softened; he believed he had seen something of this -sort: but the details of his recent interview with his wife were too -distinct for him to have his opinion shaken. - -“I was paying all the more attention to her,” went on Louis, “from the -Queen having said when you were sent to the City Hall while I was on my -journey to Paris, that she almost died of distress in your absence and -of joy at your return.” - -“Sire,” replied Charny with a sad smile, “God had allowed those who are -born above us to receive in birth as a privilege of their rank, the gift -of seeing deeper into one’s heart than oneself can do; the King and the -Queen have perceived secrets unrevealed to me: but my limited vision -prevents me seeing the same. Therefore I beg to be employed on any -dangerous errand or one that would take me to a distance without -considering the great love of the Countess of Charny. Absence or danger -will be equally welcome, coming at least for my part.” - -“Nevertheless, a week ago, you appeared wishful to stay in town when the -Queen desired to despatch you to Italy.” - -“I deemed my brother adequate for the position and reserved myself for a -mission more difficult or dangerous.” - -“Then count, this is the very time when I have a difficult task to -entrust to you, that with danger to you in the future, that I spoke of -the countess’s isolation and wished her to have a lady friend’s company -while I took away her husband.” - -“I will write to the countess, yes, write: for from the way she last -received me, I ought in that manner acquaint her with my movements.” - -“Say no more on this head; I will talk it over with the Queen during -your absence,” said Louis, rising. “Faith, the medical lights are right -to say that things look differently as you handle them before or after a -hearty meal. Come into my study, count; I feel in a mood to talk -straight out to you.” - -Charny followed, thinking how much Majesty lost by this material side, -for which the proud Marie Antoinette was always carping at him. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII. - -THE KING ATTENDS TO PUBLIC MATTERS. - - -Though the King had been only a fortnight in the Tuileries he had two -places fitted out completely for him. The forge was one, the study the -other. - -Charny walked up to the desk at which his royal master seated himself -without looking round at the papers with which he was familiar. - -“Count Charny,” began the King at last, yet seeming to halt, “I noticed -one thing, on the night of the attack by the rioters, you stood by me -while you set your brother on guard over the Queen.” - -“Sire, it was my right as head of my family, as you are chief of the -realm, to die for you.” - -“That made me think, that if ever I had a secret errand, difficult and -dangerous, I could rely on your loyalty as a Frenchman, and on your -heart as a friend’s.” - -“Oh, Sire, however the King may raise me, I have no pretension to -believe that I shall be more than a faithful and thankful subject.” - -“My lord, you are a grave man though but thirty-six; you have not passed -through recent events without drawing some conclusion from them. What do -you think of the situation and what would be your means to relieve me, -if you were my Premier?” - -“Sire, I am a soldier and a seaman,” returned Charny, with more -hesitation than embarrassment, “these high social questions fly over my -head.” - -“Nay, you are a man,” said the sovereign with a dignity in holding out -his hand which sprang from the quandary; “another man, who believes you -to be his friend, asks you, purely and simply, what you, with your -upright heart and healthy mind, would do in his place.” - -“Sire, in a no less serious position, the Queen asked my opinion: the -day after the Taking of the Bastile, when she wanted to fling the -foreign legions upon the mobs. My reply would have embroiled me with her -Majesty had I been less known to her and my respect and devotion less -plain. I said that your Majesty must not enter these walls as a -conqueror if he could not as a father of his people.” - -“Well, my lord, is not that the counsel I followed? The question is was -I right? am I here as a King or a captive?” - -“Speaking in full frankness, I disapproved of the banquet at Versailles, -supplicating the Queen not to go there; I was in despair when she threw -down the tricolor and set up the black cockade of Austria.” - -“Do you believe that led really to the attack on the palace?” - -“No, Sire; but it was the cover for it. You are not unjust for the lower -orders; they are kindly and love you--they are royalist. But they are in -pain from cold and hunger; beneath and around them are evil advisers, -who urge them on, and they know not their own strength. Once started -they become flood or fire, for they overwhelm or they consume.” - -“Well, what am I to do? supposing, as is natural enough, I do not want -to be drowned or burned.” - -“We must not open the sluices to the flood or windows to the flame. But -pardon me forgetting that I should not speak thus, even on a royal -order----“ - -“But you will on a royal entreaty. Count Charny, the King entreats -you--to continue.” - -“Well, Sire, there are two strata of the lower orders, the soil and the -mud; the one which may be reposed upon and the other which will yield -and smother one. Distrust one and rest on the other.” - -“Count, you are repeating at two hours’ interval, what Dr. Gilbert told -me.” - -“Sire, how is it that after taking the advice of a learned man, you ask -that of a poor naval officer like me?” - -“Because there is a wide difference between you, I believe. Dr. Gilbert -is devoted to royalty and you to the King. If the principle remains -safe, he would let the King go.” - -“Then there is a difference between us, for the King and the principle -are inseparable for me,” responded the nobleman; “under this head it is -that I beg your Majesty to deal with me.” - -“First, I should like to hear to whom you would apply in this space of -calm between two storms perhaps, to efface the wreck made by one and -soothe the coming tempest.” - -“If I had the honor and the misfortune to be the wearer of the crown, I -should remember the cheers I heard round my carriage, and I should hold -out my hands to General Lafayette and Member Mirabeau.” - -“Can you advise this when you detest one and scorn the other?” - -“My sympathies are of no moment, the whole question is the safety of the -crown and the salvation of the monarchy.” - -“Just what Dr. Gilbert says,” muttered the hearer as though speaking to -himself. - -“Sire, I am happy to be in tune with such an eminent man.” - -“But if I were to agree to such a union and there should be failure, -what think you I ought to do?” - -“Think of your safety and your family’s.” - -“Then you suggest that I should flee?” - -“I should propose that your Majesty should retire with such regiments as -are reliable and the true nobles to some fortified place.” - -“Ah,” said the King with a radiant face: “but among the commanders who -have given proof of devotion, you knowing them all, to which would you -confide this dangerous mission, of guarding and removing the King?” - -“Sire,” replied Charny, after hesitation, “it is not because ties of -friendship--almost of family--attach me to a certain nobleman that I -name him, but because he is known for his steadfast devotion; as -Governor of the Leeward Islands, he not only protected our possessions -in the Antilles, but captured some islands from the British: he had been -charged with various commands, and at present he is General Governor, I -believe, at Metz--this is the Marquis of Bouille. Were I a father, I -should trust my son to him; a subject, I would confide the King!” - -At the name the hearer could not repress an outcry of joy. He held out a -letter, saying: - -“Read this address, my lord, and see if Providence itself did not -inspire me to apply to you.” - -The address ran: “To Lord François Claude Amour, Marquis of Bouille, -General Commander at Metz.” - -“After what has happened, I do not feel that I ought to keep anything -back from you. I have thought of this flight before, but in all the -propositions was the hand of Austria beckoning me into a trap, and I -have recoiled. I do not love Austria more than you do yourself.” - -“Sire, you forget that I am the faithful subject of the King and the -Queen of France.” He emphasized the second title. - -“I have already told you, count,” went on the King, “that you are a -friend, and I can speak the more frankly as the prejudice I cherished -against the Queen is completely effaced from my mind. But it was against -my will that I received into my house the double enemy of my line, as an -Austrian and a Lorrainer. After ten years’ struggle it was despite my -will that I had to charge Lord Breteuil with the management of my -household and the government of Paris; make the Premier of the -Archbishop of Toulouse, an atheist; lastly, pay to Austria the millions -she extorted from the Low Countries. At present speaking, who succeeds -the dead Maria Theresa, to counsel and direct the Queen? Her brother -Joseph II., who is luckily dying. He is advised by old women of -councillors who sway the Queen of France through her hairdresser Leonard -and her dressmaker Bertin. - -“They are pensioned by us while they are leading her to alliance with -Austria. Austria has always been fatal to France, either as foe or -friend, as when she put the dagger in Jacques Clement’s or Ravaillac’s -or Damien’s to slay our kings. Formerly it was Catholic and devout -Austria, but she is abjuring now and is partly philosophical under -Joseph; rashly, she runs against her own sword, Hungary: without -foresight, she lets the Belgian priesthood rob her of the finest jewels -in her crown, the Low Countries; become the vassal of Russia, she wears -out her troops in fighting for it against the Turks, our allies. No, my -lord, I hate Austria and I will not trust to her. But I was saying that -her overtures of flight were not the only ones. I have had one proposed -by Marquis Favras. Do you know him?” - -“He was the captain in the Belgunze Regiment, and lieutenant in the -Count of Provence’s own Guards.” - -“You have hit it with the latter shot. What think you of him?” - -“He is a brave soldier and a loyal gentleman. Unfortunately he has no -means and this makes him restless and fit for mad projects and hazardous -attempts. But he is a man of honor who will die without retreating a -step, or uttering a complaint in order to keep his word. He may be -trusted to make a dash but not to manage an enterprise.” - -“He is not the leader,” said the King, with marked bitterness; “that is -Provence, who finds the means and manages all; devoted to the end, he -will remain while Favras bears me hence. This is not the plot of Austria -but of the fugitive princes and peers.” - -“But why should not your Majesty’s brother go with you? why would he -remain?” - -“Through devotion, and also to be at hand in case the people should be -tired of revolution and seek a regent. I tell you what all know, my dear -count, and what your brother wrote me yesterday from Turin. They debate -about deposing me and ruling by a regent. You see that unless in an -extremity I can no sooner accept the Favras plan than the Austrian. This -is what I have said to nobody, my dear count, but yourself, and I do it -in order that nobody, not even the Queen,” he laid stress on the last -three words, “can make you more devoted to them than to me, since they -cannot show more confidence.” - -“Sire, am I to keep the journey a secret from everybody?” inquired -Charny, bowing. - -“It little matters, count, that it should be known whither you go, as -long as the design is unknown. You know the situation, my fears and -hopes, better than my Minister Necker and my adviser Gilbert. Act -accordingly; I put the scissors and the thread in your hands--disentangle -or cut, as you see fit.” - -He held the letter open for him to read: - -TUILERIES PALACE, Oct. 29th. - - “I hope, my lord, that you continue contented with your post as - Governor of Metz. Count Charny, Lieutenant of my Lifeguards, - passing through your city, will inquire if among your desires are - any I can gratify. In that event I will take the opportunity to be - agreeable to you as I do this one to renew the assurance of my - feelings of esteem for your lordship. - -“LOUIS.” - -“Now, my Lord Charny,” said the King, “you have full power to make -promises to Bouille if you think he needs any; only do not commit me -farther than I can perform.” - -For the second time he held out his hand. - -Charny kissed it with emotion forefending any fresh pledges, and went -forth, leaving his master convinced that he had acquired by his trust, -the heart of the servitor, better than by offerings of wealth and -favors such as he had lavished in the days of his power. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX. - -A LOVING QUEEN. - - -Charny left the King with his heart full of opposing feelings. - -The primary one, mounting to the surface over the tumultuous waves of -turbulent thoughts, was deep gratitude for the boundless confidence -testified to him. - -This imposed duties the more holy from his conscience not being dumb. He -remembered his wrongs towards this worthy monarch who laid his hand on -his shoulder as on a true friend at the time of danger. - -The more Charny felt guilty towards his master, the more ready he was to -devote himself to him. - -The more this respectful allegiance grew the lesser became the less pure -emotion which he had cherished for the Queen during years. - -This is the reason why he--having lost the vague hope which led him -towards Andrea for the test, as if she was one of those flowering shrubs -on the precipice edge by which a falling man can save himself--grasped -with eagerness this mission diverging him from the court. Here he felt -the double torment of being still loved by the woman whom he was ceasing -to love and of not being loved by her whom he was beginning to adore. - -Profiting by the coldness lately introduced into his relations with the -Queen, he went to her rooms with the intention of leaving a note to tell -of his departure when he found Weber awaiting him. - -The Queen wished to see him forthwith, and there is no eluding the -wishes of crowned heads in their palace. - -Marie Antoinette was in the opposite mood to her visitor’s, she was -recalling her harshness towards him and his devotion at Versailles; at -the sight of the count’s brother laid dead across her threshold she had -felt a kind of remorse; she confessed to herself that had this been the -count she would have badly paid him for the sacrifice. - -But had she any right to expect aught else than devotion of Charny? - -She admitted that she was stern and unfair towards him, when the door -opened and the gentleman appeared in the irreproachable costume of the -military officer on duty. - -But there was in his deeply respectful bearing something chilly which -repelled the magnetic flow from the Queen’s heart, to go and seek in his -the tender, sweet and sad memories collected during four years. - -The Queen looked round her as though to try to ascertain why he remained -on the sill, and when assured it was a matter of his will, she said: - -“Come, my lord: we are alone.” - -“I see that, but I do not see what in that fact should alter the bearing -of a subject to his sovereign.” - -“When I sent Weber for you I thought that fond friends were going to -speak with one another.” - -Charny smiled bitterly. - -“I understand that smile and that you say, inwardly, the Queen was -unjust at Versailles and is capricious here.” - -“Injustice or caprice, a woman is allowed anything,” returned Charny: “a -queen more than all.” - -“Whatever the caprice, my friend,” said Marie with all the witchingness -she could put in a voice or smile, “the Queen cannot do without you as -adviser or the woman without you as loved friend.” - -She held out her hand, a little thinned but still worthy of a lovely -statue. He kissed it respectfully and was about to let it fall when he -felt her retain his. - -“I ought to have wept with you over the loss of your brother, slain for -my sake: well, I have been weeping these ten days since I have not seen -you: they are falling yet.” - -Ah, if Charny could have surmised what a quantity of tears would follow -those, no doubt the immense grief would have made him fall at her feet, -and ask pardon for any grievances she had against him. - -But the future is enveloped in mystery which no human hand can unveil -before the hour and the black garb which Marie Antoinette was to wear to -the scaffold, was too thickly embroidered with gold for one to spy the -gloom of it. - -“Believe, my lady,” he said, “that I am truly grateful for your -remembrance of me and sorrow for my brother? unfortunately I must be -brief as the King has entrusted me with a mission so that I leave in an -hour.” - -“What, do you abandon us like the others?” - -“I repeat it is a mission.” - -“But you refused the like a week ago!” - -“In a week much happens in a man’s existence to alter his -determination.” - -“Do you depart alone?” she asked, making an effort. - -She breathed again when he answered: “Alone.” - -“Where do you go?” she asked, recovering from her weakness. - -“It is the King’s secret, but he has none from you.” - -“My lord, the secret is ours alike,” said Marie Antoinette haughtily. -“But is it abroad or in the kingdom?” - -“The King alone can give your Majesty the desired information.” - -“So you go away,” said she, with profound sorrow overcoming the -irritation from Charny’s reserve, “to run into dangers afar, and I am -not to know what they are!” - -“Wheresoever I go, you will have a devoted heart daring all for you: and -the dangers will be light since I expose my life in the service of the -two sovereigns whom I most venerate on earth.” - -The Queen uttered a sob which seemed to tear out her heart; and she said -with a hand on her throat as if to keep down her gorge. - -“It is well--go! for you love me no longer.” - -Charny felt a thrill run through him; it was the first time this haughty -woman and ruler had bowed unto him. - -At any other time and under any other circumstances, he must have fallen -at her feet if only to crave pardon; but the remembrance of what had -happened between him and the King recalled all his strength. - -“My lady,” he said, “I should be a scoundrel if, after all the tokens of -kindness and confidence the King has showered on me, I were to assure -your Majesty of anything but my respect and devotion.” - -“It is very well,” said she; “you are free to go.” - -But when he departed without looking behind him, she waited till she -heard him, not returning, but continuing his departure, in the carriage -which rolled out of the courtyard. - -She rang for her foster-brother. - -“Weber,” she ordered, “go to the Countess of Charny’s residence and say -I must speak with her this evening. I had an appointment with Dr. -Gilbert, but I postpone that till the morning.” - -She dismissed him with a wave of the hand. - -“Yes, politics to-morrow,” she mused: “besides my conversation with -Andrea may influence me on the course I take.” - - - - -CHAPTER XX. - -WITHOUT HUSBAND--WITHOUT LOVER. - - -The Queen was wrong for Charny did not go to his wife’s house. He went -to the Royal Post to have horses put to his own carriage. But while -waiting, he wrote a farewell to Andrea which the servant who took his -horses home, carried to her. - -She was still dwelling over it, having kissed it with profound feeling, -when Weber arrived. Her answer to him was simply that she would conform -to her Majesty’s orders. And she proceeded to the palace without dread -as without impatience. - -But it was not so with the Queen. Feverish, she had welcomed Count -Provence coming to see how Favras had been received, and she committed -the King more deeply than he had pledged himself. - -Provence went away delighted, thinking that the King would be removed, -thanks to the money he had borrowed from the Genoese banker Zannone, and -to Favras and his Hectors. Then he stood a chance of becoming Regent of -the realm, perhaps foreseeing that he would yet be King as Louis XVIII. - -If the forced departure of the King failed, he would take to flight with -what was left of the loan, and join his brothers in Italy. - -On his leaving, the Queen went to Princess Lamballe, on whom she made it -a habit to pour her woes or her joys in the absence of her other -favorites, Andrea or the Polignacs. - -Poor martyr! who dares grope in the darkness of alcoves to learn if this -friendship were pure or criminal, when inexorable History was coming -with feet red-shod in blood, to tell the price you paid for it? - -Then she went to dinner for an hour, where both chief guests were absent -in thought, the King thinking of Charny’s quest, the Queen of the Favras -enterprise. - -While the former preferred anything to being helped by the foreigners, -the Queen set them first: for of course they were her people. The King -was connected with the Germans, but then the Austrians are not German to -the Germans. - -In the flight she was arranging she saw no such crimes as she was -afterwards taxed with: she felt justified in calling in the mailed hand -to avenge her for the slights and insults with which she was deluged. - -The King, as we have shown him, distrusted kings and princes. He relied -on the priests. He approved of all the decrees against nobles and -classes but not of the decree against the priests, which he vetoed. For -them he risked his greatest dangers. Hence the Pope, unable to make a -saint of him, made him a martyr. - -Contrary to her habit, the Queen gave little time to her children this -day; untrue to her husband in heart, she had no claim on their -endearments. Such odd contradictions are known only to woman’s heart. - -The Queen retired early to her own rooms, where she shut herself up with -Weber as door-ward. She alleged that she had letters to write. - -The King little noticed her going, as some minor events engrossed him; -the Chief of Police was coming to confer with him. - -The Assembly had changed the old form in public documents of “King of -France and Navarre” to “King of the French”: and it was debating on the -Rights of Man, when it had better be seeing to the Bread Question, more -pressing than ever. The arrival of the “Baker” and his family from -Versailles had not fed the famished people and the bakeries had strings -of customers at their doors. - -But the Assemblymen did not have to dance attendance for a loaf, and -they had a special baker, one François in Marchepalu Street, who set -aside rolls for them out of every baking. - -The head of the police was discussing the bread riots with the ruler -when Weber ushered Andrea into his mistress’s presence. - -Though she expected her, Marie Antoinette started when her visitor was -announced. - -When they were girls together, at Taverney, they had made a kind of -agreement of love and duties exchanged in which the higher personage had -always had the advantage. - -Nothing annoys rulers so much as senses of obligation, particularly in -matters of affection. - -While thinking she had reproaches to cast on her friend, the Queen felt -under a debt to her. - -Andrea was always the same: pure and cool as the diamond but cutting and -invulnerable like it, too. - -“Be welcome, Andrea, as ever,” said the Queen to this cold, walking -ghost. - -The countess shivered for she recognized some of the tone the Queen used -to speak with when the Dauphiness. - -“Needs must I tell your Majesty that she should not have had to send for -me without the royal residence, if I had always been spoken to, in that -tone?” said the countess. - -Nothing could better help the Queen than this opening: she greeted it as -facilitating her course. - -“Alas, you ought to know that all womankind have not your immutable -serenity,” she said; “I, above all, who had to ask your aid so -generously accorded----“ - -“The Queen speaks of a time forgotten by me and I believed gone from her -memory.” - -“The reply is stern,” said the other: “you might naturally hold me as -ungrateful: but what you took for ingratitude was but impotence.” - -“I should have the right to accuse you, if ever I had asked you for -anything and my wish were opposed,” said the countess, “but how can your -Majesty expect me to complain when I have sought nothing?” - -“Shall I tell you that it is just this indifference which shocks me; -yes, you seem a supernatural being brought from another sphere in some -whirlwind, and thrown among us like the crystal aerolites. One is -daunted by her weakness beside the never-weakening; but in the end -assurance returns, for supreme indulgence must be in perfection: it is -the purest source in which to lave the soul, and in profound grief, one -sends for the superhuman being for consolation, though her blame is -dreaded.” - -“Alas, if your Majesty sends for me for this, I fear the expectation -will be disappointed.” - -“Andrea, you forget in what awful plight you upheld me and comforted -me,” said the Queen. - -Her hearer turned visibly paler. Seeing her totter and close her eyes -from losing strength, the Queen moved to support her but she resisted -and stood steady. - -“If your Majesty had pity on your faithful servant, you would spare her -memories which she had almost banished from her: she is a poor comforter -who seeks comfort from nobody, not even heaven, from doubt that even -heaven hath power to console certain sorrows.” - -“Then you have others to tell of than what you have entrusted to me? the -time has come for you to explain, and that is why I sent for you. You -love Count Charny?” - -“I do,” replied Andrea. - -“Oh!” groaned the Queen like a wounded lioness. “I thought as much. How -long since?” - -“Since I first laid eyes on him.” - -Marie Antoinette recoiled from this statue which confessed it was -animated by a spirit. - -“And yet you said nothing?” - -“You perceived it, because you loved him.” - -“No; but you mean that you loved him more than I, because you perceived -my love. If I see it now, it is because he loves me no longer say?” and -she clutched her arm. - -Andrea replied not by word, or sign. - -“This is enough to drive one mad,” cried the royal lady. “Why not kill -me outright by telling me that he loves me not.” - -“Count Charny’s love or indifference to other women than his wife are -secrets of Count Charny. They are not for me to reveal,” observed -Andrea. - -“His secrets? I dare say he has made you his bosom friend, indeed,” -sneered the Queen with bitterness. - -“The count has never spoken to me of his love or indifference towards -your Majesty.” - -“Not even this morning?” She fixed a soul penetrative glance upon her. - -“Not even this morning. He announced his departure to me by letter.” - -“Ah, he wrote to you?” exclaimed the Queen in a burst which, like King -Richard’s cry: “My kingdom for a horse!” implied that she would give her -crown for that letter. - -Andrea comprehended her absorbing desire but she wished to enjoy her -anxiety for a space, like a woman. At last, drawing the letter from her -corsage, warm and perfumed, she held it out to her royal mistress. The -temptation was too strong, and the latter opened it and read: - - “MY LADY: I am leaving town on a formal order from the King. I - cannot tell even you whither I go, wherefore, or how long I am to - stay away: these are matters probably little in import to you, but - I ought none the less to wish I were authorized to tell you. - - “I had the intention to take farewell of you: but I dared not - without your permission----“ - -The Queen had learnt what she wanted to know, and was about to return -the writing, but Andrea bade her read to the end as if she had a claim -to command. - - “I refused the last mission offered me because, poor madman! I - believed that affection retained me in Paris: but I have - unfortunately acquired proof to the contrary, and I accept with joy - this opportunity to depart from hearts to which I am indifferent. - - “If, during this journey, that happens me which befel poor Valence, - all my measures are taken for you, my lady, to be _the first_ to - know of the misfortune visiting me and the liberty restored to you. - Then, only, will you learn what profound admiration was born in my - heart from your sublime devotion, so poorly recompensed by her to - whom you sacrificed youth, beauty and bliss. - - “All I beseech of heaven and you is your according me a remembrance - for having too late perceived the treasure he possessed. - - “With all the respect in my heart, - -“GEORGE OLIVER DE CHARNY.” - -The reader returned the letter to Andrea, and let her hand fall inert by -her side, with a sigh. - -“Have I betrayed you,” murmured the countess: “have I failed in the -faith you put me in, for I made no promises?” - -“Forgive me, for I have suffered so much,” faltered Marie. - -“You, suffered,” exclaimed the ex-lady of honor, “do you dare to talk to -me of suffering? what has happened me, then? Oh, I shall not say that I -suffered, for I would not use the word another did for painting the same -idea. I need a new one to sum up all griefs, pangs and pains,--you -suffer? but you have not seen the man you loved indifferent to that -love, and paying court on his bended knees to another woman! you have -not seen your brother, jealous of this other woman whom he adored in -silence as a pagan does his goddess, fight with the man you loved! you -have not heard this man, wounded it was thought mortally, call out in -his delirium for this other woman, whose confidential friend you were: -you have not seen this other prowling in the lobbies, where you were -wandering to hear the revelations of fever which prove that if a mad -passion does not outlive life it may follow one to the grave-brink! you -have not seen this beloved one, returning to life by a miracle of nature -and science, rising from his couch to fall at the rival’s feet.---- I -say, rival, and one, from the standard of love being the measure of -greatness of ranks. In your despair you have not gone into the nunnery -at the age of twenty-five, trying to quiet at the cold crucifix your -scorching love: then, one day when you hoped to have damped with tears -if not extinguished the flame consuming you, you have not had this -rival, once your friend, come to you in the name of the former -friendship to ask you to be the wife of this very man whom you had -worshipped for three years--for the sake of her salvation as a wife, her -royal Majesty endangered----! - -“She was to be a wife without a husband, a mere veil thrown between the -crowd and another’s happiness, like the shroud between the corpse and -the common eye: overruled by the compulsory duty, not by mercy, for -jealous love knows no pity--you sacrificed me--you accepted my immense -devotion. You did not have to hear the priest ask if you took for -helpmate the man who was not to be your husband: you did not feel him -pass the ring over your finger as the pledge of eternal love, while it -was a vain and meaningless symbol; you did not see your husband quit you -at the church door within an hour of the wedding, to be the gallant of -your rival! oh, madam, these three years has been of torture!” - -The Queen lifted her failing hand to seek the speaker’s but it was -shunned. - -“I promised nothing, but see what I have done,” said she. “But you -promised two things--not to see Count Charny, the more sacred as I had -not asked it; and, by writing, to treat me as a sister, also the more -sacred as I never solicited it. - -“Must I recall the terms of that pledge? I burnt the paper but I -remember the words; and thus you wrote: - - “'Andrea: You have saved me! my honor and my life are saved by you. - In the name of that reputation which costs you so dear, I vow that - you may call me sister; do it, and you will not see me blush. I - place this writing in your hands as pledge of my gratitude and the - dower I owe you. Your heart is the noblest of boons and it will - value aright the present I offer. - -‘MARIE ANTOINETTE.'” - -“Forgive me, Andrea, I thought that he loved you.” - -“Did you believe it the law of the affections that when one loves a -woman less he loves another woman more?” - -She had undergone so much that she became cruel in her turn. - -“So you too perceive his love falling off?” questioned the Queen -dolefully. - -Without replying Andrea watched the despairing sovereign and something -like a smile was defined on her lips. - -“Oh heaven, what must I do to retain this fleeting love? my life that -ebbs? Oh, if you know the way, Andrea, my friend and sister, tell me, I -supplicate you!” She held out both hands from which the other receded -one step. - -“How am I to know, who have never loved?” - -“Yes, but he may love you. Some day he will come to your arms for -forgiveness and to make amends for the past, asking your pardon for all -he has made you suffer: suffering is quickly forgotten, God be thanked! -in loving arms, pardon is soon granted to the beloved who gave pain.” - -“This misfortune coming--and it would be that for both of us, madam, do -you forget the secret which I confided in you, how--before I became the -wife of Count Charny--I was mother of a son?” - -The Queen took breath. - -“You mean you will do nothing to bring Charny back to you?” she asked. - -“Nothing; no more in the future than in the past.” - -“You will not tell him--will not let him suspect that you love him?” - -“No, unless he comes to tell me that he loves me.” - -“But, if he should----“ - -“Oh, madam,” interrupted Andrea. - -“Yes, you are right, Andrea, my sister and friend; and I am unjust, -exacting and cruel. But when all falls away from me, friends, power and -fame, I may wish that at least this passion to which I have sacrificed -friendship, power and reputation, should be left to me.” - -“And, now,” went on the lady of honor, with the glacial coldness she had -laid aside only for a moment, when she spoke of the torments she had -undergone, “have you anything more to ask me--or fresh orders to -transmit?” - -“No, nothing, I thank you. I wished to restore you my friendship but you -will not accept it. Farewell; at least take my gratitude with you.” - -Andrea waved away this second feeling as she had the former, and making -a cold and deep reverence, stole forth silently and slowly as a ghost. - -“Oh, body of ice, heart of diamond and soul of fire, you are right not -to wish either my friendship or my gratitude; for I feel--though the -Lord forgive me! that I hate you as I never hated any one--for if he -does not love you now, I foresee that he will love you some day.” - -She called Weber to ask if Dr. Gilbert was coming next day. - -“At ten in the morning.” - -Pleading that she was ailing and wearied, she forbade her ladies to -disturb her before ten, the only person she intended to see being -Gilbert. - - - - -CHAPTER XXI. - -WHAT A CUT-OFF HEAD MAY COUNSEL. - - -When Gilbert appeared before the Queen, she uttered a scream, for his -ruffles and part of his coat were torn and drops of blood stained his -shirt. - -“I ask pardon for presenting myself to your Majesty in this attire,” he -said, “but your trusty servant who came to learn why I was late to the -appointment, will tell you that he found me in the midst of a mob, -trying to save a baker who was done to death for withholding bread. They -cut the poor fellow to pieces: and to make matters worse, in parading -his head on a pike it was shown to his wife who fell down and alas! has -been prematurely confined.” - -“Poor woman,” cried the Queen, “if she does not die I will see her -to-morrow and, any way, her child shall be maintained out of my private -purse.” - -“Ah, madam,” exclaimed Gilbert, “why cannot all France see these tears -in your eyes and hear these words from your lips!” - -But almost instantly the monarch returned to master the woman. She said -with a change of tone: - -“And are these, sir, the fruits of your revolution? after slaying the -great lords, the officials and the soldiery, the people are killing one -another; is there no means of dealing out justice to these cutthroats?” - -“We will try to do so; but it would be better to prevent the murders -than wait and punish the murderers.” - -“How? the King and I ask nothing more fervently.” - -“All these woes come from the people having lost confidence in those set -above them. Nothing of the kind would occur if they were ruled by men -with the public confidence.” - -“You allude to this Mirabeau and Lafayette?” - -“I hoped that your Majesty had sent to tell me that the King was no -longer hostile to the Cabinet I proposed.” - -“In the first place, doctor,” replied the royal lady, “you fall into a -grave error shared with many more, I admit: you think that I have -influence over the King. You believe that he follows my inspirations? -You mistake: if any body has a sway over him, it is Lady Elizabeth; the -proof is that she yesterday sent one of my servitors, Count Charny, on -an errand without my knowing whither he goes or what is its aim.” - -“Still, if your Majesty will surmount her repugnance to Mirabeau, I can -answer for bringing the King round to my views.” - -“Is not such repugnance based on a motive, tell me?” counterqueried the -lady. - -“In politics, there should be neither sympathy nor antipathy; only the -meetings of principles and combinations of gains, and I ought to say -that gains are surer than principles.” - -“Do you believe that this man who has publicly insulted me, would -consent to join us?” - -“He is entirely yours: when a Mirabeau turns from monarchy, it is like a -horse that shies; reminded of his allegiance by whip or spur, he will -resume his place in the right road.” - -“But he is for the Duke of Orleans?” - -“So far from him is he, that on hearing of the duke going over to -England when Lafayette threatened him, he said: ‘They say I am in his -pay! I would not have him for my lackey.'” - -“That reconciles him some with me,” said the lady, trying to smile: “if -I could believe he might be relied on----“ - -“Well?” - -“Perhaps I should be nearer him than the King.” - -“Madam, I saw him at Versailles when the mob stormed the palace: then he -thought the Royal Family ought to flee but I have had a note from him -this day.” - -He took out a slip of rough paper. - -“Excuse the writing--it is on paper found in a wine saloon and written -on the counter.” - -“Never mind that: it is in keeping with the present style of politics.” - -Taking the paper, the Queen read: - - “This bread riot changes the face of things. A great deal can be - drawn from this cut-off head. The Assembly will be frightened and - call for martial law. If there be a Mirabeau-Lafayette Cabinet, - Mirabeau will answer for all?” - -“It is not signed,” objected the Queen. - -“He handed it to me himself. My advice is that he is perfectly right and -that this alliance alone can save France.” - -“Be it so, let the gentleman put the project on paper and I will lay it -before the King, as well as support it.” - -“Then I will go to the Assembly and see him. In two hours I shall -return.” - -The Queen waited in impatience, always fond of plotting and agitation as -she was. His answer was that Mirabeau had become the spokesman of the -court. - -In fact, after a hot discussion, martial law was voted by the Assembly. -The crime of treason was to be tried at the Chatelet Royal Court, which -meant that royalty still held three fourths of the active power. - -Gilbert did not go near the Queen until the cases were tried here which -would test the alliance. - -The triumph was great to have them tried under the Royal party’s thumb. -The first trial was of three men who had killed the baker of the -Assemblymen, François; two of whom were hanged on the mere accusation -and public notoriety; the third was tried and sent to the gallows -likewise. - -Two other cases were on the docket. - -Both the accused prisoners were on the court side, the contractor -Augeard and Inspector General Pierre Victor Benzenval, of the Swiss -Guards. - -Augeard was suspected of supplying the funds for the Queen’s -_camerailla_ to pay the troops gathered in July to fight the Parisians: -the contractor was not much known and the people bore him no grudge so -that he was acquitted without protest. - -It was not so with Benzenval, who was notorious. He had commanded the -Swiss regiments during the riots and the week of the attack on the -Bastile. It was remembered that he had charged the crowds, who wanted to -pay him out. - -But the most precious orders had been sent out by the King and the -court; under no pretext must Benzenval be punished. It took at least -this two-fold protection to save him. He had acknowledged himself guilty -by taking to flight after the Bastile fell: caught half way to the -frontier, he had been brought back to the capital. - -Nevertheless he was acquitted. - -Amid the hooting, angry crowd, leaving the court, was a man, dressed -like a plain storekeeper who familiarly laid his hand on the shoulder of -a gentleman dressed better than he, and said: - -“Well, what does Dr. Gilbert think of these acquittals?” - -The other started, but recognized the speaker by sight as well as by the -voice, and replied: - -“The Master!--you ought to be asked that, not me, for you know all, -present, past and future!” - -“Well, I should say: The third prisoner will catch it severely, even -though he be innocent.” - -“Why should the innocent, if coming next, be wrongfully punished?” -inquired the doctor. - -“For the simple reason that in this world the good pay for the bad,” -returned the Chief of the Invisibles with the irony natural to him. - -“Good-bye, Master,” said Gilbert, offering his hand; “for I have -business.” - -“With whom? Mirabeau, Lafayette or the Queen?” - -Gilbert stopped and eyed Cagliostro uneasily. - -“Let me tell you that you ofttimes frighten me,” he said. - -“On the contrary, I want to encourage you,” said the magician. “Am I not -your friend? You may be sure of that: I will afford you a proof if you -will come with me home. I will give you such hidden particulars of this -negociation which you believe secret, that you who fancy you are -managing it, will confess ignorance of it.” - -“Listen,” said Gilbert; “perhaps you are jesting with me by one of those -marvellous funds of information familiar to you; but no matter! -circumstances amid which we are treading are so grave that I would -accept enlightenment though from Old Harry himself. I am following you -therefore whithersoever you lead me.” - -“Be easy, it will not be far and to a place not unknown to you; only let -me hail this passing hack; the dress I came out in did not allow me to -use my carriage and horses.” - -They got into the hackneycoach which came on at a sign. - -“Where am I to drive you, master?” inquired the Jehu, to Cagliostro as -though, somehow, he saw that he was the leader of the pair, though the -more plainly dressed. - -“Where you know,” answered the Chief, making a masonic sign, “The -Temple.” - -The driver looked at the Grand Copt with amazement. - -“Excuse me, Thou Supreme, I did not know you,” he said, replying with -another sign. - -“It is not thus with me,” replied Cagliostro, with a firm and lofty -voice, “innumerable as are those whom the uninitiated eyes see not, I -know all from the topmost to the lowest of those who bring the bricks -and hew the stones.” - -The coachman shut the door, got upon the box, and took the carriage at a -gallop to St. Claude Street. The carriage was stopped and the door -opened with a zeal which testified to the man’s respect. - -Cagliostro motioned for Gilbert to alight first and as he descended, he -said to the jarvey: - -“Any news?” - -“Yes, Master,” said the knight of the whip, “and I should have made my -report this evening if I had not the luck to meet you.” - -“Speak.” - -“My news is not for outsiders.” - -“Oh, the bystander is not an outsider,” returned Cagliostro, smiling. - -But Gilbert moved off a little, though he could not help glancing and -listening partially. He saw a smile on the hearers’s face as the man -told his story. He caught the name of Favras and Count Provence, before -the report was over, when the magician took out a goldpiece and offered -it. - -“The Master knows that it is forbidden to receive pay for giving -information,” he objected. - -“I am not paying for your report, it is plain, but for your bringing -us,” said the conspirator. - -“That I can accept. Thank you,” he said, taking the coin, “I need not -work any more to-day.” - -He drove away, leaving Gilbert amazed at what he had witnessed, and he -crossed the threshold reeling like a tipsy man. - -He knew this house from having traversed it years ago under impressive -circumstances; little was changed in it, even to the same servant Fritz, -only he had aged sixteen years. - -Ushered into a sitting room, the count bade his guest take a seat. - -“I am entirely yours, doctor,” said he. - -The younger man forgot his present curiosity in the memories evoked by -this room. Cagliostro looked at him like Mephistopheles regarding Faust -in his brown studies. - -“This room seems to set you thinking, doctor,” he said audibly. - -“It does, of the obligations I am under to you.” - -“Pooh, bubbles!” - -“Really, you are a strange man,” said Gilbert, speaking as much to -himself as to the other, “and if reason allowed me to put faith in what -we learn from legends, I should be inclined to take you for a magician.” - -“This am I for the world, Gilbert: but not for you. I have never tried -to dazzle you with jugglery. You know I have always let you see the -bottom of the well and if you have seen Truth come up not so scantily -clothed as the painters represent her, it is because I am a Sicilian and -cannot help decorating my lady-love.” - -“It was here, count, that you gave me a large sum of money that I might -be rich in offering my hand to Andrea de Taverney, with the same ease as -I might give a penny to a beggar.” - -“You forget the most extraordinary part of it: the beggar brought back -the sum, except for a couple of coins which he spent for clothes.” - -“He was honest but you were generous.” - -“Who tells you that it was not more easy for him who handled millions to -give a hundred thousand crowns than for him who was penniless to bring -back so large a sum as that was to him? Besides, all depends on the -man’s state of mind. I was under the blow of the loss of the only woman -I ever loved--my darling wife was murdered, and I believe you might have -had my life for the asking.” - -“Do you feel grief, and experience it like other men,” inquired Gilbert, -eyeing him with marked astonishment. - -“You speak of memories this room gives you,” sighed the other. “Were I -to tell you--your hair would whiten--but let it pass; leave those events -in their grave. Let us speak of time present, and of that to-come if you -like.” - -“Count, you returned to realism just now; again you turn to pretence, -for you speak of the future with the voice of a conjurer asserting the -power to read indecipherable hieroglyphics.” - -“You forget that having more means at my beck and call than other men, I -see more clearly and farther than they. You shall see that the pretence -is but a veil--solid are the facts beneath. Come, doctor, how is your -Fusion Cabinet getting on? the Mirabeau-Lafayette Ministry?” - -“It is in the skies; you are trying to learn the facts by pretending to -know more than the rumors.” - -“I see that you are doubt incarnate, or wish not to see what you do not -doubt. After telling you of things you do know I must tell of those -beyond your ken. Well, you have recommended Mirabeau to the King as the -only man who can save the monarchy. He will fail--all will fail, for the -monarchy is doomed. You know that I will not have it saved. You have -achieved your end; the two rulers will welcome your advocate: and you -flatter yourself that the royal conversion is due to your irrefutable -logic and irresistible arguments.” - -Gilbert could not help biting his lip on hearing this ironical tone. - -“Have you invented a stethoscope by which you can read the heart of -kings? pass the wonderful instrument on to me, count: only an enemy of -mankind would want to keep it to himself alone.” - -“I told you I keep nothing back from you, dear doctor. You shall have my -telescope and may look as you please through the small end which -diminishes or the other which magnifies. The Queen gave way for two -reasons: first, she met a great sorrow the night before and she must -have some mental distraction; next, she is a woman and having heard -Mirabeau spoken of as a tiger, she wants to see him and try to tame him. -She thinks: ‘It will be fine revenge to bring him to lick my feet: if -some good follows for France and the crown, so much the better.’ But you -understand, this idea is quite secondary.” - -“You are building on hypothesis and I want facts.” - -“I see you refuse my glass and I must come back to material things: such -as can be seen with the naked eye, Mirabeau’s debts, for instance.” - -“What a chance you have to exhibit your generosity, by paying his debts -as you once did Cardinal Rohan’s.” - -“Do not reproach me with that speculation, it was one of my greatest -successes. The Queen’s Necklace was a pretty affair, I think, and ruined -the Queen in the general eye. At the same price I would pay Mirabeau’s -debts. But you know that he is not looking to me for that, but to the -future Generalissimo, Lafayette, who will make him caper for a beggarly -fifty thousand francs, which he will not get any more than the dog gets -the cake for which he has danced. - -“Poor Mirabeau, how all these fools and conceited dunces make your -genius pay for the follies of your youth! Yet all this is providential -and heaven is obliged to proceed by human methods. All these politicians -and wirepullers blame him for some virtue which is not theirs, and yet, -if he dies to-morrow, the masses will award him an apotheosis, and all -these pigmies, over whom he stands head and shoulders, will follow as -mourners and howl: ‘Woe to France which has lost her greatest -orator--woe to royalty which has lost its supporter!'” - -“Are you going to foretell the death of Mirabeau?” cried Gilbert, almost -frightened. - -“Frankly, doctor, do you see any length of life for a man whose blood -stews him, whose heart swells to suffocate him and whose genius eats him -up? do you believe that even such powers will not be worn out in -stemming the tide of mediocrity? his enterprise is the rock of Sisyphus. -For two years they have been holding him down with the cry of -Immorality. As if God moulded all men in the same form, and as if the -circle enlarged for a great mind should not enclose greater vices. -Mirabeau will not be Premier because he owes a hundred thousand francs -debt, which would be settled were he a rich contractor’s son, and -because he is condemned to death for having run away with an old -imbecile’s wife--who smothered herself in charcoal fumes for the love of -a strapping military captain! What a farce the tragedy of human life is! -How I should weep over it if I had not made up my mind to laugh!” - -“But your prediction?” cried Gilbert. - -“I tell you,” said the diviner, in the prophet’s tone which was his -alone, and allowed no reply, “Mirabeau will wear out his life without -becoming Prime Minister. So great a bar is mediocrity. Go to the -Assembly to-morrow and see. Meanwhile, come with me to the Jacobins -Club, for these night-birds will hold their session in an hour. Do you -belong?” - -“No: Danton and Desmoulins entered me at the Cordeliers. We will go -after dinner.” - -Two hours subsequently, two man in gentlemanly black suits were set -down from a plain private carriage at the door of St. Roch’s church, -where the throng was great. They were Dr. Gilbert and Baron Zannone, as -Cagliostro chose to call himself at this epoch. - -“Will you come into the nave or sit in the gallery?” asked the magician. - -“I thought the nave was kept for the members?” said the other. - -“Just so, but am I not a member of all societies?” returned the -Arch-master laughing. “Besides, this club is but the seat of the -Invisibles, and you can enter as one of the Rosicrucians. We are sixty -thousand strong in France alone in three months since foundation as -Jacobins, and will be four hundred thousand in a year.” - -“Though I am a Rose-Croix, I prefer to be in the gallery where I can see -over the crowd and you can better tell me of the persons whom I descry.” - -The seats were roughly knocked up in tiers and a wooden staircase led up -them. Cagliostro made a sign and spoke a word to two who were sitting in -the already filled seats and they got up to give them their places as if -they had been sent before to keep them. - -The place was ill lighted in the growing gloom but it was clear that -these were the best sort of the revolutionists, while the uniforms of -officers of the army and navy abounded. For the common brothers held -their meetings in the crypt. Here the literati and artists were in the -majority. - -Casting a long look around, Gilbert was encouraged by seeing that most -were not so very hostile to the royal cause. - -“Whom do you see here hostile to royalty?” he inquired of his guide. - -“In my eyes there are but two.” - -“Oh, that is not many among four hundred men.” - -“It is quite enough when one will be the slayer of Louis XVI. and the -other his successor.” - -“A future Brutus and a future Caesar here?” exclaimed the doctor -starting. - -“Oh, apostle with scales over your eyes,” said Cagliostro; “you shall -not only see them but touch them. Which shall I commence with?” - -“By the overthrower; I respect chronology: let us have Brutus first.” - -“You know that men do not use the same means to accomplish a like work,” -said Cagliostro, animated as by inspiration. “Therefore our Brutus will -not resemble the antique one.” - -“That makes me the more eager to see ours.” - -“There he is.” - -He pointed to a man leaning against the rostrum in such a position that -his head alone was in the light. Pale and livid, this head seemed -dissevered from the trunk. The eyes seemed to shine with a viper’s -expression, with almost scornful hatred, knowing his venom was deadly. -Gilbert felt a creeping of the flesh. - -“You were right to warn me,” he said; “this is neither Brutus nor -Cromwell.” - -“No, it is rather Cassius the pale-faced and leaned man whom the Emperor -dreaded most. Do you not know him?” - -“No; or rather I have seen him in the Assembly. He is one of the -longest-winded speechifyers of the Left, to whom nobody listens. A -pettifogger from Arras----“ - -“The very man.” - -“His name is Maximilian Robespierre.” - -“Just so. Look at him. You are a pupil of Lavater the physiognomist.” - -“I see the spite of mediocrity for genius as he watches Barnave.” - -“In other words you judge like the world. I grant that he cannot expect -to make a hit among all these proven orators; but at least you cannot -accuse him of immorality; he is the Honest Man: he never steps outside -of the law, or only to act within a new law which he legally makes.” - -“But what is this Robespierre?” asked the other. - -“You ask that as Strafford did of the future Lord Protector: ‘What is -this Cromwell? a brewer!’ But he cut off his head, mark, you aristocrat -of the Seventeenth Century!” - -“Do you suggest that I run the same risk as Charles First’s Minister,” -said Gilbert, trying to smile, but it was frozen on his lips. - -“Who can tell?” replied the diviner. - -“The more reason for me to inquire about him.” - -“Who is Robespierre? he was born in Arras, of Irish extraction, in 1758. -He was the best pupil in the Jesuits’ College and won a purse on which -he came to study at Paris. It was at the same college where your young -Sebastian had an experience. Other boys went out sometimes from those -sombre aisles which bleach the pallid, and had holidays with their -families and friends; young Robespierre was cooped up and breathed the -bad air of loneliness, sadness and tedium; three bad things which rob -the mind of its bloom and blight the heart with envy and hatred. The boy -became a wilted young man. His benefactor had him appointed judge, but -his tender heart would not let him dispose of the life of a man; he -resigned and became a lawyer. He took up the case of peasants disputing -with the Bishop of Arras and won their just claim; the grateful boors -sent him up to the Assembly. There he stood between the clergy’s -profound hatred for the lawyer who had dared speak against their bishop -and the scorn of the nobles for the scholar reared by charity.” - -“What is he doing?” - -“Nothing for others but much for the Revolution. If it did not enter -into my views that he should be kept poor, I would give him a million -francs to-morrow. Not that I should buy him, for he is joked with as the -Incorruptible! Our noble debaters have settled that he shall be the butt -of the House, for all assemblies must have one. Only one of his -colleagues understands and values him--it is Mirabeau. He told me the -other day, ‘that man will go far for he believes what he says!'” - -“This grows serious,” muttered Gilbert. - -“He comes here for he gets an audience. The Jacobin is a young minotaur: -suckling a calf, he will devour a nation in a while. I promised to show -you an instrument for lopping off heads, did I not? Well, Robespierre -will give it more work than all those here.” - -“Really, you are funereal, count,” said Gilbert; “if your Caesar does -not compensate for your Brutus, I may forget what I came here for.” - -“You see my future Emperor yonder, talking with the tragic actor Talma, -and with another whom he does not know but who will have a great -influence over him. Keep this befriender’s name in mind--Barras, and -recall it one of these days.” - -“I do not know how right you are, but you choose your typical characters -well,” said Gilbert; “this Caesar of yours has the brow to wear a crown -and his eyes--but I cannot catch the expression----“ - -“Because his sight is diverted inwards--such eyes study the future, -doctor.” - -“What is he saying to Barras?” - -“That he would have held the Bastile if he were defending it.” - -“He is not a patriot, then?” - -“Such as he are nothing before they are all in all.” - -“You seem to stick to your idea about this petty officer?” - -“Gilbert,” said the soothsayer, extending his hand towards Robespierre, -“as truly as that man will re-erect the scaffold of Charles Stuart, so -truly will ‘this one'”--he indicated the lieutenant of the line -regiment--“will re-erect the throne of Charlemagne.” - -“Then our struggle for liberty is useless,” said Gilbert discouraged. - -“Who tells you that he may not do as much for us on his throne as the -other on his scaffold?” - -“Will he be the Titus, or Marcus Aurelius, the god of peace consoling us -for the age of bronze?” - -“He will be Alexander and Hannibal in one. Born amid war, he will thrive -in war-fare and go down in warring. I defy you to calculate how much -blood the clergy and nobles have made Robespierre lose by his fits of -spite against them; take all that these nobles and priests will lose, -multiply upon multiplications, and you will not attain the sea of blood -this man will shed, with his armies of five hundred thousand men and his -three days’ battles in which hundreds of cannon-shots will be fired.” - -“And what will be the outcome of all this turmoil--all this chaos?” - -“The outcome of all genesis, Gilbert. We are charged to bury this Old -World. Our children will spring up in a new one. This man is but the -giant who guards the door. Like Louis XIV., Leo X. and Agustus, he will -give his name to the era unfolding.” - -“What is his name?” inquired Gilbert, subjugated by Cagliostro’s -convinced manner. - -“His name is Buonaparte; but he will be hailed in History as Napoleon. -Others will follow of his name, but they will be shadows--the dynasty of -the first Charlemagne lasted two hundred years; of this second one, a -tithe: did I not tell you that in a hundred years the Republic will have -the empire of France?” - -Gilbert bowed his head. He did not notice that the debates were opened. -An hour passed when he felt a powerful hand grip his shoulder. - -He turned: Cagliostro had disappeared and Mirabeau stood in his -place--after the eagle, the lion. - -Mirabeau’s face was convulsed with rage as he roared in a dull voice: - -“We are flouted, deceived, betrayed! the court will not have me and you -have been taken for a dupe as I for a fool. On my moving in the House -that the Cabinet Ministers should be invited to be present at the -Assembly sessions, three friends of the King proposed that no member of -the House should be a minister. This laboriously managed combination -dissolves at a breath from the King; But,” concluded Mirabeau, like -Ajax, shaking his mighty fist at the sky, “by my name, I will pay them -for this, and if their breath can shake a minister, mine shall overthrow -the throne. I shall go to the Assembly and fight to the uttermost; I am -one of those who blow up the fort and perish under the ruins.” - -He rushed away, more terrible and handsomer for the divine streak which -lightning had impressed on his brow. - -Gilbert did not go to the House to witness his companion’s defeat--one -very like a victory. He was musing at home over Cagliostro’s strange -predictions. How could this man foresee what would be Robespierre and -Napoleon? I ask those who put this question to me how they explain -Mdlle. Lenormand’s prediction to the Empress Josephine? One often meets -inexplicable things; doubt was invented to comfort those who cannot -explain them but will not believe them. - - - - -CHAPTER XXII. - -THE SMILE AND THE NOD. - - -As Cagliostro had said and Mirabeau surmised, the King had upset the -scheme. - -Without much regret the Queen saw the constitutional platform fall which -had wounded her pride. The King’s policy was to gain time and profit by -circumstances; besides he had two chances of getting away into some -stronghold, which was his favorite plan. These two plans, we know, were -his brother Provence’s, managed by Favras; the other his own, managed by -Charny. - -The latter reached Metz in a couple of days where the faithful royalist -Bouille did not doubt him, but resolved to send his son Louis to Paris -to be more exactly informed on the matter. Charny remained as a kind of -hostage. - -Count Louis Bouille arrived about the middle of November. At this period -the King was guarded closely by Lafayette whose cousin the young count -was. - -To keep him in ignorance of Charny’s negociations, the latter worked to -be presented to the King by his kinsman. - -Providence answered the envoy’s prayer for Lafayette, who had been -informed of his coming but swallowed his excuse that it was on a visit -to a sweetheart in Paris, offered to take him with him on his morning -call on the monarch. - -All the palace doors opened to the general. The sentinels presented arms -and the footmen bowed, so that Count Louis could see that his relative -was the real King of Paris. - -The King was in his forge so that the visitors had to see the Queen -first. - -Bouille had not seen her for three years. The sight of her at -thirty-four, a prisoner, slandered, threatened, and hated, made a deep -impression on the chivalric heart of the young noble. - -She remembered him at a glance and with the same was sure this was a -friendly face. Without busying about General Lafayette she gave her hand -for the young man to kiss, which was a fault such as she plentifully -committed; without this favor she had won Louis Bouille, and by doing -him it before the general she slighted the latter who had never been so -gratified; she wounded the very man she most wanted as a friend. - -Hence with a faltering in the voice but with the courtesy never leaving -him, Lafayette said: - -“Faith, my dear cousin, you want me to present you to the Queen: but it -seems to me that you were better fitted to present me.” - -The Queen was so enraptured at meeting a friend on whom she could rely, -and as a woman so proud of the effect produced on the young nobleman, -that she turned round on the general with one of the beams of youth -which she had feared forever extinct. - -“General,” she said with one of the smiles of her sunnier days, “Count -Bouille is not a severe republican like you: he comes from Metz, not -from America; he does not come to bother about Constitutions but to -present his homage. Do not be astonished at the favor shown him by a -nearly dethroned Queen, which this country squire may esteem a boon----“ - -She completed her sentence by a playful smile as much as to say: “You -are a Scipio and think nothing of such nonsense.” - -“It is a pity for me, and a great misfortune for your Majesty,” returned -Lafayette, “that I pass without my respect and devotion being noticed.” - -The Queen looked at him with her clear, searching eye. This was not the -first time that he had spoken in this strain and set her thinking: but -unfortunately, as he had said, she entertained an instinctive repugnance -for him. - -“Come, general, be generous and pardon me, my outburst of kindness -towards this excellent Bouille family, which loves me with a whole heart -and of which this youth is the chain of contact. I see his whole family -in him, coming to kiss my hand. Let us shake hands, as the American and -English do, and be good friends.” - -The marquis touched the hand coldly. - -“I regret that you do not bear in mind that I am French. The night of -the attack on the Royal Family at Versailles ought to remind you.” - -“You are right, general,” responded the lady, making an effort and -shaking his hand. “I am ungrateful. Any news?” - -Lafayette had a little revenge to take. - -“No; merely an incident in the House. An old man of one hundred and -twenty was brought to the bar by five generations of descendants to -thank the Representatives for having made him free. Think of one who was -born a serf under Louis XIV. and eighty years after.” - -“Very touching,” retorted the Queen; “but I could not well be there as I -was succoring the widow and child of the baker murdered for supplying -bread to the Assembly.” - -“Madam, we could not foresee that atrocity but we have punished the -offenders.” - -“That will do her no good, as she is maddened and may give birth to a -still-born babe; if it should live, do you see any inconvenience to -standing godmother to it at the Cathedral of Notre Dame?” - -“None: and I take this opportunity of meeting your allusion, before my -kinsman, to your pretended captivity. Nothing prevents your going to -church or elsewhere, and the King may go hunting and out riding, as much -as he likes.” - -The Queen smiled, for this permission might be useful as far as it went. - -“Good-bye, count,” she said to Bouille; “the Princess of Lamballe -receives for me and you will be welcome any evening with your -illustrious kinsman.” - -“I shall profit by the invitation,” said Lafayette, “sure that I should -be oftener seen there and elsewhere by your Majesty if the request had -not been heretofore omitted.” - -The Queen dismissed them with a smile and a nod, and they went out, the -one with more bitterness because of the nod, the other with more -adherence because of the smile. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII. - -THE ROYAL LOCKSMITH. - - -As the King had undertaken a very important piece of locksmith work, he -sent his valet Hue to beg General Lafayette to come into his smithy. - -It was on the second floor above his bedroom, with inner and outer -stairs. - -Since morning he had been hammering away at the work for which Master -Gamain gave him praise and so much regret that the politicians should -take him away from it to trouble about foreign countries. - -Perhaps he wanted to show the Commander of the National Guard that -however weak as a monarch, he was mighty as a Tubal Cain. - -On the road Count Louis had time to meditate; and he concluded that the -Queen knew nothing of his errand. He would have to study the King’s -reception and see if he did not give some sign of better understanding -what brought him to Paris than his cousin the marquis. - -The valet did not know Bouille so that he only announced the general. - -“Ah, it is you, marquis,” said the King, turning. “I must ask pardon for -calling you up here, but the smith assures you that you are welcome in -his forge. A charcoal-burner once said to my ancestor Henry IV.: ‘Jack -is king in his own castle.’ But you are master in the smithy as in the -palace.” - -Louis spoke much in the same way as Marie Antoinette. - -“Sire, under whatever circumstances I present myself to your Majesty,” -said Lafayette, “and whatever costume your Majesty is in, the King will -be ever the sovereign and I the faithful subject and devoted servant.” - -“I do not doubt that, my lord; but you are not alone. Have you changed -your aid-de-camp?” - -“This young officer, Sire, whom I ask leave to introduce, is my cousin, -Count Louis Bouille, captain in the Provence Dragoons.” - -“Oh, son of Marquis Bouille, commander of Metz?” said the King, with a -slight start not escaping the young man. - -“The same, Sire,” he spoke up quickly. - -“Excuse me not knowing you, but I have short sight. Have you been long -in town?” - -“I left Metz five days ago; and being here without official furlough but -under special permission from my father, I solicited my kinsman the -marquis for the honor of presentation to your Majesty.” - -“You were very right, my lord, for nobody could so well present you at -any hour, and from no one could the introduction come more agreeably.” - -The words “at any hour” meant that Lafayette had the public and private -entry to the King. The few words from the sovereign put the young count -on his guard. The question about his coming signified that he wanted to -know if Charny had seen his father. - -Meanwhile Lafayette was looking round curiously where few penetrated; he -admired the regularity with which the tools were laid out. He blew the -bellows as the apprentice. - -“So your Majesty has undertaken an important work, eh?” queried -Lafayette, embarrassed how to talk to a King who was in a smutty apron, -with tucked up sleeves and had a file in his hand. - -“Yes, general, I have set to making our magnus opus a lock. I tell you -just what I am doing or we shall have Surgeon Marat saying that I am -forging the fetters of France. Tell him it is not so, if you lay hold of -him. I suppose you are not a smith, Bouille?” - -“At least I was bound apprentice, and to a locksmith, too.” - -“I remember, your nurse’s husband was a smith and your father, although -not much of a student of Rousseau acted on his advice in ‘Emile’ that -everybody should learn a craft, and bound you to the workbench.” - -“Exactly; so that if your Majesty wanted a boy----“ - -“An apprentice would not be so useful to me as a master,” returned the -King. “I am afraid I have ventured on too hard a job. Oh, that I had my -teacher Gamain, who used to say he was a crafts-master above the -masters.” - -“Is he dead, my lord?” - -“No,” replied the King, giving the young gentleman a glance for him to -be heedful; “he lives in Versailles, but the dear fellow does not dare -come and see me at the Tuileries for fear he will get an ill name. All -my friends have gone away, to London, Turin or Coblentz. Still, my dear -general, if you do not see any inconvenience in the old fellow coming -with one of his boys to lend me a hand, I might ask him to drop in some -day.” - -“Your Majesty ought to know perfectly that he can see and send for -anybody.” - -“Yes, on condition that you sentries search them as the revenue officers -do those suspected of smuggling; poor Gamain will believe he is to be -hanged, drawn and quartered if they found his bag of tools on him and -took his three-cornered file for a stiletto!” - -“Sire, I do not know how to excuse myself to your Majesty, but I am -answerable for your person to the Powers of Europe, and I cannot take -too many precautions for that precious life to be protected. As for the -honest fellow of whom we are speaking, the King can give what orders he -pleases.” - -“Very well; thank you, marquis; I might want him in a week or ten -days--him and his ’prentice,” he added, with a glance at Bouille; “I -could notify him by my valet Durey, who is a friend of his.” - -“He has only to call to be shown up to the King; his name will suffice. -Lord preserve me from getting the title of your jailer, Sire; never was -the monarch more free; and I have even desired your Majesty to resume -hunting and riding out.” - -“Thank you, but no more hunts for me! Besides, you see I have something -to keep me in doors, in my head. As for traveling, that is another -matter; the last trip from Versailles to Paris cured me of the desire to -travel, in such a large party at all events.” - -He threw a glance to Bouille who ventured to blink to show that he -understood. - -“Are you soon going back to your father?” inquired the King of the -latter. - -“Sire, I am leaving Paris in a couple of days to pay a visit to my -grandmother, living in Versailles; I am bound to pay my respects. Then I -am charged by my father to attend to a rather important family matter, -for which I expect to see the person who will give me the directions in -about a week. So I shall hardly be with my father before the first week -in December, unless the King has particular reasons for me to see him -sooner.” - -“No, my lord, take your time; go to Versailles and transact your -business and when done, go and tell the marquis, that I do not forget -him as one of my faithful lieges, and that I will speak of him one of -these days to General Lafayette for him to advance him.” - -Lafayette smiled faintly at this allusion to his omnipotence. - -“Sire,” he said, “I should have long ago recommended Marquis Bouille to -your Majesty had he not been my kinsman. The fear of raising the cry -that I am looking after my family alone prevented me doing him this -justice.” - -“This chimes in nicely, then; we will speak of this matter again.” - -“The King will kindly allow me to say that my father would consider any -change of a post a disgrace that robbed him of the chance to serve your -Majesty particularly.” - -“Oh, that is fully understood, count,” responded Louis the King, “and -Marquis Bouille shall not be moved without it being according to his -desires and mine. Let General Lafayette and I manage this, and you run -to your pleasure-making without altogether forgetting business. Good -bye, gentlemen!” - -He dismissed them with a majestic manner in singular contrast with the -vulgar attire. - -“Come, come,” he said to himself, when the door was shut. “I believe the -young blade has comprehended me, and that in a week or so we shall have -Master Gamain coming to aid me, _with his ’prentice_.” - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV. - -HAPPY FAMILY. - - -On the evening of this same day, about five, a scene passed in the third -and top flat of a dirty old tumbledown house in Juiverie Street which we -would like our readers to behold. - -The interior of the sitting-room denoted poverty, and it was inhabited -by three persons, a man, a woman, and a boy. - -The man looked to be over fifty; he was wearing an old uniform of a -French Guards sergeant, a habit venerated since these troops sided with -the people in the riots and exchanged shots with the German dragoons. - -He was dealing out playing cards and trying to find an infallible means -of winning; a card by his side, pricked full of pinholes, showed that he -was keeping tally of the runs. - -The woman was four-and-thirty and appeared forty; she wore an old silk -dress; her poverty was the more dreadful as she exhibited tokens of -splendor; her hair was built up in a knot over a brass comb once gilded: -and her hands were scrupulously cared for with the nails properly -trimmed in an aristocratic style. The slippers on her feet, over -openwork stockings, had been worked with gold and silver. - -Her face might pass in candlelight for about thirty; but, without paint -and powder it looked five years older than reality. - -Its resemblance to Queen Marie Antoinette’s was still so marked that one -tried to recall it in the dusty clouds thrown up by royal horses around -the window of a royal coach. - -The boy was five years of age; his hair curled like a cherub’s; his -cheeks were round as an apple; he had his mother’s diabolical eyes, and -the sensual mouth of his father--in short, the idleness and whims of the -pair. - -He wore a faded pearl velvet suit and while munching a hunk of cake -sandwiched with preserves, he frayed out the ends of an old tricolored -scarf inside a pearl gray felt hat. - -The family was illuminated by a candle with a large “thief in the -gutter,” stuck in a bottle for holder, which light fell on the man and -left most of the room in darkness. - -“Mamma,” the child broke the silence by saying, as he threw the end of -the cake on the mattress which served as bed, “I am tired of that kind -of cake--faugh! I want a stick of red barley sugar candy.” - -“Dear little Toussaint,” said the woman. “Do you hear that, Beausire?” - -As the gamester was absorbed in his calculations, she lifted her foot -within snatch of her hand and taking off the slipper, cast it to his -nose. - -“What is the matter?” he demanded, with plain ill-humor. - -“Toussaint wants some candy, being tired of cheap cake.” - -“He shall have it to-morrow.” - -“I want it to-day--this evening--right now!” yelled the innocent in a -tearful voice which threatened stormy weather. - -“Toussaint, my boy, I advise you to give us quiet or papa will take you -in hand,” said the parent. - -The boy yelled again but more from deviltry than from fear. - -“You drunken sot, you just touch my darling, and I will attend to you,” -said the mother, stretching out the white hand towards the bully which -her care of the nails made to become a claw at need. - -“Who the deuse wants to touch the imp? you know it is only my style of -speaking, my dear Oliva, and that though I may dust your skirt now and -then I have always respected the kid’s jacket. Tut, tut, come and -embrace your poor Beausire who will be rich as a King in a week; come, -my little Nicole.” - -“When you are rich as a king, it will be another matter: but up to that -time no fooling.” - -“But I tell you that it is as safe as if I had a million. You might be -kind for a little while. Go and get credit of the baker.” - -“A man rolling in millions wants a baker to let him have a loaf on -trust, ha, ha!” - -“I want some red barely sugar,” howled the child. - -“Come, you king with the millions, give some sugar sticks to your -prince.” - -Beausire started to put his hand to his fob but stopped half way. - -“You know I gave you my last piece yesterday.” - -“Then, if you have the money,” said the child to the woman whom Beausire -called indifferently Nicole or Oliva, “give me a penny to buy candy.” - -“There are two cents, you naughty boy, and mind you do not fall in -sliding down the bannisters.” - -“Thank you, dear mother,” said the boy, capering for joy and holding out -his hand. - -“Come here till I set your hat on and adjust your sash: it must not be -said that Captain Beausire let his son race about the streets in -disorder--though it is all the same to him, the heartless fellow! I -should die of shame!” - -At the risk of whatever the neighbors might say against the heir to the -Beausire name, the boy would have dispensed with the hat and band, of -which he recognized the use before the other urchins did the freshness -and beauty. But as the arrangement of his dress was a condition of the -gift, the young Hector had to yield to it. - -He consoled himself by taunting his father with the coin by thrusting it -up under his nose; absorbed in his figuring the parent merely smiled at -the pretty freak. - -Soon they heard his timid step, though quickened by gluttony, descending -the stairs. - -“Now then, Captain Beausire,” snapped the woman after a pause, “your -wits must lift us out of this miserable position, or else I must have -recourse to mine.” - -She spoke with a toss of the head as much as to say: “A lady of my -lovely face never dies of starvation, never fear!” - -“Just what I am busy about, my little Nicole,” responded Beausire. - -“By shuffling the cards?” - -“Did I not tell you that I have found the infallible coup?” - -“At it again, eh? Captain Beausire, I warn you that I am going to hunt -up my old acquaintances and see if one of them cannot have you shut up -in the madhouse. Dear, dear, if Lord Richelieu were not dead, if -Cardinal Rohan were not ruined, if Lady Lamotte Valois were not in -London dodging the sheriff’s officers----“ - -“What are you talking about?” - -“I should find means and not be obliged to share the misery of an old -swashbuckler like this one.” - -With a queenly flirt of the hand Oliva _alias_ Nicole Legay, -disdainfully indicated the gambler. - -“But I keep telling you that I shall be rich to-morrow,” he repeated, -himself at any rate convinced. - -“Show me the first gold piece of your million and I shall believe the -rest.” - -“You will see ten gold pieces this evening--the very sum promised me. -You can have five to buy a silk dress and a velvet suit for the -youngster: with the balance I will bring you the million I promised.” - -“You unhappy fellow, you mean to gamble again?” - -“But I tell you again that I have lit on an infallible sequence.” - -“Own brother to the one with which you threw away the sixty thousand -livres from the amount you stole at the Portuguese Ambassador’s?” - -“Money got over the devil’s back goes under his belly,” replied Beausire -sententiously. “I always did think that the way I got that cash brought -bad luck.” - -“Is this fresh lot coming from an inheritance? have you an uncle who has -died in the Indies or America and left you the ten louis?” - -“Nicole Legay,” rejoined Beausire with a lofty air, “these ten will be -earned not only honestly but honorably, for a cause which interests me -as well as the rest of the nobility of France.” - -“So you are a nobleman, Friend Beausire?” jeered the lady. - -“You may say so: we have it stated so in the birth entry on the register -of St. Paul’s, and signed by your servitor, Jean Baptiste Toussaint de -Beausire, on the day when I gave my name to our boy----“ - -“A handsome present that was,” gibed Nicole. - -“And my estate,” added the so-called captain emphatically. - -“If kind heaven does not send him something more solid,” interposed -Nicole, shaking her head, “the poor little dear is sure to live on air -and die in the poorhouse.” - -“Really, Nicole, this is too much to endure--you are never contented.” - -“Endure? good gracious, who wants you to endure?” exclaimed the reduced -gentlewoman, breaking down the dam to her long-restrained ire: “Thank -God, I am not worried about myself or my little pet, and this very night -I shall go forth and seek my fortune.” - -She rose and took three steps towards the door, but he strode in between -them and opened his arms to bar the way. - -“You naughty creature, did I not tell you that my fortune----“ - -“Go on,” said Nicole. - -“Is coming home to-night: though the coup were a mistake--which is -impossible, it would only be five louis lost.” - -“There are times when a few pieces of money are a fortune, sir. But you -would not know that, who have squandered a pile of gold as high as this -house.” - -“That proves my merit: I made it at the cards, and if I made some once I -shall make more another time: besides, there is a special providence -for--smart rogues.” - -“That is a fine thing to rely on!” - -“Do you not believe in Providence? are you an atheist, Nicole? of the -school of Voltaire who denies all that sort of thing?” - -“Beausire, no matter what I am, you are a fool.” - -“Springing from the lower class, as you do, it is not surprising that -you nourish such notions. I warn you that they do not appertain to my -caste and political opinions.” - -“You are a saucebox,” returned the beauty of the past. - -“But I have faith. If anyone were to say, ‘Beausire, your son who has -gone out to buy a sugar stick, will return with a lump of gold,’ I -should answer: ‘Very likely, if it be the will of Allah!’ as a Turkish -gentleman of my acquaintance says.” - -“Beausire, you are an idiot,” said Nicole, but she had hardly spoken the -words before young Toussaint’s voice was heard on the stairs calling: - -“Oh, papa--mamma!” - -“What is the matter?” cried Nicole, opening the door with true maternal -solicitude. “Come, my darling, come.” - -The voice drew near like the ventriloquist doing the trick of the man in -the cellar. - -“I should not be astonished if he had lit on the streak of good luck I -feel promised,” said the gambler. - -The boy rushed into the room, holding a sugarstick in his mouth, hugging -under his left arm a bag of sugarplums, and showing in his right hand a -gold coin which shone in the candle glimmer like the North Star. - -“Goodness of heaven, what has occurred?” cried Nicole, slamming the door -to. - -She covered his gluey face with kisses--mothers never being disgusted, -from their caresses seeming to purify everything. - -“The matter is a genuine louis of gold, worth full value of twenty-four -livres,” said Beausire, skillfully obtaining the piece. - -“Where did you pick that up that I may go for the others, my duck?” he -inquired. - -“I never found it, papa: it was give to me,” replied the boy. “A kind -gentleman give it me.” - -Ready as Beausire to ask who this donor was, Nicole was prudent from -experience on account of Captain Beausire’s jealousy. She confined -herself to repeating: - -“A gentleman?” - -“Yes, mamma dear,” rejoined the child, crunching the barley-sugar -between his teeth: “a gentleman who came into the grocer’s store where I -was, and he says: ‘God bless me, but, master, do I not behold a young -gentleman whose name is De Beausire, whom you have the honor of -attending to at the present time?'” - -Beausire perked up and Nicole shrugged her shoulders. - -“What did the grocer say to that, eh?” demanded the card-sharper. - -“Master Grocer says: ‘I don’t know whether he is a gentleman or not, but -his name is Beausire,’ ‘Does he live by here?’ went on the gentleman. -‘Top-floor, next house on the left.’ ‘Give anything the young master -wants to him--I will foot the bill,’ said the gentleman. Then he gave me -the money saying: ‘There a louis for you, young sir: when you have eaten -your candy, that will buy you more. He put the money in my hand; the -grocer stuck this bag under my arm and I came away awfully glad. Oh, -where is my money-piece?” - -Not having seen Beausire’s disappearing trick, he began to look all -round for the louis. - -“You clumsy little blockhead, you have lost it,” said the captain. - -“No, I never!” yelled the child. - -The dispute would have become warm but for the interruption which came -to put an end to it. - -The door opened slowly and a bland voice made these words audible: - -“How do you do, Mistress Nicole? good evening, Captain Beausire! How are -you, little Toussaint?” - -All turned: on the threshold was an elegantly attired man, smiling on -the family group. - -“Oh, here’s the gentleman who gave me the candy,” cried young Toussaint. - -“Count Cagliostro,” exclaimed Beausire and the lady at the same time. - -“That is a winning little boy, and I think you ought to be happy at -being a parent, Captain Beausire,” said the intruder. - -He advanced and with one scrutinizing glance saw that the couple were -reduced to the last penny. - -The child was the first to break the silence because he had nothing on -his conscience. - -“Oh, kind sir, I have lost the shining piece,” said he. - -Nicole opened her mouth to state the case but she reflected that silence -might lead to a repetition of the godsend and she would inherit it; her -expectation was not erroneous. - -“Lost your louis, have you, my poor boy?” said Cagliostro, “well, here -are two; try not to lose them.” - -Pulling out a purse of which the plumpness kindled Beausire’s greedy -glances, he dropped two coins into Toussaint’s little sticky paw. - -“Look, mamma,” said he, running to Nicole; “here’s one for you and one -for me.” - -While the child shared his windfall with his mother, the new-comer -remarked the tenacity with which the former-soldier watched his purse -and tried to estimate the contents before it was pocketted again. On -seeing it disappear, he sighed. - -“Still glum, captain?” said the visitor. - -“And you, count, always rich?” - -“Pooh! you are one of the finest philosophers I have ever known, as well -at the present as in antiquity, and you are bound to know the axiom to -which man does honor in all ages. ‘Riches are not contentment.’ I have -known you to be rich, relatively.” - -“That’s so: I have owned as much as a hundred thousand francs.” - -“It is possible; only when I met you again, you had spent nearly forty -thousand of it so as to have but sixty, but that is a round sum for a -corporal in the army.” - -“What is that to the sums you dispose of?” he sighed. - -“I am only the banker, the trustee, Captain Beausire, and if I were -obliged to settle up I daresay you could play St. Martin and I the -beggar who would be glad to have half your cloak. But, my dear Beausire, -do you not remember the circumstances of our last meeting? As I said, -just now, you had sixty thousand left of the hundred thousand: were you -happier than now?” - -The ex-corporal heaved a retrospective sigh which might pass for a moan. - -“Would you exchange your present position though you possessed nothing -but one poor louis you ‘nicked’ from young Toussaint?” - -“My lord!” - -“Do not let us get warm, sir: we quarrelled once and you were obliged to -go out and pick up your sword which I threw out of the window. You will -remember?” went on the count, seeing that the man made no reply: “it is -a good thing to have a memory. I ask you again would you change your -actual position, though down to the solitary louis you ‘extracted’ from -young Toussaint”--this time the allegation passed without protest--“for -the precarious scrape from which I relieved you?” - -“No, my lord, you are right--I should not change. At that epoch, alas! I -was parted from my darling Nicole.” - -“To say nothing of being hunted by the police, on account of your -robbing the Portuguese Embassy. What the mischief has become of that -case, a villainous one, as I remember it, Captain B.?” - -“It has been dropped, my lord,” was the reply. - -“So much the better: though I would not reckon on its not being picked -up again. The police are awful for raking up past grievances, and the -ruling powers might want to be on good terms with Portugal. However, -that apart, in spite of the hard lines to which you are reduced, you are -happy. If you had a thousand louis, your felicity would be complete, -eh?” - -Nicole’s eyes glittered and her partner’s flashed flames. - -“Lord be good to us,” cried the latter: “with half I would buy a lot in -the country and live a rural life on the rest like a country squire!” - -“Like Cincinnatus!” - -“While Nicole would educate the boy.” - -“Like Cornelia! Death of my life, Captain Beausire! not only would this -be exemplary but touching: do you hope to earn as much as that in the -piece of business you have in hand?” - -“What business?” queried the other, starting. - -“That you are carrying on as sergeant of the Guards; for which you are -to meet a man, this evening, under the Palais Royal arcades.” - -“Oh, my lord,” moaned Beausire, turning pale as a corpse and wringing -his hands. “Do not destroy me!” - -“Why, you are going distracted now? Am I the Chief of Police to ruin -you?” - -“There, I told you, you are getting into a pretty pickle,” exclaimed -Nicole. “I know nothing about it, my lord, but whenever he hides any -game from me, I know it is a bad one.” - -“But you are wrong, my dear lady, for this is an excellent speculation.” - -“Is it not?” cried the gambler. “The count, as a nobleman, understands -that all the nobility are in this scheme----“ - -“For it to succeed. It must be allowed though, that the people are -interested in its failure. If you will believe me, captain--you -understand that a friend is giving advice--you will take no part in it -for the peers or the people. Better act for yourself.” - -“Certainly, for yourself,” said Nicole. “Blest if you have not toiled -long enough for others: so that it is high time you looked after Number -One.” - -“You hear the lady, who speaks like a born orator. Bear this in mind, -Friend Beausire, all spec’s have a good and a bad side, one for the -winners, one for the losers: no affair however good, can benefit -everybody; the whole trouble is to hit on the right side.” - -“And you do not think I am there, eh?” - -“Not at all; I would even add, if you are willful--for you know I dabble -in telling fortunes--that you will not only risk your honor, and the -fortune you seek--but your life. You will most likely be hanged!” - -“They do not hang noblemen,” objected Beausire, wiping the perspiration -streaming from his brow. - -“That is so: but to avoid the gallows-tree and have your head cut off, -you would have to prove your family-tree; it would take so long that the -court would lose patience, and string you up for the time being--leaving -your widow to demand compensation if you turned out to have deserved -decapitation. Still you may say that it does not matter, as it is the -crime that casts shame and not the scaffold, to quote a poet. Still -again, I dare say you are not so attached to your opinions that you -would lay down your life for them; I understand this. Deuse take us, but -we have only one life, as another poet says, not so great as the other, -but as truthful.” - -“My lord,” faltered the ex-guardsman, “I have remarked in my too brief -acquaintance with your lordship, that you have a way of speaking of -some things which would make the hair of a more timid man than me -bristle on his head.” - -“Hang me if that is my intention,” responded Cagliostro; “Besides you -are not a timid man.” - -“No: yet there are circumstances,” began Beausire. - -“I understand; such as when one has the jail for theft behind one and -the gallows for high treason before one--for I suppose they give that -name to the crime of kidnapping the King.” - -“My lord,” cried Beausire, terrified. - -“Wretch, is it on kidnapping that you build your fortune?” demanded -Oliva. - -“Oh, he was not wrong to dwell in golden dreams, my dear lady; only, as -I have already said, each affair has a dark side and a bright one and -Beausire has the misfortune to take the dark one; all he has to do is to -shift.” - -“If there is time, what must I do?” asked the bully. - -“Suppose one thing,” said the gentleman; “that your conspiracy fails. -Suppose that the accomplices of the masked man and the one in the brown -cloak are arrested; we may suppose anything in these times--suppose they -are doomed to death! Suppose--for Augeard and Bezenval have been -acquitted, so that anything unlikely may come round nowadays--suppose -that you are one of these accomplices; you have the halter round your -neck, when--say what they like--a man always shows a little of the white -feather about then----“ - -“Do have done, my lord! I entreat you, for I seem to feel the rope -throttling me!” - -“That is not astonishing as I am supposing it is round your neck! -Suppose, then, that they say to you: ‘Poor old Beausire, this is your -own fault. Not only might you have dodged this Old Bony who clutches you -in his claws, but gain a thousand louis to buy the pretty cottage under -the green trees where you long to live with ever-lovely Oliva and merry -little Toussaint, with the balance of what was partly spent for the -purchase of your homestead. You might live, as you said, like a squire, -in high boots in the winter and easy shoes the rest of the year; while, -instead of this delicious lookout, you have the Execution-place, -planted with two or three one or two-armed trees, of which the highest -holds out its ugly branch unto you. Faugh! my poor Captain Beausire, -what a hideous prospect!'” - -“But how am I to elude it--how make the thousand to ensure my peace and -that of dear Nicole and little Toussaint?” - -“Your good angel would say: ‘Why not apply to the Count of Cagliostro, a -rich nobleman who is in town for his pleasure and who is weary of -nothing to do. Go to him and tell him----“ - -“But I do not know where he lives! I did not even know he is in town; I -did not know he was still alive!” protested Beausire. - -“He lives ever. It is because you would not know these facts that he -comes to you, my dear Beausire, so that you will have no excuse. You -have merely to say to him: ‘Count, I know how fond you are of hearing -the news. I have some fresh for you. The King’s brother is conspiring -with Marquis Favras. I speak from full knowledge as I am the right-hand -man of the marquis. The aim of the plot is to take the King away to -Peronne. If your lordship likes to be amused, I will tell him step by -step how the moves are played.’ Thereupon the count, who is a generous -lord, would reply: ‘If you will really do this, Captain Beausire, as all -laborers are worthy of their hire, I put aside twenty-four thousand -livres for a charitable act; but I will balk myself in this whim, and -you shall have them on the day when you come and tell me either that the -King shall be taken off or Marquis Favras captured--in the same way as -you are given these ten louis--not as hand-money or as an advance, or a -loan, but as a pure gift.” - -Like an actor rehearsing with the “properties,” Cagliostro pulled out -the weighty purse, stuck in finger and thumb and with a dexterity -bearing witness to his experience in such actions, whipped out just ten -pieces, neither more nor less, which Beausire--we must do him -justice--thrust out his hand with alacrity to receive. - -“Excuse me, captain,” said the other, gently fencing off the hand, “we -are only playing at Supposes.” - -“Yes, but through suppositions one arrives at the fact,” responded the -cardplayer, whose eyes glowed like burning coals. - -“Have we reached this point?” - -Beausire hesitated; let us hasten to say that it was not honor, fidelity -to plighted word, or a pricked conscience which caused the wavering. Did -our readers know Beausire, they would not want this denial. It was the -simple fear that the count would not keep his word. - -“I see what you are passing through,” said the tempter. - -“Ay, my lord, I shrink from betraying the trust a gentleman puts in me,” -replied the adventurer. “It is very hard,” he seemed to say as he raised -his eyes heavenward. - -“Nay, it is not that, and this is another proof of the old saw that ‘No -man knows himself',” said the count. “You are afraid that I will not pay -you the sum stated. The objection is quite natural; but I shall give -security.” - -“My lord certainly need not.” - -“Personal security, Madam Legay.” - -“Oh, if the count promises, it is as good as done,” said the lady. - -“You see, sir, what one gains by scrupulously keeping one’s promises. -One day when the lady was in the same quandary as yourself, I mean the -police were hunting after her, I offered her an asylum in my residence. -The lady hesitated, fearing that I was no Joseph--unless so christened. -I gave her my word to respect her, and this is true, eh?” - -“I swear it, on my little Toussaint,” said Oliva-Nicole. - -“So you believe that I will pay the sum mentioned on the day when the -King shall have been abducted or Marquis Favras arrested, to say nothing -of my serving the running knot strangling him a while ago. For this -affair, at all events, there shall be no halter or gibbet, for I cannot -bind myself any farther. You understand: The man who is born to -be--ahem!” - -“My lord, it is as if the courts had awarded us the money,” said the -woman. - -“Well, my beauty,” said Cagliostro, putting the ten gold pieces on the -table in a row, “just imbue the captain with this belief of yours.” - -He waved his hand for the gambler to confer with his partner. Their -parley lasted only five minutes, but it was most lively. Meanwhile -Cagliostro looked at the cards and the one by which tally was kept. - -“I know the run,” he observed, “it is that invented by John Law who -floated the Mississippi Bubble. I lost a million on it.” - -This remark seemed to give fresh activity to the dialogue of Beausire -and his light-o-love. At last Beausire was decided; he came forward to -offer his hand to Cagliostro like a horse-dealer about to strike a -bargain. But the other frowned. - -“Captain, between gentlemen the parole suffices. Give me yours.” - -“On the faith of Beausire, it shall be done.” - -“That is enough for me,” said the other, drawing out a diamond-studded -watch on which was a portrait of Frederick the Great. “It is now a -quarter to nine. At nine precisely you are expected under the Royale -Place arcades, near Sully House. Take these ten pieces, pocket them, put -on your coat and buckle on your sword--and do not keep them waiting.” - -“Where am I to see your lordship next?” inquired Beausire, obeying the -instructions, without asking reiteration. - -“In St. Jean’s Cemetery, if you please. When we have such deadly matters -to discuss the company of the dead is better than the living. Come when -you are free; the first to arrive waits for the other. I have now to -chat with the lady.” - -The captain stood on one foot. - -“Be easy; I did not make bold when she was a single woman; I have the -more reason to respect her since she is a mother of a family. Be off, -captain.” - -Beausire threw a glance at his wife, by courtesy, at all events, -tenderly hugged little Toussaint, saluted the patron with respect mixed -with disquiet, and left the house just as Notre Dame clock bell was -striking the three-quarters after eight. - - - - -CHAPTER XXV. - -DOWN AMONG THE DEAD - - -It was nearly midnight when a man hesitatingly walked up to the iron -gateway of St. Jean’s burying-ground, in Croix Blanche Street. - -As midnight boomed, he saw a spectre cross the grounds under the yews -and cypresses, and, approaching the grating, turn a key harshly in the -gatelock to show that, if he were a ghost and had the leave to quit his -grave, he also had that to go beyond the cemetery altogether. - -“Do you not recognize me, Captain B.?” queried the jesting voice of -Cagliostro, “or did you forget our appointment?” - -“I am glad it is you,” said the man in the French Guards sergeant dress, -breathing as if his heart were relieved of great weight. “These devilish -streets are so dark and deserted that I do not know but it is better to -run up against any body than not to meet a soul.” - -“Pshaw,” returned the magician, “the idea of your fearing any thing at -any hour of the day or night! You will never make me believe that of a -man like you who would go anywhere with a sword by his side. However, -step on this side of the railings, and you will be tranquil, my dear -Captain Beausire, for you will meet no one but me.” - -Beausire acted on the invitation, and the key grated again in the lock, -to fasten the gate behind him. - -“Keep to this little path,” continued Cagliostro, “and at twenty paces -you will come upon a little broken altar, on the steps of which we can -nicely manage our little business.” - -“Where the mischief do you see any path?” he grumbled, after starting -with a good will. “I meet nothing but nettles tearing my ankles and -grass up to my knees.” - -“I own that this cemetery is as badly kept as any I know of; but it is -not astonishing, for here are buried only the condemned prisoners -executed in the City, and no one plants flowers for such poor fellows. -Still we have some undeniable celebrities here, my dear Beausire. If it -were daylight I would show you where lies Bouteville Montmorency, -decapitated for having fought a duel; the Knight of Rohan who suffered -the same fate for conspiring against the Government; Count Horn broken -on the wheel for murdering a Jew; Damiens who tried to kill Louis XVI., -and lots more. Oh, you are wrong to defame St. Jean’s; it is badly kept -but it well keeps its famous ones.” - -Beausire followed the guide so closely that he locked steps with him -like a soldier in the second rank with the predecessor so that when the -latter stopped suddenly he ran up against him. - -“Ah! this is a fresh one; the grave of your comrade Fleurdepine, one of -the murderers of François the Assemblymen’s baker, who was hanged a week -ago by sentence at the Chatelet; this ought to interest you, as he was, -like you, a corporal, a sergeant by his own promotion, and a crimp--I -mean a recruiter.” - -The hearer’s teeth chattered; the thistles he walked among seemed so -many skeleton fingers stretched up to trip him, and make him understand -that this is the place where he would have his everlasting sleep. - -“Well, we have arrived,” said the cicerone, stopping at a mound of -ruins. - -Sitting down on a stone he pointed out another to his companion, as if -placed for a conversation. It was time, for the ex-soldier’s knees were -knocking together so that he fell rather than sat on the elevation. - -“Now that we are comfortable for a chat,” went on the magician, “let us -know what went on under the Royale Place arches. The meeting must have -been interesting?” - -“To tell the truth, count, I am so upset that I really believe you will -get a clearer account by questioning me.” - -“Be it so, I am easy going, and the shape of news little matters -provided I get it. How many of you met at the arches?” - -“Six, including myself.” - -“I wonder if they were the persons I conjecture to be there? _Primo_, -you, no doubt.” - -Beausire groaned as though he wished there could be doubt on that head. - -“You do me much honor in commencing by me, for there were very great -grandees compared with me.” - -“My dear boy, I follow the Gospel: ‘The first shall be last.’ If the -first are to be last, why, the last will naturally lead. So I begin with -you, according to Scripture. Then there would be your comrade Tourcaty, -an old recruiting officer who is charged to raise the Brabant Legion?” - -“Yes, we had Tourcaty.” - -“Then, there would be that sound royalist Marquie, once sergeant in the -French Guards, now sub-lieutenant in a regiment of the centre line. -Favras, of course? the Masked Man? Any particulars to furnish about the -Masked Man?” - -The traitor looked at the inquirer so fixedly that his eyes seemed to -kindle in the dark. - -“Why, is it not--“ but he stopped as if fearing to commit a sacrilege if -he went farther. - -“What’s this? have you a knot in your tongue? Take care of being -tongue-tied. Knots in the tongue lead to knots round the neck, and as -they are slip ones, they are the worst kind.” - -“Well, is it not the King’s b-b-brother?” stammered the other. - -“Nonsense, my dear Beausire, it is conceivable that Favras, who wants it -believed that he clasps hands with a royal prince in the plot, should -give out that the Mask hides the King’s brother, Provence, but you and -your mate, Tourcaty, recruiting-sergeants, are men used to measure men -by their height in inches and lines, and it is not likely you would be -cheated that way.” - -“No, it is not likely,” agreed the soldier. - -“The King’s brother is five feet three and seven lines,” pursued the -magician, “while the Masked Man is nearly five feet six.” - -“To a T.,” said the traitor, “that occurred to me; but who can it be if -not the King’s brother?” - -“Excuse me, I should be proud and happy to teach you something,” -retorted Cagliostro: “but I came here to be taught by you.” - -“But if your lordship knows who this man is,” said the ex-corporal, -becoming more at home, “might I ask his name?” - -“A name is a serious thing to divulge,” responded the strange man: “and -really I prefer you should guess. Do you know the story of Œdipus and -the Sphinx?” - -“I went to see a tragedy of that title and fell asleep, unfortunately, -in the fourth act.” - -“Plague take me, but you ought not to call that a misfortune!” - -“But I lose by it now.” - -“Not to go into details, suffice it that Œdipus, whom I knew as a boy -at one royal court and as a man at another, was predicted to be the -murderer of his father and the husband of his mother. Believing King -Polybius this father, he departed from his realm, but would not take a -hint from me about the road. The result was that he met his own sire on -the road where, as neither would turn out, a fight ensued in which he -slew his father. Some time after he met the Sphinx. It was a monster -with a woman’s head on a lion’s body which I regret never to have seen, -as it was a thousand years after her death that I travelled that road. -She had the habit of putting riddles to the wayfarers and eating those -who could not read them aright. To my friend Œdipus she put the -following: - -“'What animal goes upon four legs at morning, two at noon and three at -night?'” - -“Œdipus answered off-hand: ‘Man, who in the morning of life as a -child crawls on all fours; as an adult walks upright; as an old man -hobbles with a stick.'” - -“That is so,” exclaimed Beausire: “it crossed the sphinx!” - -“She threw herself down a precipice and the winner went on to where he -married his father’s widow to accomplish the prophecy.” - -“But what analogy between the Sphinx and the Masked Man?” - -“A close one. I propose an enigma; only I am not cruel like the Sphinx -and will not devour you if you fail to guess. Listen: Which lord at the -court is grandson of his father, brother of his mother and uncle of his -sisters?” - -“The devil!” burst forth Beausire, falling into a reverie. “Can you not -also help me out here, my lord?” - -“Let us turn from pagan story to sacred history, then. Do you know the -tale of Lot?” - -“Lot and the Pillar of Salt, and his daughters?” - -“The same.” - -“Of course, I do. Wait a bit, do they not say that old King Louis XIV, -and his daughter the Lady Adeliade----“ - -“You are getting warm, captain----“ - -“In that case the Masked Man would be Count Louis Narbonne!” - -“Now that we are no longer in doubt about this conspirator, let us -finish with the aim of the plot. The object is to carry off the King? -And take him to Peronne? what means have you?” - -“For money we have two millions cash----“ - -“Lent by a Genoese banker? I know him. Any other funds?” - -“I know of none.” - -“So much for the money: now for the men.” - -“General Lafayette has authorized the raising of a legion to fly to the -help of Brabant revolting against the Empire.” - -“Under cover of which you form a royalist legion? I see the hand of -Lafayette in this,” muttered Cagliostro. “But you will want more than a -legion to carry out this plan--an army.” - -“Oh, we have the army. Two hundred horsemen are gathered at Versailles -ready to start at the appointed hour: they can arrive in three columns -at Paris by two in the morning. The first gets in to kill General -Lafayette: the second to settle old Necker; the third will do for Mayor -Baily.” - -“Good!” exclaimed the listener. - -“This done, the cannons are spiked, and all rally on the Champs Elysées, -and march on the Tuileries where our friends will be masters.” - -“What about the National Guards there?” - -“The Brabant Column attends to them: it joins with it part of the Guards -which has been bought over: four hundred Swiss, three hundred country -friends, and so on. These will have taken possession of all the gates -by help within. We rush in on the King, saying: ‘Sire, the St. Antoine -ward is in insurrection; a carriage is ready--you must be off!’ if he -consents, all right: if he resists, we hustle him out and drive him to -St. Denis.” - -“Capital!” - -“There we find twenty thousand infantry, with all the country royalists, -well armed, in great force, who conduct the King to Peronne.” - -“Better and better. What do you do there?’ - -“The gathering there brings our whole array up to one hundred and fifty -thousand men.” - -“A very pretty figure,” commented the Chief of the Invisibles. - -“With the mass we march on Paris, cutting off supplies above and below -on the river. Famished Paris capitulates; the Assembly is kicked to -pieces, and the King enjoys his own again on the throne of his fathers.” - -“Amen!” sang Cagliostro. “My dear Beausire,” he went on, rising, “your -conversation is most agreeable; but as they say of the greatest orators, -when they have spoken all that is in them, nothing more is to be got. -You are done?” - -“Yes, my lord, for the moment.” - -“Then, good-night: when you want another ten louis call for them at my -home, at Bellevue.” - -“At the Count of Cagliostro’s?” - -“No; they would not know who you meant. Ask for Baron Zannone.” - -“But that is the banker who cashed up the two millions on the King’s -brother’s notes!” ejaculated Beausire. - -“That is not unlikely; only I do such a large business that I have -confounded it with the others. That is why it was not clear in my mind -but now you remind me, I believe I did something of the kind.” - -Beausire went his way, stupefied that a banker could forget a matter of -two millions, and beginning to believe that he was quite right in siding -with the lender rather than with the borrower. He bowed lowly while the -count favored him with a slight nod at the cemetery gateway. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVI. - -GAMAIN PROVES HE IS THE MASTER. - - -The reader will not be much surprised, after the permission Lafayette -gave for the King to have his locksmith call to relieve him of a trouble -in lockmaking, that Gamain should present himself at the palace with his -apprentice who gave the name of Louis Lecomte. - -Though there was nothing in the pair aristocratic, King Louis ran to the -forge door on hearing the announcement and bade them enter. - -“Here I am,” returned Gamain, with the familiarity of a crony. - -Whether he was less used to royal company, or endowed by more respect -for crowned heads under whatever attire they appeared, the boy kept on -the sill, at a space from his master, with his cap in his hand near the -door closed by the valet behind both. - -He may have been better placed there to catch the gleam of glee in the -King’s dull eye, and to give unseen a respectful nod. - -“Glad to see you, my old Gamain,” said Louis; “I really did not look for -you--I thought you had forgotten old times.” - -“And that is why you have taken on a ’prentice,” said Gamain. “You did -right enough to have help when I was not on hand, but unfortunately an -apprentice is not a master.” - -“How could I help it? I was assured that you did not care to come near -me from fear of injuring yourself.” - -“Faith, it was not hard to learn at Versailles that it was not healthy -to be friend of yours--as witness that brace of your Lifeguardsman whom -they cut off the heads of! ay, and by the same token had the Queen’s -barber Leonard dress them in the latest fashion, which I saw in a saloon -at Secres.” - -A cloud passed over the royal brow and the apprentice hung his head. - -“But folks say that you are getting on nicely since you came back to -town, and that you can make the Parisians do anything you like; not that -it is astonishing, for the Parisians are ninnies and the Queen is such a -weedler when she likes to be.” - -Louis made no remark, but his cheeks were colored. The young man seemed -pained by the locksmith’s familiarity. After wiping his forehead with a -handkerchief, rather fine for a locksmith’s help, he approached the King -to whom he said: - -“Does your Majesty allow me to tell how we have Master Gamain here and -how I am in your employment?” - -“Yes, my dear Louis,” said the King. - -“That is the style! ‘My dear Louis!’ as long as your arm. To a -fortnight’s acquaintance, a workman, a ’prentice! why, what are you -going to call me, who has known you these five and twenty years? who put -the file in your fist? who am the master? this is the advantage of -having white hands and a glib tongue.” - -“I will call you ‘My good Gamain’ if you like. I speak to the lad -affectionately because I owe to him the joy of seeing my old master -again: not because he speaks prettily or keeps his hands smooth, for you -know I think nothing of these fine ways--but I like him for proving it -was false what they said about my never seeing you any more.” - -“Well, it was not me that held back, but that wife of mine. She was -always saying: ‘Gamain, you have bad acquaintances, those who fly too -high for you. It is not good to hobnob with aristocrats nowadays. We -have a little property--look after it. Let us rear our young ones: and -let the Dauphin learn locksmithing from others than you, if he wants to, -like his father before him. There are plenty of smiths in France.'” - -Louis glanced at the apprentice, and stifling a sigh, partly sad and -partly rallying, said: - -“No doubt, but there are few like you.” - -“Just what I said to the master when I called on him,” said the young -man, “I told him the King was making a hidden-bolt lock; and that he had -got along very well till he came to the sliding bolt itself----“ - -“I should think so,” interrupted Gamain: “bless you, the bolt is the -backbone of a lock. It is not given to everybody to get over that -difficulty.” - -“No, nor mine in passing the examination you put me through to be -convinced I came from the King,” replied the young man, laughing. “You -said it was a trap laid by your enemies; but the twenty-five yellow boys -sent by his Majesty convinced you. So off we started, and here we are.” - -“And welcome,” said the royal smith, thanking the speaker with a glance; -“and now, Master Gamain, as you appear in a hurry, let us tackle the -job.” - -“You have hit it. I promised the mistress that I should be home by -evening. Let us see this puzzler of a lock.” - -The King put in his hands a lock three-parts finished. - -“Lord help us,” said the man, grinning: “this is not a secret bolt but a -trunk lock. You have three wards on it and the second ought to catch -while the first is released by the key.” - -He was using the key as he spoke and the others contemplated his -demonstration with awe for his learning. - -“But the second ward catches, like the Assembly when you want it to do -something your way and says: ‘I won’t budge.'” - -“But there must be some way of getting over the fix,” said the King. - -“Of course; it would be a day’s work to an ordinary workman but I will -knock it off in a couple of hours. Only,” said he, with the suspicious -air of an artisan jealous of the secrets of the craft; “I want no -fussing round me.” - -What Gamain desired was the yearning of the King. His loneliness would -allow him a dialogue apart with the Apprentice. - -“But you may need something?” - -“I will set the footman trotting.” - -The King went himself to the door to acquaint François with the -arrangement, and then led away the apprentice, Louis Lecomte, in whom -the reader will have recognized Louis Bouille. - -They went by a secret stairway into the royal study, where a table was -covered by a large map of France, showing the King had been studying the -route of the flight. - -“Now that we are alone, count,” said he, “let me compliment you on your -skill and thank you for your dedication of services to me.” - -“And I ask to be excused for my apparel and the language I have had to -use before you.” - -“You speak like a brave gentleman and your apparel covers a loyal heart -in any case. But we have no time to lose. Even the Queen is ignorant of -your presence here; nobody is listening; so to the point.” - -“Did not your Majesty send us a naval officer, the count of Charny, who -brought a letter----“ - -“Insignificant,” interrupted the monarch, “a mere introduction to a -verbal communication.” - -“He fulfilled it and it was to make its performance certain that my -father sent me to town to try to have an interview alone with your -Majesty. The King can have the certainty of leaving France. My father is -proud and happy of the honor done him.” - -“Now for the principal point; what says he of the project?” - -“That it is hazardous and requires great precautions but is not -impossible.” - -“Firstly, will not your father want the command over the adjoining -districts?” - -“It is his advice, but he would not like it to be thought personal -ambition----“ - -“Pooh, do I not know his disinterestedness? did he explain about the -best road to take?” - -“In the first place he fears one thing: that many projects of flight -have been proposed and that all these getting entangled, this one will -meet some block which will be ascribed to fatality, when it will be the -spite or the rashness of the other parties.” - -“I promise, my dear Louis, to let the parties intrigue around me; it is -their want and a necessity of my position. While they are following -these threads which will end in nothing but leading them astray we will -follow our own route with no other confidants, with more security from -our greater secresy. But I do not want to leave the kingdom altogether. -It is hard for a sovereign to get back if he does so. I have decided on -Montmedy as the place of retirement, which is in the centre of your -father’s command and at a suitable distance.” - -“Has your Majesty planned out the flight or is this but a sketch?” -queried the count. - -“Nothing is settled,” replied Louis, “and all depends on circumstances. -If I see the Queen and the Family running fresh dangers from the -ruffians I will take an irrevocable decision.” - -“My father thinks the dangers of the journey will be diminished by -dividing the passengers.” - -“Yes, but it is useless to discuss this point. In a solemn hour the -Queen and I resolved to go together or not at all.” - -The envoy bowed. - -“At the meet moment the King has but to issue the orders to have them -executed,” he said. “Now, for the route. There are three ways to -Montmedy.” - -“I have marked them on the map. The best is through Reims, but I was -consecrated there and would be recognized by many. I choose the Chalons -Road _via_ Vacennes and going round Verdun. Let the regiments be posted -in the petty towns between Chalons and Montmedy: I see no inconvenience -in the first detachment awaiting me in the former place.” - -“Sire, the location of the regiments will have to be settled. By the -way, the King should know that there is no posting-house at Varennes.” - -“I am glad you are so well informed,” observed the King, merrily; “it -shows you have deeply studied the plans. But do not worry about such -matters. Charny is my engineer, who has drawn up the maps and he will -see to the supply of horses.” - -“And now, Sire, that all is arranged on the main lines,” said the young -conspirator, “will your Majesty allow me to quote some lines from an -Italian author, which my father thought appropriate to the situation? -They are: - -“Delay is always prejudicial, and there is no wholly favorable time in -any business; hence if one were to wait for a perfect chance, nothing -would ever be done, or if done be bungled.” - -“That is Machiavelli,” said the King. “I will remember the advice of -that secretary to the Magnificent Republic of Venice. But hush! I hear -steps--it is Gamain; let us go to meet him so that he may not think we -were busy about something else than the cupboard the lock is for.” - -He opened the secret door, in time, for the master locksmith was there, -with the lock in his hand and a grin on his face. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVII. - -THE FRIEND OF THE FALLEN. - - -At eight that same evening, a workingman, holding his hand to his -waistcoat pocket as though it contained money in larger quantity than -usual, staggered out of the Tuileries Palace and meandered along the -road to the Soapworks Wharfside. It was there a strolling ground with -drinking resorts along the line. On Sundays and holidays, it was -thronged; on other days lonesome. - -This man passed the wine-stores with much difficulty but for a period -temperance triumphed; but when it came to the twentieth saloon on the -route, it was too much, and he entered the next one for--only one glass. - -The demon of drink, against whom he had valiantly struggled, seemed -embodied in a stranger who followed him closely and even went into the -saloon with him, sitting opposite and apparently watching him succumb -with glee. - -Five seconds after the workman had resumed his road, this watcher was on -his track. - -But how can the drinkingman stop going downhill when he has taken a -whet, and perceives with the amazement of the toper that nothing makes -one so thirsty as taking a drink? Scarcely had he tottered a hundred -paces before his thirst was so sharp that he had to slack it once more. - -The result of these lapses from the path he had previously trod was that -he reached deviously the highway beyond the Passy bars, where he -felicitated himself on the road being tolerably free from temples of the -God of Wine. - -In his gladness he set up singing. Unfortunately the delight was -ephemeral and the song of short duration. - -He fell to muttering and then talking to himself, and the soliloquy was -in the form of imprecations on unknown persecutors of whom the unsteady -sot complained. - -“Oh, the scoundrel! to give an old friend, a master, doctored wine--ugh! -So, just let him send again for me to fix his locks, let him send his -traitor of a workmate who gives me the go-by and I will tell him: ‘It -won’t work this trip! let your Majesty fix up your own locks.’ We shall -see then if a lock is to be turned out as sleek as a decree. Oh, I’ll -give you all you want of locks, with three wards, confound the villain! -the wine was salted, peppered--by heaven, it was poisoned! Hope I may be -saved, but the wine was poisoned!” - -So howling, overcome by the force of the poison, of course, the -unfortunate victim laid himself at full length, not for the first time, -on the road, mercifully carpetted thickly with mud. - -On other occasions the drunkard had scrambled up alone; difficult to do -but he had got through the difficulty with honor; but this third time, -after desperate efforts, he had to confess that the task was beyond him. -With a sigh, much resembling a groan, he seemed decided to sleep for -this night on the bosom of our common Mother Earth. - -No doubt the follower had waited for this period of doubt, -disheartenment and weakness, for he approached him warily, went all -round fallen greatness, and calling a hack, said to the driver: - -“Old man, here’s my friend who has shipped too heavy a cargo. Take this -piece for yourself, help me to put the poor fellow in the straw of your -coach where he will not soil the elegant cushions, and take him to your -wine saloon at Sevres Bridge. I will get up beside you.” - -There was nothing surprising that the customer should sit up with the -driver, as he appeared to be one of his sort. So, with the touching -confidence men of the lower classes have for one another, the jarvey -said: - -“All right, but let us have a look at the silver, see!” - -“Here you are, old brother,” ventured the man without being in the least -offended and handing over a six-livre crownpiece. - -“But will there be a little bit beyond the fare for myself, my master?” -inquired the coachman, mollified by the money. - -“That depends how we get along. Let us get the poor chap in; shut the -blinds, try to keep your pair of skeletons on their hoofs, and we will -see when we get to Sevres, how you _conducted_ us!” - -“Now, I call this speaking to the purpose,” returned the knight of the -whip. “Take it easy, master! A nod is as good as a wink. Get upon the -box and keep my Arabian steeds from bolting up the road; no jokes, they -feel the want of a supper and are chafing to race home to the stables. I -will manage the rest.” - -The generous stranger did as he was bid; the driver, with all the -delicacy of which he was susceptible, dragged the sot up by the arms, -jabbed him down between the seats, slammed the door, drew down the -blinds, mounted the box again, and whipped up the barbs. With the -funeral gait of night hack-horses they stumbled through the village of -Point-du-Jour and reached the Sevres Saloon in an hour. - -The house was shut up for the night, but the new-comer jumped down and -applied such blows of the fist to the door that the inhabitants, however -fond of slumber, could not enjoy it long under so much racket. The host, -who was alone, finally got up in his night dress, to see the rioter and -promised to pack him off smartly if the game were not worth the candle. - -Apparently though the value of the game was clear, for, at the first -whisper by the irreverent arouser to the landlord, he plucked off his -cotton nightcap and made bows which his scanty costume rendered -singularly grotesque. He hastened to pilot the coachman, lugging -Gamain, into the little taproom where he had once filled himself with -his favorite burgundy. - -As the driver and his steeds had done their best, the stranger gave the -former a piece of money as extra. - -Then seeing that Master Gamain was stuck up in a chair, with his head on -the table before him, he hastened to have the host bring him two bottles -of wine and a decanter of water, and opened the windows and blinds to -change the mephitic air which the common people like to breathe in such -resorts. - -After bringing the wine, with alacrity, and the water, with reluctance, -the host respectfully retired and left the stranger with the drunkard. - -Having renewed the air, as stated, the former clapped smelling salts to -Gamain’s nose which ceased to snore and gave a sneeze. This awakened him -a little from that disgusting sleep of drunkards the sight of which -would cure them--if by a miracle, they could see what they look like at -such periods. - -Gamain opened his eyes widely, and muttered some words, unintelligible -for anybody but the philologist who distinguished by his profound -attention these words: - -“The scoundrel--he--poisoned--poisoned wine----“ - -The good Samaritan seemed to see with satisfaction that his ward was -under the same impression: he gave him another sniff of the hartstorn -which permitted the son of Noah to complete the sense of his phrase in -an accusation pointing to an abuse of trust and wanton heartlessness. - -“To poison a friend--an old friend!” - -“That’s so--it is horrible,” observed the other. - -“Infamous,” faltered Gamain. - -“What a good thing I was handy to give you an antidote,” suggested the -hearer. - -“It was lucky,” said the locksmith. - -“But as one dose is not enough, have another,” said the stranger, -putting a few drops from the smelling bottle in a glass of water; it was -ammonia and the man had hardly swallowed the compound than he opened his -eyes immeasurably and gurgled between two sneezes: - -“Ah, monster, what are you giving us there? augh, augh!” - -“My dear fellow, I am giving you stuff that will save your life,” -returned the kind friend. - -“If it is physic, that is all right,” said Gamain: “but it is a beastly -failure if you call it a drink.” - -The stranger profited by his sneezing again and twitching his features, -shut the blinds though not the windows. - -Looking round him the master locksmith recognized with the profound -gratitude of drinking men for old haunts, the saloon where he had -feasted before. In his frequent trip to town from Versailles, he had not -seldom halted here. It might be thought necessary, as the house was -halfway. - -This gratitude produced its effect: it gave him a great confidence to -find himself on friendly ground. - -“Hurrah, it looks as though I were halfway home anyway,” he exclaimed. - -“Yes, thanks to me,” said the stranger. - -“Thanks to you? why, who are you?” stammered Gamain, looking from still -life to animated things. - -“My dear Gamain, your question shows that you have a poor memory.” - -“Hold on,” said the smith, giving him more attention: “it strikes me -that I have seen you before.” - -“You don’t say so? that is a blessed thing.” - -“Ay, but where--that is the rub.” - -“Look around you, then; something may remind you; or had you better have -some more of the counterbane to refresh you?” - -“No, thank ’ee, I have had enough of that remedy,” said Gamain, -stretching his arms out. “I am so nearly brought round that I will do -without it. Where did I see you? why, in this very spot, of course. And -when? the day I was coming back from doing a special job at Paris--I -seem to be in for this sort of thing,” added he, chuckling. - -“Very well: but who am I?” - -“A jolly honest mate who paid for the liquor. Shake hands!” - -“Good, good, you remember now.” - -“With all the more pleasure as it is but a step from Master locksmith to -master gunsmith,” said the other. - -“Ah, good, good, I remember now. Yes, it was the sixth of October, when -the King went to Paris: we talked about him.” - -“And I found your conversation interesting, Master Gamain; so that, as -your memory comes home and I want to enjoy it again, I should like to -know, if I am not too inquisitive, what the deuse you were doing across -the road where a vehicle might have cut you in two? Have you sorrows, -old blade, and had you screwed up your mind to suicide?” - -“Faith, no! What was I doing flat across the road, eh? Was I in the -road?” - -“Look at your clothes.” - -“Whew!” whistled Gamain after the inspection. “Mother Gamain will kick -up a hullabaloo for she said yesterday: ‘Don’t put on your new coat; any -old thing will do for the Tuileries.'” - -“Hello? been to the Tuileries? were you coming from the Tuileries when I -picked you up?” asked the kind soul. - -“Why, yes, that’s about the size of it,” responded Gamain, scratching -his head and trying to collect his entangled ideas; “certainly I was -coming home from the Tuileries. Why not? It is no mystery that I am -master locksmith to Master Veto.” - -“Who is he?” - -“Why, have you come from China? not to know old Veto?” - -“What do you want? I am obliged to stick to my trade, and that is not -politics.” - -“You are blamed lucky! I have to mix up with these high folk--more’s the -pity! or rather, they force me to mix with them. It will be my ruin.” He -sighed as he looked up to heaven. - -“Pshaw! were you called to Paris again to do another piece of work in -the style of that other one?” asked the friend. - -“But this time I was not blindfolded but taken with my eyes open.” - -“So that you knew it was the Tuileries this time?” - -“The Tuileries? who said anything about the Tuileries?” - -“Why, you, of course, just now. How would I know where you had been -carousing had you not told me?” - -“That is true,” muttered Gamain to himself; “how should he, unless I -told him? Perhaps,” he said aloud, “I was wrong to let you know; but you -are not like the rest. Besides I am not going to deny that I was at the -Tuileries.” - -“And you did some work for the King, for which he gave you twenty five -louis,” went on the other. - -“Indeed, I had twenty-five shiners in my pouch,” said Gamain. - -“Then, you have got them now, my friend.” - -The smith quickly plunged his hand into his pocket and pulled it out -full of gold mixed with small change in silver and bronze. - -“To think that I had forgot it! twenty-five is a good bit, too--and it -is right to the ‘broken’ louis--one does not pick up such a lot under -the horse’s foot. Thank God the account is correct.” And he breathed -more freely. - -“My dear Master Gamain, I told you I found you on the King’s highway, -not twenty paces from a heavy wagon which would have cut you in twain. I -shouted for the carrier to pull up; I called a passing cab; I unhooked -one of the lamps and as I looked at you by its light, I caught sight of -a gold piece on the ground; as they were near your pocket, I judged that -you had dropped them. I put my finger in the pocket and as there were a -score of their brothers in bed there I guessed that these were of the -same brood. Thereupon the hack driver shook his head. ‘I ain’t going to -take this fare,’ said he: ‘he is too rich for his dress. Twenty louis in -gold in a cotton waistcoat suggests that the gallows will be his end.’ -‘What,’ says I, ‘do you take him for a thief?’ The word struck you, for -you says. ‘Thief? you are another!’ says you. ‘So you must be a prig,’ -returned the coachman, ‘or how would the likes of you have a pocket -gold-lined, say?’ - -“'I have money because my pupil the King of France gave it me,’ said -you. By these words I thought I recognized you, and clasping the lamp to -your nose, I cried: ‘Bless us and save us: all is clear; this is Master -Gamain, master locksmith at Versailles. He has been working in the royal -forge and the King has given him twenty-five mint-drops for his trouble. -All right: I will answer for him.’ From the moment that I answered for -you, the driver raised no objections. I replaced the coins in your -pocket; we laid you snugly in the hack; and we set you down in this -retreat so that you have nothing to complain of except that your -‘prentice left you in the lurch.” - -“Did I speak of my ’prentice? that he left me in the lurch?” questioned -Gamain, more and more astonished. - -“Why, hang it all, are you going back on what you said? Did you not -growl that it was all the fault of--of--dash me if I can remember the -name you used.” - -“Louis Lecomte?” - -“I guess that was it. Did you not say: ‘Louis Lecomte is in fault! for -he promised to see me safe home and at the last moment he dropped me -like a hot roll?'” - -“I daresay I did so, for it is the blessed truth.” - -“Then, why do you deny the truth? let me tell you, that with another -than me, such chatter would be dangerous?” - -“But with you, one is safe, eh? with a regular friend,” said the smith, -coaxingly. - -“Lord, you have lots of trust in your friend. You say yes and you say -no; you wiggle and waver so that none knows how to have you. It is like -your fable t’other day about the secret door that a nobleman had you fit -on the strict quiet.” - -“Then you will not believe this tale either, for it also hangs upon a -door.” - -“In the palace?” - -“In the King’s palace. Only instead of its being a clothes-press door, -or rather that of a safe in the wall, it is a cupboard door this time.” - -“Are you gaming me that the King, while he certainly dabbles in -locksmithery, sent for you to do up a door?” - -“He did, though. Poor fellow, he thought he was smart enough to get on -without me, and began to make a lock. ‘What good is Gamain anyhow?’ but -he got mixed up with the works in the lock and had to fall back on -Gamain after all.” - -“So you were hunted up by one of his trusty flunkeys, Hue, or Durey or -Weber, eh?” - -“That is just where you make a mistake. He has taken a green hand on to -help him, who is as much of an amateur as himself; a young sprig who -popped in upon me one morning at Versailles, and says he: ‘Look here, -Daddy Gamain, the King and me tried to make a lock, and by Jove we have -made a muddle of it. The old thing won’t work! ‘What have I to do with -it?’ I wanted to know. ‘You are wanted to set it right,’ says he, and as -I said that it was a plant and he did not come from the King, he slaps -some gold on the bench and says: ‘Is not this earnest enough? here are -twenty-five louis which the King sends you to remove any doubts.’ He -gave me them, too.” - -“So these are what you are sporting round with you?” - -“No: these are another lot. These were for traveling expenses and a sort -of a payment on account!” - -“Fifty louis for filing up an old lock? there is a snake in the grass, -Friend Gamain.” - -“Just what I said to myself: particularly as the ’prentice does not seem -a regular craftsman but dodged my question about work and where you stop -when you are on tramp in France, as well as who is Mother Marianne.” - -“But you are not the man to be taken in when you see a boy at work.” - -“I do not say so much as that. The lad plied the file and the chisel -handily. I have seen him cut a rod of iron through velean at a blow, and -put a hole in a band with a rattail file as if using a gimlet on a lath. -But there is more theory than practice about his style: he no sooner -finishes the job than he washed his hands, and what hands? so white that -never did a locksmith boast the like. You don’t see me scrubbing my -hands till they are white!” - -With pride he showed his grubby, black and callous hands which indeed -seemed to defy all the cosmetics and skin-bleaches in the world. - -“But in short what did you do when you got to the King’s?” asked the -other, bringing the man to the point most interesting to him. - -“It looked as though we were expected: in the forge the King showed me a -lock commenced not badly, but he had got in a corner. It was one with -three wards, d’ye see, which few locksmiths can grapple with and royal -ones least of all. I looked at it and saw where the key caught. ‘All -right,’ I says; ‘let me alone with it for an hour and it will work as if -greased,’ ‘Go ahead,’ said the King, ‘consider yourself at home; call -for anything you like while we get the cupboard ready on which the lock -goes.’ On which he went out with the imp of a ’prentice.” - -“By the main stairs?” queried the gunsmith carelessly. - -“No: by a secret one leading to his study. When I got through, I had -done something, too; I said to myself: ‘It is all bosh about this here -cupboard; they are laying their heads together for some mischief.’ So I -crept down softly and opening the study door, I got a glimpse of what -they were up to.” - -“And what were they up to?” inquired the gunsmith. - -“Well, I did not catch them in the act, for they must have heard me -coming, for I have not the light step of a dancer. They pretended to be -up and coming to me, and the King said, ‘Oh this is you, and you have -finished? Come along for I have something else for you to do.’ So he -hurried me through the study, but not so fast that I did not spy spread -out on a table a big map which I believe to be France on account of a -lily-flower printed in one corner. From the midst three rows of pins ran -out to the edges like files of soldiers, for they were stuck in at -regular spaces.” - -“Really, you are wonderfully sharp,” said the stranger in affected -admiration: “So you believe that instead of bothering about their -cupboard, they were busy with this map?” - -“I am sure of it: the pins had wax heads of different colors, black, -blue and red; and the King was using a red one to pick his teeth with, -without thinking what he was about.” - -“Gamain, if I discovered some new kind of gun, hang me if I would let -you come into my workshop, even to pass through it, or I would bandage -your eyes as on the day you were taken to the great nobleman’s house -though you did perceive that the house had ten steps to the stoop and -that it fronted on the main avenue.” - -“Wait a bit,” said the smith, enchanted at the eulogies; “you have not -heard all--there is really a safe in the wall.” - -“What wall?” - -“Of the inner corridor running from the royal alcove to the young -prince’s room.” - -“What you say is very queer. And was this safe open?” - -“Is it likely? I squinted round in all ways but it was no use my asking -myself: ‘Where on earth is this secret press?’ Then the King gave me a -look and says he: ‘Gamain, I have always had trust in you. So I would -not let anybody but you know the secret.’ While speaking, the King -lifted a panel, while the boy held a light, for the corridor has no -windows, and showed me a two foot round hole. Seeing my astonishment, he -winked to our companion and said: ‘Do you see that hole, my friend; I -made it to keep money in; this young fellow helped me during the four or -five days he has been staying in the palace. Now we want the lock put on -the panel so that it will be hidden and not interfere with its sliding. -Do you want an aid, in which case this young man will help you? or can -you do without? if so I will set him to work elsewhere. ‘Tut,’ I said, -‘you know that I like to go alone when I am the job. It is four hour’s -work for a good hand but I am a master and will be through in three. Go -and attend to your work, young fellow; and your Majesty may stick to -his. And in three hours fetch along anything you want kept in this -meat-safe.’ - -“We may believe the young chap had other fish to fry, for I saw nothing -more of him: but when the time was up, the King came back. ‘U. P., it is -all UP!’ said I, and I made him see that the door slid without the lock -being in the way as neat as the Automatons of Vaucanson. ‘Good,’ said -he; ‘just help me count the cash I am going to bestow here.’ A valet -brought four fine bags of coin and we reckoned a million a-piece; there -were twenty-and-five over. ‘There you are, Gamain,’ said the King, ‘Take -them for your trouble!’ as though it was not disgraceful to give an old -mate a beggarly twenty-five--a man with five children, and he has been -handling two millions! What do you think of that?” - -“The truth is that this is mean,” said the other, shrugging his -shoulders. - -“Wait, this is not all. I put the coin in my pocket and said. ‘I thank -your Majesty: but Lord love you, I have not had sup or bite since -morning and I am ready to burst!’ I had barely finished before the Queen -walked in by a secret door, so that she was on the top of us without -saying Lookout! She had a platter in her hand with a cake and a glass on -it. - -“'My dear Gamain, as you are hungry and thirsty, try our wine and cake!’ -‘Sorry to trouble you, Royal Madam,’ I said, but just think of a drop -like that and a mouthful of wine like that fancy cake for a man. What do -you expect sensible in that line from a Queen, though? it is plain that -such folks are never really hungry and athirst. A glass of wine--oh, -dear!” - -“So you refused it?” - -“It would have been better if I had; but I drank. As for the cake I -rolled it up in my handkerchief, saying ‘What is no good for the father -will do for the children.’ Then I thanked his Majesty, as though it were -worth thanks, and I started off, saying that they will not catch me in -their old palace in a hurry again.” - -“And why do you say you had better have refused the drink?” - -“Because they had put poison in it! Hardly had I got over the bridge -before I was seized by thirst, such a raging thirst that between the -liquor saloons and the river, I balanced myself. I could tell it was -queer stuff they gave me for the more I took the thirstier I was. This -kept on with my trying to correct that dose till I lost my senses. They -may be easy on this score: if ever they come to me for a good character, -I will say they gave me twenty-five louis for four hours’ work and -counting a million, and for fear I should tell where they keep their -treasure, they poisoned me like a dog!” - -“And I, my dear Gamain,” said the hearer, rising as though he had all -the information he wanted: “I will support your evidence by swearing -that I saved you with the antidote.” - -“That is why we are sworn comrades till death do us part,” exclaimed the -smith, grasping the speaker’s hands. - -Refusing with Spartan sobriety the wine which his friend offered him for -the third or fourth time--for the amoniacal dose had sobered him as well -as disgusted him with drink for a time, Gamain took the road for -Versailles where he arrived safely at two in the morning with the -King’s coin in his pocket and the Queen’s cake in another. - -Left behind in the saloon, the pretended gunsmith drew out a set of -tablets mounted in diamonds and gold, and wrote with fluid-ink pencil -these two notes: - - “An iron safe behind the King’s alcove, in the unlighted passage - leading to the prince’s rooms. Make sure whether Louis Lecomte, - locksmith’s boy, is not really Count Louis, son of Marquis Bouille, - arrived eleven days ago from Metz.” - - - - -CHAPTER XXVIII. - -THE FIRST GUILLOTINE. - - -On Christmas Eve, a party was given at the Princess Lamballe’s, which -the Queen’s presiding over made it really her own reception. - -Isidore Charny had returned from Italy that morning and he had found -King and Queen very kind to him. Two reasons influenced the latter: one -his being the brother of Count Charny, which was a charm in his absence, -and his bringing back news from the fugitive princes which suited her -wishes. - -They backed the Favras scheme and urged her to flee for Turin. - -He left her only to go and acquaint Favras with the encouragement. The -Queen had said nothing positive about the flight: but he took enough to -the conspirator to fill him with joy. For the rest, the cash was in -hand, the men notified to stand ready, and the King would only have to -nod to have the whole plot set in motion. - -The silence of the royal couple was the only thing which worried him. -The Queen broke this by sending Isidore, and vague as were the words he -repeated, they acquired weight from coming out of a royal mouth. - -At nine the young viscount went to Lady Lamballe’s. - -Count Provence was uneasy; Count Louis Narbonne walked about with the -ease of a man quite at home among princes. Isidore was not known to any -of the circle of the princes’ bosom friends, but his well-known name and -the partiality accorded him by the princess led to all hands being held -out to him. - -Besides, he brought news from the foreign refuge where so many had -relatives. - -When he had delivered his budget, the conversation returned to its -former channel; the young men were laughing about a machine for -executing criminals which Dr. Guillotin had shown in a full size working -model and had proposed to the National Assembly. - -When an usher announced the King, and another the Queen, of course all -the merriment and chatter ceased. - -The more the revolutionary spirit stripped majesty of its eternals the -more the true royalists vied with each other to pour evidences of -respect upon the august chiefs. 1789 saw great ingratitude, but 1793 -great devotion. - -To talk over the Favras scheme in secret a whist party was made up of -the two rulers, Provence and Charny for the fourth hand. Respect -isolated the table. - -“Brother,” said the Queen, “Lord Charny, who comes from Turin, says that -our kinsfolk there are begging us to join them.” - -The King gave a stamp with impatience. - -“I entreat you to listen,” whispered Lady Elizabeth, who sat on a stool. - -“Listen to what?” - -“That Lord Charny has also seen the Marquis Favras since he came home, a -gentleman whose lealty we know, and he says that the King has but to say -a word,” went on the Queen, “or make a sign, and this very night, you -will be at Peronne.” - -The King kept still. His brother twisted a jack of hearts all to rags. - -“Repeat this as the marquis put it,” said he to Isidore. - -“Your Majesty, thanks to measures taken by Marquis Favras, he declares -that the King has but the cue to give to be in safety in Peronne this -blessed night.” - -Turning sharply on his brother, the King said as he fixed his eyes on -him: - -“Are you coming if I go?” - -“I” said the other, turning pale and trembling. “I have not been -notified, and I have made no preparations.” - -“You know nothing about it, and yet you found the money for Favras?” -exclaimed the monarch. “You not notified, and the moves in the game have -been reported to you hour by hour?” - -“The game?” faltered the prince. - -“The plot; for it is one of those plots for which, if discovered, Favras -will be tried and doomed to death--unless by money and other means we -save him as we did Bezenval.” - -“Then you will save Favras.” - -“No; for I might not be able to do as much for him. Besides, Bezenval -was my liege as Favras is yours. Let each save his own man, and both of -us shall have done our duty.” - -He rose, but the Queen retained him by the skirt of the coat. - -“Sire, whether you accept or refuse, you owe the marquis an answer. What -is Viscount Charny to answer for the King?” - -“That the King does not allow himself to be spirited away like a slave -for the Louisiana plantations.” He disengaged his coat. - -“This means,” said Provence, “that the King will not allow of the -abduction but if it be executed in spite of his permission, it will be -welcome. In politics success condones the crime and blunderers deserve -double punishment.” - -“Viscount,” said the Queen, “tell the marquis what you heard and let him -act as he thinks it points. Go.” - -The King had gone over to where the younger men were so hilariously -chatting; but the deepest silence fell at his approach. - -“Is the King so unhappy that he casts melancholy around him?” he -demanded. - -“Sire!” muttered the gentlemen. - -“You were very merry when the Queen and I came in. It is a bad thing for -kings when no one dares laugh before them. I may say the converse: -‘Happy are the kings before whom laughter resounds.'” - -“Sire,” returned one, “the subject is not one for a comic opera.” - -“Of what were you talking?” - -“Sire, I yield the guilty one to your Majesty,” said another, stepping -forward. - -“Oh, it is you, Editor Suleau,” said the King. “I have read the last -number of your journal the Acts of the Apostles. Take care that you do -not offend Master Populus.” - -“I only said that our Revolution is going so slowly that it has to help -on that in Brabant. We are lamenting the dulness of the session of the -Assembly where they had to take up the motion of Dr. Guillotin upon--of -all things--a new machine for public executions.” - -“Are you making fun of Dr. Guillotin--a philanthropist? remember that I -am one myself.” - -“There are various kinds; the sort I approve of has a representative at -the head of the French Nation--the one who abolished torture before -trial: we venerate, nay, we love him.” - -The hearers bowed with the same impulse. - -“But,” proceeded Suleau, “there are others who try to find means to kill -the hale while they had a thousand to send the ailing out of this life. -I beg your Majesty to let me deal with them?” - -“What would you do? decapitate them painlessly, or at least merely give -a slight coolness round the neck?” inquired the King, quoting Dr. -Guillotin’s recommendation of his invention. - -“Sire, I should like all of these inventors to have the first experiment -tried on themselves. I do not complain that Marigny was hanged on the -Gibbet of Montfaucon which he built. I am not asking, I am not even a -judge; the probability is that I shall have to take my revenge on Dr. -Guillotin in the columns of my paper. I will give him a whole number and -propose that the machine shall bear his name for eternity, the -Guillotine!” - -“Ha, ha, the Guillotine!” exclaimed the men, without waiting for express -permission to laugh. - -“I shall assert, also, that life is divided not extinguished by this -process,” continued Suleau; “why may not the sufferer feel pain in the -head and the trunk after being cut in two?” - -“This is a question for medical men. Did none of us here witness the -experiment this very morning at Bicetre madhouse?” asked the King. - -“No, no, no!” cried many voices. - -“Sire, I was there,” said one grave voice. - -“Oh; it is you? Dr. Gilbert,” said the sovereign, turning. - -“Yes, Sire.” - -“And how did the experiment succeed?” - -“Perfectly in two instances; but at the third the instrument, though it -severed the spine, did not detach the head. They had to finish with a -knife.” - -The young gentlemen listened with frightened eyes and parted lips. - -“Three executions this morning?” exclaimed Charles Lameth, who with his -brother had not yet turned against the Queen. - -“Yes, gentlemen,” said the King; “but they were three corpses furnished -by the hospitals. What is your opinion of the instrument?” - -“An improvement on such machines; but the accident at the third -experiment proves that it stands in need of improvement still.” - -“What is it like?” asked the royal locksmith who had a bias for -machines. - -Gilbert helped his explanation out by drawing a sketch on a sheet of -paper at a table. The King saw how curious the bystanders were and -allowed them to come near. - -“Who knows,” said Suleau obeying, “but that one of us may make the -acquaintance of Lady Guillotine?” - -Laughing, they pressed round the board where the King, taking the pen -from Dr. Gilbert, said: - -“No wonder the experience failed, particularly after awhile. The cutting -blade is crescent-shaped whereas it ought to be triangular to sever a -resisting substance. See here: shape your knife thus, and I wager that -you would cut me off twenty-four heads one after another without the -edge turning up.” - -He had scarcely finished the words before a heart-rending scream was -heard. The Queen had been attracted to the group of which the King and -his corrected sketch were the centre. She beheld the same instrument -which had been presented her in its likeness in a glass of water by -Balsamo the Magician twenty years before! - -At the view she had no strength to do more than scream, and life -abandoning her as though she were under the blade, she swooned in the -arms of Dr. Gilbert. - -It is easily understood that this incident broke up the party. - -Gilbert attended to the royal patient who was given the bed of the -princess. When the crisis was over, which he rightly attributed to a -mental cause, he was going out but she bade him stay. - -“Therese,” she added to Lady Lamballe, “tell the King that I have come -to: and do not let us be interrupted: I must speak with the doctor. -Doctor,” she pursued when they were alone, “are you not astonished that -chance seems to place us face to face in all the crises moral or -physical of my life?” - -“As I do not know whether to be sorry or to be glad for it, since I read -in your mind that the contact is not through your wish or your will.” - -“That is why I said chance. I like to be frank. But the last time we -were in contiguity, you showed true devotion and I thank you and shall -never forget it.” - -He bowed. - -“I am also a physiognomist. Do you know that you have said without -speaking: ‘That is over; let us change the subject.'” - -“At least I felt the desire to be put to the test.” - -“Doctor, what do you think of the recent event?” inquired Marie -Antoinette as though this was interlinked with what she had spoken. - -“Madam, the daughter of Maria Theresa is not one of the women who faint -at trifles.” - -“Do you believe in forewarnings?” - -“Science repels all phenomena tending to upset the prevailing order of -things; still, facts offtimes give the lie to science.” - -“I ought to have said; do you believe in predictions?” - -“I believe that the Supreme Being has benevolently covered the future -with an impenetrable veil. Still,” he went on as if making an effort -over himself to meet questions which he wished relegated into doubt, “I -know a man who sometimes confounds all the arguments of my intelligence -by irrefutable facts. I dare not name him before your Majesty.” - -“It is your master, the immortal, the all-powerful, the divine -Cagliostro, is it not, Dr. Gilbert?” - -“Madam, my only master is Nature. Cagliostro is but my saver. Pierced by -a bullet in the chest, losing all my blood by a wound which I, a -physician, after twenty years study, must pronounce incurable, he cured -me in a few days by a salve of which I know not the composition: hence -my gratitude to him, I will almost say my admiration.” - -“And this man makes predictions which are accomplished?” - -“Strange and incredible ones; he moves in the present with a certainty -which makes one believe in his knowledge of the future.” - -“So that you would believe if he forecast to you?” - -“I should at least act as though it might happen.” - -“Would you prepare to meet a shameful, terrible and untimely death if he -foreshowed it?” - -“After having tried to escape it by all manner of means,” rejoined -Gilbert, looking steadily at her. - -“Escape? No, doctor, no! I see that I am doomed,” said the Queen. “This -revolution is a gulf in which will be swallowed up the throne: this -people is a lion to devour me.” - -“Yet it depends on you to have it couch at your feet like a lamb.” - -“Doctor, all is broken between the people and me; I am hated and -scorned.” - -“Because you do not really know each other. Cease to be a queen and -become a mother to them; forget you are daughter of Maria Theresa, our -ancient enemy, the sister of Joseph our false friend. Be French, and -you will hear the voices rise to bless you, and see arms held out to -fondle you.” - -“I know all this,” she replied contemptuously; “fawning one day, they -tear the next.” - -“Because aware of resistance to their will, and hatred opposed to their -love.” - -“Does this destructive element know whether it loves or hates? it -destroys like the wind, the sea and fire, and has womanly caprices.” - -“Because you see it from on high, like the man in the lighthouse views -the ocean. Did you go down in the depths you would see how steady it is. -What more obedient than the vast mass to the movement of the tides. You -are Queen over the French, madam, and yet you know not what passes in -France. Raise your veil instead of keeping it down, and you will admire -instead of dreading.” - -“What would I see so very splendid?” - -“The New World blooming over the wreck of the Old; the cradle of Free -France floating on a sea wider than the Mediterranean--than the ocean. O -God protect you, little bark--O God shield you, babe of promise, -France!” - -Little of an enthusiast as Gilbert was he raised his eyes and hands -heavenward. - -The Queen eyed him with astonishment for she did not understand. - -“Fine words,” she sneered. “I thought you philosophers had run them down -to dust.” - -“No, great deeds have killed them,” returned Gilbert. “Whither tends old -France? to the unity of the country. There are no longer provinces, but -all French.” - -“What are you driving at? that your united thirty millions of rebels -should form a universal federation against their King and Queen?” - -“Do not deceive yourself: it is not the people who are rebels but the -rulers who have rebelled against them. If you go to one of the feasts -which the people hold, you will see that they hail a little child on an -altar--emblem of the new birth of liberty. Italy, Spain, Ireland, -Poland, all the down-trodden look towards this child and hold out their -enchained hands, saying: ‘France, we shall be free because of you.’ -Madam, if it be still time, take this child and make yourself its -mother.” - -“You forget that I am the mother of others, and I ought not do as you -suggest--disinherit them in favor of a stranger.” - -“If thus it be,” replied Gilbert with profound sorrow, “wrap your -children up in your royal robe, in the war-cloak of Maria Theresa, and -carry them with you far from France; for you spoke the truth in saying -that the people will devour you and your offspring with you. But there -is no time to lose--make haste!” - -“You will not oppose?” - -“I will further you in the departure.” - -“Nothing could fall more timely,” said the Queen, “for we have a -nobleman ready to act in this escape----“ - -“Do you mean Marquis Favras?” demanded Gilbert, with apprehension. - -“Who breathed you his name--who communicated to you his project?” - -“Oh, have a care, for a bloody prediction pursued him also.” - -“Of the same Prophet? what fate awaits him?” - -“Untimely, terrible and infamous like that you mentioned.” - -“Then you speak truly--no time must be lost in giving the lie to this -prophet of evil.” - -“You were going to tell Favras that you accepted his aid?” - -“He was advised and I am awaiting his reply.” - -She had not long to wait, for Isidore Charny was ushered in by the -Princess Lamballe. - -“I am told that I may speak before Dr. Gilbert,” said he. “Then, know -that Marquis Favras was arrested an hour ago and imprisoned in the -Chatelet.” - -Bright but despairing and full of ire, the Queen’s glance crossed that -of the doctor. All her wrath seemed spent in that flash. - -“Madam,” said Gilbert with deep pity, “if I can be useful in any way, -make use of me. I lay at your feet my mind, my life, my devotion.” - -“Dr. Gilbert,” she said in a slow and resigned voice, “is it your -opinion that the death given by this dread engine is as sweet as the -inventor asserts?” - -He sighed and hid his face in his hands. - -As the news of Favras’ arrest had circulated over the palace in a few -seconds, Count Provence went to his brother. His advice was that Favras -should be repudiated and the King take the oath to the Constitution. - -“But how can I swear fidelity to an incomplete Constitution?” - -“The more easily,” replied the schemer, with his false squint which came -from the darkest sinuosities of his soul. - -“I will,” said the King: “this does not prevent my writing to Marquis -Bouille that our plan is postponed. This will give Charny time to -regulate the route.” - -For his part, Provence acted on part of his own suggestion: he -repudiated Favras and received the thanks of the Assembly. - -Favras was left alone save for Cagliostro who perhaps felt a little -remorse that he had let the bravest in the conspiracy go so far in a -mission which he had foredoomed to failure. But Favras would not accept -rescue and met his death by hanging with unblemished courage and honor. - -The King took the oath, as he had promised his brother, to the -Constitution, yet in embryo. If he loved it so dearly already, what -would he do when it was in shape? - -The ten days following were days of rejoicing; joy in the Assembly; calm -in Paris; altars built all over the town for passers to take oath after -the royal precedent. - -The Assembly commanded a Te Deum to be chanted in the Cathedral, where -all gathered to renew the oath in solemnity. - -“Why did you not go to the church?” sneered the Queen to her husband. - -“Because I do not object to lying for a purpose, but I do not mean to -perjure myself,” said Louis XVI. - -The Queen breathed again for until then she had believed in the -monarch’s honesty. She felt empowered by this perfidy to take the same -path and it was after giving her hand for Mirabeau to kiss that this new -leader for the court party vowed that the monarchy was saved. - -Her forehead was swathed in a wet bandage, her eyes were wandering and -her face flushed with fever. Amongst the incoherent words, the farmer -thought he could distinguish the name of Isidore. - -“I see that it is good time that I came home,” he muttered. - -He went forth, and was followed by Pitou, but Dr. Raynal detained the -latter. - -“I want you my lad,” he said, “to help Mother Clement hold the patient -while I bleed her for the third time.” - -“The third time?” cried Mrs. Billet, awaking from her dulness. “Do you -hear that, my man, they bleed her for the third time.” - -“Woman, this would not have happened had you looked after your daughter -closer,” said the farmer in a stern voice. - -He went to his room, from which he had been absent three months while -Pitou entered the sick room. - -Pitou was astonished but he would have felt more so if he had guessed -that the doctor called him in as a moral remedy. - -The doctor had noticed two names as used by the girl in her frenzy, Ange -Pitou and Isidore Charny, and he soon distinguished that one was a -friend’s and the other a dearer one. He concluded that Pitou was the -lovers’ confidant and that there would be no inconvenience in the -gallant’s friend being there to speak with the patient on the mutual -acquaintance. - -Everybody knew down here that Valence Charny had been killed at -Versailles and that his eldest brother had called away Isidore on the -next evening. - -That night Pitou found Catherine fainted on the high road. When she -revived on the farm, it was to be in a fever, and she raved of some one -riding away whom the doctor judged to be Isidore Charny. - -The greatest need to a brain-stricken invalid is calm. To learn about -her lover would best calm Catherine, and she would ask the news of their -friend, Pitou. - -On seeing the good effect of the bleeding, the doctor stationed Mother -Clement by her side, with the strange recommendation for her to get some -sleep, and beckoned Pitou to follow him into the kitchen. - -Her forehead was swathed in a wet bandage, her eyes were wandering and -her face flushed with fever. Amongst the incoherent words, the farmer -thought he could distinguish the name of Isidore. - -“I see that it is good time that I came home,” he muttered. - -He went forth, and was followed by Pitou, but Dr. Raynal detained the -latter. - -“I want you my lad,” he said, “to help Mother Clement hold the patient -while I bleed her for the third time.” - -“The third time?” cried Mrs. Billet, awaking from her dulness. “Do you -hear that, my man, they bleed her for the third time.” - -“Woman, this would not have happened had you looked after your daughter -closer,” said the farmer in a stern voice. - -He went to his room, from which he had been absent three months while -Pitou entered the sick room. - -Pitou was astonished but he would have felt more so if he had guessed -that the doctor called him in as a moral remedy. - -The doctor had noticed two names as used by the girl in her frenzy, Ange -Pitou and Isidore Charny, and he soon distinguished that one was a -friend’s and the other a dearer one. He concluded that Pitou was the -lovers’ confidant and that there would be no inconvenience in the -gallant’s friend being there to speak with the patient on the mutual -acquaintance. - -Everybody knew down here that Valence Charny had been killed at -Versailles and that his eldest brother had called away Isidore on the -next evening. - -That night Pitou found Catherine fainted on the high road. When she -revived on the farm, it was to be in a fever, and she raved of some one -riding away whom the doctor judged to be Isidore Charny. - -The greatest need to a brain-stricken invalid is calm. To learn about -her lover would best calm Catherine, and she would ask the news of their -friend, Pitou. - -On seeing the good effect of the bleeding, the doctor stationed Mother -Clement by her side, with the strange recommendation for her to get some -sleep, and beckoned Pitou to follow him into the kitchen. - -“Cheer up, mother,” said he to Mrs. Billet who was mooning in the -chimney corner, “she is going on as well as possible.” - -“It is very hard that a mother cannot care for her child,” said the -farmer’s wife. - -“You are too fragile--we should only have you ill. She will get along -finely with Mother Clement and Ange to look after her.” - -“Ange?” - -“Yes, he has a leaning toward medicine and I shall make him my -assistant. He is coming over to my place now to get a soothing potion -made up. He will bring it back and direct the administration of it. He -will remain on duty here, to run over to me with the news of any -change.” - -“You know best, doctor; but give the poor father a word of your hope.” - -“Where is he?” - -“In the next room.” - -“Useless,” said a voice on the threshold, “I have heard all.” - -As though this was all he wanted, the pale-faced farmer withdrew and -offered no opposition to this ruling of the house by the medical -adviser. - -The latter was not a light of science but he was a keen observer. - -He had seen that Pitou would be the best confidant to place before his -patient’s eyes as soon as they opened to life and reason. - -He was able with the first words to reassure her upon Isidore’s health. -There was no rioting in Paris and the young noble had gone off to Italy -as a messenger. - -He was sure to write to Catherine, she said, and she authorized him to -go to the post for the letter. - -As Pitou on the farm ate and drank with his accustomed appetite Billet -did not suspect the treacherous part he was playing. - -Consoled by the progress the girl made after the receipt of the beloved -letter, Pitou was enabled to proceed with his public work. - -With the money Gilbert gave him, he equipped the Haramont National -Guards with new suits; this was for the ceremony of the Federation of -Villers Cotterets and other villages of the canton, to be held on a -following Sunday. - -At this prospect of uniforms, the Guards assembled with their two -minstrels and gave their liberal leader a serenade, interspersed with -fire-crackers and cheers, among which was to be heard a voice or two, -slightly tipsy, shouting: - -“Long live Pitou, the Hero of the People!” - -Remembering the impression the Haramont National Guard had created when -they had hats alike, you can appreciate the justice in the roar of -admiration when they appeared in uniforms, and what a dashing air the -captain must have worn, with his little cap cocked over one ear, his -gorget shining on his breast, his catspaws, as the epaules were -irreverently called, and his sword. - -Aunt Angelique could hardly identify her nephew who almost rode her down -on his white horse. - -But he saluted her with a wave of the sword and left her crushed by the -honor. - -Recalling that the tailor had boasted of the order which Pitou had paid, -she thought he had come home a millionaire. - -“I must not quarrel with him,” she mumbled: “aunts inherit from -nephews.” - -Alas! he had forgotten her by this time. Among the girls wearing -tricolored sashes and carrying green palm boughs, he recognized -Catherine. She was pale, her beauty more delicate, but Raynal had -fulfilled his word. - -She was happy, for Pitou had managed to find a hollow tree where he -deposited letters for her to take them out in a stroll, and that morning -one was there. - -Pitou came up and saluted her with his sword. He would have only touched -his hat for General Lafayette. - -“How grand you look in your uniform,” she said loudly. “I thank you, my -dear Pitou,” she added in a voice for him alone; “how good you are. I -love you!” - -She took his hand and pressed it in hers. Giddiness passed into poor -Pitou’s head; he dropped his hat from the free hand, and would have -fallen at her feet like the hat only for a great tumult with menacing -sounds being heard towards Soissons. - -Whatever the cause, he profited by it to get out of the awkward -situation. - -He disengaged his hand from Catherine’s, picked up his hat and put it on -as he ran to the head of his thirty-three men, shouting: - -“To arms!” - -It was an old enemy of his who was causing a block to the festivities. - -Father Fortier had been designated to perform the office of celebrating -the Federation Mass on the Altar of the Country, for which the holy -vessels were to be carried from the church. The mayor, Longpre, was to -superintend the transfer. Like everybody he knew the schoolmaster’s -temper and thought he would not bear him good will for the part he took -in the turning over the muskets. - -So, rather than face him, he had sent him an order in writing to be -present for the mass at ten. - -At half past nine he sent his secretary to see how things looked. The -gentleman brought bad news. The church was locked up. The church -officials were all laid up with various complaints. It had the air of a -conspiracy. - -At ten the crowd gathered and talked of beating in the church doors and -taking out the church plate. - -As a conciliator, Longpre quieted them as well as he could and went to -knock at Fortier’s housedoor. - -In the meantime he sent for the armed forces. The gendarmes officers -came up. They were attended by additions to the mob. - -As they had no catapult to force the door, they summoned the locksmith. -But when he was going to insert a picklock, the door opened and Abbé -Fortier appeared, with fiery eye and hair bristling. - -“Back,” he cried with a threatening gesture, “back, heretics, impious -relapsers! avaunt ye from the sill of the man of God!” - -The murmur receiving his outburst was not flattering to him. - -“Excuse me,” said the unctuous mayor, “but we only wanted to know -whether you would serve the mass on the altar of the country, or not?” - -“Sanction revolt, rebellion and ingratitude,” yelled the holy man in one -of the fits of passion habitual to him: “curse virtue and bless sin? you -cannot have hoped it, mayor. I will not say your sacrilegous mass!” - -“Very well; this is a free country now--you need not unless you like.” - -“Free? ha, ha, ha!” and with a most exasperating laugh he was going to -slam the door in their faces when a man burst through the throng, pushed -the door nearly open again and all but overturned Fortier though he was -a stout man. - -It was Billet. - -There was profound silence as all divined that not two mere men, but two -forces were opposing each other. - -Though Billet had displayed so much strength to open the door, he spoke -in a calm voice: - -“Pardon me, mayor, but I think I heard you say that the father might say -the mass or not, at his pleasure? this is an error and it is no longer -the time when errors are allowed to flourish. Every man who is paid to -do work is bound to do it. You are paid by the country to say mass and -you shall say it.” - -“Blasphemer, Manichean,” roared the priest. - -“You ought to set the example of obedience and here you are doing the -other thing. If you are a citizen and a Frenchman, obey the nation.” - -“Bravo, Billet!” cried the multitude. “To the altar, with the priest.” - -Encouraged by the acclamations, Billet lugged out from his hall the -first priest who had given the signal for counter-revolution. - -“I am a martyr,” groaned the priest, comprehending that resistance was -impossible in the farmer’s vigorous hands, “I call for martyrdom!” And -as he was hurried along he sang “Good Lord, deliver us!” - -This crowd conducting him was the cause of the turbulence towards which -Pitou was marching his cohort. But on seeing the reason, he and -Catherine appealed to the farmer with the same voice. - -Untouched, the latter carried the prize up to the altar where he let him -fall. - -“I proclaim you unworthy to serve at this altar which you disdained,” -said Billet: “no man should go up these steps unless his head is filled -with these feelings, the desire of liberty, devotion to the country and -love of mankind. Priest, have you these sentiments? if so, go up boldly -and invoke our Maker. But if you do not feel you are the foremost of us -all as a citizen, give place to the more worthy, and be off!” - -“Madman, you do not know what you are declaring war upon,” hissed the -priest, retiring with uplifted finger. - -“I do know, if they are like you, vipers, foxes, wolves,” returned -Billet: “all that sneak and poison and tear in the shade. Come at me, -then--I can face ye, in the open!” he concluded, smiting his broad -chest. - -During a silent moment the throng parted to let the priest skulk -through, and, closing, remained mute and admiring the vigorous man who -offered himself as target to the terrible power to which half the world -was enslaved at that era. - -There was no longer mayor, town councilmen or gendarmes, only the Hero -of the People, Billet. - -“But we have no priest now,” said Mayor Longpre. - -“We do not want him,” replied Billet who had never been in church but -twice, for his wedding and his child’s baptism. “We will read the -Declaration of the Rights of Man from the altar. That is the Creed of -Liberty and the Gospel of the Future.” - -Billet could not read but he had his manifesto by heart. When he had -finished and with a noble movement embraced the Law and the Sword by -taking the mayor’s and Pitou’s hands, the multitude appreciated the -grandeur of what they were doing in shouting: - -“Long live the Nation!” - -It was one of the scenes of which Gilbert had spoken to the Queen -without her understanding him. - -From that time forward, France became one great family, with one heart -and one language. - - - - -CHAPTER XXX. - -UNDER THE WINDOW. - - -On the surface all was calm and almost smiling on the Billet Farm. - -As before, Billet, on his strong horse, trotted all over the land -keeping his hands up to the mark. But a sharp observer would have -noticed that on whatever part he was he tried to get a look at his -daughter’s room window. - -Though his face had a little softened toward her, Catherine felt that -paternal distrust hovered over her. - -Mother Billet was vegetating as formerly; she did not know that her -husband harbored suspicion in his bosom, and her daughter anguish in -hers. - -Pitou, after his glory as captain of the uniformed National Guards, had -fallen back into his habitual state of sweet and kindly melancholy. By -the postmark on Isidore’s letters he noticed that he had returned to -Paris. - -He concluded that he would not be long before returning to his estate. -Pitou’s heart shrank at this prospect. - -Under pretence of snaring rabbits to give his friend more succulent food -than farm fare, he haunted the wood until he saw Catherine. She was -seeking him, too, for she had a word for him. - -He need not trouble about her letters as she would not be receiving any -for some days. - -He guessed that the writer was coming in person to repeat his vows. - -“Have you noticed,” he said, “how gloomy the master has become of late?” - -Catherine turned pale. - -“I tell you as a sure thing that whoever is the cause of this change in -such a hearty good fellow, will have an unpleasant time with him when he -meets him.” - -“You say, ‘him,'” said Catherine; “why may he not have quarrelled with -a woman, against whom he nurses this sullen rage?” - -“You have seen something? have you any reason to fear?” - -“I have to fear all that a girl may fear when she loves above her -station and has an irritated father.” - -“It seems to me that in your place,” Pitou ventured to give advice, “I -should--no, it nearly killed you to part with him, and to give him up -altogether would be your death. Oh, all this is very unfortunate!” - -“Hush, speak of something else--here comes father.” - -Indeed, seeing his daughter with a man, the farmer rode up at speed: but -recognizing Pitou, he asked him in to dinner with less gloom on his -face. - -“Gracious,” muttered Catherine at the door, “can he know?” - -“What?” whispered Pitou. - -“Nothing,” replied the girl, going up to her room and closing the -shutters. - -When she came down, dinner was ready, but she ate little. - -“You might tell us what brought you our way to-day,” asked the morose -farmer of Pitou. - -The latter showed some brass wire loops. - -“The rabbits over our way are getting shy of me. I am going to lay some -snares on your farm, if you do not mind. Yours are so tender from the -grain they get.” - -“I did not know you had so sweet a tooth.” - -“Oh, not for me but for Miss Catherine.” - -“Yes, she has no appetite, lately, that is a fact.” - -At this moment, Pitou felt a touch to his foot. It was Catherine -directing his attention to the window past which a man was making for -the door where he entered with the farmer’s gun on his shoulder. - -“Father Clovis,” he was hailed by the master. - -Clovis was the old soldier who had taught Pitou to drill. - -“Yes, Papa Billet, a bargain is a bargain. You paid me to pick out a -dozen bullets to suit your rifle and here they are.” - -He handed the farmer his gun and a bag of bullets. Calm as the veteran -was, he inspired terror in Catherine as he sat at table. - -“By the way I cast thirteen bullets instead of a dozen so I squandered -one on the hare you see. Your gun carries fine.” - -“Is there a prize for shooting offered anywhere?” asked Pitou simply. -“You will win it, I guess like you did that silver cup and the bowl you -are drinking of, Miss Catherine. Why, what is the matter?” - -“Nothing,” replied the girl opening her eyes which she had half closed -and leaning back in her chair. - -“All I know is,” said Billet, “that I am going to lay in wait. It is a -wolf, I think.” - -Clovis turned the bullets out on a plate. Had Pitou looked from them to -Catherine he would have seen that she nearly swooned. - -“Wolf?” repeated he. “I am astonished that before the snowfalls we -should see them here.” - -“The shepherd says one is prowling round, out Boursonne way.” - -Pitou looked from the speaker to Catherine. - -“Yes, he was spied last year, I was told; but he went off, and it was -thought forever; but he has turned up again. I mean to turn him down!” - -This was all the girl could endure; she uttered a cry and staggered out -of the door. Pitou followed her to offer his arm and found her in the -kitchen. - -“What ails you?” - -“Can you not guess? he knows that Isidore has arrived at Boursonne this -morning, and he is going to shoot him.” - -“I will put him on his guard----“ - -The voice of Billet interrupted the pair. - -“If you are going to lay snares, Master Pitou, it seems to me it is time -you were jogging. Father Clovis is going your way.” - -“I am off,” and he went out by the kitchen door, while Catherine went up -to her room, where she bolted the door. - -The forest was Pitou’s kingdom and when he had left Clovis to go home, -he felt easy about what he had undertaken to do. - -He thought of running to Boursonne and warning Viscount Isidore; but he -might not be believed and the warning might not be heeded. - -He considered he had better wait. - -He had not a doubt that at the windows of Billet’s room and of his -daughter’s, they two were on the alert. All the tragedy or its failure -depended on him. If he let the viscount pass within rifle range, he -would let him march to his death. - -In fact, Billet, sure that the nobleman would not marry a farmer’s -daughter, had resolved to wipe out the insult done him in blood. - -Suddenly Pitou, lying on the ground in a clump of willow, heard the -gallop of a horse. - -Billet must have heard it also for he came out of the house; and Ange -had not a doubt that the willow copse which he had chosen to spy -Catherine’s window had for the same reason recommended itself to the -farmer. - -As the latter advanced, he slipped back and slid down into the ditch. - -The horse crossed the road at sixty paces, and as a shadow was soon -detached from it, the rider must have leaped off, and turned the steed -loose. It went on without stopping. - -There was ten minutes of dreadful silence. - -The night was so black that Pitou, reckoning his eyes better than -Billet’s, hoped that he alone saw the shadow stealing towards the house. - -But at the same moment, as the shadow went up under Catherine’s window, -Pitou heard the click of a hammer going on full cock on the gun. - -The shadow did not notice but rapped three times on the shutter. - -Pitou quivered--Catherine would surely blame him for not having passed -the warning as he had promised. - -But what could he do? - -Pitou heard the hammer fall and saw the priming flash; the powder in the -touchhole did not catch and the living target received no bullet. - -At the same moment Catherine opened her window. She saw all and cried: -“Up, it is my father!” she almost dragged Charny in at the casement. - -The farmer had his second barrel to fire and he thought: - -“He must come out and this time I will not miss him.” - -Presently the dogs began barking. - -“Oh, the jade,” he growled, “she has let him out at the back, through -the orchard.” - -He ran round the house to overtake the escaping prey. - -“There is hope,” thought Pitou: “aim cannot be taken in the night as in -the day and the hand is not so steady in firing on a man as at a wolf in -the den.” - -Indeed, Billet had fired on a man whom he saw scaling the orchard wall -but he had got away on a horse which came up at his whistle. While -Billet was following the pair in vague hope that he had hurt the rider -so that he must fall out of the saddle, Ange reached the orchard where -he saw Catherine leaning up against a tree with her hand on her heart. - -“Let me take you into the house,” he said. - -“No, I will not live under the roof of the man who shot at my -sweetheart.” - -“But then----“ - -“Do you refuse to accompany me?” - -“No, but----“ - -“Come.” - -No one saw them leave the farm and both disappeared in the valley. - -God only knew the refuge of Catherine Billet! - -All night a dreadful storm raged in the heart of the injured father. -Something vital seemed to snap in the mighty frame of the man when he -returned emptyhanded to see that his daughter had taken to flight. - -When he came home at nine as usual to breakfast, his wife said. “Where -is our Catherine?” - -“Catherine?” he said with an effort. “The air is bad on the farm and I -sent her over to her aunt’s in Sologne.” - -“Good, she wanted a change. Will she make a long stay?” - -“Till she gets better.” - -Drying her tears the good woman went to sit in the chimney corner while -her husband rode off into the fields. - -Dr. Raynal had passed a restless night also. He was roused by Viscount -Charny’s lackey pulling at his nightbell and, riding over to Boursonne, -found that he had a couple of bullets in his side. Neither wound was -dangerous, though one was serious. In three calls he set him up again; -but he had to wear a bandage for a time, which did not prevent him -riding out. Nobody had an idea of his accident. - -It was time for him to be healed--time to return to Paris! - -Mirabeau had promised the Queen to save her, and she wrote to her -brother on the Austrian throne: - -“I follow your counsel. I am making use of Mirabeau but there is nothing -of weight in my relations with him.” - -On the following day, he saw groups on the way to the Assembly and went -up to learn the nature of the outcries. - -Little newsheets were passing from hand to hand and newsdealers were -calling out: - -“Buy the Great Treason of Mirabeau!” - -“It seems this concerns me,” he said, taking a piece of money out. “My -friend,” he said to one of the venders who had a donkey carrying -panniers full of the sheets, “how much is this Great Treason of -Mirabeau?” - -“Nothing to you, my lord,” replied the man, looking him in the eye, “and -it is struck off in an edition of one hundred thousand.” - -The orator went away thoughtful. A lampoon in such an edition and given -away by a newsman who knew him! - -Still the sheet might be one of those catchpennys which abounded at that -epoch, stupid or spiteful. No, it was the list of his debts, accurate, -and the note that their 200,000 francs had been paid by the Queen’s -almoner on a certain date; also the statement that the court paid him -six thousand francs per month. Lastly the account of his reception by -the Queen. - -What mysterious enemy pursued him, or rather pursued the monarchy like a -hellhound? - -This is what we shall learn, with many another secret which none but -Cagliostro the superhuman might divine, in the sequel to this volume -entitled “THE ROYAL LIFEGUARD.” - - -THE END - - * * * * * - -_A BOOK FOR EVERY FAMILY._ - -How to Live Well On 25 Cents a Day. - -By MRS. GESINE LEMCKE, One of the Most Noted Cooks and Housekeepers of -the Day. - -It contains a complete bill of fare for every day for six weeks, also -valuable hints and helps for housekeepers. - -_The Philadelphia Call_ says of it: - -“Utopia discovered! Everybody happy and want absolutely abolished. Hats -off to Mrs. Lemcke! 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Any woman who -cannot catch a husband by the rules laid down in this book does not -deserve one, and it costs only 25 cents for all this valuable advice and -information. - - -This book will be sent by mail, postpaid, to any address on receipt of -25 cents. Address - -_J. S. OGILVIE PUBLISHING COMPANY_, -_Lock Box 2767._ _57 Rose St., New York._ - - -CATALOGUE of USEFUL and POPULAR BOOKS. - - -Any of the Books on this List will be mailed postpaid to any address on -receipt of price by J. S. Ogilvie Publishing Company, 57 Rose Street, -New York. - -_Write your name and address very plainly so as to avoid mistakes._ - - -=ALBUM WRITER’S FRIEND (THE).=--Compiled by J. S. Ogilvie, 16mo, 128 -pages. Paper cover, 15 cents; cloth 30 cents. - -This is a new and choice selection of gems of Prose and Poetry, -comprising over seven hundred selections, suitable for writing in -Autograph Albums, Valentines, and for Birthday and Wedding celebrations. -It also contains a new and choice collection of verses suitable for -Christmas and New-Year Cards. It contains 128 pages, with paper cover, -price 15 cents: bound in cloth, 30 cents. - - -=AMATEUR’S GUIDE TO MAGIC AND MYSTERY.=--An entirely new work, containing -full and ample instructions on the mysteries of magic, sleight-of-hand -tricks, card tricks, etc. The best work on conjuring for amateurs -published. Illustrated. 15 cents. - - -=ART OF VENTRILOQUISM.=--Contains simple and full directions by which any -one may acquire the amusing art, with numerous examples for practice. -Also instructions for making the magic whistle, for imitating birds, -animals, and peculiar sounds of various kinds. Any boy who wishes to -obtain an art by which he can develop a Wonderful amount of -astonishment, mystery, and fun, should learn Ventriloquism, as he easily -can follow the simple secret given in this book. Mailed for 15 cents. - - -=BAD BOY’S DIARY (A).=--This is one of the most successful humorous books -of the present day, filled with fun and good humor, and “will drive the -blues out of a bag of indigo.” It is printed from new, large type, and -on fine, heavy white paper of a superior finish, and contains 280 pages. -New, full-page illustrations from unique designs have been prepared -expressly for this edition. Handsome paper cover, 25 cents. - - -=BATTLE FOR BREAD (THE).=--This book contains a series of Sermons by Rev. -T. DeWitt Talmage, the greatest of living preachers. Every workingman -and those who employ them should read this book, and thus be informed of -the real solution of the question of the relations of Labor and Capital, -12mo, 135 pages. Paper cover, 25 cents; cloth, 75 cents. - - -=BLACK ART EXPOSED (THE).=--This book contains some of the most marvelous -things in ancient and modern magic, jugglery, etc., ever printed, and -has to be seen to be fully appreciated. Suffice it to say that any boy -knowing the secrets it contains will be able to do things that will -astonish all. 15 cts. - - -=BLUNDERS OF A BASHFUL MAN (THE).=--By the popular author of “A Bad Boy’s -Diary.” This is one of the most humorous books ever issued, and has been -pronounced _better_ than “A Bad Boy’s Diary.” 12mo, 160 pages. -Handsomely illustrated from original designs, including also the -portrait and autograph of “The Bashful Man.” Price, paper cover, 25 -cents. - - -=BOILER-MAKER’S ASSISTANT (THE),= and the Theoretical and Practical -Boiler-Maker and Engineer’s Reference Book. By Samuel Nicholls, Foreman -Boiler-Maker. 1 vol. 12mo, extra cloth, $2.50. - - -=COMPLETE FORTUNE TELLER AND DREAM BOOK.=--This book contains a complete -Dictionary of Dreams, alphabetically, with a clear interpretation of -each dream, and the lucky numbers that belong to it. It includes -Palmistry, or telling fortunes by the lines of the hand; fortune telling -by the grounds in a tea or coffee cup; how to read your future life by -the white of an egg; tells how to know who your future husband will be, -and how soon you will be married; fortune-telling by cards; Hymen’s -lottery; good and had omens, etc. 25 cents. - - -=CONCERT EXERCISES FOR SUNDAY SCHOOLS.=--5 cents each; 30 cents per dozen; -per hundred, by mail, postpaid, $2.00. No. 1, THE CHRISTIAN’S JOURNEY. -No. 2, THE STORY OF REDEEMING LOVE. (For Christmas.) No. 3, CHRIST IS -RISEN. (Appropriate for Easter.) No. 4, WELCOME GREETING. (Appropriate -for Children’s Day.) No. 5, GOOD TIDINGS. (Appropriate for anniversaries -and celebrations.) - - -=LEISURE-HOUR WORK FOR LADIES.=--Containing instructions for flower and -shell work; Antique, Grecian and Theorem painting; Botanical specimens; -Cone work; Anglo Japanese work; Decalcomanie; Diaphame; Leather work; -Modeling in clay; Transferring; Crayon drawing; Photograph coloring, -etc., etc. A very complete book, and one that no young lady having spare -time can afford to be without. 15 cents. - - -=LOVER’S GUIDE (THE).=--A book no lover should be without. It gives -handkerchief, parasol, glove, and fan flirtations; also window and -dining-room signaling; the language of flowers; how to kiss deliciously; -love-letters, and how to write them, with specimens; bashfulness and -timidity, and how to overcome them, etc., etc. 15 cents. - - -=COURTSHIP AND MARRIAGE;= or, The Mysteries of Making Love Fully -Explained.--This is an entirely new work on a most interesting subject. -CONTENTS: First steps in courtship; Advice to both parties at the -outset; Introduction to the lady’s family; Restrictions imposed by -etiquette; What the lady should observe in early courtship; What the -suitor should observe; Etiquette as to presents; The proposal; Mode of -refusal when not approved; Conduct to be observed by a rejected suitor; -Refusal by the lady’s parents or guardians; Etiquette of an engagement; -Demeanor of the betrothed pair; Should a courtship be long or short; -Preliminary etiquette of a wedding; Fixing the day; How to be married; -The trousseau; Duties to be attended to by the bridegroom; Who should be -asked to the wedding; Duties of the bridesmaids and groomsmen; Etiquette -of a wedding; Costume of bride, bridesmaids, and bridegroom; Arrival at -the church; The marriage ceremonial; Registry of the marriage; Return -home, and wedding breakfast; Departure for the honeymoon; Wedding cards; -Modern practice of “No cards;” Reception and return of wedding visits; -Practical advice to a newly married couple. Price, 25 cents. - - -=“DON’T MARRY”=--At least until you have read our new book entitled “Don’t -Marry.” Some marry too soon, others wait too long. This book will tell -you how, when, and whom to marry; besides giving you valuable hints and -helps not found in any other book. It contains 112 pages, paper cover, -and is worth $10 to any one. Price, 25 cents. - - -=DIARY OF A MINISTER’S WIFE.=--By Almedia M. Brown. Complete edition, -12mo, 544 pages. Handsomely bound in cloth, with fine full-page -illustrations, including portraits of Mrs. Minnie Hardscrabble, the -minister’s wife, from the facts and incidents in whose life the story -was written; also Rev. John Hardscrabble, with three other -characteristic engravings, which will amuse and interest every reader. -Price, $1.50. - -This popular book is also issued complete in two volumes in paper -covers. Price, per volume, 25 cents. - - -=DIARY OF A VILLAGE GOSSIP.=--By Almedia M. Brown, author of “Diary of a -Minister’s Wife,” etc., etc. 12mo, 293 pages. Paper cover, 25 cents; -handsomely bound in cloth, $1.00. - - -=MAGIC DIAL (THE).=--By the use of which secret correspondence may be -carried on without fear of detection. No one (even if provided with one -of these dials) can decipher it. It is entirely new, and nothing like it -has ever appeared. It is simple and reliable and can be used by any -person. It will be mailed for 25 cents. - - -=EDUCATING THE HORSE.=--A new and improved system of Educating the Horse. -Also a Treatise on Shoeing, with new and valuable Receipts for Diseases -of Horses. CONTENTS: The great secret of Horse-Taming; How to throw a -horse; the wild colts to halter; break a colt; hitching colt in stall; -how to handle a colt’s feet; breaking and driving colts to harness; -objects of fear; to train a horse to stand when getting into a carriage; -balking horses; pulling at halter; to break horses from jumping; pawing -in stall and kicking in harness; the runaway horse; shoeing; corns; to -teach a horse to appear intelligent; to teach a horse how to dance, -waltz, kiss you, shake hands, etc., etc.; cure of sore breasts, big -head, big leg, fullness of blood, catarrh, loose bowels, corns, cough, -inflammation of eye, brittle feet, sand crack in foot, founder (a sure -cure), galled back, grease, inflammation of kidneys, worms, itch, nasal, -gleet, over-reaching, staggers, botts, etc., etc.; concluding with rules -and regulations for the government of trotting and racing. =>No man who -owns a horse can afford to do without this book. It is very thorough, -complete and reliable, and well worth a dozen times the price asked for -it. It contains matter not to be found in any other horse book. Price, -15 cents. - - -=GRAND WONDER COLLECTION.=--A wonderful offer. $3.00 worth of goods for -only 50 cents! Everything is now very cheap, and people get a good deal -more for their money than they used to, but we have no hesitation in -saying that never before was so much offered for the money as is offered -in this GRAND WONDER COLLECTION. It could not be done, only that we -expect to sell thousands of them and are fully satisfied that each one -sold will sell a dozen more. - -The contents of the GRAND WONDER COLLECTION--comprising seven complete -books in one--1. Old Secrets and New Discoveries. 2. Secrets for -Farmers. 3. Laughing Gas. 4. The Swindlers of America. 5. Preserving and -Manufacturing Secrets. 6. The Housewife’s Treasure. 7. Fourteen Popular -Songs, Words and Music. - -=>Any person ordering this collection and not fully satisfied, the money -will be cheerfully refunded. Price, 50 cents. - - -=MAGIC TRICK CARDS.=--The Magician’s Own Cards, for performing wonderful -tricks. Every boy a magician! Every man a conjurer! Every girl a witch! -Every one astonished! They are the most superior trick cards ever -offered for sale, and with them you can perform some of the most -remarkable illusions ever discovered. - -Complete illustrated directions accompany each pack. They will be -mailed, postpaid, sealed as a letter, for 15 cents a pack. - - -=HEALTH HINTS.=--A new book showing how to Acquire and Retain Bodily -Symmetry, Health, Vigor, and Beauty. Its contents are as follows: Laws -of Beauty--Air, Sunshine, Water, and Food--Work and Rest--Dress and -Ornament--The Hair and its Management--Skin and Complexion--The -Mouth--The Eyes, Ears, and Nose--The Neck, Hands and Feet--Growth and -Marks that are Enemies of Beauty--Cosmetics and Perfumery. - -=Fat People.=--It gives ample rules how Corpulency may be cured--the Fat -made Lean, Comely and Active. - -=Lean People.=--It also gives directions, the following of which will -enable Lean, Angular, Bony or Sharp Visaged People, to be Plump and Rosy -Skinned. - -=Gray Hair.=--It tells how Gray Hair may be Restored to its natural color -without the aid of Dyes, Restorers or Pomades. - -=Baldness.=--It gives ample directions for Restoring Hair on Bald Heads, -as well as how to stop Falling of the Hair, how to Curl the Hair, etc. - -=Beard and Mustache.=--It tells what Young Men should do to acquire a -Fine, Silky and Handsome Beard and Mustache. - -=Freckles and Pimples.=--It gives full directions for the Cure of Sunburn, -Freckles, Pimples, Wrinkles, Warts, etc., so that they can be entirely -removed. - -=Cosmetics.=--This chapter, among other things, gives an Analysis of -Perry’s Moth and Freckle Lotion, Balm of White Lilies, Hagan’s Magnolia -Balm, Laird’s Bloom of Youth, Phalon’s Enamel, Clark’s Restorative for -the Hair, Chevalier’s Life for the Hair, Ayer’s Hair Vigor, Professor -Wood’s Hair Restorative, Hair Restorer America, Gray’s Hair Restorative, -Phalon’s Vitalia, Ring’s Vegetable Ambrosia, Mrs. Allen’s World’s Hair -Restorer, Hall’s Vegetable Sicilian Hair Renewer, Martha Washington Hair -Restorative, etc., etc. (no room for more), showing how the lead, etc., -in these mixtures causes disease and oftentimes premature death. Price, -25 cents. - - -=LOVE AND COURTSHIP CARDS.=--Sparking, courting, and lovemaking all made -easy by the use of these cards. They are arranged with such apt -conversation that you will be able to ask the momentous question in such -a delicate manner that the girl will not suspect what you are at. They -may be used by two persons only, or they will make lots of fun for an -evening party of young people. There are sixty cards in all, and each -answer will respond differently to every one of the questions. Price, 30 -cents. - - -=MISS SLIMMENS’ BOARDING-HOUSE.=--By the author of “A Bad Boy’s Diary.” -16mo, 188 pages, with nine illustrations. Complete edition. Paper cover, -25 cents. - - -=HOUSEWIFE’S TREASURE (THE).=--A manual of information of everything that -relates to household economies. It gives the method of making Jackson’s -Universal Washing Compound, which can clean the dirtiest cotton, linen -or woolen clothes in twenty minutes without rubbing or harming the -material. This recipe is being constantly peddled through the country at -$5.00 each, and is certainly worth it. It also tells all about -soap-making at home, so as to make it cost about one-quarter of what bar -soap costs; it tells how to make candles by molding or dipping; it gives -seven methods for destroying rats and mice; how to make healthy bread -without flour (something entirely new); to preserve clothes and furs -from moths; a sure plan for destroying houseflies, cockroaches, beetles, -ants, bedbugs and fleas; all about house cleaning, papering, etc., and -hundreds of other valuable hints just such as housekeepers are wanting -to know. 25 cents. - - -=HOW TO ENTERTAIN A SOCIAL PARTY.=--A complete selection of Home -Recreations. Profusely illustrated with fine wood-cuts, containing: -Round Games and Forfeit Games; Parlor Magic and Curious Puzzles; Comic -Diversions and Parlor Tricks; Scientific Recreations and Evening -Amusements; The Blue Beard tableaux; Tableaux-vivant for acting; The -play-room; Blind-man’s buff; One old ox opening oysters; How do you like -it? when do you like it? and where do you like it? Cross questions and -crooked answers; Cupid’s coming; Proverbs; Earth, air and water; Yes and -no; Copenhagen; Hunt the hare, and a thousand other games. - -Here is family amusement for the million. Here is parlor or drawing-room -entertainment, night after night, for a whole winter. A young man with -this volume may render himself the _beau ideal_ of a delightful -companion to every party. Price, 25 cents. - - -=HOW TO WOO AND HOW TO WIN.-=-This interesting work contains full and -interesting rules for the etiquette of courtship, with directions -showing how to win the favor of the ladies; how to begin and end a -courtship; and how love-letters should be written. It not only tells how -to win the favor of the ladies, but how to address a lady; Conduct a -courtship; “Pop the Question;” Write love-letters; All about the -marriage ceremony; Bridal chamber; After marriage, etc. Price, 15 cents. - - -=ODELL’S SYSTEM OF SHORTHAND.=--By which the taking down of sermons, -lectures, trials, speeches, etc., may be easily acquired, without the -aid of a master. By this plan the difficulties of mastering this useful -art are very much lessened, and the time required to attain proficiency -reduced to the least possible limits. Price, 15 cents. - - -=HOW TO TALK AND DEBATE.=--CONTENTS: Introduction; Laws of Conversation; -Listening; Self-possession; Appreciativeness; Conversation, when -confidential; The matter and the manner; Proper subjects; Trifles; -Objectionable subjects; Politics; Rights of women; Wit and humor; -Questions and negatives; Our own hobbies; The voice, how to improve; -Speaking one’s mind; Public speaking; How to make a speech; Opening a -debate; Division of the subject; The affirmative; The reply, etc., etc. -A really valuable book, and one that every man and woman, boy and girl -should possess. 15 cents. - - -=LIFE IN THE BACKWOODS.=--A Guide to the successful without the wool or -hair; to skin and stuff birds; baits and hooks for fishing; how to fish -successfully without nets, lines, spears, snares, “bobs,” or bait (a -great secret), how to choose and clean guns; how to breed minks for -their skins (hundreds of dollars can be made by any boy or young man who -knows how to breed minks), etc. - -This book is by an old trapper, for many years engaged in trapping in -the Northwest, who has finally consented to publish and disclose these -secrets. Persons living where wild animals exist, with some traps and -the information contained in this book, can make money faster through -the trapping season by giving their time and energies to the business -than they can by seeking their fortunes in the gold regions or in oil -speculations. This is at once the most complete and practical book now -in the market. Price, 15 cents. - - -=MODEL LETTER-WRITER (THE).=--A comprehensive and complete guide -and assistant for those who desire to carry on epistolary -correspondence--containing instructions for writing letters of -introduction; Letters of business; Letters of recommendation; -Applications for employment; Letters of congratulation; Letters of -condolence; Letters of friendship and relationship; Love-letters; Notes -of invitation; Letters of favor, of advice, and of excuse, etc., etc., -together with appropriate answers to each. This is an invaluable book -for those persons who have not had sufficient practice to enable them to -write letters without great effort. 15 cents. - - -=NAPOLEON’S COMPLETE BOOK= of Fate and Complete Fortune Teller.--This is -the celebrated Oracle of Human Destiny consulted by Napoleon the First -previous to any of his undertakings, and by which he was so successful -in war, business, and love. It is the only authentic and complete copy -extant, being translated into English from a German translation of an -ancient Egyptian manuscript found in the year 1801 by M. Sonini, in one -of the royal tombs near Mount Libycus, in Upper Egypt. This Oraculum is -so arranged that any question on business, love, wealth, losses, hidden -treasures, no matter what its nature, the Oraculum has an answer for it. -It also shows how to learn of one’s fate by consulting the planets. -Price 15 cents. - - -=OGILVIE’S HOUSE PLANS; OR HOW TO BUILD A HOUSE.=--A neat new book, -containing over thirty finely executed engravings of dwellings of all -sizes, from two rooms up; also churches, barns, and out-houses in great -variety. - -This handy, compact, and very useful volume contains, in addition to the -foregoing, plans for each floor in each and every dwelling of which an -engraving is given. It has, also, valuable information relative to -building, such as number of shingles required in a roof, quantity of -plaster for a house, quantity of materials required for building a -house, etc., etc., and much other information of permanent and practical -value. - -Any one of the plans is alone worth very much more than the price asked -for the book. It is invaluable to every architect, builder, mason, or -carpenter, and particularly do we urge all who anticipate erecting a new -or remodeling an old dwelling to send for a copy, as its fortunate -possessor may save hundred of dollars by following the suggestions it -contains. 25 cents. - - -=HOW TO BEHAVE.=--Hand-book of Etiquette and Guide to True Politeness. -CONTENTS: Etiquette and its uses; Introductions; Cutting acquaintances; -Letters of introduction; Street etiquette; Domestic etiquette and -duties; Visiting; Receiving company; Evening parties; The lady’s toilet; -The gentleman’s toilet; Invitations; Etiquette of the ball-room; General -rules of conversation; Bashfulness and how to overcome it; Dinner -parties; Table etiquette; Carving; Servants; Traveling; Visiting cards; -Letter writing; Conclusion. This is the best book of the kind yet -published, and every person wishing to be considered well-bred, who -wishes to understand the customs of good society, and to avoid incorrect -and vulgar habits, should send for a copy. 15 cents. - - -=MISS SLIMMENS’ WINDOW.=--Complete edition in one volume now ready. 16mo, -150 pages. Bound in heavy paper covers, with 13 illustrations. 25 -cents. - - -=OGILVIE’S HANDY MONITOR AND UNIVERSAL ASSISTANT,= containing Statistical -Tables of Practical Value for Mechanics, Merchants, Editors, Lawyers, -Printers, Doctors, Farmers, Lumbermen, Bankers, Bookkeepers, Politicians -and all classes of workers in every department of human effort, and -containing a compilation of facts for reference on various subjects, -being an epitome of matters Historical, Statistical, Biographical, -Political, Geographical and general interest. 192 pages bound in paper, -25 cents. - -No more valuable book has ever been offered containing so much -information of practical value in everyday life. - - -=OLD SECRETS AND NEW DISCOVERIES.=--Containing Information of Rare Value -for all Classes, in all Conditions of Society. - -=It Tells= all about _Electrical Psychology_, showing how you can -biologize any person, and, while under the influence, he will do -anything you may wish him, no matter how ridiculous it may be, and he -cannot help doing it. - -=It Tells= how to _Mesmerize_. Knowing this, you can place any person in a -mesmeric sleep, and then be able to do with him as you will. This secret -has been sold over and over again for $10. - -=It Tells= how to make persons at a distance think of you--something all -lovers should know. - -=It Tells= how you can charm those you meet and make them love you, -whether they will or not. - -=It Tells= how Spiritualists and others can make writing appear on the arm -in blood characters, as performed by Foster and all noted magicians. - -=It Tells= how to make a cheap Galvanic Battery; how to plate and gild -without a battery; how to make a candle burn all night; how to make a -clock for 25 cents; how to detect counterfeit money; how to banish and -prevent mosquitoes from biting; how to make yellow butter in winter; -Circassian curling fluid; Sympathetic or Secret Writing Ink; Cologne -Water; Artificial honey; Stammering; how to make large noses small; to -cure drunkenness; to copy letters without a press; to obtain fresh-blown -flowers in winter; to make good burning candles from lard. - -=It Tells= how to make a horse appear as though he was badly foundered; to -make a horse temporarily lame; how to make him stand by his food and not -eat it; how to cure a horse from the crib or sucking wind; how to put a -young countenance on the horse; how to cover up the heaves; how to make -him appear as if he had the glanders; how to make a true-pulling horse -balk; how to nerve a horse that is lame, etc., etc.--These horse secrets -are being continually sold at one dollar each. - -=It Tells= how to make the Eggs of Pharo’s Serpents, which when lighted, -though but the size of a pea, there issues from it a coiling, hissing -serpent, wonderful in length and similarity to a genuine serpent. - -=It Tells= how to make gold and silver from block tin (the least said -about which the better). Also how to take impressions from coins. Also -how to imitate gold and silver. - -=It Tells= of a simple and ingenious method of copying any kind of drawing -or picture. Also, more wonderful still, how to print pictures from the -print itself. - -=It Tells= how to perform the Davenport Brothers “Spirit Mysteries.” So -that any person can astonish an audience, as they have done. Also scores -of other wonderful things which there is no room to mention. - -=Old Secrets and New Discoveries= is worth $5 to any person; but it will -be mailed to any address on receipt of only 25 cents. - - -=OUT IN THE STREETS.=--By S. N. Cook. Price, 15 cents. - -We take pleasure in offering the strictly moral and very amusing -temperance drama entitled, “Out in the Streets,” to all entertainment -committees as one that will give entire satisfaction. The parts are -taken by six male and six female characters. - - -=PHUNNY PHELLOW’S GRAB BAG;= or, Jolly Tid-Bits for Mirthful -Mortals.--Josh Billings, Danbury News Man and Bret Harte rolled into -one. It is not too much to say that the book contains the choicest humor -in the English language. Its size is mammoth, containing more than one -thousand of the raciest jests, comical hits, exhilarating stories, -flowers of wit, excruciating jokes, uproarious poems, laughable -sketches, darky comicalities, clowns’ efforts, button-bursting -conundrums, endmen’s jokes, plantation humors, funny caricatures, -hifalutin dialogues, curious scenes, cute sayings, ludicrous drolleries, -peculiar repartees, and nearly 500 illustrations. 25 cents. - - -=SCIENCE OF A NEW LIFE (THE).=--By John Cowan, M.D. A handsome 8vo, -containing over 400 pages, with more than 100 illustrations, and sold at -the following prices: English cloth, beveled boards, gilt side and back, -$3.00; leather, sprinkled edges, $3.50; half turkey morocco, marbled -edges, gilt back, $4.00. - - -=SOME FUNNY THINGS= said by Clever Children. Who is not interested in -children? We are satisfied that this book will give genuine satisfaction -to all who are interested in listening to the happy voices of children. -This will show that humor is not confined to adult minds by any means. -64 pages, 10 cents. - - - - -THE EVERY-DAY EDUCATOR - -OR, - -How To Do Business. - -Prepared for Ambitious Americans by -Prof. SEYMOUR EATON. - -The Brightest and Best Help Manual ever issued in this Country. - -Each of the numerous departments forms a unique feature. Here are the -titles of a few: - -[Illustration: HOW TO APPLY] - -[Illustration: _For a Situation_] - - BOOK-KEEPING, BANKING, CORRESPONDENCE, - ARITHMETIC, FRENCH, GERMAN, - LESSONS IN ELECTRICITY, ASTRONOMY, - PENMANSHIP, PHYSICAL CULTURE, - HOW TO WRITE FOR THE PRESS, - FIGURE SHORTHAND, LESSONS IN DRAWING, - TELEGRAPHY, FACTS and FIGURES, - THESE BODIES OF OURS, GAMES AND PUZZLES, - CHARACTER IN HANDS, - GOOD OPENINGS IN NEW TRADES, U. S. HISTORY, - PUBLIC SPEAKING, HOW TO GET A START, - LITERATURE, AUTHORS and BOOKS. - -[Illustration: RULES OF ORDER FOR BUSINESS MEETINGS] - -But why go further? Get the book and we guarantee you will say it is -away ahead of anything you have seen before. - -=The Every-Day Educator= contains 240 pages. Handsomely printed on fine -paper. Fully illustrated. Substantially bound in cloth, and in every -respect a perfect specimen of advanced book-making, price, 75 cents; -bound in paper cover, 25 cents. Sent by mail, postpaid, to any address -on receipt of price. Agents wanted. Address all orders and applications -for an agency to - -_J. S. OGILVIE PUBLISHING COMPANY_, -_Lock Box 2767._ _57 Rose Street, New York._ - - -AYER’S - -Hair Vigor - -cures scalp humors, prevents dandruff, restores color and vitality to -faded and gray hair, stimulates growth, makes the hair soft, glossy, and -beautiful. As a tonic and dressing for the hair and scalp it has no -equal, being used by both ladies and gentlemen - -FOR THE TOILET - -[Illustration] - -“I have used Ayer’s Hair Vigor for years. It prevents the hair from -falling out, thickens the growth of the hair and gives it a fine, rich, -glossy appearance, such as no other dressing will impart. It is an -elegant toilet article, and I can cordially recommend it.”--Miss DYDA -YATES, Utica, Mississippi. - -NO MORE -GRAY HAIR - -AYER’S PILLS cure Stomach Troubles. - - * * * * * - - -Typographical errors corrected by the etext transcriber: - -costly fireram come into the hands=> costly firearm come into the hands -{pg 4} - -I did make a mistep at=> I did make a mis step at {pg 8} - -his eyebrows were so baldy shape=> his eyebrows were so badly shape {pg -13} - -gifted with this elasticty=> gifted with this elasticity {pg 13} - -That is why weh aveoc me to=> That is why we have [illegible]oc me to -{pg 57} - -what has happend me=> what has happened me {pg 129} - -story of Oledipus=> story of Œdipus {pg 170} - -gold earings and chain=> gold earrings and chain {pg 14} - -the royal couch tramped men and women=> the royal coach tramped men and -women {pg 18} - -had complaisant treasures=> had complaisant treasurers {pg 20} - -Queen and their son is in the midst=> Queen and their son are in the -midst {pg 21} - -I always come with pelasure and confidence=> I always come with pleasure -and confidence {pg 34} - -probably intented to=> probably intended to {pg 49} - -But Piton did not participate=> But Pitou did not participate {pg 64} - -with the competeitors=> with the competitors {pg 67} - -started through the words=> started through the woods {pg 72} - -has anything bad happened him=> has anything bad happened to him {pg 72} - -Her recoiled on the lounge=> She recoiled on the lounge {pg 83} - -he demaded=> he demanded {pg 83} - -Rosseau was dead=> Rousseau was dead {pg 95} - -He laid peculiar streets on this name=> He laid peculiar stress on this -name {pg 100} - -villian=> villain {pg 103} - -so distinguised a man=> so distinguished a man {pg 104} - -wanting fine thousand=> wanting five thousand {pg 104} - -I have no pretention=> I have no pretension {pg 116} - -your are a friend=> you are a friend {pg 118} - -Ravaillac’s or Damiens'=> Ravaillac’s or Damien’s {pg 119} - -Provence’s owns Guards=> Provence’s own Guards {pg 119} - -Govenror of Metz=> Governor of Metz {pg 120} - -neasure of greatness=> measure of greatness {pg 130} - -meetings in the craypt=> meetings in the crypt {pg 141} - -The Jacobin is a young minotaurs=> The Jacobin is a young minotaur {pg -143} - -you are funeral, count=> you are funereal, count {pg 143} - -or we shall Surgeon=> or we shall have Surgeon {pg 150} - -I could notifiy him=> I could notify him {pg 151} - -he was wearing on old uniform=> he was wearing an old uniform {pg 153} - -nails properly trimed=> nails properly trimmed {pg 153} - -A kind gentelman=> A kind gentleman {pg 158} - -While Nocole would educate the boy=> While Nicole would educate the boy -{pg 161} - -Do you not rocognize me=> Do you not recognize me {pg 167} - -what anology between=> what analogy between {pg 170} - -amoniacal dose=> ammoniacal dose {pg 189} - -this very mornng=> this very morning {pg 194} - -three corpes furnished=> three corpses furnished {pg 194} - -that this indicent broke=> that this incident broke {pg 195} - -loking steadily at her=> looking steadily at her {pg 196} - -instead of kepping it down=> instead of keeping it down {pg 197} - -yet in embyro=> yet in embryo {pg 199} - -road her down=> rode her down {pg 203} - -the vetran was=> the veteran was {pg 208} - -while her husaband rode off=> while her husband rode off {pg 211} - - - - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's The Hero of the People, by Alexandre Dumas - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HERO OF THE PEOPLE *** - -***** This file should be named 42681-0.txt or 42681-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/2/6/8/42681/ - -Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Chuck Greif and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: The Hero of the People - A Historical Romance of Love, Liberty and Loyalty - -Author: Alexandre Dumas - -Translator: Henry Llewellyn Williams - -Release Date: May 10, 2013 [EBook #42681] -[Last updated: October 4, 2014] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HERO OF THE PEOPLE *** - - - - -Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Chuck Greif and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - -Many spelling and punctuation errors have been corrected. A list of the -etext transcriber's spelling corrections follows the text. Consistent -archaic spellings have not been changed. (Note of etext transcriber.) - - - - -PRICE, 25 CENTS. No. 80. - -THE SUNSET SERIES. -By Subscription, per Year, Nine Dollars. February 22, 1894. -Entered at the New York Post-Office as second-class matter. - -Copyright 1891, by J. S. OGILVIE. - -The Hero Of -The People. - -BY -Alex. Dumas. - -NEW YORK: -J. S. OGILVIE PUBLISHING COMPANY, -57 ROSE STREET. - -A WONDERFUL OFFER! - -70 House Plans for $1.00. - -[Illustration] - -If you are thinking about building a house don't fail to get the new -book - -PALLISER'S - -AMERICAN - -ARCHITECTURE, - -containing 104 pages, 1114 inches in size, consisting of large 912 -plate pages giving plans, elevations, perspective views, descriptions, -owners' names, actual cost of construction (=_no guess work_=), and -instructions =_How to Build_= 70 Cottages, Villas, Double Houses, Brick -Block Houses, suitable for city suburbs, town and country, houses for -the farm, and workingmen's homes for all sections of the country, and -costing from $300 to $6,500, together with specifications, form of -contract, and a large amount of information on the erection of buildings -and employment of architects, prepared by Palliser, Palliser & Co., the -well-known architects. - -This book will save you hundreds of dollars. - -There is not a Builder, nor anyone intending to build or otherwise -interested, that can afford to be without it. It is a practical work, -and the best, cheapest and most popular book ever issued on Building. -Nearly four hundred drawings. - -It is worth $5.00 to anyone, but we will send it bound in paper cover, -by mail, post-paid for only $1.00; bound in handsome cloth, $2.00. -Address all orders to - -_J. S. OGILVIE PUBLISHING CO., -Lock Box 2767. 57 Rose Street, New York._ - - - - -THE HERO OF THE PEOPLE. - -A HISTORICAL ROMANCE -OF -LOVE, LIBERTY AND LOYALTY. - -BY ALEX. DUMAS. -Author of "The Queen's Necklace," "The Three Musketeers," -"Balsamo the Magician," "Monte Cristo," "Taking the Bastile," -"Chicot the Jester," etc. - -TRANSLATED FROM THE AUTHOR'S REVISED -LATEST EDITION. - -BY -HENRY LLEWELLYN WILLIAMS - -NEW YORK: -J. S. OGILVIE PUBLISHING COMPANY, -57 ROSE STREET. - -_Entered according to act of Congress in the year 1892, by A. E. Smith & -Co., in the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington._ - - - - -THE HERO OF THE PEOPLE. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -LOCKSMITH AND GUNSMITH. - - -The French Revolution had begun by the Taking of the Bastile by the -people of Paris on the Fourteenth of July, 1789, but it seemed to have -reached the high tide by King Louis XVI, with his Queen Marie Antoinette -and others of the Royal Family, leaving Versailles, after some -sanguinary rioting, for the Capital, Paris. - -But those who think, in such lulls of popular tempests, that all the -mischief has blown over, make a mistake. - -Behind the men who make the first onset, are those who planned it and -who wait for the rush to be made and, then, while others are tried or -satisfied, glide into the crowds to stir them up. - -Mysterious agents of secret, fatal passions, they push on the movement -from where it paused, and having urged it to its farthest limit, those -who opened the way are horrified, at awakening to see that others -attained the end. - -At the doorway of a wine saloon at Sevres by the bridge, over the Seine, -a man was standing who had played the main part, though unseen, in the -riots which compelled the Royal Family to renounce an attempt to escape -out of the kingdom like many of their sycophants, and go from Versailles -Palace to the Tuileries. - -This man was in the prime of life: he was dressed like a workingman, -wearing velveteen breeches shielded by a leather apron with pockets such -as shinglers wear to carry nailes in, or blacksmith-farriers or -locksmiths. His stockings were grey, and his shoes had brass buckles; on -his head was a fur cap like a grenadier's cut in half or what is called -nowadays an artillerist's busby. Grey locks came straggling from under -its hair and mingled with shaggy eyebrows; they shaded large bulging -eyes, keen and sharp, quick, with such rapid changes that it was hard to -tell their true color. His nose was rather thick than medium, the lips -full, the teeth white, and his complexion sunburnt. - -Without being largely built, this man was well formed: his joints were -not course and his hands were small and might have seemed delicate but -for their being swart like those of workers in metal. - -Despite the vigor of the biceps muscle shown from his having rolled up -his shirt sleeves, the skin was remarkable for its whiteness, and almost -aristocratically fine. - -Within his reach was a richly gold-inlaid double-barrelled fowling -piece, branded with the name of Leclere, the fashionable gunsmith of -Paris. You may ask how could such a costly firearm come into the hands -of a common artisan? In times of riot it is not always the whitest hands -which grasp the finest weapons. - -This man had only arrived from Versailles since an hour, and perfectly -well knew what had happened there: for to the landlord's questions as he -supplied him with a bottle of wine which he did not touch, he had -answered as follows: - -"The Queen is coming along with the King and the Dauphin. They had -started at half afternoon, having at last decided to live at the -Tuileries; in consequence of which for the future Paris would no longer -want for bread, as it would have in her midst, the Baker, the Baker's -Wife and the Baker's Boy, as the popular slang dubbed the three -'Royals'." - -As for himself, he was going to hang round to see the procession go by. - -This last assertion might be true, although it was easy to tell that his -glance was more often bent on the side towards Paris than Versailles, -which led one to surmise that he did not feel obliged to tell Boniface -exactly what his intentions were. - -In a few seconds his attraction seemed gratified, for he spied a man, -garbed much like himself, and appearing of the same trade, outlined on -the ridge of the road. He walked heavily like one who had journeyed from -afar. - -His age appeared to be like his awaiter's, that is, what is called the -wrong side of forty. His features were those of a common fellow with low -inclinations and vulgar instincts. - -The stranger's eye was fastened on him with an odd expression as if he -wished with a single scrutiny to measure the gold, if any, and the alloy -in his composition. - -When the wayfarer from the town was within twenty steps of this man -lounging in the doorway, the latter stepped inside, poured the wine from -the bottle into two glasses and returning to the doorstep with one -tumbler held up, he hailed him: - -"Hello, mate! it is pretty cold weather, and the road is a long one. -What do you say to our having a drop of the red to cheer us up and warm -us?" - -The workman from town looked round to make sure that he was alone and -that the greeting was addressed to him. - -"Speaking to me, are you?" - -"Who else, as you are alone?" - -"And offering me a go of wine?" - -"Why not, as we are brothers of the file and bossing-hammer alike? or -some at nigh." - -"Anybody can belong to a trade," said the other looking hard at the -speaker; "but the point is, are you a greenhand or a master of the -craft?" - -"I reckon we shall tell how far we have learnt the trade while drinking -and chatting together." - -"All right then!" said the other, walking up to the door, while the -inviter showed the table set out with the wine. The man took the -tumbler, eyed the contents as if he had doubts, but they disappeared -when the stranger poured himself out a second brimmer. - -"Why, hang it all, are you getting so proud that you will not drink with -a shopmate?" - -"No, dash me if I am--here is Good Luck to the Nation!" - -The workman's grey eyes were fixed on the toast-giver's. - -He tossed off the glass at a draft, and wiped his lips on his sleeve. - -"Deuse take it, but it is Burgundy wine," he remarked. - -"And good liquor, too, eh? the vintage was recommended to me; and -happening along I dropped in, and I am not repenting it. But why not sit -down and be at home? there is some more in the bottle and more in the -cellar when that is gone." - -"I say, what are you working at here?" - -"I have knocked off for the day. I finished a job at Versailles and I am -going on to Paris with the royal procession as soon as it comes along." - -"What procession?" - -"Why, the King and the Queen and the little Prince, who are returning to -the city with the Fishmarket women and two hundred Assemblymen, all -under protection of Gen. Lafayette and the National Guard." - -"So the fat old gentleman has decided to come to town?" - -"They made him do it." - -"I suspected so when I started for Paris at three this morning." - -"Hello! did you leave Versailles at three without any curiosity about -what was going off?" - -"No, no, I itched to know what the gent was up to, being an -acquaintance, a chum of mine, by the way, though I am not bragging; but -you know, old man, one must get on with the work. I have a wife and -children to provide for, and it is no joke now. I am not working at the -royal forge." - -The listener let what he heard pass without putting any questions. - -"So, it was on a pressing job that you went back to Paris?" he only -inquired. - -"Just that, as it appears, and handsomely paid too," said the workman, -jingling some coin in his pocket, "though it was paid for by a kind of -servant, which was not polite, and by a German, too, which blocked me -from having any pleasant chatter during the work. I am not one for gab, -but it amuses one if no harm is spoken of others." - -"And it is no harm when harm is spoken of the neighbors, eh?" - -Both men laughed, the stranger showing sound teeth against the other's -snaggy ones. - -"So, then, you have knocked off a good job, wanted doing in a hurry, and -well paid?" said the former, like one who advances only a step at a -time, but still does advance. "Hard work, no doubt?" - -"You bet it was hard. Worse than a secret lock--an invisible door. What -do you think of one house inside of another? some one who wants to hide -away, be sure. What a game he could have--in or out, as he pleased. -'Your master in?' 'No, sir: just stepped out.' 'You are a liar--he came -in just now.' 'You had better look, since you are so cocksure.' So they -look round, but I defy them to find the gentleman. An iron door, you -will understand, which closes on a beading-framed panel, while it runs -on balls in a groove as on wheels. On the metal is a veneer of old oak, -so that you can rap with your knuckles on it and the sound is identical -with that of a solid plank. I tell you when the job was done, it would -take me in myself." - -"Where the mischief would you do a job like that? but I suppose you -would not tell even a pal?" - -"I cannot tell because I do not know." - -"What hoodwinked you?" - -"Guess again and you will be wrong. A hack was waiting for me at the -city turnpike bars. A chap came up and asked: 'Are you so and-so?' I -said 'I am.' 'Good, we are waiting for you: jump in.' So I got inside -the coach, where they bandaged my eyes, and after the wheels had gone -round for about half an hour, a big carriage-door was opened. They took -me out and up ten steps of a flight of stairs into a vestibule, where I -found a German servant who said to the others: 'Goot! make scarce of -yourseluffs; no longer want we you.' They slung their hook out of it, -while the blinders were taken me off, and I was shown what I had to do. -I had pitched into the work like a good hand, and was done in an hour. -They paid me in bran-new gold, tied up my eyes, put me back in the -carriage, dropped me on the same spot where I was taken up, wished me -safe home--and here I am." - -"Without your having seen anything, even out of the tail of the eye? -Deuse take me if ever I heard of a bandage which would stop a man -catching a glimpse on one side or t'other. Better own up that you had a -peep at something?" pursued the stranger. - -"Well, I did make a misstep at the first stone of the stairs so that, in -throwing up my hands to keep from falling, I got a peep from its -disarranging the handkerchief. I saw a regular row of trees on my left -hand which made me think that I was in some avenue. That is all, on my -honor." - -"I can't say it is much. For the main avenue is long and more than one -house has a carriage-doorway betwixt the St. Honore Coffeehouse and the -Bastile." - -"The fact is," said the locksmith, scratching his head, "I don't think I -am up to telling the house." - -The questioner appeared satisfied, although his countenance did not -usually betray his feelings. - -"But," exclaimed he, as if skipping to another topic, "are there no good -locksmiths at Paris that they have to send to Versailles for one?" - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -THE THREE ODDITIES. - - -The locksmith lifted his tumbler to his eye's level, admired the liquor -with pleasure, and said after sipping it with gratification: - -"Bless you, yes, plenty of locksmiths at Paris." - -He drank a few drops more. - -"Ay, and masters of the craft." He drank again. "Yes, but there is a -difference between them." - -"Hang me," said the other, "but I believe you are like St. Eloi, our -patron saint, master among the master-workmen." - -"Are you one of us?" - -"Akin, my boy: I am a gunsmith. All smiths are brothers. This is a -sample of my work." - -The locksmith took the gun from the speaker's hands, examined it with -attention, clicked the hammers and approved with a nod of the sharp -action of the lock: but spying the name on the plate, he said: - -"Leclere? this won't do, friend, for Leclere is scanty thirty, and we -are both a good forty, without meaning to hurt your feelings." - -"Quite true, I am not Leclere, but it is the same thing, only a little -more so. For I am his master." - -"Oh, capital!" chuckled the locksmith; "it is the same as my saying 'I -am not the King but I am the same thing, only more so, as I am his -master.'" - -"Oho," said the other rising and burlesquing the military salute, "have -I the honor of addressing Master Gamain, the King of Locksmiths?" - -"Himself in person, and delighted if he can do anything for you," -replied Gamain, enchanted at the effect his name had produced. - -"The devil! I had no idea I was talking to one of the high flyers in our -line," said the other. "A man so well considered." - -"Of such consequence, do you mean?" - -"Well, maybe I have not used the right word, but then I am only a poor -smith, and you are the master smith for the master of France. I say," he -went on in another tone, "it can't be always funny to have a king for a -'prentice, eh?" - -"Why not?" - -"Plain enough. You cannot eternally be wearing gloves to say to the mate -on your bench: 'Chuck us the hammer or pass the retail file along.'" - -"Certainly not." - -"I suppose you have to say: 'Please your gracious Majesty, don't hold -the drill askew.'" - -"Why, that is just the charm with him, d'ye see, for he is a -plain-dealer at heart. Once in the forge, when he has the anvil to the -fore, and the leathern apron tied on, none would ever take him for the -Son of St. Louis, as he is called." - -"Indeed you are right, it is astonishing how much he is like the next -man." - -"And yet these perking courtiers are a long time seeing that." - -"It would be nothing if those close around him found that out," said the -stranger, "but those who are at a distance are beginning to get an idea -of it." - -His queer laugh made Gamain look at him with marked astonishment. But he -saw that he had blundered in his pretended character by making a -witticism, and gave the man no time to study his sentence, for he -hastened to recur to the topic by saying: - -"A good thing, too; for I think it lowers a man to have to slaver him -with Your Majesty here and My Noble Sire there." - -"But you do not have to call him high names. Once in the workshop we -drop all that stuff. I call him Citizen, and he calls me Gamain, but I -ain't what you would call chummy with him, while he _is_ familiar with -me." - -"That is all very well; but when the dinner hour comes round I expect he -sends you off to the kitchen to have your bread and cheese with the -flunkeys." - -"Oh, Lor', No! he has never done that; quite the other way about, for he -gets me to bring in a table all set into the workshop and he will often -put his legs under the mahogany with me, particularly at breakfast, -saying: 'I shall not bother about having breakfast with the Queen, as I -should have to wash my hands.'" - -"I can't make this out." - -"You can't understand that when the King works like us, he has his hands -smeared with oil and rust and filings, which does not prevent us being -honest folks, and the Queen would say to him, with her hoity-toity -prudish air: 'Dirty beggar, your hands are foul.' How can a man have a -fop's hands if he works at the forge?" - -"Don't talk to me about that--I might have married high if I could have -kept my fingers nice," sighed the stranger. - -"Let me tell you that the old chap does not have a lively time in his -geographical study or his library; but I believe he likes my company the -best." - -"That is all very amusing for you, except having to endure so poor a -pupil." - -"Poor," repeated Gamain. "Oh, no, you must not say that. He is to be -pitied, to tell the truth, in his coming into the world as a king, for -he is but a man--and having to waste himself on a pack of nonsense -instead of sticking to our art, in which he makes good way. He will -never be but a third-rate king for he is too honest, but he would have -made an excellent locksmith. There is one man I execrate for stealing -away his time--that Necker fellow, who made him lose such a lot of -time!" - -"You mean with his accounts and financing." - -"Ay, his fine-Nancy-ing, indeed." - -"But you must make a fat thing out of such a lad to bring on." - -"No, that is just where you are in error: that is why I bear a grudge to -him, Louis the Father of the Kingdom, the Restorer of the French Nation! -People believe that I am rich as _Creases_, while I am as poor as Job." - -"You, poor? why, what does he do with all his money?" - -"He gives half to the poor and the other half is got away by his -parasites, so that he never has any brass. The Coigny, Polignac and -Vaudreuil families eat him up, poor dear old boy! One day he wanted to -cut down Lord Coigny's appointments, and the gentleman waylaid him at -our forge door: after going out for five minutes, the King came back, -pale as a ghost, muttering: 'Faith, I believe he would have caned me.' -'Did he get the appointments reduced, Sire?' I inquired. 'I let them -stand,' he said: 'what else could I do?' Another time he wanted to scold -the Queen for giving Duchess Polignac three hundred thousand francs for -the linen for her baby, and what do you think?" - -"It is a pretty sum for a baby!" - -"Right you are: but it was not enough: the Queen made him give her five -hundred thousand. You have only to look how these Polignacs have got on, -who had not a penny when they started in, but are running away from -France with millions. I should not have minded if they had any talent, -but just give those neerdowells a hammer or cold chisel; they could not -forge a horseshoe: give them file and screw-driver and see how they -would get on at a common lock! However, they can wag the tongue to some -purpose, since they hounded the King on so that they leave him in a -quagmire. He may flounder out as best he can, with the help of General -Lafayette and Mayor Bailly, and Lord Mirabeau. I gave him good advice, -but he would not listen to me, and he leaves me with fifteen hundred -livres a-year, though I am his trainer, who first showed him to hold a -file properly." - -"But I suppose that when you worked with him, there were some pickings?" - -"But am I working with him now? Since the Taking of the Bastile, I have -not set foot inside his palace. Once or twice I met him: the first time, -as there was a crowd about in the street, he just bobbed his head; the -next, on the Satory Road, he stopped the coach for the coast was clear. -'Good morning, my poor Gamain, how goes it?' he sighed. 'How goes it -with you, Sire? but I know it is rough--but that will be a lesson to -you.' 'Are your wife and children well?' he said to shift the talk. 'All -fine but with appetites like ogres.' 'You must make them a little -present from me.' He searched his pockets, but he could rake up only -nine louis. 'That is all I carry with me, my poor Gamain,' he said with -a kind of groan, 'and I am ashamed to do so little.' Of course, it was -small cash for a monarch to give, short of ten gold pieces, so paltry a -sum to a work-fellow--So----" - -"You refused them?" - -"Catch me? No, I said: 'I had better grab, for he will meet somebody -else not so delicate as me, who would take them.' Still, he need not -fret himself, I shall never walk into Versailles unless I am sent for, -and I do not know as I shall then." - -"What a grateful heart this rogue has," muttered the stranger, but all -he said aloud was: "It is very affecting, Master Gamain, to see devotion -like yours survive misfortune. A last glass to the health of your -'prentice." - -"Faith, he does not deserve it, but never mind! here's to his health, -all the same!" He drank. "Only to think that he had thousands of bottles -in his cellar which would beat this, and he never said to a footman: -Take a basket of this lush to my friend Gamain!' Not he--he would sooner -have it swilled by his Lifeguardsmen, the Swiss, or his Flanders -Regiment. They did him a lot of good, I do not think!" - -"What did you expect?" questioned the other, sipping his wine, "kings -are ungrateful like this one. But hush! we are no longer alone." - -In fact, three persons were entering the drinking saloon, two men of the -common sort and a fishfag, and they took seats at the table matching -that at which Gamain and his "treater" were sitting. - -The locksmith raised his eyes to them and stared with an attention -making the other smile. They were truly worthy of some remark. - -One of the two men was all body: the other all legs: it was hard to say -anything about the woman. - -All-Body resembled a dwarf: he was under five feet in hight: he may have -lost an inch or so from his knees knocking although when he stood up, -his feet kept apart. Instead of his countenance redeeming the deformity, -it seemed to highten it;--for his oily and dirty hair was flattened down -on his bald forehead; his eyebrows were so badly shaped as to seem -traced at random; his eyes were usually dull but when lighted up sheeny -and glassy as the toad's. In moments of irritation, they threw out -sparks like a viper's, from concentrated pupils. His nose was flat, and -deviated from the straight line so that his prominent cheek bones stood -out all the more. Lastly, to complete the hideous aspect, his yellow -lips only partly covered the few, black and loose teeth in his twisted -mouth. - -At first glance you would say that gall, not blood, flowed in his veins. - -The other was so opposed to the short-legged one that he seemed a heron -on its stilts. The likeness to the bird was the closer from his head -being lost between his humped shoulders so as to be distinguished solely -by the eyes, like blood-spots, and a long, pointed, beak-like nose. Like -the heron, too, he seemed to have the ability to stretch his neck, and -put out the eyes of one at a distance. His arms also were gifted with -this elasticity, and while seated, he might pick up a handkerchief -dropped at his feet without moving his body. - -The third person was ambiguous; it being difficult to divine the sex. If -a man, he was upwards of thirty-four, wearing a stylish costume of the -fishmarket stallkeepers, with lace kerchief and tucker, and gold -earrings and chain. His features, as well as could be made out through -layers of rouge and flake white, together with beauty-patches of -sticking plaster of all fancy shapes, were slightly softened as in -degenerated races. As soon as one caught sight of him one wanted to hear -him speak in the hope that the voice's sound would give his dubious -appearance a stamp by which he could be classed. But it was nothing to -the purpose: his soprano voice left the curious observer still deeper -plunged into doubt. - -The shoes and stockings of the trio were daubed in mud to show that they -had been tramping in the road for some time. - -"Lord save us, I seem to know that woman, from having met her before," -said Gamain. - -"Very likely at court," sneered the pretended workman "their manners -have been there quite a while and they have been visitors, the -fishmarket dames, of late. But," he went on, pulling his cap down on his -brow and taking up his gun, "they are here on business: consequently, we -had better leave them alone." - -"Do you know them?" - -"By sight. Do you?" - -"I say that I have met the woman before: tell me who the men are and I -may put my finger on her name." - -"Of the two men, the knock-kneed one is the surgeon, Jean Paul Marat; -while the humpback is Prosper Verrieres." - -"Aha!" - -"Does not that put you on the right track?" - -"My tongue to the dogs if it does!" - -"The fishwoman is----" - -"Wait, it is--but, no--impossible----" - -"I see that you will not name _him_--the fish_woman_ is the Duke of -Aiguillon." - -At this utterance of the title, the disguised nobleman started and -turned, as well as his companions. They made a movement to rise as men -do when in presence of a leader: but the pretended gunsmith laid a -finger on his lips and passed them by. - -Gamain followed him, believing he was in a dream. - -At the doorway he was jostled by a running man, who seemed to be pursued -by a mob, shouting: - -"Stop him--that is the Queen's hairdresser! stop the hairdresser!" - -Among the howling and racing men were two who carried each a human head -on a pikestaff. They were those of two Lifeguards, killed at Versailles -in defending the Queen from the mob. - -"Halloa, it is Leonard," said the strange workman, to the fugitive. - -"Silence, do not name me," yelled the barber, dashing into the saloon. - -"What do they chase him for?" inquired Gamain. - -"The Lord knows," was the response: "maybe they want him to curl the -hair of the poor soldiers. In Revolutionary times, fellows have such -quaint fancies!" - -He mixed in with the throng, leaving Gamain, from whom he had probably -extracted all he wanted, to make his way alone to his workshop at -Versailles. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -THE UNDYING MAN. - - -It was the more easy for the pretended gunsmith to blend with the crowd -as it was numerous. - -It was the advance guard of the procession around the King, Queen and -the Prince Royal, leaving the court suburb at half past one. - -In the royal coach were the Queen, her son, her daughter, called Madam -Royale though a child, Count Provence, the King's brother. Lady -Elizabeth his sister, and the Queen's favorite lady of the household, -Andrea Taverney Countess of Charny. - -In a hundred carriages came the National Assemblymen who had declared -they would henceforth be inseparable from the monarch. - -This mob was about a quarter of an hour ahead of the royal party, and -rallied round the two royal guardsmen's heads as their colors. All -stopped at the Sevres wine saloon. The collection was of tattered and -half-drunken wretches, the scum that comes to the surface whether the -inundation is water or lava. - -Suddenly, great stir in the concourse, for they had seen the National -Guards' bayonets and General Lafayette's white horse, immediately -preceding the royal coach. - -Lafayette was fond of popular gatherings: he really reigned among the -Paris people whose idol he was. But he did not like the lowest orders. -Paris, like Rome, had a grade under the mere mob. - -In particular, he did not approve of Lynch Law, and he had done his -utmost to try to save those aristocrats whom the crowd had executed. It -was to hide their trophies and preserve the bloody tokens of victory -that the multitude kept on ahead. But on being encouraged by the trio of -captains waiting at the Sevres saloon, they decided to keep the heads up -and wait for the King, so that he should not be parted from his faithful -guards. - -The mob was increased by the country folks flocking to the road from all -quarters to see the cortege go by. A few cheered, adding their uproar to -the howls, hoots and groans of the marching column, but the majority, -stood dull and quiet on both sides of the road. - -Did this mean that they were for the Royal Family? No: or at least -unless they belonged to the court party, everybody, even the upper -middle class, suffered more or less from the dreadful famine spreading -over the kingdom. If they did not insult the King and Queen, they -remained hushed, and the silence of an assemblage is often worse than an -insult. - -On the other hand the myriads roared with all their lung power: "Hurrah -for Lafayette!" who took off his hat now and then or waved the sword in -his right hand: and "Long live Mirabeau!" who thrust his head out of the -carriage window, where he was one of six, to get a whiff of the air -necessary for his broad chest. - -Hence, amid the silence for himself, the unfortunate Louis XVI. heard -applauded that Popularity which he had lost and that Genius which he had -never possessed. - -By the King's right side carriage-window walked a man in a black suit -whose dress pointed him out as one of the Philosophers, as they were -termed, or Revolutionists who worked intellectually for the amelioration -of the monarchy. This was the royal honorary physician, Dr. Honore -Gilbert. The crowd cheered him at times, for he was a hero of their own. -Born a Frenchman, of humble degree, a boy on the estate of the -ultra-royalist Baron Taverney, he had educated himself in democratic -learning. Falling in love with his master's lovely daughter, Andrea, -since Countess of Charny, he had followed her to court. At Paris he -became favorite pupil of Rousseau, the revolutionist, and this farther -confirmed him in his subversive principles. - -But having taken advantage of Andrea while she was powerless under the -influence of a mesmeric sleep, he fled the country. He had deposited in -sure hands the living evidence of his crime, a boy named Emile (In honor -of Rousseau, who wrote a book so called) Sebastian Gilbert, and fled the -country. But at the Azores Islands he came in contact with the young -lady's brother Philip, who shot him down and believed he left him dead. - -But, restored to life by his friend, the Baron Balsamo, otherwise -Cagliostro the Magician he accompanied him to America. - -The two formed part of the legion of Frenchmen who helped the revolted -Thirteen Colonies to throw off the British yoke. - -Returning to his country he was arrested at Havre and thown into the -Bastile. When that hated prison was stormed by the Parisians led by the -Farmer Billet, he was rescued. He had gone to court to learn who had -caused this arrest, and to his amazement discovered that its author was -the woman whom he had unutterably wronged. Yes, the baron's daughter had -married the Queen's favorite, thought by some to be her paramour, Count -George Charny, very rich, very brave and altogether fit to create her a -power in the realm. - -Gilbert had a sincere pity for royalty under a cloud. He was known to -the King as the author of certain articles on the way to steer the Ship -of State, and his offer to serve him was gladly accepted. - -The mob cheered at the remarkable shaking up of the sands in Time's box -by which the revolutionary advocate, fresh from the Bastile dungeons, -should walk at the side of the King's coach to shield his life from the -assassin. No mere touch of rhetoric, for on the royal visit to Paris -lately a bullet had cut a button off the doctor's coat and slain a woman -in the throng: this graceful gentlemen in black was then a better -safeguard than the soldiers whose heads were now garnishing the pikes -there in advance. - -Queen Marie Antoinette looked with wonder at this doctor, whose stoicism -she could not understand, while to it the American manner of forced -quiet added more sternness. Without love or devotion for his sovereigns, -he carried out what he considered duty towards them, as ready to die for -them as those who had the qualities of the loyalist he lacked. - -On both sides of the royal coach tramped men and women, in mud six -inches deep, while amid the ribbons and rags, the Fishmarket women and -porters of the Paris Markets swarmed round waves more compact than the -rest of the human sea. These clumps were cannon or ammunition wagons, on -which sat women singing at the top of their voices. An old song which -had been applied to King Louis XV.'s mistress Jeanne Dubarry, and was -now altered to suit Marie Antoinette and the situation of affairs, was -their choice. They roared: - - "The Baker's wife has got the cash, which costs her very little." - -They also kept reiterating: "We shall not want for bread any more, as we -have got the Baker, the Baker's Wife and the Baker's Little Boy along." - -The Queen seemed to listen to it all without understanding. Between her -knees she held her son, who looked at the multitude as frightened -princes stare when appalled. - -The King watched with a dull and heavy eye. He had little sleep in the -night; he had not made a good breakfast though usually a hearty eater; -he had no time to have his hair dressed and his beard had grown long. -His linen was limp and roughened, too--all things to his disadvantage. -Alas, Louis was not the man for emergencies, and this was a period of -emergencies. He bent his head when they came: save once when he held his -chin up--it was when he walked upon the scaffold. - -Lady Elizabeth was the angel of sweetness and resignation placed by -heaven beside those doomed creatures to console the King during the -Queen's absence; and the Queen after the King's death. - -Count Provence, here as everywhere, had the squinting glance of a false -man; he knew that he ran no present danger; he was the popular member of -the family--no one knew why--perhaps because he remained in France when his -brother Artois fled. - -Could the King have read his heart, he might not have felt any gratitude -to him for what he pledged in the way of devotion. - -Countess Andrea seemed of marble. She had recognized the man she most -hated in the King's new confidential adviser, and one whom the Queen -seemed bound to win to her side. Like a statue, the stir round her -seemed not to affect her, and she looked in attire as trim as if fresh -from a band-box. One thought was alive within her, fierce and -luminous--love for some unknown--perchance her husband, or hate for -Gilbert--at whom she darted lightnings involuntarily whenever their -glances crossed. But she felt that she might not defy his with impunity, -for he was a pupil of Balsamo Cagliostro, the arch-mesmerist, and might -sway her with the same art. - -A hundred paces on the other side of the little drinking saloon, the -royal train stopped. All along the line the clamor doubled. - -The Queen bent out of the window and as the movement looked like a bow -to the crowd, there was a long murmur. She called Dr. Gilbert. - -He went up to the window: as he had kept his hat off all the way, he -had no need to bare his head in respect. His attitude showed he was -entirely under her orders. - -"What are your people shouting and singing?" she requested to know. - -The Queen's form of putting the question showed that she had been -ruminating it for some time. He sighed as much as to say, it is the same -old story. - -"Alas, my lady," he proceeded with profound melancholy, "those you call -my people, were yours in former times, and it is less than twenty years -ago when Lord Brissac, a delightful courtier whom I look in vain for -here, showed you the same people shouting for the Dauphin under the City -Hall windows and said: 'You behold twenty thousand admirers there.'" - -The Queen bit her lips from the impossibility of catching this man in -want of a repartee or of respect. - -"That is true--it only proves that the many-headed change," she said. - -Gilbert bowed this time, without retort. - -"I asked you a question, doctor," persisted the lady, with the obstinacy -she had for even disagreeable matters. - -"Yes, and I answer since your Majesty insists. They are singing that the -Baker's Wife has plenty of money which it gave her no trouble to get. -You are aware that they style your Majesty the Baker's Wife?" - -"Just as they called me Lady Deficit before. Is there any connection -between the nicknames?" - -"So much also as the finances are concerned. They mean by your money -being easily come by that you had complaisant treasurers such as Calonne -in particular, who gave you whatever you asked; the people therefore -assume that you got your money readily for the asking." - -The Queen's hand was clenched on the red velvet carriage-window ledge. - -"So much for what they are singing. Now, for what they bellow out?" - -"They say that they shall no longer want for bread since they have the -Baker, the Baker's Wife and the Baker's Son among them." - -"I expect you to make this second piece of insolence clear." - -"You would see that they are not so much to blame as you fancy if you -were to look to the intention and not weigh the words of the people. -Wrongly or rightfully, the masses believe that a great Grain Trust is -carried on at Versailles. This prevents flour from coming freely into -the capital. Who feeds the Paris poor? the Baker. Towards whom does the -working man and his wife hold out their supplicating hands when their -children cry for food? the baker and the baker's wife. Who do they pray -to after the Sender of the harvest? the lady of the estate--that is, the -loaf-giver, as the name is derived. Are not you three the loaf-givers -for the country, the King, yourself and this august child? Do not be -astonished at the mighty, blessed name the people give you, but thank -them for cherishing the hope that as soon as the King, the Queen and -their son are in the midst of the famished thousands, they will no -longer be in want." - -For an instant the royal lady closed her eyes, and she made the movement -of swallowing as though to keep down her hatred as well as bitter saliva -which scorched her throat. - -"So we ought to thank these howlers for their songs and nick-names upon -us?" - -"Yes, and most sincerely: the song is but an expression of their good -humor as the shouts are of their expectations. The whole explains their -desire." - -"So they want Lafayette and Mirabeau to live long?" - -"Yes," returned Gilbert, seeing that the Queen had clearly heard the -cries, "for those two leaders, separated by the gulf over which you -hang, may, united, save the monarchy." - -"Do you mean that the monarchy has sunk so low that it can be picked up -by those two?" queried the lady. - -He was going to make some kind of reply when a burst of voices, in -dread, with atrocious peals of laughter and a great swaying of the -gathering, driving Gilbert closer to the vehicle, announced that he -would be needed in defense of the Queen by speech or action. It was the -two head-carriers, who, after having made Leonard barb and curl the -hair, wanted to have the fun of presenting them to Marie Antoinette--as -other roughs, or perhaps the same--had presented the dead heads of sons -to their fathers. - -The crowd yelled with horror and fell away as these ghastly things came -up. - -"In heaven's name, do not look to the right," cried Gilbert. - -The Queen was no woman to obey such an injunction without a peep to see -the reason. So her first movement was to turn her gaze in the forbidden -direction and she uttered a scream of fright. But, all of a sudden, as -she tore her sight from this horrible spectacle as if they were Gorgon -heads, they became fixed as though they met another view even more -awful, from which she could not detach it. - -This Medusa's head was the stranger's who had been drinking and chatting -with Locksmith Gamain in the wine-store: with folded arms, he was -leaning against a tree. - -The Queen's hand left the window cushion, and resting on Gilbert's -shoulder, he felt her clench her nails into its flesh. He turned to see -her pale, with fixed eyes and quivering, blanched lips. - -He would have ascribed the emotion to the two death's heads but for her -not looking at either. The gaze was in another direction, traveling -visually in which he descried the object and he emitted a cry of amaze. - -"Cagliostro!" both uttered at the same time. - -The man at the tree clearly saw the Queen, but all he did was beckon for -Gilbert to come to him. - -At this point of time the carriages started on once more. By a natural -and mechanical impulse the Queen gave Gilbert an outward push to prevent -his being run over by the wheel. It looked as though she urged him -towards the summoner. Anyhow, he was not sufficiently master of himself -not to obey the mandate. Motionless, he let the party proceed; then, -following the mock gunsmith who merely looked back to be sure he was -followed, he entered behind him a little lane going uphill to Bellevue, -where they disappeared behind a wall at the same time as the procession -went out of sight in a declivity of the hills, as though plunging into -an abyss. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -FATALITY. - - -Gilbert followed his guide half-way up the slope where stood a handsome -house. The foregoer pulled out a key and opened a side door intended for -the master to go in or come out without the servants knowing when he did -so. He left the door ajar to signify that the companion of the journey -was to use it. Gilbert entered and shut the door gently but it silently -closed itself tightly with a pneumatic arrangement at the hinges which -seemed the work of magic. Such an appliance would have been the delight -of Master Gamain. - -Through luxuriously fitted passages Gilbert finally came into a drawing -room, hung with Indian satin tapestry; a fantastic Oriental bird held -the lustre in its beak and it emitted a light which Gilbert knew was -electricity, though its application thus would have been a puzzle to -others than this specialist in advanced science. The lights represented -lily-blooms, which again was an anticipation of modern illuminators. - -One picture alone adorned this room but it was Raphael's Madonna. - -Gilbert was admiring this masterpiece when the host entered by a secret -door behind him from a dressing room. - -An instant had sufficed for him to wash off the stain and the -pencillings and to give his black hair, without any grey, a stylish -turn. He had also changed his clothes. Instead of the workman was an -elegant nobleman. His embroidered coat and his hands glittering with -rings in the Italian style, strongly contrasted with Gilbert's American -black coat and his plain gold ring, a keepsake from General Washington. - -Count Cagliostro advanced with a smiling open face and held out his hand -to Gilbert. - -"Dear Master," cried the latter rushing to him. - -"Stop a bit," interrupted the other, laughing: "since we have parted, -my dear Gilbert, you have made such progress in revolutionary methods at -all events, that you are the master at present and I not fit to undo -your shoestrings." - -"I thank you for the compliment," responded the doctor, "but how do you -know I have made such progress, granting I have progressed?" - -"Do you believe you are one of those men whose movement is not marked -although not seen? Since eight years I have not set eyes on you but I -have had a daily report of what you did. Do you doubt I have -double-sight?" - -"You know I am a mathematician." - -"You mean, incredulous? Let me show you, then. In the first place you -returned to France on family matters; they do not concern me, and -consequently----" - -"Nay, dear master, go on," interposed the other. - -"Well, you came to have your son Sebastian educated in a boarding school -not far from Paris in quiet, and to settle business affairs with your -farmer, an honest fellow whom you are now retaining in town against his -wishes. For a thousand reasons he wants to be home beside his wife." - -"Really, master, you are prodigious!" - -"Wait for something stronger. The second time you returned to France -because political questions drew you, like many others; besides you had -published several political treatises which you sent to King Louis XVI., -and as there is much of the Old Man in you--you are prouder for the -approval of the King than perhaps you would be of that of my predecessor -in your training, Rousseau--who would be higher than a king this day, -had he lived--you yearn to learn what is thought of Dr. Gilbert by the -descendant of St. Louis, Henry Fourth and Louis XIV. Unfortunately a -little matter has kept alive which you did not bear in mind, as a sequel -to which I picked you up in a cave in the Azores, where my yacht put in. -I restored you from the effects of a bullet in your breast. This little -affair concerned Mdlle. Andrea Taverney, become Countess Charny, which -she deserves, to save the Queen's reputation, compromised by the King -coming upon her and Count Charny by surprise. - -"As the Queen could refuse nothing to this saver, she got a blank -warrant and committal to prison for you, so that you were arrested on -the road out of Havre and taken to the Bastile. There you would be to -this day, dear doctor, if the people, prepared for a rising by a person -whom you may divine, had not in a day knocked the old building lower -than the gutter. I was not sorry, for I had a taste of the fare myself -before I was banished the Kingdom. This morning early, you contributed -to the rescue of the Royal Family, by running to arouse Lafayette, who -was sleeping the sleep of the virtuous; and just now, when you saw me, -you were about to make a breastwork of your body for the Queen who -seemed threatened--though, between ourselves, she detests you. Is this -right? Have I forgotten anything of note, such as a hypnotic seance -before the King when Countess Charny was made to disclose how she had -led to your imprisonment and how she obtained a certain casket of your -papers by one Wolfstep, a police agent? Tell me and if I have omitted -any point, I am ready to do penance for it." - -Gilbert stood stupefied before this extraordinary man, who knew so well -to prepare his march that his hearer was inclined to attribute to him -the faculty of comprising heavenly as well as mundane things, and to -read in the heart of man. - -"Yes, it is thus and you are still the magician, the fortune-teller, the -thaumaturgist, Cagliostro!" - -The wonder-worker smiled with satisfaction, for it was evident that he -was proud of having worked on Gilbert such an impression as the latter's -visage revealed. - -"And now," continued Gilbert, "as I love you as much as you do me, dear -master, and my desire to learn what you have been doing is equal to -yours and how I have fared, will you kindly tell me, if I am not -intruding too far, in what part of the globe you have exhibited your -genius and practiced your power?" - -"Oh, I?" said Cagliostro, smiling, "like yourself I have been rubbing -shoulders with kings, but with another aim. You go up to them to uphold -them; I to knock them over. You try to manufacture a constitutional -monarch and will not succeed; I, to make emperors, kings and princes -democratic, and I am coming on." - -"Are you really?" queried Gilbert with an air of doubt. - -"Decidedly. It must be allowed that they were prepared for me by -Voltaire, Alembert and Diderot, admirable Mecaenases, sublime contemners -of the gods, and also by the example of Frederick the Great, whom we -have the misfortune to lose. But you know we are all mortal, except the -Count of St. Germain and myself. - -"So long as the Queen is fair, my dear Gilbert, and she can recruit -soldiers to fight among themselves, kings who fret to push over thrones -have never thought of hurling over the altar. But we have her brother, -Kaiser Joseph II. who suppresses three-fourths of the monasteries, -seizes ecclesiastical property, drives even the Camelite nuns out of -their cells, and sends his sister prince of nuns trying on the latest -fashions in hats and monks having their hair curled. We have the King of -Denmark, who began by killing his doctor Struensee, and who, at -seventeen, the precocious philosopher, said: 'Voltaire made a man of me -for he taught me to think.' We have the Empress Catherine, who made such -giant strides in philosophy that--while she dismembered Poland, Voltaire -wrote to her: 'Diderot, Alembert and myself are raising altars to you. -We have the Queen of Sweden and many princes in the Empire and -throughout Germany.'" - -"You have nothing left you but to convert the Pope, my dear master, and -I hope you will, as nothing is beyond you." - -"That will be a hard task. I have just slipped out of his claws. I was -locked up in Castle Sanangelo as you were in the Bastile." - -"You don't say so? did the Romans upset the castle as the people of St. -Antoine Ward overthrew the Bastile?" - -"No, my dear doctor, the Romans are a century behind that point. But, be -easy: it will come in its day: the Papacy will have its revolutionary -days, and Versailles and the Vatican can shake hands in equality at that -era." - -"I thought that nobody came alive out of Castle Sanangelo?" - -"Pooh! what about Benvenuto Cellini, the sculptor?" - -"You had not wings such as he made, had you, and did you flit over the -Tiber like a new Icarus?" - -"It would be the more difficult as I was lodged for the farther security -in the blackest dungeon of the keep. But I did get out, as you see." - -"Bribed the jailor with gold?" - -"I was out of luck, for my turnkey was incorruptible. But, fortunately, -he was not immortal. Chance--the believers say, Providence--well, the -Architect of the Universe granted that he should die on the morrow of -his refusing to open the prison doors. He died very suddenly! and he had -to be replaced." - -"The new hand was not unbribable?" - -"The day of his taking up his office, as he brought me the soup, he -said: 'Eat heartily and get your strength, for we have to do some stiff -traveling this night.' By George, the good fellow told no lie. That same -night we rode three horses out dead, and covered a hundred miles." - -"What did the government say when your disappearance was known?" - -"Nothing. The dead and still-warm other jailer was clad in the clothes I -left behind; and a pistol was fired in his face; it was laid by his side -and the statement was given out that in despair at having no escape and -with the useless weapon which I had procured none could tell how, I had -blown out my brains. It follows that I am officially pronounced dead and -buried; the jailer being interred in my name. It will be useless, my -dear Gilbert, my saying that I am alive, for the certificate of my death -and burial will be produced to prove that I am no more. But they will -not have to do anything of the sort as it suits me to be thought passed -away at this date. I have made a dive into the sombre river, as the -poets say, but I have come up under another name. I am now Baron Zanone, -a Genoese banker. I discount the paper of princes--good paper in the -sort of Cardinal Prince Rohan's, you know. But I am not lending money -merely for the interest. By the way, if you need cash, my dear Gilbert, -say so? You know that my purse, like my heart, is always at your call." - -"I thank you." - -"Ah, you think to incommode me, because you met me in my dress as a -workman? do not trouble about that; it is merely one of my disguises; -you know my ideas about life being one long masquerade where all are -more or less masked. In any case, my dear boy, if ever you want money, -out of my private cash box here--for the grand cash box of the -Invisibles is in St. Claude Street--come to me at any hour, whether I am -at home or not--I showed you the little, side door; push this spring -so--" he showed him the trick--"and you will find about a million -ready." - -The round top of the desk opened of itself on the spring being pressed, -and displayed a heap of gold coin and bundles of banknotes. - -"You are in truth a wonderful man!" exclaimed Gilbert; "but you ought to -know that with twenty thousand a-year, I am richer than the King. But do -you not fear being disquieted in Paris?" - -"On account of the matter of the Queen's Necklace for which I was forbid -the realm? Go to! they dare not. In the present ferment of minds I have -only to speak one word to evoke a riot: you forget that I am friendly -with all the popular leaders--Lafayette, Necker, Mirabeau and yourself." - -"What have you come to do at Paris?" - -"Who knows? perhaps what you went over to the United States to do--found -a republic." - -"France has not a republican turn of mind," said the other, shaking his -head. - -"We shall teach her that way, that is all. It has taken fifteen hundred -years to rule with a monarchy; in one hundred the Republic will be -founded to endure--why not as long?" - -"The King will resist; the nobility fly to arms; and then what will you -do?" - -"We will make a revolution before we have the Republic." - -"It will be awful to do that, Joseph," said Gilbert, hanging his head. - -"Awful indeed, if we meet many such as you on the road." - -"I am not strong, but honest," said the doctor. - -"That is worse: so I want to bring you over." - -"I am convinced--not that I shall prevent you in your work, but will -stay you." - -"You are mad, Gilbert; you do not understand the mission of France in -Europe. It is the brain of the Old World, and must think freely so that -the world will be the happier for its thought. Do you know what -overthrew the Bastile?" - -"The people." - -"No: public opinion. You are taking the effect for the cause." - -"For five hundred years they have been imprisoning nobles in the Bastile -and it stood. But the mad idea struck an insane monarch one day to lock -up thought--the spirit which must be free, and requires space unto -immensity, and crack! it burst the walls and the mob surged in at the -breach." - -"True enough," mused the younger man. - -"Twenty-six years ago, Voltaire wrote to Chauvelin: 'All that I see is -sowing Revolution round us, and it will inevitably come though I shall -not have the bliss to see the harvest. The French are sometimes slow to -come into the battle but they get there before the fight is over. Light -is so spread from one to another, that it will burst forth in a mass -soon, and then there will be a fine explosion. The young men are happy -for they will behold splendors. What do you say about the flare-ups of -yesterday and what is going on to-day?'" - -"Terrible!" - -"And what you have beheld in the way of events?" - -"Dreadful!" - -"We are only at the beginning." - -"Prophet of evil!" - -"For instance, I was at the house of a man of merit, a doctor of -medicine and a philanthropist: what do you think he was busy over?" - -"Seeking the remedy for some great disease." - -"You have it. He is trying to cure, not death, but life." - -"What do you mean?" - -"Leaving epigrams aside, I mean that there not being means enough for -quitting life, he is inventing a very ingenious machine which he reckons -to present to his fellow countrymen, to put fifty or eighty persons to -death in an hour. Well, my dear Gilbert, do you believe that so human a -philanthropist, so distinguished a physician as Dr. Louis Guillotin, -would busy himself about such an instrument unless he felt the want of -it? - -"I know that this is not so much a novelty as a machine forgotten, as a -proof of which I showed it as an image in a glass of water to Marie -Antoinette. She was then espoused to the Dauphin of France, now its -sovereign, and it was down at Taverney where you were a dependent. The -old baron was alive then, and the lady of the manor was Mdlle. Andrea." - -"Ah," sighed Gilbert at this reminder of his boyhood. - -"But at the first you had eyes only for the servant-maid, Nicole, -afterwards Olive Legay, as the Dauphiness, to whom she bore an amazing -resemblance by the bye, is the Queen of France. Well I repeat that the -future Queen was shown by me this instrument to which I shall suggest no -name, though the olden ones are the Maiden, the Widow and the _Mannaya_ -in my country. The thing so alarmed her that she swooned dead away. It -was in limbo at the era, but you shall see it at work presently if it be -successful; and then you must be blind if you do not spy the hand of -heaven in it all, it being foreseen that the time would come when the -headsman would have his hands too full and that a new method must be -devised." - -"Count, your remarks were more consoling when we were in America." - -"I should rather think they were! I was in the midst of a people who -rose and here in society which falls. In our Old World, all march -towards the grave, nobility and royalty, and this grave is a bottomless -pit." - -"Oh, I abandon the nobility to you, count, or rather it threw itself -away in the night of the fourth of August; but the royalty must be saved -as the national palladium." - -"Big words, my dear Gilbert: but did the palladium save Troy? Do you -believe it will be easy to save the realm with such a king?" - -"But in short he is the descendant of a grand race." - -"Eagles that have degenerated into parrots. They have been marrying in -and out till they are rundown." - -"My dear sorcerer," said Gilbert, rising and taking up his hat, "you -frighten me so that I must haste and take my place by the King." - -Cagliostro stopped him in making some steps towards the door. - -"Mark me, Gilbert," he said, "you know whether I love you or not and if -I am not the man to expose myself to a hundred sorrows to aid you to -avoid one--well, take this piece of advice: let the King depart, quit -France, while it is yet time. In a year, in six months, in three, it -will be too late." - -"Count, do you counsel a soldier to leave his post because there is -danger in his staying?" - -"If the soldier were so surrounded, engirt, and disarmed that he could -not defend himself: if, above all, his life exposed meant that of half a -million of men--yes, I should bid him flee. And you yourself, Gilbert, -you shall tell him so. The King will listen to you unless it is all too -late. Do not wait till the morrow but tell him to-day. Do not wait till -the afternoon but tell him in an hour." - -"Count, you know that I am of the fatalist school. Come what come may! -so long as I shall have any hold on the King it will be to retain him in -France, and I shall stay by him. Farewell, count: we shall meet in the -action: perhaps we shall sleep side by side on the battlefield." - -"Come, come, it is written that man shall not elude his doom however -keen-witted he may be," muttered the magician: "I sought you out to tell -you what I said, and you have heard it. Like Cassandra's prediction it -is useless, but remember that Cassandra was correct. Fare thee well!" - -"Speak frankly, count," said Gilbert, stopping on the threshold to gaze -fixedly at the speaker, "do you here, as in America, pretend to make -folk believe that you can read the future?" - -"As surely, Gilbert," returned the self-asserted undying one, "as you -can read the pathway of the stars, though the mass of mankind believe -they are fixed or wandering at hazard." - -"Well, then--someone knocks at your door." - -"Yes." - -"Tell me his fate: when he shall die and how?" - -"Be it so," rejoined the sorcerer, "let us go and open the door to him." - -Gilbert proceed towards the corridor end, with a beating of the heart -which he could not repress, albeit he whispered to himself that it was -absurd to take this quackering as serious. - -The door opened. A man of lofty carriage, tall in stature, and with -strong-will impressed on his lineaments, appeared on the sill and cast a -swift glance on Dr. Gilbert not exempt from uneasiness. - -"Good day, marquis," said Cagliostro. - -"How do you do, baron?" responded the other. - -"Marquis," went on the host as he saw the caller's gaze still settled on -the doctor, "this is one of my friends, Dr. Gilbert. Gilbert, you see -Marquis Favras, one of my clients. Marquis, will you kindly step into my -sitting-room," continued he as the two saluted each other, "and wait for -a few seconds when I shall be with you." - -"Well?" queried Gilbert as the marquis bowed again and went into the -parlor. - -"You wished to know in what way this gentleman would die?" said -Cagliostro with an odd smile; "have you ever seen a nobleman hanged?" - -"Noblemen are privileged not to die by hanging." - -"Then it will be the more curious sight; be on the Strand when the -Marquis of Favras is executed." He conducted his visitor to the street -door, and said: "When you wish to call on me without being seen and to -see none but me, push this knob up and to the left, so--now, -farewell--excuse me--I must not make those wait who have not long to -live." - -He left Gilbert astounded by his assurance, which staggered him but -could not vanquish his incredulity. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -THE CANDLE OMEN. - - -In the meantime the Royal Family had continued their road to Paris. The -pace was so slow and delayed that it was six o'clock before the carriage -containing so much sorrow, hatred, passions and innocence, arrived at -the city bars. - -During the journey the Dauphin had complained of being hungry. There was -no want of bread as many of the pikes and bayonets were holding up -loaves and the Queen would have asked Gilbert to get one, if he had been -by. She could not ask the mob, whom she held in horror. - -"Wait till we are in the Tuileries Palace this evening," she said, -hugging the boy to her. - -"But these men have plenty," he protested. - -"But that is theirs, not ours. And they went all the way to Versailles -for it as there was none in Paris, these three days." - -"Have they not eaten for three days?" said the Prince. "Then they must -be awful hungry, mamma." - -Etiquet ordered him to address his mother as Madam, but he was hungry as -a poor boy and he called her mamma as a poor boy would his mother. - -Ceasing to grieve, he tried to sleep. Poor royal babe, who would cry -many times yet for bread before he died. - -At the bars a halt was made, not to repose but to rejoice over the -arrival. It was hailed with song and dance. A strange scene almost as -terrifying in this joy as the others had been for ghastliness. - -The fishmarket-women got off their horses, captured from the slain -Lifeguardsmen, hanging their swords and carbines to the horns. Other -women and the market-girls jumped off their cannon, which appeared in -their alarming smoothness. - -They all joined hands and danced around the royal carriage. Separating -it from the deputies and the National Guard, an omen of what was to -follow. This round dance had the good intention to set the enforced -guests at ease: the men and women capered, kissed, hugged and sang -together. The men lifted up their partners as in Teniers' pictures. - -This went on as night was falling, on a dark and rainy day, so that the -dancing by the light of torches and the gun-stocks and fireworks, took -fantastic effects of light and shade almost infernal. - -After half an hour all shouted a general hurrah; all the firearms were -shot off at risk of shooting somebody; and the bullets came down in the -puddles with a sinister plash. - -The prince and his sister wept; they were too frightened to feel -hungered. - -At the City Hall a line of troops prevented the crowd from entering the -place. Here the Queen perceived her foster-brother, and confidential -servant, Weber, an Austrian who had followed her fortunes from home, and -was trying to pass the cordon and go in with her. To be more useful to -the Queen he had put on a National Guard uniform and added the insignia -of a staff-officer. The Royal Groom had lent him a horse. Not to excite -suspicion he kept at a distance during the journey. Now he ran up at her -call. - -"What have you come for?" she demanded; "you will be useless here while -at the Tuileries you will be needed. If you do not go on before, nothing -will be ready for our accommodation." - -"Capital idea that," said the King. - -The Queen had spoken in German and the King had replied in English as he -did not speak the other tongue though understanding it. - -The bystanders held foreign tongues in horror, and they murmured and -this swelled to a roar when the square opened and let the coach roll -through. - -The welcoming speech was made by Billy, Mayor of Paris, who played the -King a scurvy trick by repeating his answer: "I always come with -pleasure and confidence among my good people of Paris," without the word -"confidence" which spoilt matters, and he was taken to task by the Queen -for it. - -It was not till ten o'clock that the royal carriage got back to the -Tuileries where Weber had done the best he could for them. - -Count Provence had gone to Luxembourg Palace. - -Weber had located the Royal Family in Countess Lamarck's rooms, but the -comforts were limited. For instance there was no room for Countess -Charny at supper and she talked of spending the night in a chair for -want of a bed. But knowing the great favor in which the Queen held the -countess, they placed a couch for her in the next room to the Queen's. - -The latter shuddered at this for she thought of the count being with his -wife, and Andrea saw the emotion. - -"There must be some corner for me elsewhere," said she; "I will go find -it." - -"You are right, countess," said the King while Marie Antoinette mumbled -something unintelligible. "We will do something better to-morrow." - -The King watched the stately countess go out, while he held the plate to -his mouth. - -"That lady is a delightful creature," he said, "and Charny ought to be -happy to find such a phoenix at court." - -The Queen leant back in her chair to hide her sensation, not from the -speaker, but from his sister Elizabeth, who was frightened lest she had -fallen ill. - -The Queen did not breathe at ease till alone in her room. - -She had heard her daughter say her prayers, speaking a little longer -than usual as she was pleading for her brother who had gone to rest -forgetting to say his. - -Sitting alone at a table, somehow she had the panorama of her life pass -before her. - -She recalled that she was born on the second of November, 1755, the day -of the Lisbon earthquake, which swallowed up fifty thousand souls and -extended five thousand miles. - -She recalled that the room she slept in, in France, at Strasburg, -represented the Massacre of the Innocents and so frightened her in the -flickering lamplight that she had always retained a terrible memory of -her first night on French soil. - -She recalled how, stopping at Taverney House, she had been shown in the -gardens by Baron Balsamo the image of an unknown instrument for -decapitation: this was the man who, under the name of Cagliostro, had -exercised a fatal influence on her destiny, as witness his hand in the -Queen's Necklace trial; though she was advised that he had perished in -the papal dungeons as a magician and atheist, had she not seen him this -day in the mob during the halt at Sevres? - -She recalled that in Madam Lebrun's portrait she had unwittingly made -her pose as the unfortunate Henrietta Maria of England, in her portrait, -as Wife of Charles I. the Beheaded. - -She recalled how, when she got out of her coach for the first time at -Versailles, in that Marble Court where so much blood lately flowed on -her behalf, a lightning stroke had flashed so extraordinarily that -Marshal Richelieu had said: "An evil omen!" albeit he was a cynic not -easily startled by superstition. - -She was recalling all this when a reddish cloud, from her eyes being -strained, thickened around her, and one of the four candles in the -candelabrum went out without evident cause. - -While she was looking at it, still smoking, it seemed to her that the -next taper to it paled sensibly, and turning red and then blue in the -flame, faded away and lengthened upward, as if to quit the wick, from -which it leaped altogether. It was extinguished, as though by an unseen -breath from below. - -She had watched the death of this with haggard eyes and panting bosom, -and her hands went out towards the candlestick proportionable to the -eclipse. When gone out, she closed her eyes, drew back in her armchair, -and ran her hand over her forehead, streaming with perspiration. - -When she opened them anew, after ten minutes, she perceived that the -flame of the third candle was affected like the rest. - -She believed it was a dream or that she was under some hallucination. -She tried to rise but seemed nailed to her chair. She wanted to call her -daughter, whom she would not have aroused a few minutes before for a -second crown, but her voice died away in her throat. She tried to turn -her head but it was rigid as if the third light expiring attracted her -eyes and breath. Like the other pair, it changed hue and swaying to one -side and the other, finally shot itself out. - -Then fear had such mastery that speech returned to her and that made her -feel restored in courage. - -"I am not going to distress myself because three candles happened to go -out," she said; "but if the fourth suffers the same fate, then woe is -me!" - -Suddenly, without going through the transitions of the others, without -lengthening or fluttering to left or right as if the death-angel wing -had wafted it, the fourth flame went out. - -She screamed with terror, rose, reeled and fell to the floor. - -At this appeal the door opened and Andrea, white and silent in her -night-wrapper appeared like a ghost on the sill. When she had revived -her mistress with the mechanical action of one impelled by sheer duty, -the Queen remembered all the presage, and aware that it was a woman -beside her, flung her arms round her neck, and cried: - -"Save me, defend me!" - -"Your Majesty needs no defense among her friends," said Andrea, "and you -appear free of the swoon in which you fell." - -"Countess Charny," gasped the other, letting go of her whom she had -embraced, and almost repelling her in the first impulse. - -Neither the feeling nor the expression had escaped the lady. But she -remained motionless to impassibility. - -"I shall undress alone," faltered the Queen. "Return to your room, as -you must require sleep." - -"I shall go back, not to sleep but to watch over your Majesty's -slumber," returned Andrea, respectfully curtseying to the other and -stalking away with the solemn step of a vitalized statue. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -THE REVOLUTION IN THE COUNTRY. - - -Our intention being to temporarily abandon the fortunes of our high and -mighty characters to follow those of more humble but perhaps no less -engaging heroes, we take up with Sebastian Gilbert whom his father, -immediately after his release from the Bastile, confided to a young -peasant named Ange Pitou, foster-brother of the youth, and despatched -them to the latter's birthplace, Villers Cotterets. - -It was eighteen leagues from the city, and Gilbert might have sent them -down by stage-coach or his own carriage; but he feared isolation for the -son of the mesmerists' victim, and nothing so isolates a traveler as a -closed carriage. - -Ange Pitou had accepted the trust with pride at the choice of the King's -honorary physician. He travelled tranquilly, passing through villages -trembling with the thrill from the shock of the events at Paris as it -was the commencement of August when the pair left town. - -Besides Pitou had kept a helmet and a sabre picked up on the battlefield -where he had shown himself more brave than he had expected. One does not -help in the taking of a Bastile without preserving some heroic touch in -his bearing subsequently. - -Moreover he had become something of an orator; he had studied the -Classics and he had heard the many speeches of the period, scattered out -of the City Hall, in the mobs, during lulls in the street fights. - -Furnished with these powerful forces, added to by a pair of ponderous -fists, plenty of broad grins, and a most interesting appetite for -loiters-on who did not have to pay the bill, Pitou journeyed most -pleasantly. For those inquisitive in political matters, he told the -news, inventing what he had not heard, Paris having a knack that way -which he had picked up. - -As Sebastian ate little and spoke hardly at all, everybody admired -Pitou's vigorous paternal care. - -They went through Haramont, the little village where the mother of one -and the nurse of the other had died and was laid in earth. - -Her living home, sold by Pitou's Aunt Angelique, her sister-in-law, had -been razed by the new owner, and a black cat snarled at the young men -from the wall built round the garden. - -But nothing was changed at the burying-ground; the grass had so grown -that the chances were that the young peasant could not find his mother's -grave. Luckily he knew it by a slip of weeping willow, which he had -planted; while the grass was growing it had grown also and had become in -a few years a tolerable tree. - -Ange walked directly to it, and the pair said their prayers under the -lithe branches which Pitou took in his arms as they were his mother's -tresses. - -Nobody noticed them as all the country folk were in the field and none -seeing Pitou would have recognized him in his dragoon's helmet and with -the sword and belt. - -At five in the afternoon they reached their destination. - -While Pitou had been away from Haramont three years, it was only as many -weeks since he quitted Villers Cotterets, so that it was simple enough -that he should be recognized at the latter place. - -The two visitors were reported to have gone to the back door of Father -Fortier's academy for young gentlemen where Pitou had been educated with -Sebastian, and where the latter was to resume his studies. - -A crowd collected at the front door where they thought Pitou would come -forth, as they wanted to see him in the soldier's appurtenances. - -After giving the doctor's letter and money for the schooling to Abb -Fortier's sister, the priest being out for a walk with the pupils, Pitou -left the house, cocking his helmet quite dashingly on the side of his -head. - -Sebastian's chagrin at parting was softened by Ange Pitou's promise to -see him often. Pitou was like those big, lubberly Newfoundland dogs who -sometimes weary you with their fawning, but usually disarm you by their -jolly good humor. - -The score of people outside the door thought that as Pitou was in battle -array he had seen the fights in Paris and they wanted to have news. - -He gave it with majesty; telling how he and Farmer Billet, their -neighbor, had taken the Bastile and set Dr. Gilbert free. They had -learnt something in the Gazettes but no newspaper can equal an -eye-witness who can be questioned and will reply. And the obliging -fellow did reply and explain and at such length that in an hour, one of -the listeners suddenly remarked that he was flagging and said: - -"But our dear Pitou is tired, and here we are keeping him on his legs, -when he ought to go home, to his Aunt Angelique's. The poor old girl -will be delighted to see him again." - -"I am not tired but hungry," returned the other. "I am never tired but I -am always sharpset." - -Before this plain way of putting it, the throng broke up to let Pitou -go through. Followed by some more curious than the rest, he proceeded to -his father's sister's house. - -It was a cottage where he would have been starved to death by the pious -old humbug of an old maid, but for his poaching in the woods for -something that they could eat while the superfluity was sold by her to -have the cash in augmentation of a very pretty hoard the miser kept in a -chair cushion. - -As the door was fastened, from the old lady being out gossiping, and -Pitou declared that an aunt should never shut out a loving nephew, he -drew his great sabre and opened the lock with it as it were an oyster, -to the admiration of the boys. - -Pitou entered the familiar cottage with a bland smile, and went straight -up to the cupboard where the food was kept. He used in his boyish days -to ogle the crust and the hunk of cheese with the wish to have magical -powers to conjure them out into his mouth. - -Now he was a man: he went up to the safe, opened it, opened also his -pocket-knife, and taking out a loaf, cut off a slice which might weigh a -fair two pounds. - -He seemed to hear Aunt Angelique snarl at him, but it was only the creak -of the door hinges. - -In former times, the old fraud used to whine about poverty and palm him -off with cheap cheese and few flavors. But since he had left she got up -little delicacies of value which lasted her a week, such as stewed beef -smothered in carrots and onions; baked mutton with potatoes as large as -melons; or calves-foot, decked with pickled shallots; or a giant omelet -sprinkled with parsley or dotted with slices of fat pork of which one -sufficed for a meal even when she had an appetite. - -Pitou was in luck. He lighted on a day when Aunt Angelique had cooked an -old rooster in rice, so long that the bones had quitted the flesh and -the latter was almost tender. It was basking in a deep dish, black -outside but glossy and attractive within. The coxcomb stuck up in the -midst like Ceuta in Gibraltar Straits. - -Pitou had been so spoilt by the good living at Paris that he never even -reflected that he had never seen such magnificence in his relative's -house. - -He had his hunk of bread in his right hand: he seized the baking dish -in his left and held it by the grip of his thumb in the grease. But at -this moment it seemed to him that a shadow clouded the doorway. - -He turned round, grinning, for he had one of those characters which let -their happiness be painted on their faces. - -The shadow was cast by Angelique Pitou, drier, sourer, bonier, not -bonnier, and more mean than ever. - -Formerly, at this sight, Pitou would have dropped the bread and dish and -fled. - -But he was altered. His helmet and sword had not more changed his aspect -than his mind was changed by frequenting the society of the -revolutionary lights of the capital. - -Far from fleeing, he went up to her and opening his arms he embraced her -so that his hands, holding the knife, the bread and the dish, crossed -behind her skeleton back. - -"It is poor Pitou," he said in accomplishing this act of nepotism. - -She feared that he was trying to stifle her because she had caught him -red-handed in plundering her store. Literally, she did not breathe -freely until she was released from this perillous clasp. - -She was horrified that he did not express any emotion over his prize and -at his sitting in the best chair: previously he would have perched -himself on the edge of a stool or the broken chair. Thus easily lodged -he set to demolishing the baked fowl. In a few minutes the pattern of -the dish began to appear clean at the bottom as the rocks and sand on -the seashore when the tide goes out. - -In her frightful perplexity she endeavored to scream but the ogre smiled -so bewitchingly that the scream died away on her prim lips. - -She smiled, without any effect on him, and then turned to weeping. This -annoyed the devourer a little but did not hinder his eating. - -"How good you are to weep with joy at my return," he said. "I thank you, -my kind aunt." - -Evidently the Revolution had transmogrified this lad. - -Having tucked away three fourths of the bird he left a little of the -Indian grain at the end of the dish, saying: - -"You are fond of rice, my dear auntie: and, besides, it is good for your -poor teeth." - -At this attention, taken for a bitter jest, Angelique nearly suffocated. -She sprang upon Pitou and snatched the lightened platter from his hand, -with an oath which would not have been out of place in the mouth of an -old soldier. - -"Bewailing the rooster, aunt?" he sighed. - -"The rogue--I believe he is chaffing me," cried the old prude. - -"Aunt," returned the other, rising majestically, "my intention was to -pay you. I have money. I will come and board with you, if you please, -only I reserve the right to make up the bill of fare. As for this snack, -suppose we put the lot at six cents, four of the fowl and two of bread." - -"Six? when the meat is worth eight alone and the bread four," cried the -woman. - -"But you did not buy the bird--I know the old acquaintance by his nine -years comb. I stole him for you from under his mother and by the same -token, you flogged me because I did not steal enough corn to feed him. -But I begged the grain from Miss Catherine Billet; as I procured the -bird and the food, I had a lien on him, as the lawyers say. I have only -been eating my own property." - -"Out of this house," she gasped, almost losing her voice while she tried -to pulverize him with her gaze. - -Pitou remarked with satisfaction that he could not have swallowed one -grain more of rice. - -"Aunt, you are a bad relative," he said loftily. "I wanted you to show -yourself as of old, spiteful and avaricious. But I am not going to have -it said that I eat my way without paying." - -He stood on the threshold and called out with a voice which was not only -heard by the starers without but by anybody within five hundred paces: - -"I call these honest folk for witnesses, that I have come from Paris -afoot, after having taken the Bastile. I was hungered and tired, and I -have sat down under my only relation's roof, and eaten, but my keep is -thrown up at me, and I am driven away pitilessly!" - -He infused so much pathos in this exordium that the hearers began to -murmur against the old maid. - -"I want you to bear witness that she is turning from her door a poor -wayfarer who has tramped nineteen leagues afoot; an honest lad, honored -with the trust of Farmer Billet and Dr. Gilbert; who has brought Master -Sebastian Gilbert here to Father Fortier's; a conqueror of the Bastile, -a friend of Mayor Bailly and General Lafayette." - -The murmuring increased. - -"And I am not a beggar," he pursued, "for when I am accused of having a -bite of bread, I am ready to meet the score, as proof of which I plank -down this silver bit--in payment of what I have eaten at my own folk's." - -He drew a silver crown from his pocket with a flourish, and tossed it on -the table under the eyes of all, whence it bounced into the dish and -buried itself in the rice. This last act finished the mercenary aunt; -she hung her head under the universal reprobation displayed in a -prolonged groan. Twenty arms were opened towards Pitou, who went forth, -shaking the dust off his brogans, and disappeared, escorted by a mob -eager to offer hospitality to a captor of the Bastile, and -boon-companion of General Lafayette. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -THE ABDICATION IN A FARMHOUSE. - - -After having appeased the duties of obedience, Pitou wished to satisfy -the cravings of his heart. It is sweet to obey when the order chimes in -with one's secret sympathies. - -Ange Pitou was in love with Catherine, daughter of farmer Billet who had -succored him when he fled from his aunt's and with whom he had taken the -trip to Paris which returned him a full-fledged hero to his -fellow-villagers. - -When he perceived the long ridge of the farmhouse roofs, measured the -aged elms which twisted to stand the higher over the smoking chimneys, -when he heard the distant lowing of the cattle, the barking of the -watchdogs, and the rumbling of the farm carts, he shook his casque on -his head to tighten its hold, hung the calvary sabre more firmly by his -side, and tried to give himself the bold swagger of a lover and a -soldier. As nobody recognized him at the first it was a proof that he -had fairly succeeded. - -The farmhands responded to his hail by taking off their caps or pulling -their forelocks. - -Through the dininghall window pane Mother Billet saw the military -visitor. She was a comely, kind old soul who fed her employes like -fighting cocks. She was, like other housewives, on the alert, as there -was talk of armed robbers being about the country. They cut the woods -down and reaped the green corn. What did this warrior's appearance -signify? attack or assistance? - -She was perplexed by the clodhopper shoes beneath a helmet so shining -and her supposition fluctuated between suspicion and hope. - -She took a couple of steps towards the new-comer as he strode into the -kitchen, and he took off his headpiece not to be outdone in politeness. - -"Ange Pitou?" she ejaculated. "Whoever would have guessed that you would -enlist." - -"Enlist indeed?" sneered Pitou, smiling loftily. - -As he looked round him, seeking someone, Mistress Billet smiled, -divining who he was after. - -"Looking for Catherine?" she asked unaffectedly. - -"To present her with my duty," said Pitou. - -"She is ironing," responded Mrs. Billet; "but sit ye down and talk to -me." - -"Quite willing, mother." And he took a chair. - -In all the doorways and windows the servants and laboring men flocked to -see their old fellow. He had a kindly glance for them all, a caress in -his smile for the most part. - -"So you come from town, Ange?" began Mother Billet. "How did you leave -the master?" - -"He is all right, but Paris is all wrong." - -The circle of listeners drew in closer. - -"What about the King?" inquired the mistress. - -Pitou shook his head and clacked his tongue in a way humiliating to the -head of the monarchy. - -"And the Queen?" - -Pitou said never a word. - -"Oh," groaned the crowd. - -Pitou was aching for Catherine's coming. - -"Why are you wearing a helmet?" - -"It is a trophy of war," rejoined the young peasant. "A trophy is a -tangible testimonial that you have vanquished an enemy." - -"Have you vanquished an enemy, Pitou?" - -"An enemy--pooh!" said the valiant one, disdainfully. "Ah, good Mother -Billet, you do not know that Farmer Billet and yours truly took the -Bastile between us." - -This speech electrified the auditory. Pitou felt the breath on his hair -and the helmet mane, while their hands grasped the back of his chair. - -"Do tell us what our master has done," pleaded Mrs. Billet, proud and -tremulous at the same time. - -Pitou was hurt that Catherine did not leave her linen to come and hear -such a messenger as he was. He shook his head for he was growing -discontented. - -"It will take a time," he observed. - -"Are you hungry, or thirsty?" - -"I am not saying no." - -Instantly all the men and maids bustled about so that Pitou found under -his hand goblets, mugs, bread, meat, cheese, without realizing the -extent of his hint. He had a hot liver, as the rustics say: that is, he -digested quickly. But he had not shaken down the Angelican fowl in rice; -he tried to eat again but had to give up at the second mouthful. - -"If I begin now," he said, "I should have to do it all over again when -Miss Catherine comes." - -While they were all hunting after the young girl, Pitou happened to look -up and saw the girl in question leaning out of a window on the upper -landing. She was gazing towards Boursonne Woods. - -"Oh," he sighed, "she is looking towards the manor of the Charnys. She -is in love with Master Isidor Charny, that is what it is." - -He sighed again, much more lamentably than before. - -Taking the farmer's wife by the hand as the searchers returned fruitless -in their search, he took her up a couple of the stairs and showed her -the girl, mooning on the window sill among the morning glories and -vines. - -"Catherine!" she called: "Come, Catherine, here is Ange Pitou, with news -from town." - -"Ah," said Catherine coldly. - -So coldly that Pitou's heart failed him as he anxiously waited for her -reply. - -She came down the stairs with the phlegm of the Flemish girls in the old -Dutch paintings. - -"Yes, it is he," she said, when on the floor. - -Pitou bowed, red and trembling. - -"He's wearing a soldier's helmet," said a servant-woman in her young -mistress's ear. - -Pitou overheard and watched for the effect. But her somewhat pallid -though evercharming face showed no admiration for the brazen cap. - -"What is he wearing that thing for?" she inquired. - -This time indignation got the upperhand in the peasant. - -"I am wearing helmet and sabre," he retorted proudly, "because I have -been fighting and have killed Swiss and dragoons: and if you doubt me, -Miss Catherine, you can ask your father, and that is all." - -She was so absent-minded that she appeared to catch the latter part of -the speech alone. - -"How is my father?" asked she; "and why does he not return home with -you? Is the news from Paris bad?" - -"Very," replied the young man. - -"I thought that all was settled," the girl objected. - -"Quite true, but all is unsettled again." - -"Have not the King and the people agreed and is not the recall of -Minister Necker arranged?" - -"Necker is not of much consequence now," said Pitou jeeringly. - -"But that ought to satisfy the people." - -"It falls so short of that, that the people are doing justice on their -own account and killing their enemies." - -"Their enemies? who are their enemies?" cried the girl astonished. - -"The aristocrats, of course," answered the other. - -"Whom do you call aristocrat?" she asked, turning paler. - -"Why, naturally, they that have grand houses, and big properties, and -starve the nation--those that have everything while we have nothing; -that travel on fine horses or in bright coaches while we jog on foot." - -"Heavens," exclaimed the girl, so white as to be corpselike. - -"I can name some aristo's of our acquaintance," continued he, noticing -the emotion. "Lord Berthier Sauvigny, for instance, who gave you those -gold earrings you wore on the day you danced with Master Isidore. Well, -I have seen men eat the heart of him!" - -A terrible cry burst from all breasts and Catherine fell back in the -chair she had taken. - -"Did you see that?" faltered Mother Billet, quivering with horror. - -"And so did Farmer Billet. By this time they have killed or burnt all -the aristocrats of Paris and Versailles. What do you call it dreadful -for? you are not of the higher classes, Mother Billet." - -"Pitou, I did not think you were so bloodthirsty when you started for -Paris," said Catherine with sombre energy. - -"I do not know as I am so, now; but----" - -"But then do not boast of the crimes which the Parisians commit, since -you are not a Parisian and did not do them." - -"I had so little hand in them that Farmer Billet and me were nigh -slaughtered in taking the part of Lord Berthier--though he had famished -the people." - -"Oh, my good, brave father! that is just like him," said Catherine, -excitedly. - -"My worthy man," said Mrs. Billet with tearful eyes. "What has he been -about?" - -Pitou related that the mob had seized Foulon and Berthier for being the -active agents for higher personages in the great Grain Ring which held -the corn from the poor, and torn them to pieces, though Billet and he -had tried to defend them. - -"The farmer was sickened and wanted to come home, but Dr. Gilbert would -not let him." - -"Does he want my man to get killed there?" sobbed poor Mother Billet. - -"Oh, no," replied Pitou. "It is all fixed between master and the doctor. -He is going to stay a little longer in town to finish up the revolution. -Not alone, you understand, but with Mayor Bailly and General Lafayette." - -"Oh, I am not so much alarmed about him as long as in the gentlemen's -company," said the good old soul with admiration. - -"When does he think of returning?" inquired the daughter. - -"I don't know in the least." - -"Then, what have you come back for?" - -"To bring Sebastian Gilbert to Father Fortier's school, and you, Farmer -Billet's instructions." - -Pitou spoke like a herald, with so much dignity that the farmer's wife -dismissed all the gapers. - -"Mrs. Billet," began the messenger, "the master wants you to be worried -as little as possible, so he thinks that while he is away, the -management of the farm should be in other hands, younger and livelier." - -"Oh!" - -"Yes, and he has selected Miss Catherine." - -"My daughter to rule in my house," cried the woman, with distrust and -inexpressible jealousy. - -"Under your orders," the girl hastened to say, while reddening. - -"No, no," persisted Pitou, who went on well since he was in full swing: -"I bear the commission entire: Master Billet delegates and authorizes -Miss Catherine to see to all the work and govern the house and household -in his stead." - -As Billet was infallible in his wife's eyes, all her resistance ceased -instantly. - -"Billet is right," she declared after a glance at her daughter; "she is -young but she has a good head, and she can even be headstrong. She can -get along outdoors better than me; she knows how to make folks obey. But -to be running about over field and hills will make a tomboy of her----" - -"Fear nothing for her," interposed Pitou with a consequential air; "I am -here and I will go around with her." - -This gracious offer, by which Ange probably intended to make an effect, -drew such a strange glance from Catherine that he was dumbfounded. - -Pitou was not experienced in feminine ways but he guessed by her blush -that she was not giving complete acquiescence, for he said with an -agreeable smile which showed his strong teeth between the large lips: - -"Even the Queen has a Lifeguard. Besides, I may be useful in the woods." - -"Is this also in my husband's instructions?" queried Madam Billet who -showed some tendency towards cutting sayings. - -"Nay," said Catherine, "that would be an idle errand and father would -not have set it for Master Pitou while he would not have accepted it." - -Pitou rolled his frightened eyes from one to the other: all his castle -in the air came tumbling down. A true woman, the younger one understood -his painful disappointment. - -"Did you see the girls in Paris with the young men tagging at their -gown-tails?" - -"But you are not a girl, after you become mistress of the house," -remonstrated Pitou. - -"Enough chatter," interrupted Mother Billet; "the mistress of the house -has too much work to do. Come, Catherine, and let me turn over things to -you, as your father bids us." - -As soon as the house was placed under the new ruler the servants and -workmen were presented to her as the one from whom in the future orders -would flow. Each departed with the alacrity shown by the new officials -at the beginning of a fresh term. - -"What about me?" inquired Pitou, left alone and going up to the girl. - -"I have no orders for you. What do you think of doing?" - -"What I did before I went away." - -"Then you worked for my father and mother. I have nothing in your line, -for you are a scholar and a fine Paris gentleman now." - -"But look at the muscle in my arms," protested the poor fellow in -desperation. "Why do you force me to die of hunger under the pretence -that I am a learned man? Are you ignorant that Epictetus the philosopher -was a tavern waiter to earn his bread, and that sop the fabulist had to -work for a living? and yet they were more learned than ever I shall be. -But Master Billet sent me down here to help on the farm." - -"Be it so; but my father can force you to do things that I should shrink -from imposing upon you." - -"Don't shrink, and impose on me. You will see that I can stand anything. -Besides you have books to keep and accounts to make out; and my strong -point is figuring and ciphering." - -"I do not think it enough for a man," rejoined Catherine. - -"Am I good for nothing, then?" groaned Pitou. - -"Well, live here a bit," she said; "I will think it over and we shall -see what turns up." - -"You want to think it over, about my staying. What have I done to you, -Miss Catherine? you do not seem to be the same as before." - -Catherine shrugged her shoulders very slightly. She had no good reasons -to fear Pitou and yet his persistency worried her. - -"Enough of this," she said, "I am going over to Fertemilon." - -"I will saddle a horse and go with you." - -"No; stay where you are." - -She spoke so imperiously that the peasant remained riveted to the spot, -hanging his head. - -"She thinks I am changed, but," said he, "it is she who is another sort -altogether." - -When he was roused by hearing the horse's hoofs going away, he looked -out and saw Catherine riding by a side path towards the highway. - -It occurred to him that though she had forbid him to accompany her, she -had not said he must not follow her. - -He dashed out and took a short cut through the woods, where he was at -home, till he reached the main road. But though he waited a half-hour, -he saw nobody. - -He thought she might have forgotten something at the farm and started -back for it; and he returned by the highway. But on looking up a lane he -spied her white cap at a distance. - -Instead of going to Fertemilon, as she distinctly stated, she was -proceeding to Boursonne. - -He darted on in the same direction but by a parallel line. - -It was no longer to follow her but to spy her. - -She had spoken a falsehood. In what end? - -He was answered by seeing her thrash her horse into the trot in order to -rejoin a horseman who rode to meet her with as much eagerness as she -showed on her part. - -On coming nearer, as the pair halted at meeting, Pitou recognized by his -elegant form and stylish dress the neighboring lord, Isidore Charny. He -was brother of the Count of Charny, lieutenant of the Royal Lifeguards, -and accredited as favorite of the Queen. - -Pitou knew him well and lately from having seen him at the village -dances where Catherine chose him for partner. - -Dropping to the ground in the brush and creeping up like a viper, he -heard the couple. - -"You are late to-day, Master Isidore," began Catherine. - -"To-day?" thought the eavesdropper; "it appears that he has been -punctual on other meetings." - -"It is not my fault, my darling Kate," replied the young noble. "A -letter from my brother delayed me, to which I had to reply by the -bearer. But fear nothing, I shall be more exact another time." - -Catherine smiled and Isidore pressed her hand so tenderly that Pitou -felt upon thorns. - -"Fresh news from Paris?" she asked. "So have I. Did you not say that -when something alike happens to two persons, it is called sympathy?" - -"Just so. Who brings you news?" - -"Pitou." - -"And pray who is Pitou?" asked the young noble with a free and easy air -which changed the red of the listener's cheek to crimson. - -"You know well enough," was her reply: "Pitou is the farmboy that my -father took on out of charity: the one who played propriety for me when -I went to the dance." - -"Lord, yes--the chap with knees that look like knots tied in a rope." - -Catherine set to laughing. Pitou felt lowered; he looked at his knees, -so useful lately while he was keeping pace with a horse, and he sighed. - -"Come, come, do not tear my poor Pitou to pieces," said Catherine; "Let -me tell you that he wanted to come with me just now--to Fertemilon, -where I pretended I was going." - -"Why did you not accept the squire--he would have amused you." - -"Not always," laughed the girl. - -"You are right, my pet," said Isidore, fixing his eyes, brilliant with -love, on the pretty girl. - -She hid her blushing face in his arms closing round it. - -Pitou closed his eyes not to see, but he did not close his ears, and the -sound of a kiss reached them. He tore his hair in despair. - -When he came to his senses the loving couple were slowly riding away. - -The last words he caught were: - -"You are right, Master Isidore; let us ride about for an hour which I -will gain by making my nag go faster--he is a good beast who will tell -no tales," she added, merrily. - -This was all: the vision vanished. Darkness fell on Pitou's spirit and -he said: - -"No more of the farm for me, where I am trodden on and made fun of. I am -not going to eat the bread of a woman who is in love with another man, -handsomer, richer and more graceful than me, I allow. No, my place is -not in the town but in my village of Haramont, where I may find those -who will think well of me whether my knees are like knots in a rope or -not." - -He marched towards his native place, where his reputation and that of -his sword and helmet had preceded him, and where glory awaited him, if -not happiness. But we know that perfect bliss is not a human attribute. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -ANOTHER BLOW. - - -As everybody in his village would be abed by ten o'clock, Pitou was glad -to find accommodation at the inn, where he slept till seven in the -morning. At that hour everybody had risen. - -On leaving the Dolphin Tavern, he noticed that his sword and casque won -universal attention. A crowd was round him in a few steps. - -Undoubtedly he had attained popularity. - -Few prophets have this good fortune in their own country. But few -prophets have mean and acrimonious aunts who bake fowls in rice for them -to eat up the whole at a sitting. Besides, the brazen helmet and the -heavy dragoon's sabre recommended Pitou to his fellow-villager's -attention. - -Hence, some of the Villers Cotterets folk, who had escorted him about -their town, were constrained to accompany him to his village of -Haramont. This caused the inhabitants of the latter to appreciate their -fellow-villager at his true worth. - -The fact is, the ground was prepared for the seed. He had flitted -through their midst before so rapidly that it was a wonder he left any -trace of memory: but they were impressed and they were glad of his -second appearance. They overwhelmed him with tokens of consideration, -begged him to lay aside his armor, and pitch his tent under the four -lime trees shading the village green. - -Pitou yielded all the more readily as it was his intention to take up -residence here and he accepted the offer of a room which a bellicose -villager let him have furnished. Settling the terms, the rent _per -annum_ being but six livres, the price of two fowls baked in rice, Ange -took possession, treated those who had accompanied him to mugs of cider -all round, and made a speech on the doorsill. - -His speech was a great event, with all Haramont encircling the doorstep. -Pitou had studied a little; he had heard Paris speechifying -inexhaustibly; there was a space between him and General Lafayette as -there is between Paris and Haramont, mentally speaking. - -He began by saying that he came back to the hamlet as into the bosom of -his only family. This was a touching allusion to his orphanage for the -women to hear. - -Then he related that he and Farmer Billet had gone to Paris on hearing -that Dr. Gilbert had been arrested and because a casket Gilbert had -entrusted to his farmer had been stolen from him by the myrmidons of the -King under false pretences. Billet and he had rescued the doctor from -the Bastile by attacking it, with a few Parisians at their back. At the -end of his story his helmet was as grand as the cupola of an -observatory. - -He ascribed the outbreak to the privileges of the nobility and clergy -and called on his brothers to unite against the common enemy. - -At this point he drew his sabre and brandished it. - -This gave him the cue to call the Haramontese to arms after the example -of revolted Paris. - -The Revolution was proclaimed in the village. - -All echoed the cry of "To arms!" but the only arms in the place were -those old Spanish muskets kept at Father Fortier's. - -A bold youth, who had not, like Pitou, been educated under his knout, -proposed going thither to demand them. Ange wavered, but had to yield to -the impulse of the mob. - -"Heavens," he muttered: "if they thus lead me before I am their leader, -what will it be when I am at their head?" - -He was compelled to promise to summon his old master to deliver the -firearms. Next day, therefore, he armed himself and departed for Father -Fortier's academy. - -He knocked at the garden door loud enough to be heard there, and yet -modestly enough not to be heard in the house. - -He did it to tranquilize his conscience, and was surprised to see the -door open; but it was Sebastian who stood on the sill. - -He was musing in the grounds, with an open book in his hand. - -He uttered a cry of gladness on seeing Pitou, for whom he had a line in -his father's letter to impart. - -"Billet wishes you to remind him to Pitou and tell him not to upset the -men, and things on the farm." - -"Me? a lot I have to do with the farm," muttered the young man: "the -advice had better be sent on to Master Isidore." - -But all he said aloud was: "Where is the father?" - -Sebastian pointed and walked away. Priest Fortier was coming down into -the garden. Pitou composed his face for the encounter with his former -master. - -Fortier had been almoner of the old hunting-box in the woods and as such -was keeper of the lumber-room. Among the effects of the hunting -establishment of the Duke of Orleans were old weapons and particularly -some fifty musketoons, brought home from the Ouessant battle by Prince -Joseph Philip, which he had given to the township. Not knowing what to -do with them, the section selectmen left them under charge of the -schoolmaster. - -The old gentleman was clad in clerical black, with his cat-o'-nine tails -thrust into his girdle like a sword. On seeing Pitou, who saluted him, -he folded up the newspaper he was reading and tucked it into his band on -the opposite side to the scourge. - -"Pitou?" he exclaimed. - -"At your service as far as he is capable," said the other. - -"But the trouble is that you are not capable, you Revolutionist." - -This was a declaration of war, for it was clear that Pitou had put the -abbe out of temper. - -"Hello! why do you call me a Revolutionist? do you think I have turned -the state over all by myself?" - -"You are hand and glove with those who did it." - -"Father, every man is free in his mind," returned Pitou. "I do not say -it in Latin for I have improved in that tongue since I quitted your -school. Those whom I frequent and at whom you sneer, talk it like their -own and they would think the way you taught it to be faulty." - -"My Latin faulty?" repeated the pedagogue, visibly wounded by the -ex-pupil's manner. "How comes it that you never spoke up in this style -when you were under my--whip--that is, roof?" - -"Because you brutalized me then," responded Pitou: "your despotism -trampled on my wits, and liberty could not lay hold of my speech. You -treated me like a fool, whereas all men are equal." - -"I will never suffer anybody to utter such rank blasphemy before me," -cried the irritated schoolmaster. "You the equal of one whom nature and -heaven have taken sixty years to form? never!" - -"Ask General Lafayette, who has proclaimed the Rights of Man." - -"What, do you quote as an authority that traitor, that firebrand of all -discord, that bad subject of the King?" - -"It is you who blaspheme," retaliated the peasant: "you must have been -buried for the last three months. This bad subject is the very one who -most serves the King. This torch of discord is the pledge of public -peace. This traitor is the best of Frenchmen." - -"Oh," thundered the priest, "that ever I should believe that the royal -authority should sink so low that a goodfornothing of this sort invokes -Lafayette as once they called on Aristides." - -"Lucky for you the people do not hear you," said Pitou. - -"Oho, you reveal yourself now in your true colors," said the priest -triumphantly: "you bully me. The people, those who cut the throats of -the royal bodyguard; who trample on the fallen, the people of your -Baillys, Lafayettes and Pitous. Why do you not denounce me to the people -of Villers Cotterets? Why do you not tuck up your sleeves to drag me out -to hang me up to the lamppost? where is your rope--you can be the -hangman." - -"You are saying odious things--you insult me," said Pitou. "Have a care -that I do not show you up to the National Assembly!" - -"Show me up? I will show you up, sirrah! as a failure as a scholar, as a -Latinist full of barbarisms, and as a beggar who comes preaching -subversive doctrines in order to prey upon your clients." - -"I do not prey upon anybody--it is not by _preying_ I live but by work: -and as for lowering me in the eyes of my fellow-citizens, know that I -have been elected by them commander of the National Guards of Haramont." - -"National Guards at Haramont? and you, Pitou, the captain? Abomination -of desolation! Such gangs as you would be chief of must be robbers, -footpads, bandits, and highwaymen." - -"On the contrary, they are organized to defend the home and the fields -as well as the life and liberties of all good citizens. That is why we -have [illegible]oc me to--for the arms." - -"Arms? oh, my museum?" shrieked the schoolmaster. "You come to pillage -my arsenal. The armor of the paladins on your ignoble backs. You are mad -to want to arm the ragamuffins of Pitou with the swords of the Spaniards -and the pikes of the Swiss." - -The priest laughed with such disdainful menace that Pitou shuddered in -every vein. - -"No, father, we do not want the old curiosities, but the thirty marines' -guns which you have." - -"Avaunt!" said the abbe, taking a step towards the envoy. - -"And you shall have the glory of contributing to deliver the country of -the oppressors," said Pitou, who took a backward step. - -"Furnish weapons against myself and friends," said the other, "give you -guns to be fired against myself?" He plucked his scourge from his belt. -"Never, never!" - -He waved the whip over his head. - -"But your refusal will have a bad effect," pleaded Pitou, retreating, -"you will be accused of national treason, and of being no citizen. Do -not expose yourself to this, good Father Fortier!" - -"Mark me a martyr, eh, Nero? is that what you intend?" roared the -priest, with flaring eye and much more resembling the executioner than -the victim. - -"No, father, I come as a peaceful envoy to----" - -"Pillage my house for arms as your friends gutted the Soldiers' Home at -Paris." - -"We received plenty of praise for that up there," said Ange. - -"And you would get plenty of strokes of the whip down here." - -"Look out," said Pitou, who had backed to the door, and who recognized -the scourge as an old acquaintance, "you must not violate the rights of -man!" - -"You shall see about that, rascal." - -"I am protected by my sacred character as an ambassador----" - -"Are you?" - -And just as Pitou had to turn after getting the street door open, for he -had backed through the hall, the infuriated schoolmaster let him have a -terrible lash where his backplate would have to be unusually long to -defend him. Whatever the courage of the conqueror of the Bastile, he -could not help emitting a shriek of pain as he bounded out among the -crowd expecting him. - -At the yell, neighbors ran forth from their dwellings and to the -profound general astonishment all beheld the young man flying with all -swiftness under his helmet and with his sabre, while Father Fortier -stood on the doorstep, brandishing his whip like the Exterminating Angel -waves his sword. - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -PITOU BECOMES A TACTICIAN. - - -Our hero's fall was deep. How could he go back to his friends without -the arms? How, after having had so much confidence shown in him, tell -them that their leader was a braggart who, in spite of his sword and -helmet, had let a priest whack him in the rear? - -To vaunt of carrying all before him with Father Fortier and fail so -shamefully--what a fault! - -To obtain the muskets, force or cunning was the means. He might steal -into the school and steal out the arms. But the word "steal," sounded -badly in the rustic's ears. There were still left some people in France -who would call this the high-handed outrage of brigands. - -So he recoiled before force and treachery. - -His vanity was committed to the task, and prompted a fresh direction for -his searches. - -General Lafayette was Commander-in-chief of the National Guards of -France; Haramont was in France and had a National Guards company. -Consequently, General Lafayette commanded the latter force. He could not -tolerate that his soldiers at Haramont should go unarmed when all his -others were armed. To appeal to Lafayette, he could apply to Billet who -would address Gilbert, and he the general. - -Pitou wrote to Billet but as he could not read, it must be Gilbert who -would have the letter placed before him. - -This settled, he waited for nightfall, returned to his lodgings -mysteriously and let his friends there see that he was writing at night. -This was the large square note which they also saw him post next day: - - "DEAR AND HONORED FRIEND BILLET: - - "The Revolutionary cause gains daily hereabouts and while the - aristocrats lose, the patriots advance. The Village of Haramont - enrolls itself in the active service of the National Guard; but it - has no arms. The means to procure them lies in those who harbor - arms in quantity should be made to surrender the overplus, so that - the country would be saved expense. If it pleases General Lafayette - to authorize that such illegal magazines of arms should be placed - at the call of the townships, proportionately to the number of men - to be armed, I undertake for my part to supply the Haramont Arsenal - with at least thirty guns. This is the only means to oppose a dam - to the contra-Revolutionary movements of the aristocrats and - enemies of the Nation. - -"Your fellow-Citizen and most humble Servant, - -"ANGE PITOU." - - -When this was written the author perceived that he had omitted to speak -to his correspondent of his wife and daughter. He treated him too much -in the Brutus style; on the other hand, to give Billet particulars -about Catherine's love affair was to rend the father's heart; it was -also to re-open Pitou's bleeding wounds. He stifled a sigh and appended -this P. S. - -"Mistress Billet and Miss Catherine and all the household are well, and -beg to be remembered to Master Billet." - -Thus he entangled neither himself nor others. - -The reply to this was not slow in coming. Two days subsequently, a -mounted express messenger dashed into Haramont and asked for Captain -Ange Pitou. His horse was white with foam. He wore the uniform of a -staff-officer of the Parisian National Guards. - -Judge of the effect he produced and the trouble and throbs of Pitou! He -went up to the officer who smiled, and pale and trembling he took the -paper he bore for him. It was a response from Billet, by the hand of -Gilbert. - -Billet advised Pitou to move moderately in his patriotism. - -He enclosed General Lafayette's order, countersigned by the War -Minister, to arm the Haramont National Guards. - -The bearer was an officer charged to see to the arming of cities on the -road. - -Thus ran the Order: - -"All who possess more than one gun or sword are hereby bound to place -the excess at the disposal of the chief officials in their cantons. The -Present Measure is to be executed throughout the entire country." - -Red with joy, Pitou thanked the officer, who smiled again, and started -off for the next post for changing horses. - -Thus was our friend at the high tide of honor: he had received a -communication from General Lafayette, and the War Minister. - -This message served his schemes and plans most timely. - -To see the animated faces of his fellows, their brightened eyes and -eager manner; the profound respect all at once entertained for Ange -Pitou, the most credulous observer must have owned that he had become an -important character. - -One after another the electors begged to touch the seal of the War -Department. - -When the crowd had tapered down to the chosen friends, Pitou said: - -"Citizens, my plans have succeeded as I anticipated. I wrote to the -Commander-in-chief your desire to be constituted National Guards, and -your choice of me as leader. Read the address on the order brought me." - -The envelope was superscribed: "CAPTAIN ANGE PITOU, Commander of the -National Guards. Haramont." - -"Therefore," continued the martial peasant, "I am known and accepted as -commander by the Chief of the Army. You are recognized and approved as -Soldiers of the Nation by General Lafayette and the Minister of War." - -A long cheer shook the walls of the little house which sheltered Pitou. - -"I know where to get the arms," he went on. "Select two of your number -to accompany me. Let them be lusty lads, for we may have a difficulty." - -The embryo regiment chose one Claude Tellier sergeant and one Desire -Maniquet lieutenant. Pitou approved. - -Accompanied by the two, Captain Pitou proceeded once more to Villers -Cotterets where he went straight to the mayor to be still farther -supported in his demand. - -On the way he was puzzled why the letter from Billet, written by -Gilbert, asked no news of Sebastian. - -On the way he fretted over a paragraph in the letter from Billet, -written as it was by Dr. Gilbert, which read: - -"Why has Pitou forgot to send news about Sebastian and why does not the -boy himself write news?" - -Meanwhile, Father Fortier was little aware of the storm he had aroused; -and nobody was more astounded when a thunderclap came to his door. When -it was opened he saw on the sill the mayor, his vice, and his secretary. -Behind them appeared the cocked hats of two gendarmes, and half-a-dozen -curious people behind them. - -"Father Fortier," said the mayor, "are you aware of the new decree of -the Minister of War?" - -"No, mayor," said he. - -"Read it, then." - -The secretary read the warrant to take extra arms from the domiciles. -The schoolmaster turned pale. - -"The Haramont National Guard have come for the guns." - -Fortier jumped as if he meant to fly at the guardsmen. - -Judging that this was the nick for his appearance, Pitou approached, -backed by his lieutenant and sergeant. - -"These rogues," cried the abbe, passing from white to red, "these -scums!" - -The mayor was a neutral who wanted things to go on quietly; he had no -wish to quarrel with the altar or the guard-house; the invectives only -called forth his hearty laugh. - -"You hear how the reverend gentleman treats the Haramont National -Guards," he said to Pitou and his officers. - -"Because he knew us when boys and does not think we have grown up," said -Ange, with melancholy mildness. - -"But we have become men," roughly said Maniquet, holding out towards the -priest his hand, maimed by a gun going off prematurely while he was -poaching on a nobleman's warren. Needless to say he was determined the -nobility should pay for this accident. - -"Serpents," said the schoolmaster in irritation. - -"Who will sting if trodden on," retorted Sergeant Claude, joining in. - -In these threats the mayor saw the extent of the Revolution and the -priest martyrdom. - -"We want some of the arms here," said the former, to conciliate -everybody. - -"They are not mine but belong to the Duke of Orleans," was the reply. - -"Granted," said Pitou, "but that does not prevent us asking for them all -the same." - -"I will write to the prince," said the pedagogue loftily. - -"You forget that the delay will avail nothing," interposed the mayor; -"the duke is for the people and would reply that they ought to be given -not only the muskets but the old cannon." - -This probability painfully struck the priest who groaned in Latin: "I am -surrounded by foes." - -"Quite true, but these are merely political enemies," observed Pitou; -"we hate in you only the bad patriot." - -"Absurd and dangerous fool," returned the priest, in excitement which -gave him eloquence of a kind, "which is of us the better lover of his -country, I who wish to keep cruel weapons in the shade, or you demanding -them for civil strife and discord? which is the true son, I who seek -palms to decorate our common mother, or you who hunt for the steel to -rend her bosom?" - -The mayor turned aside his head to hide his emotion, making a slight nod -as much as to say: "That is very neatly put." The deputy mayor, like -another Tarquin, was cropping the flowers with his cane. Ange was set -back, which caused his two companions to frown. - -Sebastian, a Spartan child, was impassible. Going up to Pitou he asked -him what was the to-do. - -"An order signed by General Lafayette, and written by my father?" he -repeated when briefly informed. "Why is there any hesitation in obeying -it?" - -He revealed the indomitable spirit of the two races creating him in his -dilated pupils, and the rigidity of his brow. - -The priest shuddered to hear the words and lowered his crest. - -"This is rebellion," continued Sebastian; "beware, sir!" - -"Thou, also?" cried the schoolmaster, draping himself in his gown after -the manner of Caesar. - -"And I," said Pitou, comprehending that his post was at stake. "Do you -style me a traitor, because I came to you with the olive branch in my -hand to ask the arms, and am forced this day to wrench them from you -under support of the authorities? Well, I would rather appear as a -traitor to my duties than give a favoring hand to the Anti-Revolution. -The Country forever and above all! hand over the arms, or we will use -ours!" - -The mayor nodded on the sly to Pitou as he had to the priest to signify: -"You have said that finely." - -The speech had thunderstricken the priest and electrified the hearers. -The mayor slipped away, and the deputy would have liked to follow his -example, but the absence of the two principal functionaries would look -bad. He therefore followed the secretary, who led the gendarmes along to -the museum, guided by Pitou who, instructed in the place was also -instructed on the place of deposit. - -Like a lion cub, Sebastian bounded with the patriots. The schoolmaster -fell half dead on a chair. - -The invaders wanted to pillage everything, but Pitou only selected -thirty-three muskets, with an extra one, a rifle, for himself, together -with a straight sword, which he girded on. - -The others, made up into two bundles, were carried by the joyous pair of -officers in spite of the weight, past the disconsolate priest. - -They were distributed to the Haramontese that evening, and in presenting -a gun to each, Pitou said, like the Spartan mother giving out the -buckler: "Come home with it, or go to sleep on it!" - -Thus was the little place set in a ferment by Pitou's act. The delight -was great to own a gun where firearms had been forbidden lest the lords' -game should be injured and where the long oppression of the gamekeepers -had infused a mania for hunting. - -But Pitou did not participate in the glee. The soldiers had weapons but -not only was their captain ignorant how to drill them but to handle them -in file or squad. - -During the night his taxed brain suggested the remedy. - -He remembered an old friend, also an old soldier, who had lost a leg at -the Battle of Fontenoy; the Duke of Orleans gave him the privilege to -live in the woods, and kill either a hare or a rabbit a-day. He was a -dead shot and on the proceeds of his shooting under this license he -fared very well. - -His manual of arms might be musty but then Pitou could procure from -Paris the new Drill-book of the National Guards, and correct what was -obsolete by the newest tactics. - -He called on old Clovis at a lucky moment as the old hunter was saddened -by his gun having burst. He welcomed the present of the rifle which Ange -brought him and eagerly embraced the opportunity of paying him in -kindness by teaching him the drill. - -Each day Pitou repeated to his soldiery what he had learnt overnight -from the hunter, and he became more popular, the admired of men, -children and the aged. Even women were quieted when his lusty voice -thundered: "Heads up--eyes right! bear yourselves nobly! look at me!" -for Pitou looked noble. - -As soon as the manoeuvres became complicated, Pitou went over to a large -town where he studied the troops on the parade grounds, and picked up -more in a day from practice than from the books in three months. - -Thus two months passed by, in fatigue, toil and feverish excitement. - -Pitou was still unhappy in love, but he was satiated with glory. He had -run about so much, so moved his limbs, and whetted his mind, that you -may be astonished that he should long to appease or comfort his heart. -But he was thinking of that. - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -THE LOVER'S PARTING. - - -Many times after drill, and that followed nights spent in learning the -tactics, Pitou would wander in the skirts of Boursonne Wood to see how -faithful Catherine was to her love-trysts. - -Stealing an hour or two from her farm and house duties, the girl would -go to a little hunting-box, in a rabbit warren belonging to Boursonne -Manor, to meet the happy Isidore, the mortal more than ever proud and -handsome, when all the country was in suffering around him. - -What anguish devoured poor Pitou, what sad reflections he was driven to -make on the inequality of men as regards happiness. - -He whom the pretty maids were ogling, preferred to come and mope like a -dog whipped for following the master too far from home, at the door of -the summerhouse where the amorous pair were billing and cooing. - -All because he adored Catherine and the more as he deemed her vastly -superior to him. He did not regard her as loving another, for Isidore -Charny had ceased to be an object of jealousy. He was a lord, handsome -and worthy of being loved: but Catherine as a daughter of the lower -orders ought not for that reason disgrace her family or drive Pitou to -despair. - -Meditation on this cut him with sharp edges and keen points. - -"She showed no proper feeling in letting me go from the farm," he mused, -"and since I went off, she has not inquired whether I starved to death -or not. What would Father Billet say if he knew how his friends are thus -cast off, and his business neglected? What would he say if he heard -that, instead of looking after the working people, his daughter goes to -keep appointments with the aristocrat, Lord Charny? He would not say -much, but he would kill her. It is something to have the means of -revenge in one's hand," thought Pitou. - -But it is grander not to use them. - -Still, Pitou had learnt that there is no benefit in doing good unless -the actions are known to the person befriended. - -Would it be possible to let Catherine know that he was helping her? - -He knew that she came through the woods to go to the hunting-box, and it -was very easy for him to plant himself under the trees, a book in hand -as if he were studying, where she would be sure to come along. - -Indeed, as he was pretending to pore over the "Perfect National -Guardsman," after having watched her to her rendezvous, he heard the -soft shutting of a door. The rustle of a dress in the brush came next. -Catherine's head appeared above the bushes, looking with an apprehensive -air all round for fear somebody would see her. - -She was ten paces from her rustic worshipper, who kept still with the -book on his knee. But he no longer looked on it but at the girl so that -she should mark that he saw her. - -She uttered a slight faint, stifled scream, recognized him, became pale -as though death had flitted by and grazed her, and, after a short -indecision betrayed in her trembling and the shrug of her shoulders, she -flew wildly into the underwood and found her hitched-up horse in the -forest. She mounted and fled. - -Pitou's plot was well laid and she had fallen into it. - -He went home, half-frightened, half delighted. - -He perceived a number of details most alarming in the accomplished -trick. - -The following Sunday was appointed for a grand military parade at -Haramont. Sufficiently drilled, the Haramontese meant to give warlike -exercises. Several rival villages also making military studies, were to -contest with them in the career of arms. - -The announcement drew a great crowd, and the people in holiday attire -gathered on the green, where they feasted frugally on homemade cake and -fruit, washed down with spring water. - -Some of the spectators were the gentry and squires, come to laugh at the -clowns playing at soldiers. - -Haramont had become a centre, for four corps of other Guards came -hither, headed by fife and drum. - -Among the farmers, came Catherine and Mother Billet on horseback. - -This was at the same time as the Haramont National Guard marched up, -with fife and drum, with Commander Pitou on a borrowed white horse, in -order that the likeness should be complete to General Lafayette -reviewing the National Guards at Paris. - -Without joking, if he did not look stylish and aristocratic, he was -noble and valiant and pleasant to behold. - -This company of Guards had shining muskets, the national cockades, and -marched with most satisfactory time in two files. It had won the tribute -before reaching the parade ground. - -Out of the corner of his eye, Pitou saw that Catherine changed color. -From that moment the review had more interest to him than anything in -the world. - -He passed his men through the simple manual of arms, and they did it so -smartly and neatly that it elicited applause. - -Not so with the competitors, who were irregularly armed and had not been -trained steadily. Others exaggerated from their conceit what they could -have done properly. - -On the whole imperfect results. - -For the grand array, Pitou was outranked in seniority by an army -sergeant who took the general command; but unhappily he had grasped more -than he could hold: he bunched his men, lost grip of some files, let a -company meander under the surrounding trees, and finally lost his head -so that his own soldiers began to grumble. - -From the Haramont side rose a shout: - -"Let Pitou try!" - -"Yes, yes Pitou!" caught up the other villagers, furious at their -inferiority being manifested through their own instructors. - -Pitou jumped on his white charger, and replacing himself at the head of -his troop, become the rallying point of the little army, uttered a word -of command so superbly that the oaks shivered. On the instant, and as by -miracle, order was re-established: the movements fitted in with one -another with such uniformity that the enthusiasm did not disturb the -regularity. Pitou so well applied the theory of the instruction books -and the practice of old Clovis that he obtained immense success. - -Formed into a hollow square, the whole army raised but one voice and -proclaimed him Colonel on the spot. - -Bathed in perspiration and drunk with glory, Pitou got down off his -horse and received the people's felicitations when he alighted. - -But at the same time he glanced round for Catherine. He heard her voice -by his side; he had no need to hunt for her, as she had come to him. -Great was this triumph. - -"Have you not a word for us, Captain Pitou?" she demanded, with a -laughing air belied by her pale face; "I suppose you have grown proud -since you are a great general?" - -"Oh, no," responded he, saluting, "I am not that, but just a poor fellow -who loves his country and desires to serve her." - -This reply was carried away on the waves of the multitude and was -proclaimed sublime by the acclamation in unison. - -"Ange, I want to speak with you," whispered Catherine. "Do come back to -the farm with mother and me." - -"All right." - -Catherine had already arranged that they should be alone together on the -road. She had switched her mother into the train of several neighbors -and gossips who held her in talk so that the girl could walk through -the woods with the National Guardsman. - -"Why have you kept aloof from the farm so long?" began Catherine when -they were beneath the hoary oaks. "It is bad behavior on your part." - -Pitou was silent, for it hurt him to hear Catherine tell lies. - -"But, I have something else to speak about," she continued, seeing that -he was avoiding her with his usually straight and loyal glance. "The -other day I saw you in the copse. Did you know me?" - -"Not at first, but I did know you." - -"What were you doing there in hiding?" - -"Why should I be in hiding? I was studying a military book." - -"I only thought that curiosity----" - -"I am not a Peeping Tom." - -She stamped testily with her small foot. - -"You are always stuck there and it is not a regular place for students." - -"It is very secluded--nothing disturbs one there." - -"Nothing? do you stay there any length of time?" - -"Sometimes whole days." - -"And have you been in the habit of making that your resort?" she -inquired quickly. - -"Since a good while back." - -"It is astonishing that I should not have seen you before," she said, -lying so boldly that Pitou was almost convinced. - -But he was ashamed for her sake; he was timid from being in love and -this led him to be guarded. - -"I may have dozed off," he replied; "it has happened when I have taxed -my brain too much." - -"Then in your sleep you would not have noticed where I strayed for -shade--I would go as far as the walls of the old shooting-lodge." - -"What lodge?" questioned Pitou. - -"The Charny Hunting-lodge," replied she, blushing from his innocence -being too thickly laid on not to be suspicious. "It is there grow the -finest houseleeks in the section. I burnt myself while ironing and -wanted to make a poultice of them." - -As if willing to believe her, he looked at her hands. - -"No, not my hand, my foot," she said quickly. "I--I dropped the iron: -but it has done me good; you see, that I do not limp." - -"She did not limp either when she scampered through the wood like a -fawn," thought Ange. - -She imagined she had succeeded and that Pitou had seen and heard -nothing. Giving way to delight, mean in so fine a spirit, she said: - -"So Captain Pitou is riding his high horse; proud of his new rank, he -scorns us rustics from being a military officer." - -Pitou felt wounded. Even a dissimulated sacrifice almost requires some -reward, and as Catherine only mystified Pitou or jested at him, no doubt -contrasting him with the intelligent Charny, all his good intentions -vanished. Self-esteem is a charmed serpent, on which it is perillous to -step unless you crush it once for all. - -"It seems to me that you are the haughty one," he returned, "for you -drove me off the farm on the grounds that there was no work for me. I -haven't told Master Billet so far I have arms for earning my bread, -thank God! However, you are the mistress under your own roof. In short, -you sent me away. Hence, as you saw me at the Charny Lodge, and we were -not enemies, it was your place to speak to me instead of running away -like a boy stealing apples." - -The viper had bitten; Catherine dropped out of her calm. - -"I, run away?" she exclaimed. - -"As though fire had broken out on the farm. I had not time to shut up my -book before you were on the back of Younker, where he was concealed in -the foliage, after barking an ashtree, and ruining it." - -"What do you mean by ruining?" - -"That is right enough," continued Pitou: "while you were gathering -houseleeks, Younker was browsing, and in an hour a horse eats a heap of -stuff. It must have taken quite an hour for him to strip that sized tree -of bark. You must have collected enough plants to cure all the wounds -inflicted in taking the Bastile--it is a great thing for poultices!" - -Pale and in despair, Catherine could not find a word to speak. Pitou was -silent also, as he had said quite enough. - -Mother Billet, stopping at the road forks, was bidding adieu to her -cronies. - -"What does the officer say?" queried the woman. - -"He says goodnight to you, Mother Billet." - -"Not yet," cried Catherine with a desperate tone. "Tell me the -truth--are we no longer friends?" - -Pitou felt his secret well up to his lips: but it was all over with him -if he spoke; so he bowed mutely with respect which touched her heart; -gave Mother Billet a pleasant smile, and disappeared in the dense wood. - -"Is that what is called love?" Pitou monologued to himself; "it is sweet -at times and then again bitter." - -He returned to Haramont, singing the most doleful of rural ballads to -the mournfullest tunes. - -Luckily he did not find his warriors in any such mood. On the contrary, -they were preparing for a feast and they had set aside the chair of -honor for their Caesar who had overcome the other villages' Pompeys. - -Dragged by his officers into the banquet room, he saluted in silence in -return for the greetings, and with the calmness we know as his, attacked -the roast veal and potatoes. His action lasted so long that his -"digester" was filled while his heart was freed of gall. At the end of a -couple of hours he perceived that his grief was no worse. - -He stood up when his brother revellers could not stand, while the ladies -had fled before the dessert. He made a speech on the sobriety of the -Spartans--when all were dead drunk. He said that it was healthier to -take a stroll than sleep under the table. - -Alone he set the example; he asked of the shadows beneath the glades, -why he should be so stern towards a young woman, made for love, grace -and sweetness; one who might also cherish a fancy at the outset of life? -Alas, why had she not fancied him? - -Why should an ugly, uncouth bear like him inspire amorous sentiments in -a pretty girl, when a handsome young nobleman--a very peacock beside -him--was there to glitter and enchant? - -He reasoned that, dazzled by Charny's brilliancy, she would not see -Pitou's real value if he acted harshly towards her. Consequently, he -ought to behave nicely to her. - -The good soul, heated white hot by wine and love, vowed to make -Catherine ashamed of having scorned the affection of such a sterling -lover as he was. - -He could not admit that the fair, chaste and proud Catherine was -anything like a plaything to the dashing gallant, or a bright flirt, -smiling on the lace ruffles and spurred boots. - -Some day Master Isidore would go to the city to marry a countess, and -the romance would end by his never looking at Catherine again. - -To prove to the maid that he was not ugly, he resolved to take back any -harsh words he had used; to do which it was necessary for him to see -her. - -He started through the woods for the Billet Farm, slashing the bushes -with his stick--which blows the shrubs returned with usury. - -During this time Catherine was pensively following her mother. - -A few steps from the farm was a swamp. The road narrows there so that -two horses can hardly go abreast. Mother Billet had gone through and the -girl was about to follow when she heard a whistle. - -In the shadow she spied the laced cap of Isidore's groom. She let her -mother ride on and waited for the messenger. - -"Master wants to see you very particular this evening at eleven, -wherever you like," said the man. - -"Good gracious, has anything bad happened to him?" she said. - -"I do not know; but he had a letter from town sealed with black wax. I -have been waiting an hour for you." - -Ten o'clock struck on the village church bell. Catherine looked round -her. - -"This place is dark and out of the way," she said; "I will await your -Master here." - -At the fixed time she ran out to the spot, warned by the sound of a -galloping horse. It was Isidore, attended by the groom, who stood at a -space while the noble advanced, without getting off his horse. - -He held out his arms to her, lifted her on the stirrup, kissed her and -said: - -"My brother Valence was killed yesterday at Versailles and my brother -the count calls me. I am off, Catherine!" - -"Oh," she moaned painfully, as she furiously embraced him, "if they have -killed him, they will kill you as well." - -"Catherine, whatever betides, my eldest brother awaits me; Catherine, -you know that I love you." - -"Oh, stay, stay," she cried, only knowing one thing--that her beloved -talked of leaving her. - -"But, honor, Catherine--my murdered brother! vengeance!" - -"Oh, what an unhappy girl I am," moaned she, collapsing, palpitating but -rigid in the horseman's arms. - -Resigned, for she at last comprehended that the brother's summons was an -order, she glided to the ground after a farewell kiss. - -He turned his eyes, sighed and wavered for a time; but, attracted by the -imperative order received, he set his horse to the gallop, and flung -Catherine a final farewell. - -The lackey followed him across the country. - -Catherine remained on the ground, where she had dropped, barring the way -with her body. - -Almost immediately a man appeared on the hill, striding towards the -farm. In his rapid course he could not fail to stumble on the body. He -staggered and rolled in the fall, and his groping hands touched the -inert form. - -"Catherine--dead!" he yelled so that the farm dogs' took up the howling. -"Who has killed Catherine?" - -He knelt down, pale and ice-cold, beside the inanimate body with its -head across his knee. - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - -THE ROAD TO PARIS. - - -On this same evening, a no less grave event set the college of Father -Fortier in an uproar. Sebastian Gilbert had disappeared about six -o'clock and had not been found up to midnight by the most active search. - -Nobody had seen him save Aunt Angelique, who, coming from the church, -where she let out the chairs, had thought to see him going up a lane. -This report added to the schoolmaster's disquiet. He knew that the youth -had strange delusions, during which he believed he was following a -beautiful lady; more than once when on a walk he had seen him stare at -vacancy and if he plunged too deeply into the copse, he would start the -best pedestrians of the class after him. - -But he had never gone off in the night. - -This time, he had taken the road to Haramont, and Angelique had really -seen him. He was going to find Pitou. But the latter left the village by -one end, to go and see Catherine, at the same time as the doctor's son -quitted it by the other. - -Pitou's door was open, for the captain was still simple in his habits. -He lit the candle and waited: but he was too fretful. He found a sheet -of paper, half of that on which Pitou had inscribed the name of his -company of soldiers, and wrote as follows: - - "MY DEAR PITOU: I have come to tell you of a conversation I - overheard between Father Fortier and the Villers Cotterets Vicar. - Fortier is in connivance with the aristocratic party of Paris and - says that a counter-revolutionary movement is hatching at - Versailles. The cue was given when the Queen wore the black cockade - and trampled the tricolor under-foot. This threat already made me - uneasy about my father, who is the aristocrats' enemy, as you know: - but this time it is worse. - - "The vicar has returned the priest's visit, and as I feared for my - father, I listened to their talk to hear the sequel to what I - overheard by accident last time. It appears, my dear Pitou, that - the people stormed Versailles and killed a great many royalists, - among them Lord Valence Charny. - - "Father Fortier said: 'Speak low, not to startle little Gilbert, - whose father has gone to Versailles and may be killed in the lot!' - - "You understand, Pitou, that I did not wait for more, but I have - stolen away and I come to have you take me back to Paris. I will - not wait any longer, as you may have gone to lay snares in the - woods and would not be home till to-morrow. So I proceed on my road - to Paris. Have no anxiety as I know the way and besides I have two - gold pieces left out of the money my father gave me, so that I can - take a seat in the first conveyance I catch up with. - - "P. S.--I make this rather long in order to explain my departure, - and to delay me that you may return before I finish. But no, I have - finished, and you have not come, so that I am off. Farewell, until - we meet again! if nothing has happened to my father and he runs no - danger, I will return. If not, I shall ask his leave to stay beside - him. Calm Father Fortier about my absence; but do not do so until - it is too late for him to overtake me. Good-bye, again!" - -Knowing his friend's economy, he put out the candle, and set off. - -He went by the starlight at first till he struck through byways the main -road at Vauciennes. At the branch of the Paris and Crespy roads, he had -to stop as he did not know which to take. They were both alike. He sat -down discouraged, partly to rest, partly to reflect, when he heard the -galloping of horses from Villers Cotterets way. - -He waited to ask the riders the information he wanted. Soon he saw two -shadows in the gloom, one riding at a space behind the other so that he -judged the foremost to be the master and the other his groom. - -He walked out three steps from the roadside to accost him when the -horseman clapped his hand to his holster for a pistol. - -"I am not a thief, sir," cried Sebastian, interpreting the action -correctly, "but a boy whom recent events at Versailles calls thither to -seek his father. I do not know which of these roads I ought to take to -get to Paris--point it out, please, and you will do me a great service." - -The speaker's stylish language and his juvenile tone did not seem -unknown to the rider, who reined in his steed, albeit he seemed in -haste. - -"Who are you, my boy, and how comes it you are out on the highway at -such an hour?" he inquired. - -"I am not asking you who you are--only my road--the way for a poor boy -to reach his father in distress." - -In the almost childish voice was firmness which struck the cavalier. - -"My friend, we are on the road to Paris," he replied: "I have only been -there twice and do not know it very well, but I am sure this is the -right one." - -Sebastian drew back a step offering his thanks. The horses had need of -getting their wind and started off again not very rapidly. - -"My Lord Viscount," said the lackey to his master, "do you not recognize -that youth?" - -"No: though I fancied----" - -"It is young Sebastian Gilbert, who is at boarding school, at Abb -Fortier's; and who comes over to Billet's Farm with Ange Pitou." - -"You are right, by Jove!" Turning his horse and stopping, he called out: -"Is this you, Sebastian?" - -"Yes, my lord," returned the boy, who had known the horseman all the -time. - -"Then, come, and tell me how I find you here?" - -"I did tell you--I want to learn that my father in Paris is not killed -or hurt." - -"Alas, my poor boy," said Isidore with profound sadness, "I am going to -town on the like errand: only I have no doubt; one of my brothers, -Valence, was slain at Versailles yesterday." - -"Oh, I am so sorry," said the youth, holding out his hand to the -speaker, which the latter took and squeezed. - -"Well, my dear boy, since our fate is akin," said the cavalier, "we must -not separate; you must like me be eager to get to Paris." - -"Oh, dear, yes!" - -"You can never reach it on foot." - -"I could do it but it would take too long; so I reckon on taking a place -in a stage going my way, and get what lift I can do the journey." - -"Better than that, my boy; get up behind my man." - -Sebastian plucked his hands out of the other's grasp. - -"I thank you, my lord," said he in such a tone that the noble understood -that he had hurt the youth's feelings by offering to mount him behind -his inferior. - -"Or, better still, now I think of it," he went on, "take his place. He -can come on afterwards. He can learn where I am by asking at the -Tuileries Palace." - -"I thank you again, my lord," replied the adolescent, in a milder voice, -for he had comprehended the delicacy of the offer: "I do not wish to -deprive you of his services." - -It was hard to come to an arrangement now that the terms of peace were -laid down. - -"Better again, my dear Sebastian. Get up behind me. Dawn is peeping: at -ten we shall be at Dammartin, half way; there we will leave the two -horses, which would not carry us much farther, under charge of -Baptistin, and we will take the post-chaise to Paris. I intended to do -this so that you do not lead to any change in my arrangements." - -"If this be true, then, I accept," said the young man, hesitating but -dying to go. - -"Down with you, Baptistin, and help Master Sebastian to mount." - -"Thanks, but it is useless," said the youth leaping up behind the -gentleman as light as a schoolboy. - -The three on the two horses started off at the gallop, and disappeared -over the ridge. - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - -THE SPIRIT MATERIALIZED. - - -At five next afternoon, Viscount Charny and Sebastian reached the -Tuileries Palace gates. The name of his brother passed Isidore and his -companion into the middle courtyard. - -Young Gilbert had wanted to go to the house in Honore Street where his -father dwelt, but the other had pointed out that as he was honorary -physician to the Royal Household, he might be at the palace, where the -latest news of him could be had. - -While an usher made inquiries, Sebastian sat on a sofa and Isidore -walked up and down the sitting-room. - -In ten minutes the man returned: Count Charny was with the Queen; Dr. -Gilbert had had nothing happen to him; he was supposed to be with the -King, as a doctor was with his Majesty. If it were so, he would be -informed on coming out that a person was waiting to see him. - -Isidore was much affected in parting with him as his joy at recovering -his father made the loss of his brother more painful. - -At this the door opened for a servant to call: "The Viscount of Charny -is asked for in the Queen's apartments." - -"You will wait for me," said Isidore; "unless your father comes, promise -me, Gilbert, for I am answerable for you to the doctor." - -"Yes, and receive my thanks in the meantime," rejoined Sebastian, -resuming his place on the sofa as the Viscount left the room with the -domestic. - -Easy about his father's fate, and himself, certain that the good intent -would earn his forgiveness for the journey, he went back in memory to -Father Fortier, and on Pitou, and reflected on the trouble which his -flight and his note would cause them severally. - -And naturally, by the mechanism of ideas, he thought of the woods around -Pitou's home, where he had so often pursued the ghost in his reverie. -The White Lady seen so oft in visions, and once only in reality, he -believed in Satory Wood, appearing and flitting away in a magnificent -carriage drawn by a galloping pair. - -He recalled the profound emotion this sight had given him and half -plunged in dreams anew, he murmured: - -"My mother?" - -At this juncture, a door in the wall over against him opened. A woman -appeared. This appearance was so much in harmony with what happened in -his fancy, that he started to see his ghost take substance. In this -woman was the vision and the reality--the lady seen at Satory. - -He sprang up as though a spring had acted under his feet. - -His lips tightened on one another, his eyes expanded, and the pupils -dilated. His heaving breast in vain endeavored to form a sound. - -Majestic, haughty and disdainful, the lady passed him without any heed. -Calm as she was externally, yet her pale countenance, frowning brow and -whistling respiration, betrayed that she was in great nervous -irritation. - -She crossed the room diagonally, opened another door, and walked into a -corridor. - -Sebastian comprehended that she was escaping him, if he did not hasten. -He still looked as if apprehensive that it was a ghost, but then darted -after her, before the skirt of her silken robe had disappeared round the -turning of the lobby. - -Hearing steps behind her, she walked more briskly as if fearing pursuit. - -He quickened his gait as much as he could, fearing as the corridor was -dark that he might miss her. This caused her to accelerate her pace -also, but she looked round. - -He uttered a cry of joy for it was clearly the vision. - -Seeing but a boy with extended arms and understanding nothing why she -should be chased, the lady hurried down a flight of stairs. But she had -barely descended to one landing than Sebastian arrived at the end of the -passage where he called out: - -"Lady, oh, lady!" - -This voice produced a strange sensation throughout the hearer; she -seemed struck in the heart by a pain which was half delight, and from -the heart a shudder sent by the blood through all her veins. - -Nevertheless, as all was a puzzle to her; she doubled her speed, and the -course resembled a flight. - -They reached the foot of the stairs at the same time. - -It was the courtyard into which the lady sped. A carriage was waiting -for her, for a servant was holding the door open. She stepped in swiftly -and took her seat. - -Before the door could be closed, Sebastian glided in between it and the -footman, and seizing the hem of her dress, kissed with frenzy and cried: - -"Oh, lady!" - -Looking at the pretty boy who had frightened her at first, she said in a -sweeter voice than she usually spoke, though it was yet shaken with fear -and emotion: - -"Well, my little friend, why are you running after me? why do you call -me? what do you want?" - -"I want to see you, and kiss you," replied the child. "I want to call -you 'Mother,'" he added in so low a voice that only she could hear him. - -She uttered a scream, embraced him, and approaching him as by a sudden -revelation, fastened her ardent lips on his brow. Then, as though she -dreaded someone coming to snatch away this child whom she had found, she -drew him entirely into the vehicle, pushed him to its other side, shut -the door with her own hand, and lowering the glass to order: "Drive to -No. 9 Coq-Heron Street, the first carriage-doorway from Plastriere -Street," she shut the window instantly. - -Turning to the boy she asked his name. - -"Sebastian? come, Sebastian, come here, on my heart." - -She threw herself back as if going to swoon, muttering: "What new -sensation is this? can it be what is called happiness?" - -The journey was one long kiss of mother and son. - -She had found this son by a miracle, whom the father had torn from her -in a terrible night of anguish and dishonor; he had disappeared with no -trace but the abductor's tracks in the snow; this child had been -detested until she heard its first wail, whereupon she had loved him; -this child had been prayed for, called for, begged for. Her brother had -uselessly hunted for him over land and ocean. For fifteen years she had -yearned for him, and despaired to behold him again; she had begun to -think no more of him but as a cherished spirit. Here he was, running and -crying after her, seeking her, in his turn, calling her "Mother!" - -He was pillowed on her heart, pressing on her bosom, loving her filially -although he had never seen her, as she loved him with maternal -affection. Her pure lips recovered all the joys of a lost life in this -first kiss given her son. - -Above the head of mankind is Something else than the void in which the -spheres revolve: in life there is Another Thing than chance and -fatality. - - -After fourteen years she was taken back to the house where he was born, -this offspring of the union of the mesmerist Gilbert and the daughter of -the House of Taverney, his victim. There he had drawn the first breath -of life and thence his father had stolen him. - -This little residence, bought by the late Baron Taverney, served as -lodging for his son when he came to town, which was rarely, and for -Andrea, when she slept in town. - -After her conflict with the Queen, unable to bear meeting the woman who -loved her husband, Andrea had made up her mind to go away from the -rival, who visited on her retaliation for all her griefs, and whom the -woes of the Queen, great though they were, always remained beneath the -sufferings of the loving woman. - -All concurred then in making this evening a happy one for the ex-Queen's -maid of honor. Nothing should trouble her. Instead of a room in a palace -where the walls are all ears and eyes, she was harboring her child in -her own little, secluded house. - -As soon as she was closeted with Sebastian in her boudoir, she drew him -to a lounge, on which were concentrated the lights from both candles and -fire. - -"Oh, my boy, is it really you?" she exclaimed with a joy which still -quivered with lingering doubt. - -"Mother!" ejaculated Sebastian with an outburst of the heart, flowing -like refreshing dews on Andrea's burning heart and enfevered veins. - -"And the meeting to be here," said she, looking round with terror -towards the room whence he had been stolen. - -"What do you mean by 'Here?'" - -"Fifteen years ago, my boy, you were born in this room, and I bless the -mercy of the Almighty that you are miraculously restored to me." - -"Yes, miraculously indeed," said the youth, "for if I had not feared for -my father----" - -Andrea closed her eyes and leaned back, so sharp was the pang shooting -through her. - -"If I had not set out alone in the night, I should not have been -perplexed about the road: and then I should not have been recognized by -Lord Isidore Charny, who offered his help and conducted me to the -Tuileries----" - -Her eyes re-opened, her heart expanded and her glance thanked heaven: -for it increased the miracle that Sebastian should be led to her by her -husband's brother. - -"I should not have seen you passing through the palace and not following -you might never have called you 'Mother!' the word so sweet and tender -to utter." - -Recalled to her bliss, she hugged him again and said: - -"Yes, you are right, my boy; it is most sweet: but there is perchance -another one more sweet and tender; 'My son!' which I say to you as I -press you to my heart. But in short," she suddenly said, "it is -impossible that all should remain mysterious around us. You have -explained how you come here, but not how you recognized me and ran after -me, calling me your mother." - -"How can I tell? I do not myself know," replied Sebastian, looking at -her with love unspeakable. "You speak of mysteries? all is mysterious -about you and me. List to me, and I will tell you what seems a prodigy." - -Andrea bent nearer. - -"It is ten years since I knew you. You do not understand. I have dreams -which my father calls hallucinations." - -At the reminder of Gilbert, passing like a steel point from the boyish -lips, Andrea started. - -"I have seen you twenty times, mother. In the village, while playing -with the other schoolboys, I have followed you as you flitted through -the woods and pursued you with useless calls till you faded away. -Crushed by fatigue I would drop on the spot, as if your presence alone -had sustained me." - -This kind of second existence, this living dream, too much resembled -what the medium herself experienced for her not to understand him. - -"Poor darling," she said as she pressed him more closely, "it was vainly -that hate strove to part us. Heaven was bringing us together without my -suspecting it. Less happy than you, I saw my dear child neither in dream -nor reality. Still, when I passed through that Green Saloon I felt a -shiver; when I heard your footsteps behind mine, giddiness thrilled my -heart and brain; when you called me 'Lady' I all but stopped; when you -called me 'Mother!' I nearly swooned; when I embraced you, I believed." - -"My mother," repeated Sebastian, as if to console her for not having -heard the welcome title for so long. - -"Yes, your mother," said the countess, with a transport of love -impossible to describe. - -"Now that we have found each other," said the youth, "and as you are -contented and happy at our union, we are not going to part any more, -tell me?" - -She shuddered: she was enjoying the present to the exclusion of the past -and totally closing her eyes on the future. - -"How I should bless you, my poor boy, if you could accomplish this -miracle!" she sighingly murmured. - -"Let me manage it; I will do it. I do not know the causes separating you -from my father,"--Andrea turned pale--"but they will be effaced by my -tears and entreaties, however serious they may be." - -"Never," returned the countess, shaking her head. - -"I tell you that my father adores you," said Sebastian, who believed -that the woman was in the wrong from the way his father had forbidden -him ever to mention her name. - -Her hands holding the speaker's relaxed but he did not notice this, as -he continued: - -"I will prepare him to greet you; I will tell him all the happiness you -give me; one of these days, I will take you by the hand and lead you to -him, saying: 'Here she is, father--look, how handsome she is!'" - -Repulsing Sebastian, she sprang up. - -"Never," repeated she, while he stared with astounded eyes for she was -so white as to alarm him. This time her accent expressed a threat rather -than fright. - -She recoiled on the lounge; in that face he had seen the hard lines -which Raphael gives to irritated angels. - -"Why do you refuse to receive my father?" he demanded, in a sullen -voice. - -At these words, the lightning burst as at the contact of two clouds. - -"Why? do you ask me why? well, never shall you know." - -"Still, I ask why," said Sebastian, with firmness. - -"Because, then," said Andrea, incapable of self-restraint under the -sting of the serpent gnawing at her heart, "because your father is an -infamous villain!" - -He bounded up from the divan and stood before her. - -"Do you say that of my father," he cried, "of Dr. Gilbert, who brought -me up and educated me, the only friend I ever knew? I am making a -mistake--you are no mother of mine!" - -She stopped him darting towards the door. - -"Stay," she said, "you cannot know, ought not understand, may not -judge." - -"No; but I can feel, and I feel that I love you no more." - -She screamed with pain. - -Simultaneously, a diversion was given to the emotion overwhelming her by -the sound of a carriage coming up to the street doorway. Such a shudder -ran over her that he thrilled in sympathy. - -"Wait, and be silent," she said so that he was subjugated. - -"Who am I to announce?" she heard the old footman demand in the -ante-room. - -"The Count of Charny; and inquire if my lady will do me the honor to -receive me?" - -"Into this room, child," said Andrea, "he must not see you--he must not -know that you exist!" - -She pushed the frightened youth into the adjoining apartment. - -"Remain here till he shall have gone, when I will relate to--No, nothing -of that can be said? I will so love you that you will not doubt that I -am your own loving mother." - -His only reply was a moan. - -At this moment the door opened and the servant, cap in hand, acquitted -himself of the errand entrusted to him. - -"Show in the Count of Charny," she said in the firmest voice she could -find. - -As the old man retired, the nobleman appeared on the sill. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - -HUSBAND AND WIFE. - - -Count Charny was clad in black, mourning for his brother slain two days -before. - -This mourning was not solely in his habit, but in the recesses of his -heart, and his pallid cheeks attested what grief he had undergone. Never -are handsome faces finer than after sorrow, and the rapid glance of his -wife perceived that he had never looked more superb. - -She closed her eyes an instant, slightly held back her head to draw a -full breath and laid her hand on her heart which seemed about to break. - -When she opened them, after a second, Charny was in the same place. - -"Is the carriage to wait?" inquired the servant, urged by the footman at -the door. - -An unspeakable look shot from the yearning eyes of the visitor upon his -wife, who was dazed into closing her own again, while she stood -breathless as though she had not noticed the glance or heard the -question. Both had penetrated to her heart. - -Charny sought in this lovely living statue for some token to indicate -what answer he should make. As her shiver might be read both ways, he -said: "Bid the coachman wait." - -The door closed and perhaps for the first time since their wedding the -lord and his lady were alone together. - -"Pardon me," said the count, breaking the silence, "but is my unexpected -call intrusion? I have not seated myself and the carriage waits so that -I can depart as I came." - -"No, my lord, quite the contrary," quickly said Andrea. "I knew you were -well and safe, but I am not the less happy to see you after recent -events." - -"You have been good enough then to ask after me?" - -"Of course; yesterday, and this morning, when I was answered that you -were at Versailles; and this evening, when I learnt that you were in -attendance on the Queen." - -Were those last words spoken simply or did they contain a reproach? Not -knowing what to make of them, the count was evidently set thinking by -them. But probably leaving to the outcome of the dialogue the lifting of -the veil lowered on his mind for the time, he replied almost instantly: - -"My lady, a pious duty retained me at Versailles yesterday and this day; -one as sacred in my eyes brought me instantly on my arrival in town -beside her Majesty." - -Andrea tried in her turn to discover the true intent of the words. -Thinking that she ought to respond, she said: - -"Yes, I know of the terrible loss which--_you_ have experienced." She -had been on the point of saying "we," but she dared not, and continued: -"You have had the misfortune to lose your brother Valence de Charny." - -The count seemed to be waiting for the clue, for he had started on -hearing the pronoun "Your." - -"Yes, my lady. As you say, a terrible loss for me, but you cannot -appreciate the young man, as you little knew poor Valence, happily." - -In the last word was a mild and melancholy reproach, which his auditor -comprehended, though no outward sign was manifested that she gave it -heed. - -"Still, one thing consoles me, if anything can console me; poor Valence -died doing his duty, as probably his brother Isidore will die, and I -myself." - -This deeply affected Andrea. - -"Alas, my lord," she asked, "do you believe matters so desperate that -fresh sacrifices of blood are necessary to appease the wrath of heaven?" - -"I believe that the hour comes when the knell of kings is to peal; that -an evil genius pushes monarchy unto the abysm. In short I think, if it -is to fall, it will be accompanied, and should be so, by all those who -took part in its splendor." - -"True, but when comes that day, believe that it will find me ready like -yourself for the utmost devotion," said Andrea. - -"Your ladyship has given too many proofs of that devotion in the past, -for any one to doubt it for the future--I least of all--the less as I -have for the first time flinched about an order from the Queen. On -arriving from Versailles, I found the order to present myself to her -Majesty instantly." - -"Oh," said Andrea, sadly smiling; "it is plain," she added, after a -pause, "like you, the Queen sees the future is sombre and mysterious and -wishes to gather round her all those she can depend on." - -"You are wrong, my lady," returned Charny, "for the Queen summoned me, -not to bid me stand by her, but to send me afar." - -"Send you away?" quickly exclaimed the countess, taking a step towards -the speaker. "But I am keeping you standing," she said, pointing to a -chair. - -So saying, she herself sank, as though unable to remain on foot any -longer, on the sofa where she had been sitting with Sebastian shortly -before. - -"Send you away? in what end?" she said with emotion not devoid of joy at -the thought that the suspected lovers were parting. - -"To have me go to Turin to confer with Count Artois and the Duke of -Bourbon, who have quitted the country." - -"And you accepted?" - -"No, my lady," responded Charny, watching her fixedly. - -She lost color so badly that he moved as if to assist her, but this -revived her strength and she recovered. - -"No? you have answered No to an order of the Queen's, my lord?" she -faltered, with an indescribable accent of doubt and astonishment. - -"I answered that I believed my presence here at present more necessary -than in Italy. Anybody could bear the message with which I was to be -honored; I had a second brother, just arrived from the country, to place -at the orders of the King, and he was ready to start in my stead." - -"Of course the Queen was happy to see the substitute," exclaimed Andrea, -with bitterness she could not contain, and not appearing to escape -Charny. - -"It was just the other way, for she seemed to be deeply wounded by the -refusal. I should have been forced to go had not the King chanced in and -I made him the arbiter." - -"The King held you to be right?" sneered the lady with an ironical -smile: "he like you advised your staying in the Tuileries? Oh, how good -his Majesty is!" - -"So he is," went on the count, without wincing: "he said that my brother -Isidore would be well fitted for the mission and the more so as it was -his first visit to court, so that his absence would not be remarked. He -added that it would be cruel for the Queen to require my being sent away -from you at present." - -"The King said, from me?" exclaimed Andrea. - -"I repeat his own words, my lady. Looking round and addressing me, he -wanted to know where the Countess of Charny was. 'I have not seen her -this evening,' said he. As this was specially directed to me, I made -bold to reply. 'Sire,' I said, 'I have so seldom the pleasure of seeing -the countess that I am in the state of impossibility to tell where she -is; but if your Majesty wishes to know, he might inquire of the Queen -who, knowing, will reply!' I insisted as I judged from the Queen looking -black, that some difference had arisen between you." - -Andrea was so enwrapt in the listening that she did not think of saying -anything. - -"The Queen made answer that the Countess of Charny had gone away from -the palace with no intention to return. 'Why, what motive can your best -friend have in quitting the palace at this juncture?' inquired the King. -'Because she is uncomfortable here,' replied the Queen who had started -at the title you were given. 'Well, that may be so; but we will find -accommodation for her and the count beside our own rooms,' went on the -King. 'You will not be very particular, eh, my lord?' I told him that I -should be satisfied with any post as long as I could serve him in it. 'I -know it well: so that we only want the lady called back from--' the -Queen did not know whither you had departed. 'Not know where your friend -has gone?' exclaimed the King. 'When my friends leave me I do not -inquire after them.' 'Good, some woman's quarrel,' said Louis; 'my Lord -Charny, I have to speak a while with the Queen. Kindly wait for me and -present your brother who shall start for Turin this evening. I am of -your opinion that I shall require you and I mean to keep you by me.' So -I sent for my brother who was awaiting me in the Green Saloon, I was -told." - -At the mention, Andrea, who had nearly forgotten Sebastian in her -interest in her husband's story, was made to think of all that had -passed between mother and son, and she threw her eyes with anguish on -the bedroom door where she had placed him. - -"But you must excuse me for talking of matters but slightly interesting -you while you are no doubt wishful to know why I have come here." - -"No, my lord, what you say does engage me," replied the countess; "your -presence can only be agreeable on account of the fears I have felt on -your account. I pray you to continue. The King asked you to wait for him -and to bring your brother." - -"We went to the royal apartments, where he joined us in ten minutes. As -the mission for the princes was urgent he began by that. Their -Highnesses were to be instructed about what had happened. A quarter of -an hour after the King came, my brother was on the road, and the King -and I were left alone. He stopped suddenly in pacing the room and said: -'My lord, do you know what has passed between the Queen and the -countess?' I was ignorant. 'Something must have happened,' he went on, -'for the Queen is in a temper fit to massacre everybody, and it appears -to me unjust to the countess--which is odd, as the Queen usually defends -her friends through thick and thin, even when they are wrong.' 'I repeat -I know nothing, but I venture to assert that the countess has done no -wrong--even if we cannot admit that a queen ever does so.'" - -"I thank your lordship for having so good an opinion of me," said -Andrea. - -"'I suppose as the countess has a house in town that she has retired -there,' I suggested. 'Of course! I will give you leave of absence till -to-morrow on condition that you bring back the countess,' said the -King." - -Charny looked at his wife so fixedly that she was unable to bear the -glance and had to close her eyes. - -"Then, seeing that I was in mourning, he stayed me to say that my loss -was one of those which monarchs could not repair; but that if my brother -left a widow or a child he would help them, and would like them -presented to him, at any rate; the Queen should take care of the widow -and he would of the children." - -Charny spoke with tears in his voice. - -"I daresay the King was only repeating what the Queen had said," -remarked the lady. - -"The Queen did not honor me with a word on the subject," returned -Charny, "and that is why the King's speech affected me most deeply. He -ended by bidding me 'Go to our dear Andrea; for though those we love -cannot console us they can mourn with us, and that is a relief!' Thus it -is that I come by the King's order, which may be my excuse, my lady," -concluded the count. - -"Did you doubt your welcome?" cried the lady, quickly rising and holding -out both hands to him. - -He grasped them and kissed them; she uttered a scream as though they -were redhot iron, and sank back on the divan. But her hands were -clinging to his and he was drawn down so as to be placed sitting beside -her. - -But it was then that she thought she heard a noise in the next room, and -she started from him so abruptly that he rose and stood off a little, -not knowing to what to attribute the outcry and the repulsion so -suddenly made. - -Leaning on the sofa back, he sighed. The sigh touched her deeply. - -At the very time when the bereaved mother found her child, something -like the dawn of love beamed on her previously dismal and sorrowful -horizon. But by a strange coincidence, proven that she was not born to -happiness, the two events were so combined that one annulled the other: -the return of the husband thrust aside the son's love as the latter's -presence destroyed the budding passion. - -Charny could not divine this in the exclamation and the starting aloof, -the silence full of sadness following, although the cry was of love and -the retreat from fear, not repulsion. - -He gazed upon her with an expression which she could not have mistaken -if she had been looking up. - -"What answer am I to carry to the King?" he inquired emitting a sigh. - -"My lord," she replied, starting at the sound and raising her clear and -limpid eyes to him, "I suffered so much while in the court that I -accepted the leave to go when accorded by the Queen, with thankfulness. -I am not fitted to live in society, and in solitude I have found repose -if not happiness. My happiest days were those spent as a girl at -Taverney and in the convent of St. Denis with the noble princess of the -House of France, the Lady Louise. But, with your lordship's permission, -I will dwell in this summerhouse, full of recollections which are not -without some sweetness spite of their sadness." - -Charny bowed at this suggestion of his permission being sought, like a -man who was obeying an order, far more than granting a request. - -"As this is a fixed resolve," he said, marking how steady she was with -all her meekness, "am I to be allowed to call on you here?" - -She fastened her eyes on him, usually clear but now full of astonishment -and blandness. - -"Of course, my lord," was her response, "and as I shall have no company, -you can come any time that your duties at the palace allow you to set -aside a little while to me." - -Never had Charny seen so much charm in her gaze, or such tenderness in -her voice. Something ran through his veins, like the shudder from a -lover's first kiss. He glanced at the place whence he had risen when -Andrea got up; he would have given a year of life to take his seat there -again if she would not once more repel him. But the soldier was timid, -and he dared not allow himself the liberty. - -On her part, Andrea would have given ten years, sooner than only one, to -have him in that place, but, unfortunately, each was ignorant of the -other's mood, and they stood still, in almost painful expectation. - -"You were saying that you had to endure a great deal at court. Was not -the Queen pleasant towards you?" - -"I have nothing to blame her Majesty for," replied the ex-lady of honor, -"and I should be unjust if I did not acknowledge her Majesty's kind -treatment." - -"I hinted at this, because I have lately noticed that the friendship -seemed to show a falling off," continued the count. - -"That is possible, and that is why I am leaving the court." - -"But you will live so lonely?" - -"Have I not always lived so, my lord?" sighed Andrea, "as maid--wife--" -she stopped, seeing that she was going too far. - -"Do you make me a reproach?" - -"What right have I in heaven's name to make reproaches to your -lordship?" retorted the countess: "do you believe I have forgot the -circumstances under which we were plighted? Just the opposite of those -who vow before the altar reciprocal love and mutual protection, we swore -eternal indifference and complete separation. The blame would be to the -one who forgot that oath." - -Charny caught the sigh which these words had not entirely suppressed, -from the speaker's heart. - -"But this is such a small dwelling," he said: "a countess in one sitting -room with only another to eat in, and this for repose----" - -She sprang in between him and the bedroom, seeing Sebastian behind the -door, in her mind's eye. - -"Oh, my lord, do not go that way, I entreat you," she exclaimed, barring -the passage with her extended arms. - -"Oh, my lady," said he, looking at her so pale and trembling, with -fright never more plain on a human face, "I knew that you did not like -me: but I had no idea you hated me to this degree." - -Incapable of remaining any longer beside his wife without an outburst, -he reeled for a space like an intoxicated man; recovering himself, he -rushed out of the room with an exclamation of pain which echoed in the -depths of the hearer's heart. - -She watched him till he was out of sight; she listened till she could no -longer hear his departing carriage, and then with a breaking heart, -dreading that she had not enough motherly love to combat with this other -passion, she darted into the bedroom, calling out: - -"Sebastian," but no voice replied. - -By the trembling of the night-lamp in a draft she perceived that the -window was open. It was the same by which the child was kidnapped -fifteen years before. - -"This is justice," she muttered; "did he not say that I was no more his -mother?" - -Comprehending that she had lost both husband and child at the period -when she had recovered them, Andrea threw herself on the couch, at the -end of her resignation and her prayers exhausted. - -Suddenly it seemed to her that something more dreadful than her -sorrowful plight glided in between grief and her tears. - -She looked up and beheld a man, after climbing in at the open window, -standing on the floor. - -She wished to shriek and ring for help; but he bent on her the -fascinating gaze which caused her the invincible lethargy she remembered -Cagliostro could impose upon her: but in this mesmerist and his -spell-binding look and bearing, she recognized Gilbert. - -How was it the execrated father stood in the stead of his beloved son? - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. - -IN SEARCH OF THEIR SON. - - -It was Dr. Gilbert who was closeted with the King when the usher -inquired after him on the order of Isidore and the entreaty of -Sebastian. - -The upright heart of Louis XVI. had appreciated the loyalty in the -doctor's. After half an hour, the latter came forth and went into the -Queen's ante-chamber, where he saw Isidore. - -"I asked for you, doctor, but I have another with me who wants still -more to see you. It will be cruel to detain you from him: so let us -hasten to the Green Saloon." - -But the room was empty and such was the confusion in the palace that no -servant was at hand to inform them what had become of the young man. - -"It was a person I met on the road, eager to get to Paris and coming -here on foot only for my giving him a ride." - -"Are you speaking of the peasant Pitou?" - -"No, doctor--of your son, Sebastian." - -At this, the usher who had taken Isidore away returned. - -He was ignorant of what had happened but, luckily, a second footman had -seen the singular disappearance of the boy in the carriage of a court -lady. - -They hastened to the gates where the janitor well recalled that the -direction to the coachman was "No. 9 Coq-Heron Street, first carriage -entrance from Plastriere Street." - -"My sister-in-law's," exclaimed Isidore, "the countess of Charny!" - -"Fatality," muttered Gilbert. "He must have recognized her," he said in -a lower tone. - -"Let us go there," suggested the young noble. - -Gilbert saw all the dangers of Andrea's son being discovered by her -husband. - -"My lord," he said, "my son is in safety in the hands of the Countess of -Charny, and as I have the honor to know her, I think I can call by -myself. Besides it is more proper that you should be on your road; for I -presume you are going to Turin, from what I heard in the King's -presence." - -"Yes, doctor." - -"Receive my thanks for your kindness to Sebastian, and be off! When a -father says he is not uneasy, you need feel no anxiety." - -Isidore held out his hand which the revolutionist shook with more -heartiness than he had for most of his class; while the nobleman -returned within the palace, he went along to the junction of the streets -Coq-Heron and Plastriere. - -Both were painful memories. - -In the latter he had lived, a poor boy, earning his bread by copying -music, by receiving instruction from the author Rousseau. From his -window he had contemplated Andrea at her own casement, under the hands -of her maid, Nicole, his first sweetheart, and to that window he had -made his way by a rope and by scaling the wall, to view more closely and -satisfy his passion for the high-born lady who had bewitched him. - -Rousseau was dead, but Andrea was rich and nobler still; he had also -attained wealth and consideration. - -But was he any happier than when he walked out of doors to dip his crust -in the waters of this public fountain? - -He could not help walking up to the door where Rousseau had lived. It -was open on the alley which ran under the building to the yard at the -back as well as up to the attic where he was lodged. - -He went up to the first floor back, where the window on the landing gave -a view of the rear house where Baron Taverney had dwelt. - -No one disturbed him in his contemplation; the house had come down in -the world; no janitor; the inhabitants were poor folk who did not fear -thieves. - -The garden at Taverney's house was the same as a dozen years before. The -vine still hung on the trellis which had served him as ladder in his -night clamberings within the enclosure. - -He was unaware whether Count Charny was with his wife, but he was so -bent on learning about Sebastian that he meant to risk all. - -He climbed the wall and descended on the other side. In the garden -nothing obstructed him, and thus he reached the window of Andrea's -Bedroom. - -In another instant, as related, the two enemies stood face to face. - -The lady's first feeling was invincible repugnance rather than profound -terror. - -For her the Americanized Gilbert, the friend of Washington and -Lafayette, aristocratic through study, science and genius, was still the -hangdog Gilbert of her father's manor house, and the gardener's boy of -Trianon Palace. - -Gilbert no longer bore her the ardent love which had driven him to crime -in his youth, but the deep and tender affection, spite of her insults -and persecutions, of a man ready to do a service at risk of his life. - -With the insight nature had given him and the justice education -implanted, Gilbert had weighed himself: he understood that Andrea's -misfortunes arose from him, and he would never be quits with her until -he had made her as happy as he had the reverse. - -But how could he blissfully affect her future. - -It was impossible for him yet to comprehend. - -On seeing this but to so much despair, again the prey to woe, all his -fibres of mercy were moved for so much misery. - -Instead of using his hypnotic power to subdue her, he spoke softly to -her, ready to master her if she became rebellious. - -The result was that the medium felt the ethereal fluid fade away like a -dissolving fog, by Gilbert's permission, and she was able to speak of -her own free will. - -"What do you want, sir? how came you here?" - -"By the way I used before," replied the doctor. "Hence you can be -easy--no one will know of it. Why? because I come to claim a treasure, -of no consequence to you, but precious to me, my son. I want you to tell -what has become of my son, taken away in your carriage and brought -here." - -"How do I know? taught by you to hate his mother, he has fled." - -"His mother? are you really a mother to him?" - -"Oh, you see my grief, you have heard my cries, and looking on my -despair, you ask me if I am his mother?" - -"How then are you ignorant what has become of him?" - -"But I tell you he has fled; that I came into this room for him and -found the window open and the room vacant." - -"Where could he have gone--good God!" exclaimed Gilbert. "It is past -midnight and he does not know the town." - -"Do you believe anything evil has befallen him?" asked she, approaching. - -"We shall hear, for it is you who shall tell me." - -And with a wave of the hand he began anew to plunge her into the -mesmeric sleep. - -She uttered a sigh and fell off into repose. - -"Am I to put forth all my will power or will you answer voluntarily?" -asked Gilbert when she was under control. - -"Will you tell the boy again that I am not his mother?" - -"That depends. Do you love him?" - -"Ardently, with all my soul." - -"Then you are his mother as I am his father, for it is thus I love him. -Loving him, you shall see him again. When did you part from the boy?" - -"About half an hour ago, when Count Charny called. I had pushed him into -this room." - -"What were his last words?" - -"That I was no more his mother: because I had told him that you were a -villain." - -"Look into the poor boy's heart and see what harm you wrought." - -"Oh, God forgive me," said Andrea: "forgive me, my son." - -"Did Count Charny suspect the boy was here?" - -"No, I am sure." - -"Why did he not stay?" - -"Because he never stays long with me. Oh, wretch that I am," she -interrupted herself, "he was returning to me after refusing that -mission--because he loves me--he loves me!" - -Gilbert began to see more clearly into this drama which his eye was -first to penetrate. - -"But do you love him?" he demanded. - -"I see your intention is good: you wish to make up to me for the grief -you have caused: but I refuse the boon coming from you. I hate you and -wish to continue in my hatred." - -"Poor mortality," muttered the philosopher, "have you had so much -happiness that you can dally with a certain amount offered you? so you -love him?" - -"Yes. Since first I saw him, as the Queen and I sat with him in a -hackney-carriage in which we returned from Paris to Versailles one -night." - -"You know what love is, Andrea," queried Gilbert, mournfully. - -"I know that love has been given as a standard by which we can measure -how much sadness we can endure," replied she. - -"It is well: you are a true woman and a true mother: a rough diamond, -you were shaped by the stern lapidary known as Grief. Return to -Sebastian." - -"Yes, I see him leaving the house with clenched hands and knit brow. He -wanders up the street--he goes up to a woman and asks her for St. Honore -Street----" - -"My street: he was seeking for my house. Poor child! he will be there -awaiting me." - -"Hold! he has gone astray--he is in New St. Roch Street. Oh, he does not -see that vehicle coming down Sourdiere Street, but I see the -horses--Ah!" - -She drew herself up with an awful scream, maternal anguish depicted on -her visage, down which rolled tears and perspiration. - -"Oh, if harm befalls him, remember that it will recoil on your head," -hissed Gilbert. - -"Ah," sighed Andrea in relief, without hearing or heeding him, "God in -heaven be praised! it is the horse's breast which struck him, and he is -thrown out of the rut of the wheel. There he lies, stunned, but he is -not killed. Only swooned. Hasten to help him. It is my son! They form a -crowd round him: is there not a doctor or surgeon among them all?" - -"Oh, I shall run," said Gilbert. - -"Wait," said Andrea, stopping him by the arm, "they are dividing to let -help come. It is the doct--oh, do not let that man approach him--I -loathe him--he is a vampire, he is hideous!" - -"Oh, for heaven's sake, do not lose sight of Sebastian," said Gilbert, -shuddering. - -"This ghoul carries him away--up the street--into the blind alley, -called St. Hyacinthe: where he goes down some steps. He places him on a -table where books and printed papers are heaped. He takes off his coat -and rolls up his sleeve. He ties the arm with bandages from a woman as -dirty and hideous as himself. He finds a lance in a case--he is going to -bleed him. Oh, I cannot bear to see my son's blood flow. Run, run, and -you will find him as I say." - -"Shall I awaken you at once with recollection: or would you sleep till -the morning and know nothing of what has happened?" - -"Awaken me at once with full memory." - -Gilbert described a double curve with his hands so that his thumbs came -upon the medium's eyelids; he breathed on her forehead and said merely: - -"Awake!" - -Instantly her eyes became animated; her limbs were supple; she looked at -Gilbert almost without terror, and continuing, though aroused, the -impulse in her vision, she cried: - -"Oh, run, run, and snatch the boy from the hands of that man who causes -me so much fright!" - - - - -CHAPTER XV. - -THE MAN WITH THE MODEL. - - -With no need to be spurred in his quest, Gilbert darted through the -rooms and as it would have taken too long to climb the walls, he made -for the front door, which he opened himself and bounded out on the -street. - -Knowing Paris intimately, he reached the spot indicated by Andrea in her -vision without delay and his first question to a storekeeper, who had -witnessed the accident to the boy, confirmed the statement. - -He proceeded straightway to the door in the alley, and knocked. - -"Who knocks?" challenged a woman's voice. - -"I, the father of the wounded child whom you succored," replied the -knocker. - -"Open, Albertine," said a man's voice: "it is Dr. Gilbert." - -He was let into a cellar, or rather cavern, down some moldering steps, -lighted by a lamp set on the table cumbered with printed papers, books -and manuscripts as Andrea had described. - -In the shadow, and on a mattress, young Gilbert lay, but held out his -arms to his father, calling him. However powerful the philosophical -command in Gilbert, paternal love overruled decorum, and he sprang to -the boy whom he pressed to his breast, with care not to hurt his bruised -chest or his cut arm. After a long, fond kiss, he turned to thank the -good Samaritan. He was standing with his feet far apart, one hand on the -table, the other on his hip, lit by the lamp of which he had removed the -shade the better to illumine the scene. - -"Look, Albertine," said he, "and with me thank the chance enabling me to -do a good turn for one of my brothers." - -The speaker was a green and sallow man, like one of those country clowns -whom Latona's wrath pursued and who was turning to a frog. Gilbert -shuddered, thinking that he had seen this abortion before as through a -sheet of blood. - -He drew nearer to Sebastian and hugged him once more. But triumphing -over his first impulse, he went back to the strange man who had so -appalled Andrea in the second-sight vision, and said: - -"Receive all the thanks of a father, sir, for having preserved his son: -they are sincere and come right from his heart." - -"I have merely done my duty as prescribed by nature and recommended by -science," replied the other. "I am a man, and as Terence says, nothing -human is foreign to me; besides, I have a tender heart, and cannot see -even an insect suffer; consequently still less my fellow man." - -"May I learn to what fervent philanthropist I have the honor to speak?" - -"Do you not know your brother-physician?" said the surgeon, laughing in -what he wanted to seem benevolence though it was ghastly. "I know you, -Dr. Gilbert, the friend of the American patriots, and of Lafayette!" He -laid peculiar stress on this name. "The republican of America and -France, the honorable Utopist who has written magnificent articles on -constitutional government, which you sent to Louis XVI. from the States, -and for which he lodged you in the Bastile, the moment you touched -French soil. You wanted to save him by clearing the road to the future, -and he opened that into jail--regular royal gratitude!" - -He laughed again, this time terribly and threateningly. - -"If you know me it is a farther reason for me to insist on learning to -whom I am indebted." - -"Oh, it is a long while since we made acquaintance," said the surgeon. -"Twenty years, sir, on the dreadful night of the thirtieth of May, 1770; -the night when the fireworks exploded by accident among the people in -the Paris square, and injured and killed many who came to rejoice over -the wedding of the Archduchess and our Prince Royal, but who had to -curse their names. You were but a boy whom Rousseau brought to me, -wounded and crushed almost to death, and I bled you on a board amid the -dead and the cut-off limbs. Yet that awful night is a pleasant memory to -me for I was able to save many existences by my steel knowing where to -dissever to preserve life and where to cut to spare pain." - -"You are Jean Paul Marat, then," cried Gilbert, falling back a step -despite himself. - -"Mark, Albertine, that my name makes some effect," said Marat with a -sinister laugh. - -"But I thought you were physician to Count Artois; why are you in this -cave, why lighted by this smoky lamp?" - -"I was the Prince's veterinary surgeon, you mean. But he emigrated? no -prince, no stables; no stables, no vet. Besides, I gave in my -resignation, for I would no longer serve the tyrants." - -The dwarf drew himself up to the full extent of his form. - -"But, in short, why are you in this hole?" - -"Because, Master Philosopher, I am a sound patriot writing to decry the -ambitious; Bailly fears me, Necker detests me, and Lafayette sets the -National Guard on to hunt me down and has put a price on my head--the -aspiring dictator! but I brave him! out of my hole, I pursue him, and -denounce the Caesar. Do you know what he has done? He has had fifteen -thousand snuffboxes made with his portrait on them, which hides some -trick. So I entreat all good citizens to smash them when found. It is -the rallying sign for the great Royalist Plot, for you cannot be -ignorant that Lafayette is conspiring with the Queen while poor Louis is -blubbering scalding tears over the blunders the Austrian is leading him -into. - -"The Queen," said Gilbert pensively. - -"Yes; don't tell me that she is not plotting: lately she gave away so -many white cockades that white ribbon went away up in the market. It is -a fact, for I had it from one of the workgirls of Bertin the dressmaker, -her Prime Minister in Fashions, who used to say: 'I have been discussing -matters this morning with her Majesty.'" - -"And how do you denounce such things?" inquired the doctor. - -"In my newspaper, the one I have just started, twenty numbers having -appeared. It is 'The Friend of the people or the Parisian Publicist,' an -impartial political organ. To pay for the paper and the printing--look -behind you--I have sold the sheets and blankets off my bed." - -Turning, Gilbert indeed saw that Sebastian lay on the mattress -absolutely bare, but he had fallen asleep, overcome with pain and -fatigue. He went up to him to see that it was not a swoon, but reassured -by the regular breathing he, returned to this journalist, who -irresistibly inspired him with the interest we feel for a hyena, tiger -or other wild beast. - -"Who help you in this gigantic work?" he inquired. - -"My staff?" sneered Marat. "Ha, ha, ha! the geese fly in files: the -eagle soars alone. My helpers are these," and he showed his head and -hands. "I write the whole paper single handed--I can show you the copy, -though it runs into sixteen pages octavo sometimes, and often I use -small type though I commenced with large. So, it is not merely a -newspaper--but a personality--it is Marat!" - -"Enormous labor--how do you manage it?" asked the other doctor. - -"It is the secret of nature--a compact I have made with death. I have -given ten years of my life, so that I need no rest by day and no sleep -by night. My existence is summed up in writing: I do it day and night. -Lafayette's police coop me up in this cell, where they chain me body and -soul to my work: they have doubled my activity. It was heavy on me at -first but I am inured to it. It delights me now to see poor humanity -through this airhole, by the narrow and slanting beam. From my gloomy -den I judge mankind living, and science and politics without appeal. -With one hand I demolish the savants, with the other the politicians. I -shall upset the whole state of things, like Samson destroying the -Temple, and under the ruins perhaps crushing me, I shall bury the -throne!" - -In spite of himself the hearer shuddered: in his rags and the -poverty-stricken vault this man repeated very nearly what Cagliostro had -said in his palace under his embroidered clothes. - -"But when you are so popular, why do you not try for a nomination in the -National Assembly?" he asked. - -"Because the day has not come for that," replied the demagogue; -expressing his regret, he continued, "Oh, were I a tribune of the -masses, sustained by only a few thousand of determined men, I answer for -the Constitution being perfectly safe in six weeks: the political -machine should move better: no villain would dare play ticks with it: -the Nation should be free and happy: in less than a year, it should be -flourishing and redoubtable: and thus would it remain while I was -erect." - -The vain creature was transformed under Gilbert's eyes: his eyes became -bloodshot; his yellow skin shone with sweat; the monster became great in -his hideousness as another is grand in his beauty. - -"Yes, but I am not a representative," he proceeded, resuming his train -of ideas from where he had interrupted himself: "I have not the -thousands of followers. No, but I am a journalist, and have my weapons -and ammunition, my subscribers and readers, for whom I am an oracle, a -prophet and a diviner. I have my following for whom I am a friend, and I -lead them on, trembling, from treachery to treachery, discovery to -discovery, from one dreadful thing to another. In the first number of -The Friend of the People, I denounced the upper classes saying that -there were six hundred guilty wretches in France and that number of -ropes-ends would do the job: but I made a mistake, ha, ha! The deeds of -the fifth and sixth of October opened my eyes and I see that we must -hang twenty thousand of the patricians." - -Gilbert smiled, for fury elevated to this point, seemed madness to him. - -"Why, there is not enough hemp in France to do this work, and rope would -go up in price," he said. - -"That is why I am looking round for some other means," returned Marat, -"more expeditious and novel. Do you know whom I expect this evening? one -of our brother medicos, a member of the National Assembly whom you must -know by name, Dr. Guillotin----" - -"The one who moved that the Assembly, expelled from the Session Hall at -Versailles, should meet in the Tennis Court a learned man?" - -"Do you know what this able citizen has discovered? a marvellous machine -which kills without pain, for death must be punishment not torture; he -has invented it and we shall try it one of these mornings." - -Gilbert started: this was the second time that this brother Invisible -reminded him of the Chief, Cagliostro; no doubt this death-machine was -the same he had spoken of. - -"But you are lucky--a knock! it is he. Run and open the door, -Albertine." - -The hag, who was the wife--rather the female mate of Marat--rose from -the stool on which she was squatting, and staggered half asleep towards -the door. - -Giddy with terror, Gilbert went instinctively towards Sebastian, ready -to take him in his arms and flee. - -"Just think of an automatic executioner," said Marat, enthusiastically, -"with no need of a man to set it going; which can, if the knife is -changed a couple of times, cut off three hundred heads a-day!" - -"And add," said a bland, melodious voice, behind Marat, "which can cut -off these heads without other sensation than a slight coolness around -the neck." - -"Oh, is this you, doctor?" exclaimed Marat, turning towards a dapper -little man of forty or so, whose gentle demeanor and spruce dress made a -marked contrast with his host: in his hand he carried a small box such -as children's toys are kept in. "What are you bringing us?" - -"A model of my machine, my dear Marat. But I see Dr. Gilbert here, -unless I mistake," said the little dandy, trying to pierce the -obscurity. - -"The same, sir," said the other visitor bowing. - -"Enchanted to meet you, sir; you are only too welcome, and I shall be -happy to have the opinion of so distinguished a man on my invention. I -must tell you, my dear Marat, that I have found a skillful carpenter, -named Guidon, to make my machine on the working scale. He is dear, -though, wanting five thousand five hundred francs; but no sacrifice is -too great for me to make for humanity. In two months it will be built, -and we can try it: I shall propose it to the Assembly. I hope you will -approve of it in your excellent new paper, though, in sober earnest, the -machine recommends itself, as you will see with your own eyes, Dr. -Gilbert. But a few lines in the People's Friend will do no harm." - -"Be easy on that score; it is not a few lines but a whole number that I -shall dedicate to it." - -"You are too good, Marat; but I am not going to let you puff a pig in a -poke." - -He took out of his pocket a much smaller box, in which a sound indicated -that some little live thing or several such were fidgeting in their -prison. This noise did not escape Marat's subtle hearing. - -"What have you got there?" he asked, putting out his hand towards the -box. - -"Mind," said the doctor, drawing it back, "do not let them escape as we -could not catch them again; they are mice whose heads we are going to -nick off with the machine. What, are you going to leave us, Dr. -Gilbert?" - -"Alas, yes, sir, to my great regret; but my son, wounded by being run -over by a horse just now, has been relieved by Friend Marat, to whom I -also owe my own life in an almost similar affair. I have to thank him -again. The boy needs a fresh bed, cares and repose: so that I cannot -witness your interesting experiment." - -"But you will come and see the one with the real machine, in two months, -you promise, doctor?" - -"I pledge my word." - -"Doctor," said Marat, "I need not say, keep my abode secret. If your -friend Lafayette were to discover it he would have me shot like a dog, -or hung like a thief." - -"Shooting, hanging," exclaimed Guillotin. "But we shall put an end to -these cannibal deaths. We shall have a death, soft, easy, instantaneous, -such as old people, disgusted with their life and wishful to pass away -like sages and philosophers, will prefer to a natural one. Come and see -how it works, Marat!" - -And without troubling any farther about Dr. Gilbert, the enthusiast -opened his larger box and began to set up on the table a model -apparatus which the surgeon regarded with curiosity equal to his -enthusiasm. - -Gilbert profited by their being so engaged, to carry away Sebastian, -guided by Albertine who fastened up the outer door after him. - -Once in the street, he felt the night wind chill the perspiration -gathered on his brow. - -"Heavens," he muttered, "what will happen to a city where the cellars -perhaps hide five hundred lovers of mankind who are occupied with such -work as we have a sample of there? one day they will perform in broad -daylight before the crowd." - -It was little distance to his house in St. Honore Street. - -The cold revived Sebastian but his father would not let him walk. When -he knocked at his door, a heavy step was heard approaching. - -"Is that you, Dr. Gilbert?" challenged one within. - -"That is Pitou's voice," said the boy. - -"Praise heaven, Sebastian is found," shouted Pitou on opening the door. -"Master Billet," he shouted still more loudly, "Sebastian is found, and -all right, I hope, doctor?" - -"Without any serious hurt, anyway," replied the other, "Come, -Sebastian." - -He carried his son up to his bed. - -Pitou followed with the light; by his mud-bespattered shoes and -stockings it was plain that he had come a long journey. - -Indeed, after taking the broken-hearted Catherine home and learning from -her lips that her deep sorrow came from Isidore Charny being called away -to Paris, he took leave of her and Mother Billet, weeping by her -bedside, and went home to Haramont. He walked so slowly that he did not -get there until daybreak. - -He fell off to sleep so that it was not till he awoke, that he found the -youth's letter. Immediately he started to overtake him. - -He girded up with a leather strap, took some bread and with a walking -stick in his fist, proceeded to town, where he arrived at eight that -night. - -He found neither the doctor nor his son at home--only Farmer Billet. - -This hearty, robust man, unnerved by the bloody scenes witnessed since -the Taking of the Bastile, of which enterprise he was the leader, had no -news for Pitou. - -Their sad waiting was rewarded by the double arrival. - -Though tranquil about Sebastian, Pitou, when sent to bed had his budget -to unfold to the farmer. Let no reader think that he revealed -Catherine's secrets and spoke of her amour with the young noble. The -honest soul of the Commander of the Haramont National Guard would not -stoop to that story. But he told Billet that the harvest was bad, the -barley a failure, part of the wheat wind-laid, and the barns but a third -full--and that he had found Catherine on the road. - -Billet was little vexed about the grain, but the illness of his daughter -distressed him. - -He ran to Dr. Gilbert with a sad face as the latter was finishing this -note to Andrea: "Be of good heart; the child is found, with no one -hurt." - -"Dr. Gilbert, you were right to retain me in town where I might be -useful; but everything has been going wrong in the country while the -good man is away." - -Gilbert agreed with his friend that a hearty buxom girl like Catherine -should not faint on the public road. Feeling with a parent, he -responded: - -"Go home, my dear Billet, since land and family call you. But do not -forget that I shall claim you in the name of the country." - -Thus Billet returned home after an absence of three months, although he -had intended to be away only a week. - -Pitou followed him, bearing twenty-five louis destined from Gilbert for -the equipment and maintenance of the Haramont National Guard. - -Sebastian stayed with his father. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI. - -THE PORTRAIT OF CHARLES FIRST. - - -A week has passed since the events related. Everybody was saying: The -Revolution is finished; the King is delivered from Versailles, and his -courtiers and evil counsellors. The King is placed in life and -actuality. He had heretofore the license to work wrong; now he has full -liberty to do good. - -The dread from the riots had brought the conservatives over to the -royalty. The Assembly had been frightened, too, and saw that it depended -on the King. A hundred and fifty of its members took to flight. - -The two most popular men, Lafayette and Mirabeau, became royalists. The -latter wanted the other to unite with him to save the crown, but while -honorable Lafayette had a limited brain, he did not see the orator's -genius. - -Mirabeau was all for the Duke of Orleans, whom Lafayette advised, nay, -ordered to quit the kingdom. - -"But suppose I come back without your permission?" said the prince. - -"Then, I hope you will do me the honor to cross swords with me at the -first battle," replied the marquis. - -He was the veritable ruler and the duke had to depart; he did not return -until called to be King of the French. - -Lafayette had saved the Queen and protected the King; he was perfectly a -royalist. - -But still, like Gilbert, he was not so much the friend of the King as of -the crown. - -The monarch had too just a mind not to see this clearly. - -Although he had not seen the doctor lately he remembered that this was -his day of duty and he called him. - -The King was pacing the bedroom, but stopping now and then to look at -the Vandyke picture of Charles First, now in the Louvre. - -The sovereign of England is painted as a Cavalier, with his horse, as -ready for flight as for battle. - -This picture seemed fatally the goal of the King's wanderings. - -At the step, Louis turned round. - -"Oh, is it you, doctor?" he said. "Come in, I am glad to see you." -Leading him up to the painting he said: "Do you know this? where did you -see it?" - -"In Lady Dubarry's house, when I was a boy, but it deeply struck me." - -"Yes, she pretended to be descended from the page who holds the horse. -Jeanne Dubarry was the woman chosen by Marshal Richelieu to be the sole -feminine ruler over the worn-out monarch Louis XV. and to induce him to -shut up the infamous Deerpark, which was the harem ruining the old man. -She was an adroit actress and played her part marvellously. She -entertained while making sport of him, and he became manly because she -persuaded him he was so." - -He stopped as if blaming himself for his imprudence in speaking of his -grandfather thus openly before a stranger; but one glance at Gilbert's -frank face encouraged him, for he saw that he could speak all to a man -who understood every thing. - -"This melancholy, lofty face," went on the King, referring to the -portrait, "was placed in the strange Egeria's boudoir, where it heard -her impudent laughs and saw her lascivious gambols. Merrily she would -take Louis by the arm and show him Charles, saying: 'Old gossip, this -King had his neck cut through because he was too weak towards his -Parliament. Take warning about your own!' Hence Louis broke up his -Parliament and died peacefully on his throne. Thereupon we exiled the -poor woman, for whom we ought to have been most indulgent. The picture -was packed away in the lumber room of Versailles and I never thought -about it. Now, how comes it here, in my bedroom? why does it haunt me?" -He shook his head. "There is some fate in this." - -"Fatality, if the portrait reads no lesson, Sire; Providence if it does. -What does it say to your Majesty?" - -"That Charles lost his throne from having made war on his subjects, and -James the Second for having tired his own." - -"Like me, then, it speaks the truth." - -"Well?" inquired the sovereign, questioning the doctor with his glance. - -"Well, I beg to ask for your answer to the portrait." - -"Friend Gilbert, I have resolved on nothing: I will take the cue from -circumstances." - -"The people fear that your Majesty purposes war upon them." - -"No, sir," he rejoined, "I cannot make war on them without foreign -support and I know the state of Europe too well to rely on that. The -King of Prussia offers to enter France at the head of a hundred thousand -men; but I too well know his ambitious and intriguing spirit--a petty -monarchy which wishes to become a great one, thriving on turmoil and -hoping to catch some fish like another Silesia. On her part, Austria -places a hundred thousand men at my call; but I do not like my -brother-in-law Leopold, a two-faced Janus, whose mother, Marie Theresa, -had my father poisoned. - -"My brother Artois proposes the support of Sardinia and Spain, but I do -not trust those powers, led by Artois. Beside him is Calonne, in other -words, the Queen's worst enemy, the one who annotated with his own hand -the pamphlet of the Countess Lamotte Valois anent the conspiracy of the -Queen's Necklace, for which she was branded. I know all that is going on -yonder. In their last council a debate ensued about deposing me and -appointing a regent who would be probably my dear, very dear brother -Count Provence. Prince Conde suggested marching with an enemy upon -Lyons, 'whatever happened me at Paris!' - -"It is another thing with the Great Empress Catherine; she confines -herself to advice, bless her! you can understand that when you reflect -that she is at table digesting Poland and cannot rise until she has -finished her feast. She gives me advice which aims to be sublime but is -only ridiculous, considering what has lately occurred. She says: -'Monarchs ought to proceed on their course like the moon in her orbit, -without being disturbed by the baying of curs!'--that is, the protests -of the common people. It appears that the Russian curs merely bark; -ours do some biting, as you may learn of my poor Lifeguardsmen, torn to -pieces by them." - -"The people thought that your Majesty was going to quit the country." - -"Doctor," said the King after hesitating, and he laid his hand on the -other's shoulder, "I have promised you the truth and you shall have it -thoroughly. Such a matter has been broached; it is the opinion of many -faithful servitors surrounding me that I ought to flee. But on the sixth -of October night, when weeping in my arms, the Queen besought me never -to flee without her, and that we should all depart together, to be saved -or die in company. I shall keep my word; and as I do not think that we -could flee in such a number without being stopped, a dozen times before -we got to the frontier, I conclude that we shall never get away." - -"Well, Sire, there is indeed no need of the foreigners. What would be -the use until you shall exhaust your own resources? My advice is that we -are only beginning the fight and that the Taking of the Bastile and the -attack on the Palace at Versailles are only the two first acts in the -tragedy to be played by France under the eyes of Europe." - -"I hope you are mistaken, sir," replied Louis, slightly turning pale: -"My police tell me nothing like this." - -"I have no police or information to check them; but in my position I am -the natural conductor between the heavens and what is still concealed in -the bowels of the earth. Sire, what we have experienced is merely the -rumble that runs before the earthquake; we have yet to meet the lava, -the fire and the smoke. I fear that the Revolutionary torrent will run -ahead of us. There are only two methods to save yourself. One is to -place yourself on the foremost breaker and be carried on with it." - -"I do not wish to go where it would carry me." - -"The second is to place a barrier across the tide. It is Genius and -Popularity in one dam: and it is named Mirabeau." - -"The King looked Gilbert in the face as though he had misunderstood him; -then turning to the portrait, he said: - -"What would you have replied, Charles Stuart, if when you felt the -ground quake beneath your feet, some one had suggested your leaning on -Cromwell?" - -"He would have refused, and rightly; for there is no likeness between -Cromwell and Mirabeau." Such was Gilbert's answer. - -"They were both traitors." - -"Sire," replied the other with profound respect but invincible firmness; -"neither were traitors: Cromwell was a rebellious subject, and Mirabeau -is a discontented nobleman." - -"What is he discontented with?" - -"With his father, who locked him up in prison; the courts which -condemned him to death; with the King who miscomprehended and still -miscomprehends his genius." - -"The spirit of a public man is honesty," said the King quickly. - -"The reply is fine, worthy of Titus, Trajan or Marcus Aurelius, -unluckily many examples arise to the contrary." - -"How can you ask me to confide in a man who has a price?" - -"Because he is a man of his price. If he will sell himself for a -million, it is a bargain. Do you think he is worth twice a Polignac?" - -"You are pleading for a friend." - -"I have not that honor: but he has a friend who is of the Queen's party, -too." - -"Count Lamarck? We cast it up to him every day." - -"On the contrary, your Majesty ought to dissuade him breaking the -friendship with him, under pain of death. Mirabeau is a noble, an -aristocrat, a King's-man above all. He was elected by the people because -the nobles scorned him and he had sublime disdain of the means to attain -an end which genius thirsted for. You may say that he will never quit -the party of his constituents to join the court party? Why is there not -union of the court and plebeians? Mirabeau could make them one. Take -him, my lord! To-morrow, rebuffed by your despisal, he may turn against -you, and then you will say, as the portrait of your Martyr King will -say: All is lost!" - -"I will talk this over with the Queen, sir," said the monarch, having -turned pale and hesitatingly glanced at the royal portrait. "She may -decide on speaking with Mirabeau: but I will not. I like to be able to -shake hands with those I confer with, and I could never take the hand of -a Mirabeau, though my life, my liberty, and my throne were at -stake--After she shall have seen him, we will see----" - -"I pray God that it will not be too late." - -"Do you believe the peril so imminent?" - -"Sire, do not let the portrait of Charles First be removed from your -room," said Gilbert; "it is a good adviser." - -Bowing, he went forth as another visitor appeared on the sill. He could -not restrain from a cry of surprise. This gentleman was Marquis Favras, -whom he had met at Cagliostro's a week or so before and to whom the -magician had predicted a near and shameful death. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII. - -THE KING ATTENDS TO PRIVATE MATTERS. - - -Louis the King displayed the usual irresolution in dealing with Favras' -proposition, approved by the Queen, to make a rush out of the kingdom. -He reflected all the night and at breakfast called for Count Charny. - -He was still at table when the officer walked in. - -"Won't you take breakfast with me, count?" - -Charny was obliged to excuse himself from the honor as he had broken his -fast. - -"I must ask you to wait a while as I never care to speak of important -matters while at meals and I have something to talk over with your -lordship. Let us speak of other matters for the moment. Of yourself, for -instance. I hear that you are badly lodged here; somewhere in the -garret, my lord, while the countess is lodging in Paris." - -"Sire, I am in a room of my own choice: the countess is dwelling in her -own house in Coq-Heron Street." - -"I must confess my ignorance; is it near the palace?" - -"Tolerably, Sire." - -"What does this mean that after only three years of married life, you -have separate establishments?" - -"Sire, I have no answer to make than that my lady wishes to live alone. -I have not had the pleasure of seeing her since your Majesty sent me for -news. That is, better than a week ago." - -The King understood grief more readily than melancholy and noticed the -difference in the tone. - -"Count, there is some of your fault in this estrangement," said the -monarch, with the familiarity of the family man, as he called himself. - -"The man must be to blame when so charming a woman keeps aloof from him. -Do not tell me that this is none of my business: for a king can do a -great deal by speaking a word. You must treat the lady ungratefully, for -she loves you dearly--or did when Lady Taverney." - -"Sire, you know that one must not dispute with a king." - -"I do not know that the signs were visible to me alone; but this I know -very well that on that dreadful October night, when she came to join us, -she did not lose sight of you throughout, and her eyes expressed all her -soul's anguish, so much so that I saw her make a movement to fling -herself between you and danger when the Bullseye Saloon door was beaten -down." - -Count Charny was not softened; he believed he had seen something of this -sort: but the details of his recent interview with his wife were too -distinct for him to have his opinion shaken. - -"I was paying all the more attention to her," went on Louis, "from the -Queen having said when you were sent to the City Hall while I was on my -journey to Paris, that she almost died of distress in your absence and -of joy at your return." - -"Sire," replied Charny with a sad smile, "God had allowed those who are -born above us to receive in birth as a privilege of their rank, the gift -of seeing deeper into one's heart than oneself can do; the King and the -Queen have perceived secrets unrevealed to me: but my limited vision -prevents me seeing the same. Therefore I beg to be employed on any -dangerous errand or one that would take me to a distance without -considering the great love of the Countess of Charny. Absence or danger -will be equally welcome, coming at least for my part." - -"Nevertheless, a week ago, you appeared wishful to stay in town when the -Queen desired to despatch you to Italy." - -"I deemed my brother adequate for the position and reserved myself for a -mission more difficult or dangerous." - -"Then count, this is the very time when I have a difficult task to -entrust to you, that with danger to you in the future, that I spoke of -the countess's isolation and wished her to have a lady friend's company -while I took away her husband." - -"I will write to the countess, yes, write: for from the way she last -received me, I ought in that manner acquaint her with my movements." - -"Say no more on this head; I will talk it over with the Queen during -your absence," said Louis, rising. "Faith, the medical lights are right -to say that things look differently as you handle them before or after a -hearty meal. Come into my study, count; I feel in a mood to talk -straight out to you." - -Charny followed, thinking how much Majesty lost by this material side, -for which the proud Marie Antoinette was always carping at him. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII. - -THE KING ATTENDS TO PUBLIC MATTERS. - - -Though the King had been only a fortnight in the Tuileries he had two -places fitted out completely for him. The forge was one, the study the -other. - -Charny walked up to the desk at which his royal master seated himself -without looking round at the papers with which he was familiar. - -"Count Charny," began the King at last, yet seeming to halt, "I noticed -one thing, on the night of the attack by the rioters, you stood by me -while you set your brother on guard over the Queen." - -"Sire, it was my right as head of my family, as you are chief of the -realm, to die for you." - -"That made me think, that if ever I had a secret errand, difficult and -dangerous, I could rely on your loyalty as a Frenchman, and on your -heart as a friend's." - -"Oh, Sire, however the King may raise me, I have no pretension to -believe that I shall be more than a faithful and thankful subject." - -"My lord, you are a grave man though but thirty-six; you have not passed -through recent events without drawing some conclusion from them. What do -you think of the situation and what would be your means to relieve me, -if you were my Premier?" - -"Sire, I am a soldier and a seaman," returned Charny, with more -hesitation than embarrassment, "these high social questions fly over my -head." - -"Nay, you are a man," said the sovereign with a dignity in holding out -his hand which sprang from the quandary; "another man, who believes you -to be his friend, asks you, purely and simply, what you, with your -upright heart and healthy mind, would do in his place." - -"Sire, in a no less serious position, the Queen asked my opinion: the -day after the Taking of the Bastile, when she wanted to fling the -foreign legions upon the mobs. My reply would have embroiled me with her -Majesty had I been less known to her and my respect and devotion less -plain. I said that your Majesty must not enter these walls as a -conqueror if he could not as a father of his people." - -"Well, my lord, is not that the counsel I followed? The question is was -I right? am I here as a King or a captive?" - -"Speaking in full frankness, I disapproved of the banquet at Versailles, -supplicating the Queen not to go there; I was in despair when she threw -down the tricolor and set up the black cockade of Austria." - -"Do you believe that led really to the attack on the palace?" - -"No, Sire; but it was the cover for it. You are not unjust for the lower -orders; they are kindly and love you--they are royalist. But they are in -pain from cold and hunger; beneath and around them are evil advisers, -who urge them on, and they know not their own strength. Once started -they become flood or fire, for they overwhelm or they consume." - -"Well, what am I to do? supposing, as is natural enough, I do not want -to be drowned or burned." - -"We must not open the sluices to the flood or windows to the flame. But -pardon me forgetting that I should not speak thus, even on a royal -order----" - -"But you will on a royal entreaty. Count Charny, the King entreats -you--to continue." - -"Well, Sire, there are two strata of the lower orders, the soil and the -mud; the one which may be reposed upon and the other which will yield -and smother one. Distrust one and rest on the other." - -"Count, you are repeating at two hours' interval, what Dr. Gilbert told -me." - -"Sire, how is it that after taking the advice of a learned man, you ask -that of a poor naval officer like me?" - -"Because there is a wide difference between you, I believe. Dr. Gilbert -is devoted to royalty and you to the King. If the principle remains -safe, he would let the King go." - -"Then there is a difference between us, for the King and the principle -are inseparable for me," responded the nobleman; "under this head it is -that I beg your Majesty to deal with me." - -"First, I should like to hear to whom you would apply in this space of -calm between two storms perhaps, to efface the wreck made by one and -soothe the coming tempest." - -"If I had the honor and the misfortune to be the wearer of the crown, I -should remember the cheers I heard round my carriage, and I should hold -out my hands to General Lafayette and Member Mirabeau." - -"Can you advise this when you detest one and scorn the other?" - -"My sympathies are of no moment, the whole question is the safety of the -crown and the salvation of the monarchy." - -"Just what Dr. Gilbert says," muttered the hearer as though speaking to -himself. - -"Sire, I am happy to be in tune with such an eminent man." - -"But if I were to agree to such a union and there should be failure, -what think you I ought to do?" - -"Think of your safety and your family's." - -"Then you suggest that I should flee?" - -"I should propose that your Majesty should retire with such regiments as -are reliable and the true nobles to some fortified place." - -"Ah," said the King with a radiant face: "but among the commanders who -have given proof of devotion, you knowing them all, to which would you -confide this dangerous mission, of guarding and removing the King?" - -"Sire," replied Charny, after hesitation, "it is not because ties of -friendship--almost of family--attach me to a certain nobleman that I -name him, but because he is known for his steadfast devotion; as -Governor of the Leeward Islands, he not only protected our possessions -in the Antilles, but captured some islands from the British: he had been -charged with various commands, and at present he is General Governor, I -believe, at Metz--this is the Marquis of Bouille. Were I a father, I -should trust my son to him; a subject, I would confide the King!" - -At the name the hearer could not repress an outcry of joy. He held out a -letter, saying: - -"Read this address, my lord, and see if Providence itself did not -inspire me to apply to you." - -The address ran: "To Lord Franois Claude Amour, Marquis of Bouille, -General Commander at Metz." - -"After what has happened, I do not feel that I ought to keep anything -back from you. I have thought of this flight before, but in all the -propositions was the hand of Austria beckoning me into a trap, and I -have recoiled. I do not love Austria more than you do yourself." - -"Sire, you forget that I am the faithful subject of the King and the -Queen of France." He emphasized the second title. - -"I have already told you, count," went on the King, "that you are a -friend, and I can speak the more frankly as the prejudice I cherished -against the Queen is completely effaced from my mind. But it was against -my will that I received into my house the double enemy of my line, as an -Austrian and a Lorrainer. After ten years' struggle it was despite my -will that I had to charge Lord Breteuil with the management of my -household and the government of Paris; make the Premier of the -Archbishop of Toulouse, an atheist; lastly, pay to Austria the millions -she extorted from the Low Countries. At present speaking, who succeeds -the dead Maria Theresa, to counsel and direct the Queen? Her brother -Joseph II., who is luckily dying. He is advised by old women of -councillors who sway the Queen of France through her hairdresser Leonard -and her dressmaker Bertin. - -"They are pensioned by us while they are leading her to alliance with -Austria. Austria has always been fatal to France, either as foe or -friend, as when she put the dagger in Jacques Clement's or Ravaillac's -or Damien's to slay our kings. Formerly it was Catholic and devout -Austria, but she is abjuring now and is partly philosophical under -Joseph; rashly, she runs against her own sword, Hungary: without -foresight, she lets the Belgian priesthood rob her of the finest jewels -in her crown, the Low Countries; become the vassal of Russia, she wears -out her troops in fighting for it against the Turks, our allies. No, my -lord, I hate Austria and I will not trust to her. But I was saying that -her overtures of flight were not the only ones. I have had one proposed -by Marquis Favras. Do you know him?" - -"He was the captain in the Belgunze Regiment, and lieutenant in the -Count of Provence's own Guards." - -"You have hit it with the latter shot. What think you of him?" - -"He is a brave soldier and a loyal gentleman. Unfortunately he has no -means and this makes him restless and fit for mad projects and hazardous -attempts. But he is a man of honor who will die without retreating a -step, or uttering a complaint in order to keep his word. He may be -trusted to make a dash but not to manage an enterprise." - -"He is not the leader," said the King, with marked bitterness; "that is -Provence, who finds the means and manages all; devoted to the end, he -will remain while Favras bears me hence. This is not the plot of Austria -but of the fugitive princes and peers." - -"But why should not your Majesty's brother go with you? why would he -remain?" - -"Through devotion, and also to be at hand in case the people should be -tired of revolution and seek a regent. I tell you what all know, my dear -count, and what your brother wrote me yesterday from Turin. They debate -about deposing me and ruling by a regent. You see that unless in an -extremity I can no sooner accept the Favras plan than the Austrian. This -is what I have said to nobody, my dear count, but yourself, and I do it -in order that nobody, not even the Queen," he laid stress on the last -three words, "can make you more devoted to them than to me, since they -cannot show more confidence." - -"Sire, am I to keep the journey a secret from everybody?" inquired -Charny, bowing. - -"It little matters, count, that it should be known whither you go, as -long as the design is unknown. You know the situation, my fears and -hopes, better than my Minister Necker and my adviser Gilbert. Act -accordingly; I put the scissors and the thread in your hands--disentangle -or cut, as you see fit." - -He held the letter open for him to read: - -TUILERIES PALACE, Oct. 29th. - - "I hope, my lord, that you continue contented with your post as - Governor of Metz. Count Charny, Lieutenant of my Lifeguards, - passing through your city, will inquire if among your desires are - any I can gratify. In that event I will take the opportunity to be - agreeable to you as I do this one to renew the assurance of my - feelings of esteem for your lordship. - -"LOUIS." - -"Now, my Lord Charny," said the King, "you have full power to make -promises to Bouille if you think he needs any; only do not commit me -farther than I can perform." - -For the second time he held out his hand. - -Charny kissed it with emotion forefending any fresh pledges, and went -forth, leaving his master convinced that he had acquired by his trust, -the heart of the servitor, better than by offerings of wealth and -favors such as he had lavished in the days of his power. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX. - -A LOVING QUEEN. - - -Charny left the King with his heart full of opposing feelings. - -The primary one, mounting to the surface over the tumultuous waves of -turbulent thoughts, was deep gratitude for the boundless confidence -testified to him. - -This imposed duties the more holy from his conscience not being dumb. He -remembered his wrongs towards this worthy monarch who laid his hand on -his shoulder as on a true friend at the time of danger. - -The more Charny felt guilty towards his master, the more ready he was to -devote himself to him. - -The more this respectful allegiance grew the lesser became the less pure -emotion which he had cherished for the Queen during years. - -This is the reason why he--having lost the vague hope which led him -towards Andrea for the test, as if she was one of those flowering shrubs -on the precipice edge by which a falling man can save himself--grasped -with eagerness this mission diverging him from the court. Here he felt -the double torment of being still loved by the woman whom he was ceasing -to love and of not being loved by her whom he was beginning to adore. - -Profiting by the coldness lately introduced into his relations with the -Queen, he went to her rooms with the intention of leaving a note to tell -of his departure when he found Weber awaiting him. - -The Queen wished to see him forthwith, and there is no eluding the -wishes of crowned heads in their palace. - -Marie Antoinette was in the opposite mood to her visitor's, she was -recalling her harshness towards him and his devotion at Versailles; at -the sight of the count's brother laid dead across her threshold she had -felt a kind of remorse; she confessed to herself that had this been the -count she would have badly paid him for the sacrifice. - -But had she any right to expect aught else than devotion of Charny? - -She admitted that she was stern and unfair towards him, when the door -opened and the gentleman appeared in the irreproachable costume of the -military officer on duty. - -But there was in his deeply respectful bearing something chilly which -repelled the magnetic flow from the Queen's heart, to go and seek in his -the tender, sweet and sad memories collected during four years. - -The Queen looked round her as though to try to ascertain why he remained -on the sill, and when assured it was a matter of his will, she said: - -"Come, my lord: we are alone." - -"I see that, but I do not see what in that fact should alter the bearing -of a subject to his sovereign." - -"When I sent Weber for you I thought that fond friends were going to -speak with one another." - -Charny smiled bitterly. - -"I understand that smile and that you say, inwardly, the Queen was -unjust at Versailles and is capricious here." - -"Injustice or caprice, a woman is allowed anything," returned Charny: "a -queen more than all." - -"Whatever the caprice, my friend," said Marie with all the witchingness -she could put in a voice or smile, "the Queen cannot do without you as -adviser or the woman without you as loved friend." - -She held out her hand, a little thinned but still worthy of a lovely -statue. He kissed it respectfully and was about to let it fall when he -felt her retain his. - -"I ought to have wept with you over the loss of your brother, slain for -my sake: well, I have been weeping these ten days since I have not seen -you: they are falling yet." - -Ah, if Charny could have surmised what a quantity of tears would follow -those, no doubt the immense grief would have made him fall at her feet, -and ask pardon for any grievances she had against him. - -But the future is enveloped in mystery which no human hand can unveil -before the hour and the black garb which Marie Antoinette was to wear to -the scaffold, was too thickly embroidered with gold for one to spy the -gloom of it. - -"Believe, my lady," he said, "that I am truly grateful for your -remembrance of me and sorrow for my brother? unfortunately I must be -brief as the King has entrusted me with a mission so that I leave in an -hour." - -"What, do you abandon us like the others?" - -"I repeat it is a mission." - -"But you refused the like a week ago!" - -"In a week much happens in a man's existence to alter his -determination." - -"Do you depart alone?" she asked, making an effort. - -She breathed again when he answered: "Alone." - -"Where do you go?" she asked, recovering from her weakness. - -"It is the King's secret, but he has none from you." - -"My lord, the secret is ours alike," said Marie Antoinette haughtily. -"But is it abroad or in the kingdom?" - -"The King alone can give your Majesty the desired information." - -"So you go away," said she, with profound sorrow overcoming the -irritation from Charny's reserve, "to run into dangers afar, and I am -not to know what they are!" - -"Wheresoever I go, you will have a devoted heart daring all for you: and -the dangers will be light since I expose my life in the service of the -two sovereigns whom I most venerate on earth." - -The Queen uttered a sob which seemed to tear out her heart; and she said -with a hand on her throat as if to keep down her gorge. - -"It is well--go! for you love me no longer." - -Charny felt a thrill run through him; it was the first time this haughty -woman and ruler had bowed unto him. - -At any other time and under any other circumstances, he must have fallen -at her feet if only to crave pardon; but the remembrance of what had -happened between him and the King recalled all his strength. - -"My lady," he said, "I should be a scoundrel if, after all the tokens of -kindness and confidence the King has showered on me, I were to assure -your Majesty of anything but my respect and devotion." - -"It is very well," said she; "you are free to go." - -But when he departed without looking behind him, she waited till she -heard him, not returning, but continuing his departure, in the carriage -which rolled out of the courtyard. - -She rang for her foster-brother. - -"Weber," she ordered, "go to the Countess of Charny's residence and say -I must speak with her this evening. I had an appointment with Dr. -Gilbert, but I postpone that till the morning." - -She dismissed him with a wave of the hand. - -"Yes, politics to-morrow," she mused: "besides my conversation with -Andrea may influence me on the course I take." - - - - -CHAPTER XX. - -WITHOUT HUSBAND--WITHOUT LOVER. - - -The Queen was wrong for Charny did not go to his wife's house. He went -to the Royal Post to have horses put to his own carriage. But while -waiting, he wrote a farewell to Andrea which the servant who took his -horses home, carried to her. - -She was still dwelling over it, having kissed it with profound feeling, -when Weber arrived. Her answer to him was simply that she would conform -to her Majesty's orders. And she proceeded to the palace without dread -as without impatience. - -But it was not so with the Queen. Feverish, she had welcomed Count -Provence coming to see how Favras had been received, and she committed -the King more deeply than he had pledged himself. - -Provence went away delighted, thinking that the King would be removed, -thanks to the money he had borrowed from the Genoese banker Zannone, and -to Favras and his Hectors. Then he stood a chance of becoming Regent of -the realm, perhaps foreseeing that he would yet be King as Louis XVIII. - -If the forced departure of the King failed, he would take to flight with -what was left of the loan, and join his brothers in Italy. - -On his leaving, the Queen went to Princess Lamballe, on whom she made it -a habit to pour her woes or her joys in the absence of her other -favorites, Andrea or the Polignacs. - -Poor martyr! who dares grope in the darkness of alcoves to learn if this -friendship were pure or criminal, when inexorable History was coming -with feet red-shod in blood, to tell the price you paid for it? - -Then she went to dinner for an hour, where both chief guests were absent -in thought, the King thinking of Charny's quest, the Queen of the Favras -enterprise. - -While the former preferred anything to being helped by the foreigners, -the Queen set them first: for of course they were her people. The King -was connected with the Germans, but then the Austrians are not German to -the Germans. - -In the flight she was arranging she saw no such crimes as she was -afterwards taxed with: she felt justified in calling in the mailed hand -to avenge her for the slights and insults with which she was deluged. - -The King, as we have shown him, distrusted kings and princes. He relied -on the priests. He approved of all the decrees against nobles and -classes but not of the decree against the priests, which he vetoed. For -them he risked his greatest dangers. Hence the Pope, unable to make a -saint of him, made him a martyr. - -Contrary to her habit, the Queen gave little time to her children this -day; untrue to her husband in heart, she had no claim on their -endearments. Such odd contradictions are known only to woman's heart. - -The Queen retired early to her own rooms, where she shut herself up with -Weber as door-ward. She alleged that she had letters to write. - -The King little noticed her going, as some minor events engrossed him; -the Chief of Police was coming to confer with him. - -The Assembly had changed the old form in public documents of "King of -France and Navarre" to "King of the French": and it was debating on the -Rights of Man, when it had better be seeing to the Bread Question, more -pressing than ever. The arrival of the "Baker" and his family from -Versailles had not fed the famished people and the bakeries had strings -of customers at their doors. - -But the Assemblymen did not have to dance attendance for a loaf, and -they had a special baker, one Franois in Marchepalu Street, who set -aside rolls for them out of every baking. - -The head of the police was discussing the bread riots with the ruler -when Weber ushered Andrea into his mistress's presence. - -Though she expected her, Marie Antoinette started when her visitor was -announced. - -When they were girls together, at Taverney, they had made a kind of -agreement of love and duties exchanged in which the higher personage had -always had the advantage. - -Nothing annoys rulers so much as senses of obligation, particularly in -matters of affection. - -While thinking she had reproaches to cast on her friend, the Queen felt -under a debt to her. - -Andrea was always the same: pure and cool as the diamond but cutting and -invulnerable like it, too. - -"Be welcome, Andrea, as ever," said the Queen to this cold, walking -ghost. - -The countess shivered for she recognized some of the tone the Queen used -to speak with when the Dauphiness. - -"Needs must I tell your Majesty that she should not have had to send for -me without the royal residence, if I had always been spoken to, in that -tone?" said the countess. - -Nothing could better help the Queen than this opening: she greeted it as -facilitating her course. - -"Alas, you ought to know that all womankind have not your immutable -serenity," she said; "I, above all, who had to ask your aid so -generously accorded----" - -"The Queen speaks of a time forgotten by me and I believed gone from her -memory." - -"The reply is stern," said the other: "you might naturally hold me as -ungrateful: but what you took for ingratitude was but impotence." - -"I should have the right to accuse you, if ever I had asked you for -anything and my wish were opposed," said the countess, "but how can your -Majesty expect me to complain when I have sought nothing?" - -"Shall I tell you that it is just this indifference which shocks me; -yes, you seem a supernatural being brought from another sphere in some -whirlwind, and thrown among us like the crystal aerolites. One is -daunted by her weakness beside the never-weakening; but in the end -assurance returns, for supreme indulgence must be in perfection: it is -the purest source in which to lave the soul, and in profound grief, one -sends for the superhuman being for consolation, though her blame is -dreaded." - -"Alas, if your Majesty sends for me for this, I fear the expectation -will be disappointed." - -"Andrea, you forget in what awful plight you upheld me and comforted -me," said the Queen. - -Her hearer turned visibly paler. Seeing her totter and close her eyes -from losing strength, the Queen moved to support her but she resisted -and stood steady. - -"If your Majesty had pity on your faithful servant, you would spare her -memories which she had almost banished from her: she is a poor comforter -who seeks comfort from nobody, not even heaven, from doubt that even -heaven hath power to console certain sorrows." - -"Then you have others to tell of than what you have entrusted to me? the -time has come for you to explain, and that is why I sent for you. You -love Count Charny?" - -"I do," replied Andrea. - -"Oh!" groaned the Queen like a wounded lioness. "I thought as much. How -long since?" - -"Since I first laid eyes on him." - -Marie Antoinette recoiled from this statue which confessed it was -animated by a spirit. - -"And yet you said nothing?" - -"You perceived it, because you loved him." - -"No; but you mean that you loved him more than I, because you perceived -my love. If I see it now, it is because he loves me no longer say?" and -she clutched her arm. - -Andrea replied not by word, or sign. - -"This is enough to drive one mad," cried the royal lady. "Why not kill -me outright by telling me that he loves me not." - -"Count Charny's love or indifference to other women than his wife are -secrets of Count Charny. They are not for me to reveal," observed -Andrea. - -"His secrets? I dare say he has made you his bosom friend, indeed," -sneered the Queen with bitterness. - -"The count has never spoken to me of his love or indifference towards -your Majesty." - -"Not even this morning?" She fixed a soul penetrative glance upon her. - -"Not even this morning. He announced his departure to me by letter." - -"Ah, he wrote to you?" exclaimed the Queen in a burst which, like King -Richard's cry: "My kingdom for a horse!" implied that she would give her -crown for that letter. - -Andrea comprehended her absorbing desire but she wished to enjoy her -anxiety for a space, like a woman. At last, drawing the letter from her -corsage, warm and perfumed, she held it out to her royal mistress. The -temptation was too strong, and the latter opened it and read: - - "MY LADY: I am leaving town on a formal order from the King. I - cannot tell even you whither I go, wherefore, or how long I am to - stay away: these are matters probably little in import to you, but - I ought none the less to wish I were authorized to tell you. - - "I had the intention to take farewell of you: but I dared not - without your permission----" - -The Queen had learnt what she wanted to know, and was about to return -the writing, but Andrea bade her read to the end as if she had a claim -to command. - - "I refused the last mission offered me because, poor madman! I - believed that affection retained me in Paris: but I have - unfortunately acquired proof to the contrary, and I accept with joy - this opportunity to depart from hearts to which I am indifferent. - - "If, during this journey, that happens me which befel poor Valence, - all my measures are taken for you, my lady, to be _the first_ to - know of the misfortune visiting me and the liberty restored to you. - Then, only, will you learn what profound admiration was born in my - heart from your sublime devotion, so poorly recompensed by her to - whom you sacrificed youth, beauty and bliss. - - "All I beseech of heaven and you is your according me a remembrance - for having too late perceived the treasure he possessed. - - "With all the respect in my heart, - -"GEORGE OLIVER DE CHARNY." - -The reader returned the letter to Andrea, and let her hand fall inert by -her side, with a sigh. - -"Have I betrayed you," murmured the countess: "have I failed in the -faith you put me in, for I made no promises?" - -"Forgive me, for I have suffered so much," faltered Marie. - -"You, suffered," exclaimed the ex-lady of honor, "do you dare to talk to -me of suffering? what has happened me, then? Oh, I shall not say that I -suffered, for I would not use the word another did for painting the same -idea. I need a new one to sum up all griefs, pangs and pains,--you -suffer? but you have not seen the man you loved indifferent to that -love, and paying court on his bended knees to another woman! you have -not seen your brother, jealous of this other woman whom he adored in -silence as a pagan does his goddess, fight with the man you loved! you -have not heard this man, wounded it was thought mortally, call out in -his delirium for this other woman, whose confidential friend you were: -you have not seen this other prowling in the lobbies, where you were -wandering to hear the revelations of fever which prove that if a mad -passion does not outlive life it may follow one to the grave-brink! you -have not seen this beloved one, returning to life by a miracle of nature -and science, rising from his couch to fall at the rival's feet.---- I -say, rival, and one, from the standard of love being the measure of -greatness of ranks. In your despair you have not gone into the nunnery -at the age of twenty-five, trying to quiet at the cold crucifix your -scorching love: then, one day when you hoped to have damped with tears -if not extinguished the flame consuming you, you have not had this -rival, once your friend, come to you in the name of the former -friendship to ask you to be the wife of this very man whom you had -worshipped for three years--for the sake of her salvation as a wife, her -royal Majesty endangered----! - -"She was to be a wife without a husband, a mere veil thrown between the -crowd and another's happiness, like the shroud between the corpse and -the common eye: overruled by the compulsory duty, not by mercy, for -jealous love knows no pity--you sacrificed me--you accepted my immense -devotion. You did not have to hear the priest ask if you took for -helpmate the man who was not to be your husband: you did not feel him -pass the ring over your finger as the pledge of eternal love, while it -was a vain and meaningless symbol; you did not see your husband quit you -at the church door within an hour of the wedding, to be the gallant of -your rival! oh, madam, these three years has been of torture!" - -The Queen lifted her failing hand to seek the speaker's but it was -shunned. - -"I promised nothing, but see what I have done," said she. "But you -promised two things--not to see Count Charny, the more sacred as I had -not asked it; and, by writing, to treat me as a sister, also the more -sacred as I never solicited it. - -"Must I recall the terms of that pledge? I burnt the paper but I -remember the words; and thus you wrote: - - "'Andrea: You have saved me! my honor and my life are saved by you. - In the name of that reputation which costs you so dear, I vow that - you may call me sister; do it, and you will not see me blush. I - place this writing in your hands as pledge of my gratitude and the - dower I owe you. Your heart is the noblest of boons and it will - value aright the present I offer. - -'MARIE ANTOINETTE.'" - -"Forgive me, Andrea, I thought that he loved you." - -"Did you believe it the law of the affections that when one loves a -woman less he loves another woman more?" - -She had undergone so much that she became cruel in her turn. - -"So you too perceive his love falling off?" questioned the Queen -dolefully. - -Without replying Andrea watched the despairing sovereign and something -like a smile was defined on her lips. - -"Oh heaven, what must I do to retain this fleeting love? my life that -ebbs? Oh, if you know the way, Andrea, my friend and sister, tell me, I -supplicate you!" She held out both hands from which the other receded -one step. - -"How am I to know, who have never loved?" - -"Yes, but he may love you. Some day he will come to your arms for -forgiveness and to make amends for the past, asking your pardon for all -he has made you suffer: suffering is quickly forgotten, God be thanked! -in loving arms, pardon is soon granted to the beloved who gave pain." - -"This misfortune coming--and it would be that for both of us, madam, do -you forget the secret which I confided in you, how--before I became the -wife of Count Charny--I was mother of a son?" - -The Queen took breath. - -"You mean you will do nothing to bring Charny back to you?" she asked. - -"Nothing; no more in the future than in the past." - -"You will not tell him--will not let him suspect that you love him?" - -"No, unless he comes to tell me that he loves me." - -"But, if he should----" - -"Oh, madam," interrupted Andrea. - -"Yes, you are right, Andrea, my sister and friend; and I am unjust, -exacting and cruel. But when all falls away from me, friends, power and -fame, I may wish that at least this passion to which I have sacrificed -friendship, power and reputation, should be left to me." - -"And, now," went on the lady of honor, with the glacial coldness she had -laid aside only for a moment, when she spoke of the torments she had -undergone, "have you anything more to ask me--or fresh orders to -transmit?" - -"No, nothing, I thank you. I wished to restore you my friendship but you -will not accept it. Farewell; at least take my gratitude with you." - -Andrea waved away this second feeling as she had the former, and making -a cold and deep reverence, stole forth silently and slowly as a ghost. - -"Oh, body of ice, heart of diamond and soul of fire, you are right not -to wish either my friendship or my gratitude; for I feel--though the -Lord forgive me! that I hate you as I never hated any one--for if he -does not love you now, I foresee that he will love you some day." - -She called Weber to ask if Dr. Gilbert was coming next day. - -"At ten in the morning." - -Pleading that she was ailing and wearied, she forbade her ladies to -disturb her before ten, the only person she intended to see being -Gilbert. - - - - -CHAPTER XXI. - -WHAT A CUT-OFF HEAD MAY COUNSEL. - - -When Gilbert appeared before the Queen, she uttered a scream, for his -ruffles and part of his coat were torn and drops of blood stained his -shirt. - -"I ask pardon for presenting myself to your Majesty in this attire," he -said, "but your trusty servant who came to learn why I was late to the -appointment, will tell you that he found me in the midst of a mob, -trying to save a baker who was done to death for withholding bread. They -cut the poor fellow to pieces: and to make matters worse, in parading -his head on a pike it was shown to his wife who fell down and alas! has -been prematurely confined." - -"Poor woman," cried the Queen, "if she does not die I will see her -to-morrow and, any way, her child shall be maintained out of my private -purse." - -"Ah, madam," exclaimed Gilbert, "why cannot all France see these tears -in your eyes and hear these words from your lips!" - -But almost instantly the monarch returned to master the woman. She said -with a change of tone: - -"And are these, sir, the fruits of your revolution? after slaying the -great lords, the officials and the soldiery, the people are killing one -another; is there no means of dealing out justice to these cutthroats?" - -"We will try to do so; but it would be better to prevent the murders -than wait and punish the murderers." - -"How? the King and I ask nothing more fervently." - -"All these woes come from the people having lost confidence in those set -above them. Nothing of the kind would occur if they were ruled by men -with the public confidence." - -"You allude to this Mirabeau and Lafayette?" - -"I hoped that your Majesty had sent to tell me that the King was no -longer hostile to the Cabinet I proposed." - -"In the first place, doctor," replied the royal lady, "you fall into a -grave error shared with many more, I admit: you think that I have -influence over the King. You believe that he follows my inspirations? -You mistake: if any body has a sway over him, it is Lady Elizabeth; the -proof is that she yesterday sent one of my servitors, Count Charny, on -an errand without my knowing whither he goes or what is its aim." - -"Still, if your Majesty will surmount her repugnance to Mirabeau, I can -answer for bringing the King round to my views." - -"Is not such repugnance based on a motive, tell me?" counterqueried the -lady. - -"In politics, there should be neither sympathy nor antipathy; only the -meetings of principles and combinations of gains, and I ought to say -that gains are surer than principles." - -"Do you believe that this man who has publicly insulted me, would -consent to join us?" - -"He is entirely yours: when a Mirabeau turns from monarchy, it is like a -horse that shies; reminded of his allegiance by whip or spur, he will -resume his place in the right road." - -"But he is for the Duke of Orleans?" - -"So far from him is he, that on hearing of the duke going over to -England when Lafayette threatened him, he said: 'They say I am in his -pay! I would not have him for my lackey.'" - -"That reconciles him some with me," said the lady, trying to smile: "if -I could believe he might be relied on----" - -"Well?" - -"Perhaps I should be nearer him than the King." - -"Madam, I saw him at Versailles when the mob stormed the palace: then he -thought the Royal Family ought to flee but I have had a note from him -this day." - -He took out a slip of rough paper. - -"Excuse the writing--it is on paper found in a wine saloon and written -on the counter." - -"Never mind that: it is in keeping with the present style of politics." - -Taking the paper, the Queen read: - - "This bread riot changes the face of things. A great deal can be - drawn from this cut-off head. The Assembly will be frightened and - call for martial law. If there be a Mirabeau-Lafayette Cabinet, - Mirabeau will answer for all?" - -"It is not signed," objected the Queen. - -"He handed it to me himself. My advice is that he is perfectly right and -that this alliance alone can save France." - -"Be it so, let the gentleman put the project on paper and I will lay it -before the King, as well as support it." - -"Then I will go to the Assembly and see him. In two hours I shall -return." - -The Queen waited in impatience, always fond of plotting and agitation as -she was. His answer was that Mirabeau had become the spokesman of the -court. - -In fact, after a hot discussion, martial law was voted by the Assembly. -The crime of treason was to be tried at the Chatelet Royal Court, which -meant that royalty still held three fourths of the active power. - -Gilbert did not go near the Queen until the cases were tried here which -would test the alliance. - -The triumph was great to have them tried under the Royal party's thumb. -The first trial was of three men who had killed the baker of the -Assemblymen, Franois; two of whom were hanged on the mere accusation -and public notoriety; the third was tried and sent to the gallows -likewise. - -Two other cases were on the docket. - -Both the accused prisoners were on the court side, the contractor -Augeard and Inspector General Pierre Victor Benzenval, of the Swiss -Guards. - -Augeard was suspected of supplying the funds for the Queen's -_camerailla_ to pay the troops gathered in July to fight the Parisians: -the contractor was not much known and the people bore him no grudge so -that he was acquitted without protest. - -It was not so with Benzenval, who was notorious. He had commanded the -Swiss regiments during the riots and the week of the attack on the -Bastile. It was remembered that he had charged the crowds, who wanted to -pay him out. - -But the most precious orders had been sent out by the King and the -court; under no pretext must Benzenval be punished. It took at least -this two-fold protection to save him. He had acknowledged himself guilty -by taking to flight after the Bastile fell: caught half way to the -frontier, he had been brought back to the capital. - -Nevertheless he was acquitted. - -Amid the hooting, angry crowd, leaving the court, was a man, dressed -like a plain storekeeper who familiarly laid his hand on the shoulder of -a gentleman dressed better than he, and said: - -"Well, what does Dr. Gilbert think of these acquittals?" - -The other started, but recognized the speaker by sight as well as by the -voice, and replied: - -"The Master!--you ought to be asked that, not me, for you know all, -present, past and future!" - -"Well, I should say: The third prisoner will catch it severely, even -though he be innocent." - -"Why should the innocent, if coming next, be wrongfully punished?" -inquired the doctor. - -"For the simple reason that in this world the good pay for the bad," -returned the Chief of the Invisibles with the irony natural to him. - -"Good-bye, Master," said Gilbert, offering his hand; "for I have -business." - -"With whom? Mirabeau, Lafayette or the Queen?" - -Gilbert stopped and eyed Cagliostro uneasily. - -"Let me tell you that you ofttimes frighten me," he said. - -"On the contrary, I want to encourage you," said the magician. "Am I not -your friend? You may be sure of that: I will afford you a proof if you -will come with me home. I will give you such hidden particulars of this -negociation which you believe secret, that you who fancy you are -managing it, will confess ignorance of it." - -"Listen," said Gilbert; "perhaps you are jesting with me by one of those -marvellous funds of information familiar to you; but no matter! -circumstances amid which we are treading are so grave that I would -accept enlightenment though from Old Harry himself. I am following you -therefore whithersoever you lead me." - -"Be easy, it will not be far and to a place not unknown to you; only let -me hail this passing hack; the dress I came out in did not allow me to -use my carriage and horses." - -They got into the hackneycoach which came on at a sign. - -"Where am I to drive you, master?" inquired the Jehu, to Cagliostro as -though, somehow, he saw that he was the leader of the pair, though the -more plainly dressed. - -"Where you know," answered the Chief, making a masonic sign, "The -Temple." - -The driver looked at the Grand Copt with amazement. - -"Excuse me, Thou Supreme, I did not know you," he said, replying with -another sign. - -"It is not thus with me," replied Cagliostro, with a firm and lofty -voice, "innumerable as are those whom the uninitiated eyes see not, I -know all from the topmost to the lowest of those who bring the bricks -and hew the stones." - -The coachman shut the door, got upon the box, and took the carriage at a -gallop to St. Claude Street. The carriage was stopped and the door -opened with a zeal which testified to the man's respect. - -Cagliostro motioned for Gilbert to alight first and as he descended, he -said to the jarvey: - -"Any news?" - -"Yes, Master," said the knight of the whip, "and I should have made my -report this evening if I had not the luck to meet you." - -"Speak." - -"My news is not for outsiders." - -"Oh, the bystander is not an outsider," returned Cagliostro, smiling. - -But Gilbert moved off a little, though he could not help glancing and -listening partially. He saw a smile on the hearers's face as the man -told his story. He caught the name of Favras and Count Provence, before -the report was over, when the magician took out a goldpiece and offered -it. - -"The Master knows that it is forbidden to receive pay for giving -information," he objected. - -"I am not paying for your report, it is plain, but for your bringing -us," said the conspirator. - -"That I can accept. Thank you," he said, taking the coin, "I need not -work any more to-day." - -He drove away, leaving Gilbert amazed at what he had witnessed, and he -crossed the threshold reeling like a tipsy man. - -He knew this house from having traversed it years ago under impressive -circumstances; little was changed in it, even to the same servant Fritz, -only he had aged sixteen years. - -Ushered into a sitting room, the count bade his guest take a seat. - -"I am entirely yours, doctor," said he. - -The younger man forgot his present curiosity in the memories evoked by -this room. Cagliostro looked at him like Mephistopheles regarding Faust -in his brown studies. - -"This room seems to set you thinking, doctor," he said audibly. - -"It does, of the obligations I am under to you." - -"Pooh, bubbles!" - -"Really, you are a strange man," said Gilbert, speaking as much to -himself as to the other, "and if reason allowed me to put faith in what -we learn from legends, I should be inclined to take you for a magician." - -"This am I for the world, Gilbert: but not for you. I have never tried -to dazzle you with jugglery. You know I have always let you see the -bottom of the well and if you have seen Truth come up not so scantily -clothed as the painters represent her, it is because I am a Sicilian and -cannot help decorating my lady-love." - -"It was here, count, that you gave me a large sum of money that I might -be rich in offering my hand to Andrea de Taverney, with the same ease as -I might give a penny to a beggar." - -"You forget the most extraordinary part of it: the beggar brought back -the sum, except for a couple of coins which he spent for clothes." - -"He was honest but you were generous." - -"Who tells you that it was not more easy for him who handled millions to -give a hundred thousand crowns than for him who was penniless to bring -back so large a sum as that was to him? Besides, all depends on the -man's state of mind. I was under the blow of the loss of the only woman -I ever loved--my darling wife was murdered, and I believe you might have -had my life for the asking." - -"Do you feel grief, and experience it like other men," inquired Gilbert, -eyeing him with marked astonishment. - -"You speak of memories this room gives you," sighed the other. "Were I -to tell you--your hair would whiten--but let it pass; leave those events -in their grave. Let us speak of time present, and of that to-come if you -like." - -"Count, you returned to realism just now; again you turn to pretence, -for you speak of the future with the voice of a conjurer asserting the -power to read indecipherable hieroglyphics." - -"You forget that having more means at my beck and call than other men, I -see more clearly and farther than they. You shall see that the pretence -is but a veil--solid are the facts beneath. Come, doctor, how is your -Fusion Cabinet getting on? the Mirabeau-Lafayette Ministry?" - -"It is in the skies; you are trying to learn the facts by pretending to -know more than the rumors." - -"I see that you are doubt incarnate, or wish not to see what you do not -doubt. After telling you of things you do know I must tell of those -beyond your ken. Well, you have recommended Mirabeau to the King as the -only man who can save the monarchy. He will fail--all will fail, for the -monarchy is doomed. You know that I will not have it saved. You have -achieved your end; the two rulers will welcome your advocate: and you -flatter yourself that the royal conversion is due to your irrefutable -logic and irresistible arguments." - -Gilbert could not help biting his lip on hearing this ironical tone. - -"Have you invented a stethoscope by which you can read the heart of -kings? pass the wonderful instrument on to me, count: only an enemy of -mankind would want to keep it to himself alone." - -"I told you I keep nothing back from you, dear doctor. You shall have my -telescope and may look as you please through the small end which -diminishes or the other which magnifies. The Queen gave way for two -reasons: first, she met a great sorrow the night before and she must -have some mental distraction; next, she is a woman and having heard -Mirabeau spoken of as a tiger, she wants to see him and try to tame him. -She thinks: 'It will be fine revenge to bring him to lick my feet: if -some good follows for France and the crown, so much the better.' But you -understand, this idea is quite secondary." - -"You are building on hypothesis and I want facts." - -"I see you refuse my glass and I must come back to material things: such -as can be seen with the naked eye, Mirabeau's debts, for instance." - -"What a chance you have to exhibit your generosity, by paying his debts -as you once did Cardinal Rohan's." - -"Do not reproach me with that speculation, it was one of my greatest -successes. The Queen's Necklace was a pretty affair, I think, and ruined -the Queen in the general eye. At the same price I would pay Mirabeau's -debts. But you know that he is not looking to me for that, but to the -future Generalissimo, Lafayette, who will make him caper for a beggarly -fifty thousand francs, which he will not get any more than the dog gets -the cake for which he has danced. - -"Poor Mirabeau, how all these fools and conceited dunces make your -genius pay for the follies of your youth! Yet all this is providential -and heaven is obliged to proceed by human methods. All these politicians -and wirepullers blame him for some virtue which is not theirs, and yet, -if he dies to-morrow, the masses will award him an apotheosis, and all -these pigmies, over whom he stands head and shoulders, will follow as -mourners and howl: 'Woe to France which has lost her greatest -orator--woe to royalty which has lost its supporter!'" - -"Are you going to foretell the death of Mirabeau?" cried Gilbert, almost -frightened. - -"Frankly, doctor, do you see any length of life for a man whose blood -stews him, whose heart swells to suffocate him and whose genius eats him -up? do you believe that even such powers will not be worn out in -stemming the tide of mediocrity? his enterprise is the rock of Sisyphus. -For two years they have been holding him down with the cry of -Immorality. As if God moulded all men in the same form, and as if the -circle enlarged for a great mind should not enclose greater vices. -Mirabeau will not be Premier because he owes a hundred thousand francs -debt, which would be settled were he a rich contractor's son, and -because he is condemned to death for having run away with an old -imbecile's wife--who smothered herself in charcoal fumes for the love of -a strapping military captain! What a farce the tragedy of human life is! -How I should weep over it if I had not made up my mind to laugh!" - -"But your prediction?" cried Gilbert. - -"I tell you," said the diviner, in the prophet's tone which was his -alone, and allowed no reply, "Mirabeau will wear out his life without -becoming Prime Minister. So great a bar is mediocrity. Go to the -Assembly to-morrow and see. Meanwhile, come with me to the Jacobins -Club, for these night-birds will hold their session in an hour. Do you -belong?" - -"No: Danton and Desmoulins entered me at the Cordeliers. We will go -after dinner." - -Two hours subsequently, two man in gentlemanly black suits were set -down from a plain private carriage at the door of St. Roch's church, -where the throng was great. They were Dr. Gilbert and Baron Zannone, as -Cagliostro chose to call himself at this epoch. - -"Will you come into the nave or sit in the gallery?" asked the magician. - -"I thought the nave was kept for the members?" said the other. - -"Just so, but am I not a member of all societies?" returned the -Arch-master laughing. "Besides, this club is but the seat of the -Invisibles, and you can enter as one of the Rosicrucians. We are sixty -thousand strong in France alone in three months since foundation as -Jacobins, and will be four hundred thousand in a year." - -"Though I am a Rose-Croix, I prefer to be in the gallery where I can see -over the crowd and you can better tell me of the persons whom I descry." - -The seats were roughly knocked up in tiers and a wooden staircase led up -them. Cagliostro made a sign and spoke a word to two who were sitting in -the already filled seats and they got up to give them their places as if -they had been sent before to keep them. - -The place was ill lighted in the growing gloom but it was clear that -these were the best sort of the revolutionists, while the uniforms of -officers of the army and navy abounded. For the common brothers held -their meetings in the crypt. Here the literati and artists were in the -majority. - -Casting a long look around, Gilbert was encouraged by seeing that most -were not so very hostile to the royal cause. - -"Whom do you see here hostile to royalty?" he inquired of his guide. - -"In my eyes there are but two." - -"Oh, that is not many among four hundred men." - -"It is quite enough when one will be the slayer of Louis XVI. and the -other his successor." - -"A future Brutus and a future Caesar here?" exclaimed the doctor -starting. - -"Oh, apostle with scales over your eyes," said Cagliostro; "you shall -not only see them but touch them. Which shall I commence with?" - -"By the overthrower; I respect chronology: let us have Brutus first." - -"You know that men do not use the same means to accomplish a like work," -said Cagliostro, animated as by inspiration. "Therefore our Brutus will -not resemble the antique one." - -"That makes me the more eager to see ours." - -"There he is." - -He pointed to a man leaning against the rostrum in such a position that -his head alone was in the light. Pale and livid, this head seemed -dissevered from the trunk. The eyes seemed to shine with a viper's -expression, with almost scornful hatred, knowing his venom was deadly. -Gilbert felt a creeping of the flesh. - -"You were right to warn me," he said; "this is neither Brutus nor -Cromwell." - -"No, it is rather Cassius the pale-faced and leaned man whom the Emperor -dreaded most. Do you not know him?" - -"No; or rather I have seen him in the Assembly. He is one of the -longest-winded speechifyers of the Left, to whom nobody listens. A -pettifogger from Arras----" - -"The very man." - -"His name is Maximilian Robespierre." - -"Just so. Look at him. You are a pupil of Lavater the physiognomist." - -"I see the spite of mediocrity for genius as he watches Barnave." - -"In other words you judge like the world. I grant that he cannot expect -to make a hit among all these proven orators; but at least you cannot -accuse him of immorality; he is the Honest Man: he never steps outside -of the law, or only to act within a new law which he legally makes." - -"But what is this Robespierre?" asked the other. - -"You ask that as Strafford did of the future Lord Protector: 'What is -this Cromwell? a brewer!' But he cut off his head, mark, you aristocrat -of the Seventeenth Century!" - -"Do you suggest that I run the same risk as Charles First's Minister," -said Gilbert, trying to smile, but it was frozen on his lips. - -"Who can tell?" replied the diviner. - -"The more reason for me to inquire about him." - -"Who is Robespierre? he was born in Arras, of Irish extraction, in 1758. -He was the best pupil in the Jesuits' College and won a purse on which -he came to study at Paris. It was at the same college where your young -Sebastian had an experience. Other boys went out sometimes from those -sombre aisles which bleach the pallid, and had holidays with their -families and friends; young Robespierre was cooped up and breathed the -bad air of loneliness, sadness and tedium; three bad things which rob -the mind of its bloom and blight the heart with envy and hatred. The boy -became a wilted young man. His benefactor had him appointed judge, but -his tender heart would not let him dispose of the life of a man; he -resigned and became a lawyer. He took up the case of peasants disputing -with the Bishop of Arras and won their just claim; the grateful boors -sent him up to the Assembly. There he stood between the clergy's -profound hatred for the lawyer who had dared speak against their bishop -and the scorn of the nobles for the scholar reared by charity." - -"What is he doing?" - -"Nothing for others but much for the Revolution. If it did not enter -into my views that he should be kept poor, I would give him a million -francs to-morrow. Not that I should buy him, for he is joked with as the -Incorruptible! Our noble debaters have settled that he shall be the butt -of the House, for all assemblies must have one. Only one of his -colleagues understands and values him--it is Mirabeau. He told me the -other day, 'that man will go far for he believes what he says!'" - -"This grows serious," muttered Gilbert. - -"He comes here for he gets an audience. The Jacobin is a young minotaur: -suckling a calf, he will devour a nation in a while. I promised to show -you an instrument for lopping off heads, did I not? Well, Robespierre -will give it more work than all those here." - -"Really, you are funereal, count," said Gilbert; "if your Caesar does -not compensate for your Brutus, I may forget what I came here for." - -"You see my future Emperor yonder, talking with the tragic actor Talma, -and with another whom he does not know but who will have a great -influence over him. Keep this befriender's name in mind--Barras, and -recall it one of these days." - -"I do not know how right you are, but you choose your typical characters -well," said Gilbert; "this Caesar of yours has the brow to wear a crown -and his eyes--but I cannot catch the expression----" - -"Because his sight is diverted inwards--such eyes study the future, -doctor." - -"What is he saying to Barras?" - -"That he would have held the Bastile if he were defending it." - -"He is not a patriot, then?" - -"Such as he are nothing before they are all in all." - -"You seem to stick to your idea about this petty officer?" - -"Gilbert," said the soothsayer, extending his hand towards Robespierre, -"as truly as that man will re-erect the scaffold of Charles Stuart, so -truly will 'this one'"--he indicated the lieutenant of the line -regiment--"will re-erect the throne of Charlemagne." - -"Then our struggle for liberty is useless," said Gilbert discouraged. - -"Who tells you that he may not do as much for us on his throne as the -other on his scaffold?" - -"Will he be the Titus, or Marcus Aurelius, the god of peace consoling us -for the age of bronze?" - -"He will be Alexander and Hannibal in one. Born amid war, he will thrive -in war-fare and go down in warring. I defy you to calculate how much -blood the clergy and nobles have made Robespierre lose by his fits of -spite against them; take all that these nobles and priests will lose, -multiply upon multiplications, and you will not attain the sea of blood -this man will shed, with his armies of five hundred thousand men and his -three days' battles in which hundreds of cannon-shots will be fired." - -"And what will be the outcome of all this turmoil--all this chaos?" - -"The outcome of all genesis, Gilbert. We are charged to bury this Old -World. Our children will spring up in a new one. This man is but the -giant who guards the door. Like Louis XIV., Leo X. and Agustus, he will -give his name to the era unfolding." - -"What is his name?" inquired Gilbert, subjugated by Cagliostro's -convinced manner. - -"His name is Buonaparte; but he will be hailed in History as Napoleon. -Others will follow of his name, but they will be shadows--the dynasty of -the first Charlemagne lasted two hundred years; of this second one, a -tithe: did I not tell you that in a hundred years the Republic will have -the empire of France?" - -Gilbert bowed his head. He did not notice that the debates were opened. -An hour passed when he felt a powerful hand grip his shoulder. - -He turned: Cagliostro had disappeared and Mirabeau stood in his -place--after the eagle, the lion. - -Mirabeau's face was convulsed with rage as he roared in a dull voice: - -"We are flouted, deceived, betrayed! the court will not have me and you -have been taken for a dupe as I for a fool. On my moving in the House -that the Cabinet Ministers should be invited to be present at the -Assembly sessions, three friends of the King proposed that no member of -the House should be a minister. This laboriously managed combination -dissolves at a breath from the King; But," concluded Mirabeau, like -Ajax, shaking his mighty fist at the sky, "by my name, I will pay them -for this, and if their breath can shake a minister, mine shall overthrow -the throne. I shall go to the Assembly and fight to the uttermost; I am -one of those who blow up the fort and perish under the ruins." - -He rushed away, more terrible and handsomer for the divine streak which -lightning had impressed on his brow. - -Gilbert did not go to the House to witness his companion's defeat--one -very like a victory. He was musing at home over Cagliostro's strange -predictions. How could this man foresee what would be Robespierre and -Napoleon? I ask those who put this question to me how they explain -Mdlle. Lenormand's prediction to the Empress Josephine? One often meets -inexplicable things; doubt was invented to comfort those who cannot -explain them but will not believe them. - - - - -CHAPTER XXII. - -THE SMILE AND THE NOD. - - -As Cagliostro had said and Mirabeau surmised, the King had upset the -scheme. - -Without much regret the Queen saw the constitutional platform fall which -had wounded her pride. The King's policy was to gain time and profit by -circumstances; besides he had two chances of getting away into some -stronghold, which was his favorite plan. These two plans, we know, were -his brother Provence's, managed by Favras; the other his own, managed by -Charny. - -The latter reached Metz in a couple of days where the faithful royalist -Bouille did not doubt him, but resolved to send his son Louis to Paris -to be more exactly informed on the matter. Charny remained as a kind of -hostage. - -Count Louis Bouille arrived about the middle of November. At this period -the King was guarded closely by Lafayette whose cousin the young count -was. - -To keep him in ignorance of Charny's negociations, the latter worked to -be presented to the King by his kinsman. - -Providence answered the envoy's prayer for Lafayette, who had been -informed of his coming but swallowed his excuse that it was on a visit -to a sweetheart in Paris, offered to take him with him on his morning -call on the monarch. - -All the palace doors opened to the general. The sentinels presented arms -and the footmen bowed, so that Count Louis could see that his relative -was the real King of Paris. - -The King was in his forge so that the visitors had to see the Queen -first. - -Bouille had not seen her for three years. The sight of her at -thirty-four, a prisoner, slandered, threatened, and hated, made a deep -impression on the chivalric heart of the young noble. - -She remembered him at a glance and with the same was sure this was a -friendly face. Without busying about General Lafayette she gave her hand -for the young man to kiss, which was a fault such as she plentifully -committed; without this favor she had won Louis Bouille, and by doing -him it before the general she slighted the latter who had never been so -gratified; she wounded the very man she most wanted as a friend. - -Hence with a faltering in the voice but with the courtesy never leaving -him, Lafayette said: - -"Faith, my dear cousin, you want me to present you to the Queen: but it -seems to me that you were better fitted to present me." - -The Queen was so enraptured at meeting a friend on whom she could rely, -and as a woman so proud of the effect produced on the young nobleman, -that she turned round on the general with one of the beams of youth -which she had feared forever extinct. - -"General," she said with one of the smiles of her sunnier days, "Count -Bouille is not a severe republican like you: he comes from Metz, not -from America; he does not come to bother about Constitutions but to -present his homage. Do not be astonished at the favor shown him by a -nearly dethroned Queen, which this country squire may esteem a boon----" - -She completed her sentence by a playful smile as much as to say: "You -are a Scipio and think nothing of such nonsense." - -"It is a pity for me, and a great misfortune for your Majesty," returned -Lafayette, "that I pass without my respect and devotion being noticed." - -The Queen looked at him with her clear, searching eye. This was not the -first time that he had spoken in this strain and set her thinking: but -unfortunately, as he had said, she entertained an instinctive repugnance -for him. - -"Come, general, be generous and pardon me, my outburst of kindness -towards this excellent Bouille family, which loves me with a whole heart -and of which this youth is the chain of contact. I see his whole family -in him, coming to kiss my hand. Let us shake hands, as the American and -English do, and be good friends." - -The marquis touched the hand coldly. - -"I regret that you do not bear in mind that I am French. The night of -the attack on the Royal Family at Versailles ought to remind you." - -"You are right, general," responded the lady, making an effort and -shaking his hand. "I am ungrateful. Any news?" - -Lafayette had a little revenge to take. - -"No; merely an incident in the House. An old man of one hundred and -twenty was brought to the bar by five generations of descendants to -thank the Representatives for having made him free. Think of one who was -born a serf under Louis XIV. and eighty years after." - -"Very touching," retorted the Queen; "but I could not well be there as I -was succoring the widow and child of the baker murdered for supplying -bread to the Assembly." - -"Madam, we could not foresee that atrocity but we have punished the -offenders." - -"That will do her no good, as she is maddened and may give birth to a -still-born babe; if it should live, do you see any inconvenience to -standing godmother to it at the Cathedral of Notre Dame?" - -"None: and I take this opportunity of meeting your allusion, before my -kinsman, to your pretended captivity. Nothing prevents your going to -church or elsewhere, and the King may go hunting and out riding, as much -as he likes." - -The Queen smiled, for this permission might be useful as far as it went. - -"Good-bye, count," she said to Bouille; "the Princess of Lamballe -receives for me and you will be welcome any evening with your -illustrious kinsman." - -"I shall profit by the invitation," said Lafayette, "sure that I should -be oftener seen there and elsewhere by your Majesty if the request had -not been heretofore omitted." - -The Queen dismissed them with a smile and a nod, and they went out, the -one with more bitterness because of the nod, the other with more -adherence because of the smile. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII. - -THE ROYAL LOCKSMITH. - - -As the King had undertaken a very important piece of locksmith work, he -sent his valet Hue to beg General Lafayette to come into his smithy. - -It was on the second floor above his bedroom, with inner and outer -stairs. - -Since morning he had been hammering away at the work for which Master -Gamain gave him praise and so much regret that the politicians should -take him away from it to trouble about foreign countries. - -Perhaps he wanted to show the Commander of the National Guard that -however weak as a monarch, he was mighty as a Tubal Cain. - -On the road Count Louis had time to meditate; and he concluded that the -Queen knew nothing of his errand. He would have to study the King's -reception and see if he did not give some sign of better understanding -what brought him to Paris than his cousin the marquis. - -The valet did not know Bouille so that he only announced the general. - -"Ah, it is you, marquis," said the King, turning. "I must ask pardon for -calling you up here, but the smith assures you that you are welcome in -his forge. A charcoal-burner once said to my ancestor Henry IV.: 'Jack -is king in his own castle.' But you are master in the smithy as in the -palace." - -Louis spoke much in the same way as Marie Antoinette. - -"Sire, under whatever circumstances I present myself to your Majesty," -said Lafayette, "and whatever costume your Majesty is in, the King will -be ever the sovereign and I the faithful subject and devoted servant." - -"I do not doubt that, my lord; but you are not alone. Have you changed -your aid-de-camp?" - -"This young officer, Sire, whom I ask leave to introduce, is my cousin, -Count Louis Bouille, captain in the Provence Dragoons." - -"Oh, son of Marquis Bouille, commander of Metz?" said the King, with a -slight start not escaping the young man. - -"The same, Sire," he spoke up quickly. - -"Excuse me not knowing you, but I have short sight. Have you been long -in town?" - -"I left Metz five days ago; and being here without official furlough but -under special permission from my father, I solicited my kinsman the -marquis for the honor of presentation to your Majesty." - -"You were very right, my lord, for nobody could so well present you at -any hour, and from no one could the introduction come more agreeably." - -The words "at any hour" meant that Lafayette had the public and private -entry to the King. The few words from the sovereign put the young count -on his guard. The question about his coming signified that he wanted to -know if Charny had seen his father. - -Meanwhile Lafayette was looking round curiously where few penetrated; he -admired the regularity with which the tools were laid out. He blew the -bellows as the apprentice. - -"So your Majesty has undertaken an important work, eh?" queried -Lafayette, embarrassed how to talk to a King who was in a smutty apron, -with tucked up sleeves and had a file in his hand. - -"Yes, general, I have set to making our magnus opus a lock. I tell you -just what I am doing or we shall have Surgeon Marat saying that I am -forging the fetters of France. Tell him it is not so, if you lay hold of -him. I suppose you are not a smith, Bouille?" - -"At least I was bound apprentice, and to a locksmith, too." - -"I remember, your nurse's husband was a smith and your father, although -not much of a student of Rousseau acted on his advice in 'Emile' that -everybody should learn a craft, and bound you to the workbench." - -"Exactly; so that if your Majesty wanted a boy----" - -"An apprentice would not be so useful to me as a master," returned the -King. "I am afraid I have ventured on too hard a job. Oh, that I had my -teacher Gamain, who used to say he was a crafts-master above the -masters." - -"Is he dead, my lord?" - -"No," replied the King, giving the young gentleman a glance for him to -be heedful; "he lives in Versailles, but the dear fellow does not dare -come and see me at the Tuileries for fear he will get an ill name. All -my friends have gone away, to London, Turin or Coblentz. Still, my dear -general, if you do not see any inconvenience in the old fellow coming -with one of his boys to lend me a hand, I might ask him to drop in some -day." - -"Your Majesty ought to know perfectly that he can see and send for -anybody." - -"Yes, on condition that you sentries search them as the revenue officers -do those suspected of smuggling; poor Gamain will believe he is to be -hanged, drawn and quartered if they found his bag of tools on him and -took his three-cornered file for a stiletto!" - -"Sire, I do not know how to excuse myself to your Majesty, but I am -answerable for your person to the Powers of Europe, and I cannot take -too many precautions for that precious life to be protected. As for the -honest fellow of whom we are speaking, the King can give what orders he -pleases." - -"Very well; thank you, marquis; I might want him in a week or ten -days--him and his 'prentice," he added, with a glance at Bouille; "I -could notify him by my valet Durey, who is a friend of his." - -"He has only to call to be shown up to the King; his name will suffice. -Lord preserve me from getting the title of your jailer, Sire; never was -the monarch more free; and I have even desired your Majesty to resume -hunting and riding out." - -"Thank you, but no more hunts for me! Besides, you see I have something -to keep me in doors, in my head. As for traveling, that is another -matter; the last trip from Versailles to Paris cured me of the desire to -travel, in such a large party at all events." - -He threw a glance to Bouille who ventured to blink to show that he -understood. - -"Are you soon going back to your father?" inquired the King of the -latter. - -"Sire, I am leaving Paris in a couple of days to pay a visit to my -grandmother, living in Versailles; I am bound to pay my respects. Then I -am charged by my father to attend to a rather important family matter, -for which I expect to see the person who will give me the directions in -about a week. So I shall hardly be with my father before the first week -in December, unless the King has particular reasons for me to see him -sooner." - -"No, my lord, take your time; go to Versailles and transact your -business and when done, go and tell the marquis, that I do not forget -him as one of my faithful lieges, and that I will speak of him one of -these days to General Lafayette for him to advance him." - -Lafayette smiled faintly at this allusion to his omnipotence. - -"Sire," he said, "I should have long ago recommended Marquis Bouille to -your Majesty had he not been my kinsman. The fear of raising the cry -that I am looking after my family alone prevented me doing him this -justice." - -"This chimes in nicely, then; we will speak of this matter again." - -"The King will kindly allow me to say that my father would consider any -change of a post a disgrace that robbed him of the chance to serve your -Majesty particularly." - -"Oh, that is fully understood, count," responded Louis the King, "and -Marquis Bouille shall not be moved without it being according to his -desires and mine. Let General Lafayette and I manage this, and you run -to your pleasure-making without altogether forgetting business. Good -bye, gentlemen!" - -He dismissed them with a majestic manner in singular contrast with the -vulgar attire. - -"Come, come," he said to himself, when the door was shut. "I believe the -young blade has comprehended me, and that in a week or so we shall have -Master Gamain coming to aid me, _with his 'prentice_." - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV. - -HAPPY FAMILY. - - -On the evening of this same day, about five, a scene passed in the third -and top flat of a dirty old tumbledown house in Juiverie Street which we -would like our readers to behold. - -The interior of the sitting-room denoted poverty, and it was inhabited -by three persons, a man, a woman, and a boy. - -The man looked to be over fifty; he was wearing an old uniform of a -French Guards sergeant, a habit venerated since these troops sided with -the people in the riots and exchanged shots with the German dragoons. - -He was dealing out playing cards and trying to find an infallible means -of winning; a card by his side, pricked full of pinholes, showed that he -was keeping tally of the runs. - -The woman was four-and-thirty and appeared forty; she wore an old silk -dress; her poverty was the more dreadful as she exhibited tokens of -splendor; her hair was built up in a knot over a brass comb once gilded: -and her hands were scrupulously cared for with the nails properly -trimmed in an aristocratic style. The slippers on her feet, over -openwork stockings, had been worked with gold and silver. - -Her face might pass in candlelight for about thirty; but, without paint -and powder it looked five years older than reality. - -Its resemblance to Queen Marie Antoinette's was still so marked that one -tried to recall it in the dusty clouds thrown up by royal horses around -the window of a royal coach. - -The boy was five years of age; his hair curled like a cherub's; his -cheeks were round as an apple; he had his mother's diabolical eyes, and -the sensual mouth of his father--in short, the idleness and whims of the -pair. - -He wore a faded pearl velvet suit and while munching a hunk of cake -sandwiched with preserves, he frayed out the ends of an old tricolored -scarf inside a pearl gray felt hat. - -The family was illuminated by a candle with a large "thief in the -gutter," stuck in a bottle for holder, which light fell on the man and -left most of the room in darkness. - -"Mamma," the child broke the silence by saying, as he threw the end of -the cake on the mattress which served as bed, "I am tired of that kind -of cake--faugh! I want a stick of red barley sugar candy." - -"Dear little Toussaint," said the woman. "Do you hear that, Beausire?" - -As the gamester was absorbed in his calculations, she lifted her foot -within snatch of her hand and taking off the slipper, cast it to his -nose. - -"What is the matter?" he demanded, with plain ill-humor. - -"Toussaint wants some candy, being tired of cheap cake." - -"He shall have it to-morrow." - -"I want it to-day--this evening--right now!" yelled the innocent in a -tearful voice which threatened stormy weather. - -"Toussaint, my boy, I advise you to give us quiet or papa will take you -in hand," said the parent. - -The boy yelled again but more from deviltry than from fear. - -"You drunken sot, you just touch my darling, and I will attend to you," -said the mother, stretching out the white hand towards the bully which -her care of the nails made to become a claw at need. - -"Who the deuse wants to touch the imp? you know it is only my style of -speaking, my dear Oliva, and that though I may dust your skirt now and -then I have always respected the kid's jacket. Tut, tut, come and -embrace your poor Beausire who will be rich as a King in a week; come, -my little Nicole." - -"When you are rich as a king, it will be another matter: but up to that -time no fooling." - -"But I tell you that it is as safe as if I had a million. You might be -kind for a little while. Go and get credit of the baker." - -"A man rolling in millions wants a baker to let him have a loaf on -trust, ha, ha!" - -"I want some red barely sugar," howled the child. - -"Come, you king with the millions, give some sugar sticks to your -prince." - -Beausire started to put his hand to his fob but stopped half way. - -"You know I gave you my last piece yesterday." - -"Then, if you have the money," said the child to the woman whom Beausire -called indifferently Nicole or Oliva, "give me a penny to buy candy." - -"There are two cents, you naughty boy, and mind you do not fall in -sliding down the bannisters." - -"Thank you, dear mother," said the boy, capering for joy and holding out -his hand. - -"Come here till I set your hat on and adjust your sash: it must not be -said that Captain Beausire let his son race about the streets in -disorder--though it is all the same to him, the heartless fellow! I -should die of shame!" - -At the risk of whatever the neighbors might say against the heir to the -Beausire name, the boy would have dispensed with the hat and band, of -which he recognized the use before the other urchins did the freshness -and beauty. But as the arrangement of his dress was a condition of the -gift, the young Hector had to yield to it. - -He consoled himself by taunting his father with the coin by thrusting it -up under his nose; absorbed in his figuring the parent merely smiled at -the pretty freak. - -Soon they heard his timid step, though quickened by gluttony, descending -the stairs. - -"Now then, Captain Beausire," snapped the woman after a pause, "your -wits must lift us out of this miserable position, or else I must have -recourse to mine." - -She spoke with a toss of the head as much as to say: "A lady of my -lovely face never dies of starvation, never fear!" - -"Just what I am busy about, my little Nicole," responded Beausire. - -"By shuffling the cards?" - -"Did I not tell you that I have found the infallible coup?" - -"At it again, eh? Captain Beausire, I warn you that I am going to hunt -up my old acquaintances and see if one of them cannot have you shut up -in the madhouse. Dear, dear, if Lord Richelieu were not dead, if -Cardinal Rohan were not ruined, if Lady Lamotte Valois were not in -London dodging the sheriff's officers----" - -"What are you talking about?" - -"I should find means and not be obliged to share the misery of an old -swashbuckler like this one." - -With a queenly flirt of the hand Oliva _alias_ Nicole Legay, -disdainfully indicated the gambler. - -"But I keep telling you that I shall be rich to-morrow," he repeated, -himself at any rate convinced. - -"Show me the first gold piece of your million and I shall believe the -rest." - -"You will see ten gold pieces this evening--the very sum promised me. -You can have five to buy a silk dress and a velvet suit for the -youngster: with the balance I will bring you the million I promised." - -"You unhappy fellow, you mean to gamble again?" - -"But I tell you again that I have lit on an infallible sequence." - -"Own brother to the one with which you threw away the sixty thousand -livres from the amount you stole at the Portuguese Ambassador's?" - -"Money got over the devil's back goes under his belly," replied Beausire -sententiously. "I always did think that the way I got that cash brought -bad luck." - -"Is this fresh lot coming from an inheritance? have you an uncle who has -died in the Indies or America and left you the ten louis?" - -"Nicole Legay," rejoined Beausire with a lofty air, "these ten will be -earned not only honestly but honorably, for a cause which interests me -as well as the rest of the nobility of France." - -"So you are a nobleman, Friend Beausire?" jeered the lady. - -"You may say so: we have it stated so in the birth entry on the register -of St. Paul's, and signed by your servitor, Jean Baptiste Toussaint de -Beausire, on the day when I gave my name to our boy----" - -"A handsome present that was," gibed Nicole. - -"And my estate," added the so-called captain emphatically. - -"If kind heaven does not send him something more solid," interposed -Nicole, shaking her head, "the poor little dear is sure to live on air -and die in the poorhouse." - -"Really, Nicole, this is too much to endure--you are never contented." - -"Endure? good gracious, who wants you to endure?" exclaimed the reduced -gentlewoman, breaking down the dam to her long-restrained ire: "Thank -God, I am not worried about myself or my little pet, and this very night -I shall go forth and seek my fortune." - -She rose and took three steps towards the door, but he strode in between -them and opened his arms to bar the way. - -"You naughty creature, did I not tell you that my fortune----" - -"Go on," said Nicole. - -"Is coming home to-night: though the coup were a mistake--which is -impossible, it would only be five louis lost." - -"There are times when a few pieces of money are a fortune, sir. But you -would not know that, who have squandered a pile of gold as high as this -house." - -"That proves my merit: I made it at the cards, and if I made some once I -shall make more another time: besides, there is a special providence -for--smart rogues." - -"That is a fine thing to rely on!" - -"Do you not believe in Providence? are you an atheist, Nicole? of the -school of Voltaire who denies all that sort of thing?" - -"Beausire, no matter what I am, you are a fool." - -"Springing from the lower class, as you do, it is not surprising that -you nourish such notions. I warn you that they do not appertain to my -caste and political opinions." - -"You are a saucebox," returned the beauty of the past. - -"But I have faith. If anyone were to say, 'Beausire, your son who has -gone out to buy a sugar stick, will return with a lump of gold,' I -should answer: 'Very likely, if it be the will of Allah!' as a Turkish -gentleman of my acquaintance says." - -"Beausire, you are an idiot," said Nicole, but she had hardly spoken the -words before young Toussaint's voice was heard on the stairs calling: - -"Oh, papa--mamma!" - -"What is the matter?" cried Nicole, opening the door with true maternal -solicitude. "Come, my darling, come." - -The voice drew near like the ventriloquist doing the trick of the man in -the cellar. - -"I should not be astonished if he had lit on the streak of good luck I -feel promised," said the gambler. - -The boy rushed into the room, holding a sugarstick in his mouth, hugging -under his left arm a bag of sugarplums, and showing in his right hand a -gold coin which shone in the candle glimmer like the North Star. - -"Goodness of heaven, what has occurred?" cried Nicole, slamming the door -to. - -She covered his gluey face with kisses--mothers never being disgusted, -from their caresses seeming to purify everything. - -"The matter is a genuine louis of gold, worth full value of twenty-four -livres," said Beausire, skillfully obtaining the piece. - -"Where did you pick that up that I may go for the others, my duck?" he -inquired. - -"I never found it, papa: it was give to me," replied the boy. "A kind -gentleman give it me." - -Ready as Beausire to ask who this donor was, Nicole was prudent from -experience on account of Captain Beausire's jealousy. She confined -herself to repeating: - -"A gentleman?" - -"Yes, mamma dear," rejoined the child, crunching the barley-sugar -between his teeth: "a gentleman who came into the grocer's store where I -was, and he says: 'God bless me, but, master, do I not behold a young -gentleman whose name is De Beausire, whom you have the honor of -attending to at the present time?'" - -Beausire perked up and Nicole shrugged her shoulders. - -"What did the grocer say to that, eh?" demanded the card-sharper. - -"Master Grocer says: 'I don't know whether he is a gentleman or not, but -his name is Beausire,' 'Does he live by here?' went on the gentleman. -'Top-floor, next house on the left.' 'Give anything the young master -wants to him--I will foot the bill,' said the gentleman. Then he gave me -the money saying: 'There a louis for you, young sir: when you have eaten -your candy, that will buy you more. He put the money in my hand; the -grocer stuck this bag under my arm and I came away awfully glad. Oh, -where is my money-piece?" - -Not having seen Beausire's disappearing trick, he began to look all -round for the louis. - -"You clumsy little blockhead, you have lost it," said the captain. - -"No, I never!" yelled the child. - -The dispute would have become warm but for the interruption which came -to put an end to it. - -The door opened slowly and a bland voice made these words audible: - -"How do you do, Mistress Nicole? good evening, Captain Beausire! How are -you, little Toussaint?" - -All turned: on the threshold was an elegantly attired man, smiling on -the family group. - -"Oh, here's the gentleman who gave me the candy," cried young Toussaint. - -"Count Cagliostro," exclaimed Beausire and the lady at the same time. - -"That is a winning little boy, and I think you ought to be happy at -being a parent, Captain Beausire," said the intruder. - -He advanced and with one scrutinizing glance saw that the couple were -reduced to the last penny. - -The child was the first to break the silence because he had nothing on -his conscience. - -"Oh, kind sir, I have lost the shining piece," said he. - -Nicole opened her mouth to state the case but she reflected that silence -might lead to a repetition of the godsend and she would inherit it; her -expectation was not erroneous. - -"Lost your louis, have you, my poor boy?" said Cagliostro, "well, here -are two; try not to lose them." - -Pulling out a purse of which the plumpness kindled Beausire's greedy -glances, he dropped two coins into Toussaint's little sticky paw. - -"Look, mamma," said he, running to Nicole; "here's one for you and one -for me." - -While the child shared his windfall with his mother, the new-comer -remarked the tenacity with which the former-soldier watched his purse -and tried to estimate the contents before it was pocketted again. On -seeing it disappear, he sighed. - -"Still glum, captain?" said the visitor. - -"And you, count, always rich?" - -"Pooh! you are one of the finest philosophers I have ever known, as well -at the present as in antiquity, and you are bound to know the axiom to -which man does honor in all ages. 'Riches are not contentment.' I have -known you to be rich, relatively." - -"That's so: I have owned as much as a hundred thousand francs." - -"It is possible; only when I met you again, you had spent nearly forty -thousand of it so as to have but sixty, but that is a round sum for a -corporal in the army." - -"What is that to the sums you dispose of?" he sighed. - -"I am only the banker, the trustee, Captain Beausire, and if I were -obliged to settle up I daresay you could play St. Martin and I the -beggar who would be glad to have half your cloak. But, my dear Beausire, -do you not remember the circumstances of our last meeting? As I said, -just now, you had sixty thousand left of the hundred thousand: were you -happier than now?" - -The ex-corporal heaved a retrospective sigh which might pass for a moan. - -"Would you exchange your present position though you possessed nothing -but one poor louis you 'nicked' from young Toussaint?" - -"My lord!" - -"Do not let us get warm, sir: we quarrelled once and you were obliged to -go out and pick up your sword which I threw out of the window. You will -remember?" went on the count, seeing that the man made no reply: "it is -a good thing to have a memory. I ask you again would you change your -actual position, though down to the solitary louis you 'extracted' from -young Toussaint"--this time the allegation passed without protest--"for -the precarious scrape from which I relieved you?" - -"No, my lord, you are right--I should not change. At that epoch, alas! I -was parted from my darling Nicole." - -"To say nothing of being hunted by the police, on account of your -robbing the Portuguese Embassy. What the mischief has become of that -case, a villainous one, as I remember it, Captain B.?" - -"It has been dropped, my lord," was the reply. - -"So much the better: though I would not reckon on its not being picked -up again. The police are awful for raking up past grievances, and the -ruling powers might want to be on good terms with Portugal. However, -that apart, in spite of the hard lines to which you are reduced, you are -happy. If you had a thousand louis, your felicity would be complete, -eh?" - -Nicole's eyes glittered and her partner's flashed flames. - -"Lord be good to us," cried the latter: "with half I would buy a lot in -the country and live a rural life on the rest like a country squire!" - -"Like Cincinnatus!" - -"While Nicole would educate the boy." - -"Like Cornelia! Death of my life, Captain Beausire! not only would this -be exemplary but touching: do you hope to earn as much as that in the -piece of business you have in hand?" - -"What business?" queried the other, starting. - -"That you are carrying on as sergeant of the Guards; for which you are -to meet a man, this evening, under the Palais Royal arcades." - -"Oh, my lord," moaned Beausire, turning pale as a corpse and wringing -his hands. "Do not destroy me!" - -"Why, you are going distracted now? Am I the Chief of Police to ruin -you?" - -"There, I told you, you are getting into a pretty pickle," exclaimed -Nicole. "I know nothing about it, my lord, but whenever he hides any -game from me, I know it is a bad one." - -"But you are wrong, my dear lady, for this is an excellent speculation." - -"Is it not?" cried the gambler. "The count, as a nobleman, understands -that all the nobility are in this scheme----" - -"For it to succeed. It must be allowed though, that the people are -interested in its failure. If you will believe me, captain--you -understand that a friend is giving advice--you will take no part in it -for the peers or the people. Better act for yourself." - -"Certainly, for yourself," said Nicole. "Blest if you have not toiled -long enough for others: so that it is high time you looked after Number -One." - -"You hear the lady, who speaks like a born orator. Bear this in mind, -Friend Beausire, all spec's have a good and a bad side, one for the -winners, one for the losers: no affair however good, can benefit -everybody; the whole trouble is to hit on the right side." - -"And you do not think I am there, eh?" - -"Not at all; I would even add, if you are willful--for you know I dabble -in telling fortunes--that you will not only risk your honor, and the -fortune you seek--but your life. You will most likely be hanged!" - -"They do not hang noblemen," objected Beausire, wiping the perspiration -streaming from his brow. - -"That is so: but to avoid the gallows-tree and have your head cut off, -you would have to prove your family-tree; it would take so long that the -court would lose patience, and string you up for the time being--leaving -your widow to demand compensation if you turned out to have deserved -decapitation. Still you may say that it does not matter, as it is the -crime that casts shame and not the scaffold, to quote a poet. Still -again, I dare say you are not so attached to your opinions that you -would lay down your life for them; I understand this. Deuse take us, but -we have only one life, as another poet says, not so great as the other, -but as truthful." - -"My lord," faltered the ex-guardsman, "I have remarked in my too brief -acquaintance with your lordship, that you have a way of speaking of -some things which would make the hair of a more timid man than me -bristle on his head." - -"Hang me if that is my intention," responded Cagliostro; "Besides you -are not a timid man." - -"No: yet there are circumstances," began Beausire. - -"I understand; such as when one has the jail for theft behind one and -the gallows for high treason before one--for I suppose they give that -name to the crime of kidnapping the King." - -"My lord," cried Beausire, terrified. - -"Wretch, is it on kidnapping that you build your fortune?" demanded -Oliva. - -"Oh, he was not wrong to dwell in golden dreams, my dear lady; only, as -I have already said, each affair has a dark side and a bright one and -Beausire has the misfortune to take the dark one; all he has to do is to -shift." - -"If there is time, what must I do?" asked the bully. - -"Suppose one thing," said the gentleman; "that your conspiracy fails. -Suppose that the accomplices of the masked man and the one in the brown -cloak are arrested; we may suppose anything in these times--suppose they -are doomed to death! Suppose--for Augeard and Bezenval have been -acquitted, so that anything unlikely may come round nowadays--suppose -that you are one of these accomplices; you have the halter round your -neck, when--say what they like--a man always shows a little of the white -feather about then----" - -"Do have done, my lord! I entreat you, for I seem to feel the rope -throttling me!" - -"That is not astonishing as I am supposing it is round your neck! -Suppose, then, that they say to you: 'Poor old Beausire, this is your -own fault. Not only might you have dodged this Old Bony who clutches you -in his claws, but gain a thousand louis to buy the pretty cottage under -the green trees where you long to live with ever-lovely Oliva and merry -little Toussaint, with the balance of what was partly spent for the -purchase of your homestead. You might live, as you said, like a squire, -in high boots in the winter and easy shoes the rest of the year; while, -instead of this delicious lookout, you have the Execution-place, -planted with two or three one or two-armed trees, of which the highest -holds out its ugly branch unto you. Faugh! my poor Captain Beausire, -what a hideous prospect!'" - -"But how am I to elude it--how make the thousand to ensure my peace and -that of dear Nicole and little Toussaint?" - -"Your good angel would say: 'Why not apply to the Count of Cagliostro, a -rich nobleman who is in town for his pleasure and who is weary of -nothing to do. Go to him and tell him----" - -"But I do not know where he lives! I did not even know he is in town; I -did not know he was still alive!" protested Beausire. - -"He lives ever. It is because you would not know these facts that he -comes to you, my dear Beausire, so that you will have no excuse. You -have merely to say to him: 'Count, I know how fond you are of hearing -the news. I have some fresh for you. The King's brother is conspiring -with Marquis Favras. I speak from full knowledge as I am the right-hand -man of the marquis. The aim of the plot is to take the King away to -Peronne. If your lordship likes to be amused, I will tell him step by -step how the moves are played.' Thereupon the count, who is a generous -lord, would reply: 'If you will really do this, Captain Beausire, as all -laborers are worthy of their hire, I put aside twenty-four thousand -livres for a charitable act; but I will balk myself in this whim, and -you shall have them on the day when you come and tell me either that the -King shall be taken off or Marquis Favras captured--in the same way as -you are given these ten louis--not as hand-money or as an advance, or a -loan, but as a pure gift." - -Like an actor rehearsing with the "properties," Cagliostro pulled out -the weighty purse, stuck in finger and thumb and with a dexterity -bearing witness to his experience in such actions, whipped out just ten -pieces, neither more nor less, which Beausire--we must do him -justice--thrust out his hand with alacrity to receive. - -"Excuse me, captain," said the other, gently fencing off the hand, "we -are only playing at Supposes." - -"Yes, but through suppositions one arrives at the fact," responded the -cardplayer, whose eyes glowed like burning coals. - -"Have we reached this point?" - -Beausire hesitated; let us hasten to say that it was not honor, fidelity -to plighted word, or a pricked conscience which caused the wavering. Did -our readers know Beausire, they would not want this denial. It was the -simple fear that the count would not keep his word. - -"I see what you are passing through," said the tempter. - -"Ay, my lord, I shrink from betraying the trust a gentleman puts in me," -replied the adventurer. "It is very hard," he seemed to say as he raised -his eyes heavenward. - -"Nay, it is not that, and this is another proof of the old saw that 'No -man knows himself'," said the count. "You are afraid that I will not pay -you the sum stated. The objection is quite natural; but I shall give -security." - -"My lord certainly need not." - -"Personal security, Madam Legay." - -"Oh, if the count promises, it is as good as done," said the lady. - -"You see, sir, what one gains by scrupulously keeping one's promises. -One day when the lady was in the same quandary as yourself, I mean the -police were hunting after her, I offered her an asylum in my residence. -The lady hesitated, fearing that I was no Joseph--unless so christened. -I gave her my word to respect her, and this is true, eh?" - -"I swear it, on my little Toussaint," said Oliva-Nicole. - -"So you believe that I will pay the sum mentioned on the day when the -King shall have been abducted or Marquis Favras arrested, to say nothing -of my serving the running knot strangling him a while ago. For this -affair, at all events, there shall be no halter or gibbet, for I cannot -bind myself any farther. You understand: The man who is born to -be--ahem!" - -"My lord, it is as if the courts had awarded us the money," said the -woman. - -"Well, my beauty," said Cagliostro, putting the ten gold pieces on the -table in a row, "just imbue the captain with this belief of yours." - -He waved his hand for the gambler to confer with his partner. Their -parley lasted only five minutes, but it was most lively. Meanwhile -Cagliostro looked at the cards and the one by which tally was kept. - -"I know the run," he observed, "it is that invented by John Law who -floated the Mississippi Bubble. I lost a million on it." - -This remark seemed to give fresh activity to the dialogue of Beausire -and his light-o-love. At last Beausire was decided; he came forward to -offer his hand to Cagliostro like a horse-dealer about to strike a -bargain. But the other frowned. - -"Captain, between gentlemen the parole suffices. Give me yours." - -"On the faith of Beausire, it shall be done." - -"That is enough for me," said the other, drawing out a diamond-studded -watch on which was a portrait of Frederick the Great. "It is now a -quarter to nine. At nine precisely you are expected under the Royale -Place arcades, near Sully House. Take these ten pieces, pocket them, put -on your coat and buckle on your sword--and do not keep them waiting." - -"Where am I to see your lordship next?" inquired Beausire, obeying the -instructions, without asking reiteration. - -"In St. Jean's Cemetery, if you please. When we have such deadly matters -to discuss the company of the dead is better than the living. Come when -you are free; the first to arrive waits for the other. I have now to -chat with the lady." - -The captain stood on one foot. - -"Be easy; I did not make bold when she was a single woman; I have the -more reason to respect her since she is a mother of a family. Be off, -captain." - -Beausire threw a glance at his wife, by courtesy, at all events, -tenderly hugged little Toussaint, saluted the patron with respect mixed -with disquiet, and left the house just as Notre Dame clock bell was -striking the three-quarters after eight. - - - - -CHAPTER XXV. - -DOWN AMONG THE DEAD - - -It was nearly midnight when a man hesitatingly walked up to the iron -gateway of St. Jean's burying-ground, in Croix Blanche Street. - -As midnight boomed, he saw a spectre cross the grounds under the yews -and cypresses, and, approaching the grating, turn a key harshly in the -gatelock to show that, if he were a ghost and had the leave to quit his -grave, he also had that to go beyond the cemetery altogether. - -"Do you not recognize me, Captain B.?" queried the jesting voice of -Cagliostro, "or did you forget our appointment?" - -"I am glad it is you," said the man in the French Guards sergeant dress, -breathing as if his heart were relieved of great weight. "These devilish -streets are so dark and deserted that I do not know but it is better to -run up against any body than not to meet a soul." - -"Pshaw," returned the magician, "the idea of your fearing any thing at -any hour of the day or night! You will never make me believe that of a -man like you who would go anywhere with a sword by his side. However, -step on this side of the railings, and you will be tranquil, my dear -Captain Beausire, for you will meet no one but me." - -Beausire acted on the invitation, and the key grated again in the lock, -to fasten the gate behind him. - -"Keep to this little path," continued Cagliostro, "and at twenty paces -you will come upon a little broken altar, on the steps of which we can -nicely manage our little business." - -"Where the mischief do you see any path?" he grumbled, after starting -with a good will. "I meet nothing but nettles tearing my ankles and -grass up to my knees." - -"I own that this cemetery is as badly kept as any I know of; but it is -not astonishing, for here are buried only the condemned prisoners -executed in the City, and no one plants flowers for such poor fellows. -Still we have some undeniable celebrities here, my dear Beausire. If it -were daylight I would show you where lies Bouteville Montmorency, -decapitated for having fought a duel; the Knight of Rohan who suffered -the same fate for conspiring against the Government; Count Horn broken -on the wheel for murdering a Jew; Damiens who tried to kill Louis XVI., -and lots more. Oh, you are wrong to defame St. Jean's; it is badly kept -but it well keeps its famous ones." - -Beausire followed the guide so closely that he locked steps with him -like a soldier in the second rank with the predecessor so that when the -latter stopped suddenly he ran up against him. - -"Ah! this is a fresh one; the grave of your comrade Fleurdepine, one of -the murderers of Franois the Assemblymen's baker, who was hanged a week -ago by sentence at the Chatelet; this ought to interest you, as he was, -like you, a corporal, a sergeant by his own promotion, and a crimp--I -mean a recruiter." - -The hearer's teeth chattered; the thistles he walked among seemed so -many skeleton fingers stretched up to trip him, and make him understand -that this is the place where he would have his everlasting sleep. - -"Well, we have arrived," said the cicerone, stopping at a mound of -ruins. - -Sitting down on a stone he pointed out another to his companion, as if -placed for a conversation. It was time, for the ex-soldier's knees were -knocking together so that he fell rather than sat on the elevation. - -"Now that we are comfortable for a chat," went on the magician, "let us -know what went on under the Royale Place arches. The meeting must have -been interesting?" - -"To tell the truth, count, I am so upset that I really believe you will -get a clearer account by questioning me." - -"Be it so, I am easy going, and the shape of news little matters -provided I get it. How many of you met at the arches?" - -"Six, including myself." - -"I wonder if they were the persons I conjecture to be there? _Primo_, -you, no doubt." - -Beausire groaned as though he wished there could be doubt on that head. - -"You do me much honor in commencing by me, for there were very great -grandees compared with me." - -"My dear boy, I follow the Gospel: 'The first shall be last.' If the -first are to be last, why, the last will naturally lead. So I begin with -you, according to Scripture. Then there would be your comrade Tourcaty, -an old recruiting officer who is charged to raise the Brabant Legion?" - -"Yes, we had Tourcaty." - -"Then, there would be that sound royalist Marquie, once sergeant in the -French Guards, now sub-lieutenant in a regiment of the centre line. -Favras, of course? the Masked Man? Any particulars to furnish about the -Masked Man?" - -The traitor looked at the inquirer so fixedly that his eyes seemed to -kindle in the dark. - -"Why, is it not--" but he stopped as if fearing to commit a sacrilege if -he went farther. - -"What's this? have you a knot in your tongue? Take care of being -tongue-tied. Knots in the tongue lead to knots round the neck, and as -they are slip ones, they are the worst kind." - -"Well, is it not the King's b-b-brother?" stammered the other. - -"Nonsense, my dear Beausire, it is conceivable that Favras, who wants it -believed that he clasps hands with a royal prince in the plot, should -give out that the Mask hides the King's brother, Provence, but you and -your mate, Tourcaty, recruiting-sergeants, are men used to measure men -by their height in inches and lines, and it is not likely you would be -cheated that way." - -"No, it is not likely," agreed the soldier. - -"The King's brother is five feet three and seven lines," pursued the -magician, "while the Masked Man is nearly five feet six." - -"To a T.," said the traitor, "that occurred to me; but who can it be if -not the King's brother?" - -"Excuse me, I should be proud and happy to teach you something," -retorted Cagliostro: "but I came here to be taught by you." - -"But if your lordship knows who this man is," said the ex-corporal, -becoming more at home, "might I ask his name?" - -"A name is a serious thing to divulge," responded the strange man: "and -really I prefer you should guess. Do you know the story of OEdipus and -the Sphinx?" - -"I went to see a tragedy of that title and fell asleep, unfortunately, -in the fourth act." - -"Plague take me, but you ought not to call that a misfortune!" - -"But I lose by it now." - -"Not to go into details, suffice it that OEdipus, whom I knew as a boy -at one royal court and as a man at another, was predicted to be the -murderer of his father and the husband of his mother. Believing King -Polybius this father, he departed from his realm, but would not take a -hint from me about the road. The result was that he met his own sire on -the road where, as neither would turn out, a fight ensued in which he -slew his father. Some time after he met the Sphinx. It was a monster -with a woman's head on a lion's body which I regret never to have seen, -as it was a thousand years after her death that I travelled that road. -She had the habit of putting riddles to the wayfarers and eating those -who could not read them aright. To my friend OEdipus she put the -following: - -"'What animal goes upon four legs at morning, two at noon and three at -night?'" - -"OEdipus answered off-hand: 'Man, who in the morning of life as a -child crawls on all fours; as an adult walks upright; as an old man -hobbles with a stick.'" - -"That is so," exclaimed Beausire: "it crossed the sphinx!" - -"She threw herself down a precipice and the winner went on to where he -married his father's widow to accomplish the prophecy." - -"But what analogy between the Sphinx and the Masked Man?" - -"A close one. I propose an enigma; only I am not cruel like the Sphinx -and will not devour you if you fail to guess. Listen: Which lord at the -court is grandson of his father, brother of his mother and uncle of his -sisters?" - -"The devil!" burst forth Beausire, falling into a reverie. "Can you not -also help me out here, my lord?" - -"Let us turn from pagan story to sacred history, then. Do you know the -tale of Lot?" - -"Lot and the Pillar of Salt, and his daughters?" - -"The same." - -"Of course, I do. Wait a bit, do they not say that old King Louis XIV, -and his daughter the Lady Adeliade----" - -"You are getting warm, captain----" - -"In that case the Masked Man would be Count Louis Narbonne!" - -"Now that we are no longer in doubt about this conspirator, let us -finish with the aim of the plot. The object is to carry off the King? -And take him to Peronne? what means have you?" - -"For money we have two millions cash----" - -"Lent by a Genoese banker? I know him. Any other funds?" - -"I know of none." - -"So much for the money: now for the men." - -"General Lafayette has authorized the raising of a legion to fly to the -help of Brabant revolting against the Empire." - -"Under cover of which you form a royalist legion? I see the hand of -Lafayette in this," muttered Cagliostro. "But you will want more than a -legion to carry out this plan--an army." - -"Oh, we have the army. Two hundred horsemen are gathered at Versailles -ready to start at the appointed hour: they can arrive in three columns -at Paris by two in the morning. The first gets in to kill General -Lafayette: the second to settle old Necker; the third will do for Mayor -Baily." - -"Good!" exclaimed the listener. - -"This done, the cannons are spiked, and all rally on the Champs Elyses, -and march on the Tuileries where our friends will be masters." - -"What about the National Guards there?" - -"The Brabant Column attends to them: it joins with it part of the Guards -which has been bought over: four hundred Swiss, three hundred country -friends, and so on. These will have taken possession of all the gates -by help within. We rush in on the King, saying: 'Sire, the St. Antoine -ward is in insurrection; a carriage is ready--you must be off!' if he -consents, all right: if he resists, we hustle him out and drive him to -St. Denis." - -"Capital!" - -"There we find twenty thousand infantry, with all the country royalists, -well armed, in great force, who conduct the King to Peronne." - -"Better and better. What do you do there?' - -"The gathering there brings our whole array up to one hundred and fifty -thousand men." - -"A very pretty figure," commented the Chief of the Invisibles. - -"With the mass we march on Paris, cutting off supplies above and below -on the river. Famished Paris capitulates; the Assembly is kicked to -pieces, and the King enjoys his own again on the throne of his fathers." - -"Amen!" sang Cagliostro. "My dear Beausire," he went on, rising, "your -conversation is most agreeable; but as they say of the greatest orators, -when they have spoken all that is in them, nothing more is to be got. -You are done?" - -"Yes, my lord, for the moment." - -"Then, good-night: when you want another ten louis call for them at my -home, at Bellevue." - -"At the Count of Cagliostro's?" - -"No; they would not know who you meant. Ask for Baron Zannone." - -"But that is the banker who cashed up the two millions on the King's -brother's notes!" ejaculated Beausire. - -"That is not unlikely; only I do such a large business that I have -confounded it with the others. That is why it was not clear in my mind -but now you remind me, I believe I did something of the kind." - -Beausire went his way, stupefied that a banker could forget a matter of -two millions, and beginning to believe that he was quite right in siding -with the lender rather than with the borrower. He bowed lowly while the -count favored him with a slight nod at the cemetery gateway. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVI. - -GAMAIN PROVES HE IS THE MASTER. - - -The reader will not be much surprised, after the permission Lafayette -gave for the King to have his locksmith call to relieve him of a trouble -in lockmaking, that Gamain should present himself at the palace with his -apprentice who gave the name of Louis Lecomte. - -Though there was nothing in the pair aristocratic, King Louis ran to the -forge door on hearing the announcement and bade them enter. - -"Here I am," returned Gamain, with the familiarity of a crony. - -Whether he was less used to royal company, or endowed by more respect -for crowned heads under whatever attire they appeared, the boy kept on -the sill, at a space from his master, with his cap in his hand near the -door closed by the valet behind both. - -He may have been better placed there to catch the gleam of glee in the -King's dull eye, and to give unseen a respectful nod. - -"Glad to see you, my old Gamain," said Louis; "I really did not look for -you--I thought you had forgotten old times." - -"And that is why you have taken on a 'prentice," said Gamain. "You did -right enough to have help when I was not on hand, but unfortunately an -apprentice is not a master." - -"How could I help it? I was assured that you did not care to come near -me from fear of injuring yourself." - -"Faith, it was not hard to learn at Versailles that it was not healthy -to be friend of yours--as witness that brace of your Lifeguardsman whom -they cut off the heads of! ay, and by the same token had the Queen's -barber Leonard dress them in the latest fashion, which I saw in a saloon -at Secres." - -A cloud passed over the royal brow and the apprentice hung his head. - -"But folks say that you are getting on nicely since you came back to -town, and that you can make the Parisians do anything you like; not that -it is astonishing, for the Parisians are ninnies and the Queen is such a -weedler when she likes to be." - -Louis made no remark, but his cheeks were colored. The young man seemed -pained by the locksmith's familiarity. After wiping his forehead with a -handkerchief, rather fine for a locksmith's help, he approached the King -to whom he said: - -"Does your Majesty allow me to tell how we have Master Gamain here and -how I am in your employment?" - -"Yes, my dear Louis," said the King. - -"That is the style! 'My dear Louis!' as long as your arm. To a -fortnight's acquaintance, a workman, a 'prentice! why, what are you -going to call me, who has known you these five and twenty years? who put -the file in your fist? who am the master? this is the advantage of -having white hands and a glib tongue." - -"I will call you 'My good Gamain' if you like. I speak to the lad -affectionately because I owe to him the joy of seeing my old master -again: not because he speaks prettily or keeps his hands smooth, for you -know I think nothing of these fine ways--but I like him for proving it -was false what they said about my never seeing you any more." - -"Well, it was not me that held back, but that wife of mine. She was -always saying: 'Gamain, you have bad acquaintances, those who fly too -high for you. It is not good to hobnob with aristocrats nowadays. We -have a little property--look after it. Let us rear our young ones: and -let the Dauphin learn locksmithing from others than you, if he wants to, -like his father before him. There are plenty of smiths in France.'" - -Louis glanced at the apprentice, and stifling a sigh, partly sad and -partly rallying, said: - -"No doubt, but there are few like you." - -"Just what I said to the master when I called on him," said the young -man, "I told him the King was making a hidden-bolt lock; and that he had -got along very well till he came to the sliding bolt itself----" - -"I should think so," interrupted Gamain: "bless you, the bolt is the -backbone of a lock. It is not given to everybody to get over that -difficulty." - -"No, nor mine in passing the examination you put me through to be -convinced I came from the King," replied the young man, laughing. "You -said it was a trap laid by your enemies; but the twenty-five yellow boys -sent by his Majesty convinced you. So off we started, and here we are." - -"And welcome," said the royal smith, thanking the speaker with a glance; -"and now, Master Gamain, as you appear in a hurry, let us tackle the -job." - -"You have hit it. I promised the mistress that I should be home by -evening. Let us see this puzzler of a lock." - -The King put in his hands a lock three-parts finished. - -"Lord help us," said the man, grinning: "this is not a secret bolt but a -trunk lock. You have three wards on it and the second ought to catch -while the first is released by the key." - -He was using the key as he spoke and the others contemplated his -demonstration with awe for his learning. - -"But the second ward catches, like the Assembly when you want it to do -something your way and says: 'I won't budge.'" - -"But there must be some way of getting over the fix," said the King. - -"Of course; it would be a day's work to an ordinary workman but I will -knock it off in a couple of hours. Only," said he, with the suspicious -air of an artisan jealous of the secrets of the craft; "I want no -fussing round me." - -What Gamain desired was the yearning of the King. His loneliness would -allow him a dialogue apart with the Apprentice. - -"But you may need something?" - -"I will set the footman trotting." - -The King went himself to the door to acquaint Franois with the -arrangement, and then led away the apprentice, Louis Lecomte, in whom -the reader will have recognized Louis Bouille. - -They went by a secret stairway into the royal study, where a table was -covered by a large map of France, showing the King had been studying the -route of the flight. - -"Now that we are alone, count," said he, "let me compliment you on your -skill and thank you for your dedication of services to me." - -"And I ask to be excused for my apparel and the language I have had to -use before you." - -"You speak like a brave gentleman and your apparel covers a loyal heart -in any case. But we have no time to lose. Even the Queen is ignorant of -your presence here; nobody is listening; so to the point." - -"Did not your Majesty send us a naval officer, the count of Charny, who -brought a letter----" - -"Insignificant," interrupted the monarch, "a mere introduction to a -verbal communication." - -"He fulfilled it and it was to make its performance certain that my -father sent me to town to try to have an interview alone with your -Majesty. The King can have the certainty of leaving France. My father is -proud and happy of the honor done him." - -"Now for the principal point; what says he of the project?" - -"That it is hazardous and requires great precautions but is not -impossible." - -"Firstly, will not your father want the command over the adjoining -districts?" - -"It is his advice, but he would not like it to be thought personal -ambition----" - -"Pooh, do I not know his disinterestedness? did he explain about the -best road to take?" - -"In the first place he fears one thing: that many projects of flight -have been proposed and that all these getting entangled, this one will -meet some block which will be ascribed to fatality, when it will be the -spite or the rashness of the other parties." - -"I promise, my dear Louis, to let the parties intrigue around me; it is -their want and a necessity of my position. While they are following -these threads which will end in nothing but leading them astray we will -follow our own route with no other confidants, with more security from -our greater secresy. But I do not want to leave the kingdom altogether. -It is hard for a sovereign to get back if he does so. I have decided on -Montmedy as the place of retirement, which is in the centre of your -father's command and at a suitable distance." - -"Has your Majesty planned out the flight or is this but a sketch?" -queried the count. - -"Nothing is settled," replied Louis, "and all depends on circumstances. -If I see the Queen and the Family running fresh dangers from the -ruffians I will take an irrevocable decision." - -"My father thinks the dangers of the journey will be diminished by -dividing the passengers." - -"Yes, but it is useless to discuss this point. In a solemn hour the -Queen and I resolved to go together or not at all." - -The envoy bowed. - -"At the meet moment the King has but to issue the orders to have them -executed," he said. "Now, for the route. There are three ways to -Montmedy." - -"I have marked them on the map. The best is through Reims, but I was -consecrated there and would be recognized by many. I choose the Chalons -Road _via_ Vacennes and going round Verdun. Let the regiments be posted -in the petty towns between Chalons and Montmedy: I see no inconvenience -in the first detachment awaiting me in the former place." - -"Sire, the location of the regiments will have to be settled. By the -way, the King should know that there is no posting-house at Varennes." - -"I am glad you are so well informed," observed the King, merrily; "it -shows you have deeply studied the plans. But do not worry about such -matters. Charny is my engineer, who has drawn up the maps and he will -see to the supply of horses." - -"And now, Sire, that all is arranged on the main lines," said the young -conspirator, "will your Majesty allow me to quote some lines from an -Italian author, which my father thought appropriate to the situation? -They are: - -"Delay is always prejudicial, and there is no wholly favorable time in -any business; hence if one were to wait for a perfect chance, nothing -would ever be done, or if done be bungled." - -"That is Machiavelli," said the King. "I will remember the advice of -that secretary to the Magnificent Republic of Venice. But hush! I hear -steps--it is Gamain; let us go to meet him so that he may not think we -were busy about something else than the cupboard the lock is for." - -He opened the secret door, in time, for the master locksmith was there, -with the lock in his hand and a grin on his face. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVII. - -THE FRIEND OF THE FALLEN. - - -At eight that same evening, a workingman, holding his hand to his -waistcoat pocket as though it contained money in larger quantity than -usual, staggered out of the Tuileries Palace and meandered along the -road to the Soapworks Wharfside. It was there a strolling ground with -drinking resorts along the line. On Sundays and holidays, it was -thronged; on other days lonesome. - -This man passed the wine-stores with much difficulty but for a period -temperance triumphed; but when it came to the twentieth saloon on the -route, it was too much, and he entered the next one for--only one glass. - -The demon of drink, against whom he had valiantly struggled, seemed -embodied in a stranger who followed him closely and even went into the -saloon with him, sitting opposite and apparently watching him succumb -with glee. - -Five seconds after the workman had resumed his road, this watcher was on -his track. - -But how can the drinkingman stop going downhill when he has taken a -whet, and perceives with the amazement of the toper that nothing makes -one so thirsty as taking a drink? Scarcely had he tottered a hundred -paces before his thirst was so sharp that he had to slack it once more. - -The result of these lapses from the path he had previously trod was that -he reached deviously the highway beyond the Passy bars, where he -felicitated himself on the road being tolerably free from temples of the -God of Wine. - -In his gladness he set up singing. Unfortunately the delight was -ephemeral and the song of short duration. - -He fell to muttering and then talking to himself, and the soliloquy was -in the form of imprecations on unknown persecutors of whom the unsteady -sot complained. - -"Oh, the scoundrel! to give an old friend, a master, doctored wine--ugh! -So, just let him send again for me to fix his locks, let him send his -traitor of a workmate who gives me the go-by and I will tell him: 'It -won't work this trip! let your Majesty fix up your own locks.' We shall -see then if a lock is to be turned out as sleek as a decree. Oh, I'll -give you all you want of locks, with three wards, confound the villain! -the wine was salted, peppered--by heaven, it was poisoned! Hope I may be -saved, but the wine was poisoned!" - -So howling, overcome by the force of the poison, of course, the -unfortunate victim laid himself at full length, not for the first time, -on the road, mercifully carpetted thickly with mud. - -On other occasions the drunkard had scrambled up alone; difficult to do -but he had got through the difficulty with honor; but this third time, -after desperate efforts, he had to confess that the task was beyond him. -With a sigh, much resembling a groan, he seemed decided to sleep for -this night on the bosom of our common Mother Earth. - -No doubt the follower had waited for this period of doubt, -disheartenment and weakness, for he approached him warily, went all -round fallen greatness, and calling a hack, said to the driver: - -"Old man, here's my friend who has shipped too heavy a cargo. Take this -piece for yourself, help me to put the poor fellow in the straw of your -coach where he will not soil the elegant cushions, and take him to your -wine saloon at Sevres Bridge. I will get up beside you." - -There was nothing surprising that the customer should sit up with the -driver, as he appeared to be one of his sort. So, with the touching -confidence men of the lower classes have for one another, the jarvey -said: - -"All right, but let us have a look at the silver, see!" - -"Here you are, old brother," ventured the man without being in the least -offended and handing over a six-livre crownpiece. - -"But will there be a little bit beyond the fare for myself, my master?" -inquired the coachman, mollified by the money. - -"That depends how we get along. Let us get the poor chap in; shut the -blinds, try to keep your pair of skeletons on their hoofs, and we will -see when we get to Sevres, how you _conducted_ us!" - -"Now, I call this speaking to the purpose," returned the knight of the -whip. "Take it easy, master! A nod is as good as a wink. Get upon the -box and keep my Arabian steeds from bolting up the road; no jokes, they -feel the want of a supper and are chafing to race home to the stables. I -will manage the rest." - -The generous stranger did as he was bid; the driver, with all the -delicacy of which he was susceptible, dragged the sot up by the arms, -jabbed him down between the seats, slammed the door, drew down the -blinds, mounted the box again, and whipped up the barbs. With the -funeral gait of night hack-horses they stumbled through the village of -Point-du-Jour and reached the Sevres Saloon in an hour. - -The house was shut up for the night, but the new-comer jumped down and -applied such blows of the fist to the door that the inhabitants, however -fond of slumber, could not enjoy it long under so much racket. The host, -who was alone, finally got up in his night dress, to see the rioter and -promised to pack him off smartly if the game were not worth the candle. - -Apparently though the value of the game was clear, for, at the first -whisper by the irreverent arouser to the landlord, he plucked off his -cotton nightcap and made bows which his scanty costume rendered -singularly grotesque. He hastened to pilot the coachman, lugging -Gamain, into the little taproom where he had once filled himself with -his favorite burgundy. - -As the driver and his steeds had done their best, the stranger gave the -former a piece of money as extra. - -Then seeing that Master Gamain was stuck up in a chair, with his head on -the table before him, he hastened to have the host bring him two bottles -of wine and a decanter of water, and opened the windows and blinds to -change the mephitic air which the common people like to breathe in such -resorts. - -After bringing the wine, with alacrity, and the water, with reluctance, -the host respectfully retired and left the stranger with the drunkard. - -Having renewed the air, as stated, the former clapped smelling salts to -Gamain's nose which ceased to snore and gave a sneeze. This awakened him -a little from that disgusting sleep of drunkards the sight of which -would cure them--if by a miracle, they could see what they look like at -such periods. - -Gamain opened his eyes widely, and muttered some words, unintelligible -for anybody but the philologist who distinguished by his profound -attention these words: - -"The scoundrel--he--poisoned--poisoned wine----" - -The good Samaritan seemed to see with satisfaction that his ward was -under the same impression: he gave him another sniff of the hartstorn -which permitted the son of Noah to complete the sense of his phrase in -an accusation pointing to an abuse of trust and wanton heartlessness. - -"To poison a friend--an old friend!" - -"That's so--it is horrible," observed the other. - -"Infamous," faltered Gamain. - -"What a good thing I was handy to give you an antidote," suggested the -hearer. - -"It was lucky," said the locksmith. - -"But as one dose is not enough, have another," said the stranger, -putting a few drops from the smelling bottle in a glass of water; it was -ammonia and the man had hardly swallowed the compound than he opened his -eyes immeasurably and gurgled between two sneezes: - -"Ah, monster, what are you giving us there? augh, augh!" - -"My dear fellow, I am giving you stuff that will save your life," -returned the kind friend. - -"If it is physic, that is all right," said Gamain: "but it is a beastly -failure if you call it a drink." - -The stranger profited by his sneezing again and twitching his features, -shut the blinds though not the windows. - -Looking round him the master locksmith recognized with the profound -gratitude of drinking men for old haunts, the saloon where he had -feasted before. In his frequent trip to town from Versailles, he had not -seldom halted here. It might be thought necessary, as the house was -halfway. - -This gratitude produced its effect: it gave him a great confidence to -find himself on friendly ground. - -"Hurrah, it looks as though I were halfway home anyway," he exclaimed. - -"Yes, thanks to me," said the stranger. - -"Thanks to you? why, who are you?" stammered Gamain, looking from still -life to animated things. - -"My dear Gamain, your question shows that you have a poor memory." - -"Hold on," said the smith, giving him more attention: "it strikes me -that I have seen you before." - -"You don't say so? that is a blessed thing." - -"Ay, but where--that is the rub." - -"Look around you, then; something may remind you; or had you better have -some more of the counterbane to refresh you?" - -"No, thank 'ee, I have had enough of that remedy," said Gamain, -stretching his arms out. "I am so nearly brought round that I will do -without it. Where did I see you? why, in this very spot, of course. And -when? the day I was coming back from doing a special job at Paris--I -seem to be in for this sort of thing," added he, chuckling. - -"Very well: but who am I?" - -"A jolly honest mate who paid for the liquor. Shake hands!" - -"Good, good, you remember now." - -"With all the more pleasure as it is but a step from Master locksmith to -master gunsmith," said the other. - -"Ah, good, good, I remember now. Yes, it was the sixth of October, when -the King went to Paris: we talked about him." - -"And I found your conversation interesting, Master Gamain; so that, as -your memory comes home and I want to enjoy it again, I should like to -know, if I am not too inquisitive, what the deuse you were doing across -the road where a vehicle might have cut you in two? Have you sorrows, -old blade, and had you screwed up your mind to suicide?" - -"Faith, no! What was I doing flat across the road, eh? Was I in the -road?" - -"Look at your clothes." - -"Whew!" whistled Gamain after the inspection. "Mother Gamain will kick -up a hullabaloo for she said yesterday: 'Don't put on your new coat; any -old thing will do for the Tuileries.'" - -"Hello? been to the Tuileries? were you coming from the Tuileries when I -picked you up?" asked the kind soul. - -"Why, yes, that's about the size of it," responded Gamain, scratching -his head and trying to collect his entangled ideas; "certainly I was -coming home from the Tuileries. Why not? It is no mystery that I am -master locksmith to Master Veto." - -"Who is he?" - -"Why, have you come from China? not to know old Veto?" - -"What do you want? I am obliged to stick to my trade, and that is not -politics." - -"You are blamed lucky! I have to mix up with these high folk--more's the -pity! or rather, they force me to mix with them. It will be my ruin." He -sighed as he looked up to heaven. - -"Pshaw! were you called to Paris again to do another piece of work in -the style of that other one?" asked the friend. - -"But this time I was not blindfolded but taken with my eyes open." - -"So that you knew it was the Tuileries this time?" - -"The Tuileries? who said anything about the Tuileries?" - -"Why, you, of course, just now. How would I know where you had been -carousing had you not told me?" - -"That is true," muttered Gamain to himself; "how should he, unless I -told him? Perhaps," he said aloud, "I was wrong to let you know; but you -are not like the rest. Besides I am not going to deny that I was at the -Tuileries." - -"And you did some work for the King, for which he gave you twenty five -louis," went on the other. - -"Indeed, I had twenty-five shiners in my pouch," said Gamain. - -"Then, you have got them now, my friend." - -The smith quickly plunged his hand into his pocket and pulled it out -full of gold mixed with small change in silver and bronze. - -"To think that I had forgot it! twenty-five is a good bit, too--and it -is right to the 'broken' louis--one does not pick up such a lot under -the horse's foot. Thank God the account is correct." And he breathed -more freely. - -"My dear Master Gamain, I told you I found you on the King's highway, -not twenty paces from a heavy wagon which would have cut you in twain. I -shouted for the carrier to pull up; I called a passing cab; I unhooked -one of the lamps and as I looked at you by its light, I caught sight of -a gold piece on the ground; as they were near your pocket, I judged that -you had dropped them. I put my finger in the pocket and as there were a -score of their brothers in bed there I guessed that these were of the -same brood. Thereupon the hack driver shook his head. 'I ain't going to -take this fare,' said he: 'he is too rich for his dress. Twenty louis in -gold in a cotton waistcoat suggests that the gallows will be his end.' -'What,' says I, 'do you take him for a thief?' The word struck you, for -you says. 'Thief? you are another!' says you. 'So you must be a prig,' -returned the coachman, 'or how would the likes of you have a pocket -gold-lined, say?' - -"'I have money because my pupil the King of France gave it me,' said -you. By these words I thought I recognized you, and clasping the lamp to -your nose, I cried: 'Bless us and save us: all is clear; this is Master -Gamain, master locksmith at Versailles. He has been working in the royal -forge and the King has given him twenty-five mint-drops for his trouble. -All right: I will answer for him.' From the moment that I answered for -you, the driver raised no objections. I replaced the coins in your -pocket; we laid you snugly in the hack; and we set you down in this -retreat so that you have nothing to complain of except that your -'prentice left you in the lurch." - -"Did I speak of my 'prentice? that he left me in the lurch?" questioned -Gamain, more and more astonished. - -"Why, hang it all, are you going back on what you said? Did you not -growl that it was all the fault of--of--dash me if I can remember the -name you used." - -"Louis Lecomte?" - -"I guess that was it. Did you not say: 'Louis Lecomte is in fault! for -he promised to see me safe home and at the last moment he dropped me -like a hot roll?'" - -"I daresay I did so, for it is the blessed truth." - -"Then, why do you deny the truth? let me tell you, that with another -than me, such chatter would be dangerous?" - -"But with you, one is safe, eh? with a regular friend," said the smith, -coaxingly. - -"Lord, you have lots of trust in your friend. You say yes and you say -no; you wiggle and waver so that none knows how to have you. It is like -your fable t'other day about the secret door that a nobleman had you fit -on the strict quiet." - -"Then you will not believe this tale either, for it also hangs upon a -door." - -"In the palace?" - -"In the King's palace. Only instead of its being a clothes-press door, -or rather that of a safe in the wall, it is a cupboard door this time." - -"Are you gaming me that the King, while he certainly dabbles in -locksmithery, sent for you to do up a door?" - -"He did, though. Poor fellow, he thought he was smart enough to get on -without me, and began to make a lock. 'What good is Gamain anyhow?' but -he got mixed up with the works in the lock and had to fall back on -Gamain after all." - -"So you were hunted up by one of his trusty flunkeys, Hue, or Durey or -Weber, eh?" - -"That is just where you make a mistake. He has taken a green hand on to -help him, who is as much of an amateur as himself; a young sprig who -popped in upon me one morning at Versailles, and says he: 'Look here, -Daddy Gamain, the King and me tried to make a lock, and by Jove we have -made a muddle of it. The old thing won't work! 'What have I to do with -it?' I wanted to know. 'You are wanted to set it right,' says he, and as -I said that it was a plant and he did not come from the King, he slaps -some gold on the bench and says: 'Is not this earnest enough? here are -twenty-five louis which the King sends you to remove any doubts.' He -gave me them, too." - -"So these are what you are sporting round with you?" - -"No: these are another lot. These were for traveling expenses and a sort -of a payment on account!" - -"Fifty louis for filing up an old lock? there is a snake in the grass, -Friend Gamain." - -"Just what I said to myself: particularly as the 'prentice does not seem -a regular craftsman but dodged my question about work and where you stop -when you are on tramp in France, as well as who is Mother Marianne." - -"But you are not the man to be taken in when you see a boy at work." - -"I do not say so much as that. The lad plied the file and the chisel -handily. I have seen him cut a rod of iron through velean at a blow, and -put a hole in a band with a rattail file as if using a gimlet on a lath. -But there is more theory than practice about his style: he no sooner -finishes the job than he washed his hands, and what hands? so white that -never did a locksmith boast the like. You don't see me scrubbing my -hands till they are white!" - -With pride he showed his grubby, black and callous hands which indeed -seemed to defy all the cosmetics and skin-bleaches in the world. - -"But in short what did you do when you got to the King's?" asked the -other, bringing the man to the point most interesting to him. - -"It looked as though we were expected: in the forge the King showed me a -lock commenced not badly, but he had got in a corner. It was one with -three wards, d'ye see, which few locksmiths can grapple with and royal -ones least of all. I looked at it and saw where the key caught. 'All -right,' I says; 'let me alone with it for an hour and it will work as if -greased,' 'Go ahead,' said the King, 'consider yourself at home; call -for anything you like while we get the cupboard ready on which the lock -goes.' On which he went out with the imp of a 'prentice." - -"By the main stairs?" queried the gunsmith carelessly. - -"No: by a secret one leading to his study. When I got through, I had -done something, too; I said to myself: 'It is all bosh about this here -cupboard; they are laying their heads together for some mischief.' So I -crept down softly and opening the study door, I got a glimpse of what -they were up to." - -"And what were they up to?" inquired the gunsmith. - -"Well, I did not catch them in the act, for they must have heard me -coming, for I have not the light step of a dancer. They pretended to be -up and coming to me, and the King said, 'Oh this is you, and you have -finished? Come along for I have something else for you to do.' So he -hurried me through the study, but not so fast that I did not spy spread -out on a table a big map which I believe to be France on account of a -lily-flower printed in one corner. From the midst three rows of pins ran -out to the edges like files of soldiers, for they were stuck in at -regular spaces." - -"Really, you are wonderfully sharp," said the stranger in affected -admiration: "So you believe that instead of bothering about their -cupboard, they were busy with this map?" - -"I am sure of it: the pins had wax heads of different colors, black, -blue and red; and the King was using a red one to pick his teeth with, -without thinking what he was about." - -"Gamain, if I discovered some new kind of gun, hang me if I would let -you come into my workshop, even to pass through it, or I would bandage -your eyes as on the day you were taken to the great nobleman's house -though you did perceive that the house had ten steps to the stoop and -that it fronted on the main avenue." - -"Wait a bit," said the smith, enchanted at the eulogies; "you have not -heard all--there is really a safe in the wall." - -"What wall?" - -"Of the inner corridor running from the royal alcove to the young -prince's room." - -"What you say is very queer. And was this safe open?" - -"Is it likely? I squinted round in all ways but it was no use my asking -myself: 'Where on earth is this secret press?' Then the King gave me a -look and says he: 'Gamain, I have always had trust in you. So I would -not let anybody but you know the secret.' While speaking, the King -lifted a panel, while the boy held a light, for the corridor has no -windows, and showed me a two foot round hole. Seeing my astonishment, he -winked to our companion and said: 'Do you see that hole, my friend; I -made it to keep money in; this young fellow helped me during the four or -five days he has been staying in the palace. Now we want the lock put on -the panel so that it will be hidden and not interfere with its sliding. -Do you want an aid, in which case this young man will help you? or can -you do without? if so I will set him to work elsewhere. 'Tut,' I said, -'you know that I like to go alone when I am the job. It is four hour's -work for a good hand but I am a master and will be through in three. Go -and attend to your work, young fellow; and your Majesty may stick to -his. And in three hours fetch along anything you want kept in this -meat-safe.' - -"We may believe the young chap had other fish to fry, for I saw nothing -more of him: but when the time was up, the King came back. 'U. P., it is -all UP!' said I, and I made him see that the door slid without the lock -being in the way as neat as the Automatons of Vaucanson. 'Good,' said -he; 'just help me count the cash I am going to bestow here.' A valet -brought four fine bags of coin and we reckoned a million a-piece; there -were twenty-and-five over. 'There you are, Gamain,' said the King, 'Take -them for your trouble!' as though it was not disgraceful to give an old -mate a beggarly twenty-five--a man with five children, and he has been -handling two millions! What do you think of that?" - -"The truth is that this is mean," said the other, shrugging his -shoulders. - -"Wait, this is not all. I put the coin in my pocket and said. 'I thank -your Majesty: but Lord love you, I have not had sup or bite since -morning and I am ready to burst!' I had barely finished before the Queen -walked in by a secret door, so that she was on the top of us without -saying Lookout! She had a platter in her hand with a cake and a glass on -it. - -"'My dear Gamain, as you are hungry and thirsty, try our wine and cake!' -'Sorry to trouble you, Royal Madam,' I said, but just think of a drop -like that and a mouthful of wine like that fancy cake for a man. What do -you expect sensible in that line from a Queen, though? it is plain that -such folks are never really hungry and athirst. A glass of wine--oh, -dear!" - -"So you refused it?" - -"It would have been better if I had; but I drank. As for the cake I -rolled it up in my handkerchief, saying 'What is no good for the father -will do for the children.' Then I thanked his Majesty, as though it were -worth thanks, and I started off, saying that they will not catch me in -their old palace in a hurry again." - -"And why do you say you had better have refused the drink?" - -"Because they had put poison in it! Hardly had I got over the bridge -before I was seized by thirst, such a raging thirst that between the -liquor saloons and the river, I balanced myself. I could tell it was -queer stuff they gave me for the more I took the thirstier I was. This -kept on with my trying to correct that dose till I lost my senses. They -may be easy on this score: if ever they come to me for a good character, -I will say they gave me twenty-five louis for four hours' work and -counting a million, and for fear I should tell where they keep their -treasure, they poisoned me like a dog!" - -"And I, my dear Gamain," said the hearer, rising as though he had all -the information he wanted: "I will support your evidence by swearing -that I saved you with the antidote." - -"That is why we are sworn comrades till death do us part," exclaimed the -smith, grasping the speaker's hands. - -Refusing with Spartan sobriety the wine which his friend offered him for -the third or fourth time--for the amoniacal dose had sobered him as well -as disgusted him with drink for a time, Gamain took the road for -Versailles where he arrived safely at two in the morning with the -King's coin in his pocket and the Queen's cake in another. - -Left behind in the saloon, the pretended gunsmith drew out a set of -tablets mounted in diamonds and gold, and wrote with fluid-ink pencil -these two notes: - - "An iron safe behind the King's alcove, in the unlighted passage - leading to the prince's rooms. Make sure whether Louis Lecomte, - locksmith's boy, is not really Count Louis, son of Marquis Bouille, - arrived eleven days ago from Metz." - - - - -CHAPTER XXVIII. - -THE FIRST GUILLOTINE. - - -On Christmas Eve, a party was given at the Princess Lamballe's, which -the Queen's presiding over made it really her own reception. - -Isidore Charny had returned from Italy that morning and he had found -King and Queen very kind to him. Two reasons influenced the latter: one -his being the brother of Count Charny, which was a charm in his absence, -and his bringing back news from the fugitive princes which suited her -wishes. - -They backed the Favras scheme and urged her to flee for Turin. - -He left her only to go and acquaint Favras with the encouragement. The -Queen had said nothing positive about the flight: but he took enough to -the conspirator to fill him with joy. For the rest, the cash was in -hand, the men notified to stand ready, and the King would only have to -nod to have the whole plot set in motion. - -The silence of the royal couple was the only thing which worried him. -The Queen broke this by sending Isidore, and vague as were the words he -repeated, they acquired weight from coming out of a royal mouth. - -At nine the young viscount went to Lady Lamballe's. - -Count Provence was uneasy; Count Louis Narbonne walked about with the -ease of a man quite at home among princes. Isidore was not known to any -of the circle of the princes' bosom friends, but his well-known name and -the partiality accorded him by the princess led to all hands being held -out to him. - -Besides, he brought news from the foreign refuge where so many had -relatives. - -When he had delivered his budget, the conversation returned to its -former channel; the young men were laughing about a machine for -executing criminals which Dr. Guillotin had shown in a full size working -model and had proposed to the National Assembly. - -When an usher announced the King, and another the Queen, of course all -the merriment and chatter ceased. - -The more the revolutionary spirit stripped majesty of its eternals the -more the true royalists vied with each other to pour evidences of -respect upon the august chiefs. 1789 saw great ingratitude, but 1793 -great devotion. - -To talk over the Favras scheme in secret a whist party was made up of -the two rulers, Provence and Charny for the fourth hand. Respect -isolated the table. - -"Brother," said the Queen, "Lord Charny, who comes from Turin, says that -our kinsfolk there are begging us to join them." - -The King gave a stamp with impatience. - -"I entreat you to listen," whispered Lady Elizabeth, who sat on a stool. - -"Listen to what?" - -"That Lord Charny has also seen the Marquis Favras since he came home, a -gentleman whose lealty we know, and he says that the King has but to say -a word," went on the Queen, "or make a sign, and this very night, you -will be at Peronne." - -The King kept still. His brother twisted a jack of hearts all to rags. - -"Repeat this as the marquis put it," said he to Isidore. - -"Your Majesty, thanks to measures taken by Marquis Favras, he declares -that the King has but the cue to give to be in safety in Peronne this -blessed night." - -Turning sharply on his brother, the King said as he fixed his eyes on -him: - -"Are you coming if I go?" - -"I" said the other, turning pale and trembling. "I have not been -notified, and I have made no preparations." - -"You know nothing about it, and yet you found the money for Favras?" -exclaimed the monarch. "You not notified, and the moves in the game have -been reported to you hour by hour?" - -"The game?" faltered the prince. - -"The plot; for it is one of those plots for which, if discovered, Favras -will be tried and doomed to death--unless by money and other means we -save him as we did Bezenval." - -"Then you will save Favras." - -"No; for I might not be able to do as much for him. Besides, Bezenval -was my liege as Favras is yours. Let each save his own man, and both of -us shall have done our duty." - -He rose, but the Queen retained him by the skirt of the coat. - -"Sire, whether you accept or refuse, you owe the marquis an answer. What -is Viscount Charny to answer for the King?" - -"That the King does not allow himself to be spirited away like a slave -for the Louisiana plantations." He disengaged his coat. - -"This means," said Provence, "that the King will not allow of the -abduction but if it be executed in spite of his permission, it will be -welcome. In politics success condones the crime and blunderers deserve -double punishment." - -"Viscount," said the Queen, "tell the marquis what you heard and let him -act as he thinks it points. Go." - -The King had gone over to where the younger men were so hilariously -chatting; but the deepest silence fell at his approach. - -"Is the King so unhappy that he casts melancholy around him?" he -demanded. - -"Sire!" muttered the gentlemen. - -"You were very merry when the Queen and I came in. It is a bad thing for -kings when no one dares laugh before them. I may say the converse: -'Happy are the kings before whom laughter resounds.'" - -"Sire," returned one, "the subject is not one for a comic opera." - -"Of what were you talking?" - -"Sire, I yield the guilty one to your Majesty," said another, stepping -forward. - -"Oh, it is you, Editor Suleau," said the King. "I have read the last -number of your journal the Acts of the Apostles. Take care that you do -not offend Master Populus." - -"I only said that our Revolution is going so slowly that it has to help -on that in Brabant. We are lamenting the dulness of the session of the -Assembly where they had to take up the motion of Dr. Guillotin upon--of -all things--a new machine for public executions." - -"Are you making fun of Dr. Guillotin--a philanthropist? remember that I -am one myself." - -"There are various kinds; the sort I approve of has a representative at -the head of the French Nation--the one who abolished torture before -trial: we venerate, nay, we love him." - -The hearers bowed with the same impulse. - -"But," proceeded Suleau, "there are others who try to find means to kill -the hale while they had a thousand to send the ailing out of this life. -I beg your Majesty to let me deal with them?" - -"What would you do? decapitate them painlessly, or at least merely give -a slight coolness round the neck?" inquired the King, quoting Dr. -Guillotin's recommendation of his invention. - -"Sire, I should like all of these inventors to have the first experiment -tried on themselves. I do not complain that Marigny was hanged on the -Gibbet of Montfaucon which he built. I am not asking, I am not even a -judge; the probability is that I shall have to take my revenge on Dr. -Guillotin in the columns of my paper. I will give him a whole number and -propose that the machine shall bear his name for eternity, the -Guillotine!" - -"Ha, ha, the Guillotine!" exclaimed the men, without waiting for express -permission to laugh. - -"I shall assert, also, that life is divided not extinguished by this -process," continued Suleau; "why may not the sufferer feel pain in the -head and the trunk after being cut in two?" - -"This is a question for medical men. Did none of us here witness the -experiment this very morning at Bicetre madhouse?" asked the King. - -"No, no, no!" cried many voices. - -"Sire, I was there," said one grave voice. - -"Oh; it is you? Dr. Gilbert," said the sovereign, turning. - -"Yes, Sire." - -"And how did the experiment succeed?" - -"Perfectly in two instances; but at the third the instrument, though it -severed the spine, did not detach the head. They had to finish with a -knife." - -The young gentlemen listened with frightened eyes and parted lips. - -"Three executions this morning?" exclaimed Charles Lameth, who with his -brother had not yet turned against the Queen. - -"Yes, gentlemen," said the King; "but they were three corpses furnished -by the hospitals. What is your opinion of the instrument?" - -"An improvement on such machines; but the accident at the third -experiment proves that it stands in need of improvement still." - -"What is it like?" asked the royal locksmith who had a bias for -machines. - -Gilbert helped his explanation out by drawing a sketch on a sheet of -paper at a table. The King saw how curious the bystanders were and -allowed them to come near. - -"Who knows," said Suleau obeying, "but that one of us may make the -acquaintance of Lady Guillotine?" - -Laughing, they pressed round the board where the King, taking the pen -from Dr. Gilbert, said: - -"No wonder the experience failed, particularly after awhile. The cutting -blade is crescent-shaped whereas it ought to be triangular to sever a -resisting substance. See here: shape your knife thus, and I wager that -you would cut me off twenty-four heads one after another without the -edge turning up." - -He had scarcely finished the words before a heart-rending scream was -heard. The Queen had been attracted to the group of which the King and -his corrected sketch were the centre. She beheld the same instrument -which had been presented her in its likeness in a glass of water by -Balsamo the Magician twenty years before! - -At the view she had no strength to do more than scream, and life -abandoning her as though she were under the blade, she swooned in the -arms of Dr. Gilbert. - -It is easily understood that this incident broke up the party. - -Gilbert attended to the royal patient who was given the bed of the -princess. When the crisis was over, which he rightly attributed to a -mental cause, he was going out but she bade him stay. - -"Therese," she added to Lady Lamballe, "tell the King that I have come -to: and do not let us be interrupted: I must speak with the doctor. -Doctor," she pursued when they were alone, "are you not astonished that -chance seems to place us face to face in all the crises moral or -physical of my life?" - -"As I do not know whether to be sorry or to be glad for it, since I read -in your mind that the contact is not through your wish or your will." - -"That is why I said chance. I like to be frank. But the last time we -were in contiguity, you showed true devotion and I thank you and shall -never forget it." - -He bowed. - -"I am also a physiognomist. Do you know that you have said without -speaking: 'That is over; let us change the subject.'" - -"At least I felt the desire to be put to the test." - -"Doctor, what do you think of the recent event?" inquired Marie -Antoinette as though this was interlinked with what she had spoken. - -"Madam, the daughter of Maria Theresa is not one of the women who faint -at trifles." - -"Do you believe in forewarnings?" - -"Science repels all phenomena tending to upset the prevailing order of -things; still, facts offtimes give the lie to science." - -"I ought to have said; do you believe in predictions?" - -"I believe that the Supreme Being has benevolently covered the future -with an impenetrable veil. Still," he went on as if making an effort -over himself to meet questions which he wished relegated into doubt, "I -know a man who sometimes confounds all the arguments of my intelligence -by irrefutable facts. I dare not name him before your Majesty." - -"It is your master, the immortal, the all-powerful, the divine -Cagliostro, is it not, Dr. Gilbert?" - -"Madam, my only master is Nature. Cagliostro is but my saver. Pierced by -a bullet in the chest, losing all my blood by a wound which I, a -physician, after twenty years study, must pronounce incurable, he cured -me in a few days by a salve of which I know not the composition: hence -my gratitude to him, I will almost say my admiration." - -"And this man makes predictions which are accomplished?" - -"Strange and incredible ones; he moves in the present with a certainty -which makes one believe in his knowledge of the future." - -"So that you would believe if he forecast to you?" - -"I should at least act as though it might happen." - -"Would you prepare to meet a shameful, terrible and untimely death if he -foreshowed it?" - -"After having tried to escape it by all manner of means," rejoined -Gilbert, looking steadily at her. - -"Escape? No, doctor, no! I see that I am doomed," said the Queen. "This -revolution is a gulf in which will be swallowed up the throne: this -people is a lion to devour me." - -"Yet it depends on you to have it couch at your feet like a lamb." - -"Doctor, all is broken between the people and me; I am hated and -scorned." - -"Because you do not really know each other. Cease to be a queen and -become a mother to them; forget you are daughter of Maria Theresa, our -ancient enemy, the sister of Joseph our false friend. Be French, and -you will hear the voices rise to bless you, and see arms held out to -fondle you." - -"I know all this," she replied contemptuously; "fawning one day, they -tear the next." - -"Because aware of resistance to their will, and hatred opposed to their -love." - -"Does this destructive element know whether it loves or hates? it -destroys like the wind, the sea and fire, and has womanly caprices." - -"Because you see it from on high, like the man in the lighthouse views -the ocean. Did you go down in the depths you would see how steady it is. -What more obedient than the vast mass to the movement of the tides. You -are Queen over the French, madam, and yet you know not what passes in -France. Raise your veil instead of keeping it down, and you will admire -instead of dreading." - -"What would I see so very splendid?" - -"The New World blooming over the wreck of the Old; the cradle of Free -France floating on a sea wider than the Mediterranean--than the ocean. O -God protect you, little bark--O God shield you, babe of promise, -France!" - -Little of an enthusiast as Gilbert was he raised his eyes and hands -heavenward. - -The Queen eyed him with astonishment for she did not understand. - -"Fine words," she sneered. "I thought you philosophers had run them down -to dust." - -"No, great deeds have killed them," returned Gilbert. "Whither tends old -France? to the unity of the country. There are no longer provinces, but -all French." - -"What are you driving at? that your united thirty millions of rebels -should form a universal federation against their King and Queen?" - -"Do not deceive yourself: it is not the people who are rebels but the -rulers who have rebelled against them. If you go to one of the feasts -which the people hold, you will see that they hail a little child on an -altar--emblem of the new birth of liberty. Italy, Spain, Ireland, -Poland, all the down-trodden look towards this child and hold out their -enchained hands, saying: 'France, we shall be free because of you.' -Madam, if it be still time, take this child and make yourself its -mother." - -"You forget that I am the mother of others, and I ought not do as you -suggest--disinherit them in favor of a stranger." - -"If thus it be," replied Gilbert with profound sorrow, "wrap your -children up in your royal robe, in the war-cloak of Maria Theresa, and -carry them with you far from France; for you spoke the truth in saying -that the people will devour you and your offspring with you. But there -is no time to lose--make haste!" - -"You will not oppose?" - -"I will further you in the departure." - -"Nothing could fall more timely," said the Queen, "for we have a -nobleman ready to act in this escape----" - -"Do you mean Marquis Favras?" demanded Gilbert, with apprehension. - -"Who breathed you his name--who communicated to you his project?" - -"Oh, have a care, for a bloody prediction pursued him also." - -"Of the same Prophet? what fate awaits him?" - -"Untimely, terrible and infamous like that you mentioned." - -"Then you speak truly--no time must be lost in giving the lie to this -prophet of evil." - -"You were going to tell Favras that you accepted his aid?" - -"He was advised and I am awaiting his reply." - -She had not long to wait, for Isidore Charny was ushered in by the -Princess Lamballe. - -"I am told that I may speak before Dr. Gilbert," said he. "Then, know -that Marquis Favras was arrested an hour ago and imprisoned in the -Chatelet." - -Bright but despairing and full of ire, the Queen's glance crossed that -of the doctor. All her wrath seemed spent in that flash. - -"Madam," said Gilbert with deep pity, "if I can be useful in any way, -make use of me. I lay at your feet my mind, my life, my devotion." - -"Dr. Gilbert," she said in a slow and resigned voice, "is it your -opinion that the death given by this dread engine is as sweet as the -inventor asserts?" - -He sighed and hid his face in his hands. - -As the news of Favras' arrest had circulated over the palace in a few -seconds, Count Provence went to his brother. His advice was that Favras -should be repudiated and the King take the oath to the Constitution. - -"But how can I swear fidelity to an incomplete Constitution?" - -"The more easily," replied the schemer, with his false squint which came -from the darkest sinuosities of his soul. - -"I will," said the King: "this does not prevent my writing to Marquis -Bouille that our plan is postponed. This will give Charny time to -regulate the route." - -For his part, Provence acted on part of his own suggestion: he -repudiated Favras and received the thanks of the Assembly. - -Favras was left alone save for Cagliostro who perhaps felt a little -remorse that he had let the bravest in the conspiracy go so far in a -mission which he had foredoomed to failure. But Favras would not accept -rescue and met his death by hanging with unblemished courage and honor. - -The King took the oath, as he had promised his brother, to the -Constitution, yet in embryo. If he loved it so dearly already, what -would he do when it was in shape? - -The ten days following were days of rejoicing; joy in the Assembly; calm -in Paris; altars built all over the town for passers to take oath after -the royal precedent. - -The Assembly commanded a Te Deum to be chanted in the Cathedral, where -all gathered to renew the oath in solemnity. - -"Why did you not go to the church?" sneered the Queen to her husband. - -"Because I do not object to lying for a purpose, but I do not mean to -perjure myself," said Louis XVI. - -The Queen breathed again for until then she had believed in the -monarch's honesty. She felt empowered by this perfidy to take the same -path and it was after giving her hand for Mirabeau to kiss that this new -leader for the court party vowed that the monarchy was saved. - -Her forehead was swathed in a wet bandage, her eyes were wandering and -her face flushed with fever. Amongst the incoherent words, the farmer -thought he could distinguish the name of Isidore. - -"I see that it is good time that I came home," he muttered. - -He went forth, and was followed by Pitou, but Dr. Raynal detained the -latter. - -"I want you my lad," he said, "to help Mother Clement hold the patient -while I bleed her for the third time." - -"The third time?" cried Mrs. Billet, awaking from her dulness. "Do you -hear that, my man, they bleed her for the third time." - -"Woman, this would not have happened had you looked after your daughter -closer," said the farmer in a stern voice. - -He went to his room, from which he had been absent three months while -Pitou entered the sick room. - -Pitou was astonished but he would have felt more so if he had guessed -that the doctor called him in as a moral remedy. - -The doctor had noticed two names as used by the girl in her frenzy, Ange -Pitou and Isidore Charny, and he soon distinguished that one was a -friend's and the other a dearer one. He concluded that Pitou was the -lovers' confidant and that there would be no inconvenience in the -gallant's friend being there to speak with the patient on the mutual -acquaintance. - -Everybody knew down here that Valence Charny had been killed at -Versailles and that his eldest brother had called away Isidore on the -next evening. - -That night Pitou found Catherine fainted on the high road. When she -revived on the farm, it was to be in a fever, and she raved of some one -riding away whom the doctor judged to be Isidore Charny. - -The greatest need to a brain-stricken invalid is calm. To learn about -her lover would best calm Catherine, and she would ask the news of their -friend, Pitou. - -On seeing the good effect of the bleeding, the doctor stationed Mother -Clement by her side, with the strange recommendation for her to get some -sleep, and beckoned Pitou to follow him into the kitchen. - -Her forehead was swathed in a wet bandage, her eyes were wandering and -her face flushed with fever. Amongst the incoherent words, the farmer -thought he could distinguish the name of Isidore. - -"I see that it is good time that I came home," he muttered. - -He went forth, and was followed by Pitou, but Dr. Raynal detained the -latter. - -"I want you my lad," he said, "to help Mother Clement hold the patient -while I bleed her for the third time." - -"The third time?" cried Mrs. Billet, awaking from her dulness. "Do you -hear that, my man, they bleed her for the third time." - -"Woman, this would not have happened had you looked after your daughter -closer," said the farmer in a stern voice. - -He went to his room, from which he had been absent three months while -Pitou entered the sick room. - -Pitou was astonished but he would have felt more so if he had guessed -that the doctor called him in as a moral remedy. - -The doctor had noticed two names as used by the girl in her frenzy, Ange -Pitou and Isidore Charny, and he soon distinguished that one was a -friend's and the other a dearer one. He concluded that Pitou was the -lovers' confidant and that there would be no inconvenience in the -gallant's friend being there to speak with the patient on the mutual -acquaintance. - -Everybody knew down here that Valence Charny had been killed at -Versailles and that his eldest brother had called away Isidore on the -next evening. - -That night Pitou found Catherine fainted on the high road. When she -revived on the farm, it was to be in a fever, and she raved of some one -riding away whom the doctor judged to be Isidore Charny. - -The greatest need to a brain-stricken invalid is calm. To learn about -her lover would best calm Catherine, and she would ask the news of their -friend, Pitou. - -On seeing the good effect of the bleeding, the doctor stationed Mother -Clement by her side, with the strange recommendation for her to get some -sleep, and beckoned Pitou to follow him into the kitchen. - -"Cheer up, mother," said he to Mrs. Billet who was mooning in the -chimney corner, "she is going on as well as possible." - -"It is very hard that a mother cannot care for her child," said the -farmer's wife. - -"You are too fragile--we should only have you ill. She will get along -finely with Mother Clement and Ange to look after her." - -"Ange?" - -"Yes, he has a leaning toward medicine and I shall make him my -assistant. He is coming over to my place now to get a soothing potion -made up. He will bring it back and direct the administration of it. He -will remain on duty here, to run over to me with the news of any -change." - -"You know best, doctor; but give the poor father a word of your hope." - -"Where is he?" - -"In the next room." - -"Useless," said a voice on the threshold, "I have heard all." - -As though this was all he wanted, the pale-faced farmer withdrew and -offered no opposition to this ruling of the house by the medical -adviser. - -The latter was not a light of science but he was a keen observer. - -He had seen that Pitou would be the best confidant to place before his -patient's eyes as soon as they opened to life and reason. - -He was able with the first words to reassure her upon Isidore's health. -There was no rioting in Paris and the young noble had gone off to Italy -as a messenger. - -He was sure to write to Catherine, she said, and she authorized him to -go to the post for the letter. - -As Pitou on the farm ate and drank with his accustomed appetite Billet -did not suspect the treacherous part he was playing. - -Consoled by the progress the girl made after the receipt of the beloved -letter, Pitou was enabled to proceed with his public work. - -With the money Gilbert gave him, he equipped the Haramont National -Guards with new suits; this was for the ceremony of the Federation of -Villers Cotterets and other villages of the canton, to be held on a -following Sunday. - -At this prospect of uniforms, the Guards assembled with their two -minstrels and gave their liberal leader a serenade, interspersed with -fire-crackers and cheers, among which was to be heard a voice or two, -slightly tipsy, shouting: - -"Long live Pitou, the Hero of the People!" - -Remembering the impression the Haramont National Guard had created when -they had hats alike, you can appreciate the justice in the roar of -admiration when they appeared in uniforms, and what a dashing air the -captain must have worn, with his little cap cocked over one ear, his -gorget shining on his breast, his catspaws, as the epaules were -irreverently called, and his sword. - -Aunt Angelique could hardly identify her nephew who almost rode her down -on his white horse. - -But he saluted her with a wave of the sword and left her crushed by the -honor. - -Recalling that the tailor had boasted of the order which Pitou had paid, -she thought he had come home a millionaire. - -"I must not quarrel with him," she mumbled: "aunts inherit from -nephews." - -Alas! he had forgotten her by this time. Among the girls wearing -tricolored sashes and carrying green palm boughs, he recognized -Catherine. She was pale, her beauty more delicate, but Raynal had -fulfilled his word. - -She was happy, for Pitou had managed to find a hollow tree where he -deposited letters for her to take them out in a stroll, and that morning -one was there. - -Pitou came up and saluted her with his sword. He would have only touched -his hat for General Lafayette. - -"How grand you look in your uniform," she said loudly. "I thank you, my -dear Pitou," she added in a voice for him alone; "how good you are. I -love you!" - -She took his hand and pressed it in hers. Giddiness passed into poor -Pitou's head; he dropped his hat from the free hand, and would have -fallen at her feet like the hat only for a great tumult with menacing -sounds being heard towards Soissons. - -Whatever the cause, he profited by it to get out of the awkward -situation. - -He disengaged his hand from Catherine's, picked up his hat and put it on -as he ran to the head of his thirty-three men, shouting: - -"To arms!" - -It was an old enemy of his who was causing a block to the festivities. - -Father Fortier had been designated to perform the office of celebrating -the Federation Mass on the Altar of the Country, for which the holy -vessels were to be carried from the church. The mayor, Longpre, was to -superintend the transfer. Like everybody he knew the schoolmaster's -temper and thought he would not bear him good will for the part he took -in the turning over the muskets. - -So, rather than face him, he had sent him an order in writing to be -present for the mass at ten. - -At half past nine he sent his secretary to see how things looked. The -gentleman brought bad news. The church was locked up. The church -officials were all laid up with various complaints. It had the air of a -conspiracy. - -At ten the crowd gathered and talked of beating in the church doors and -taking out the church plate. - -As a conciliator, Longpre quieted them as well as he could and went to -knock at Fortier's housedoor. - -In the meantime he sent for the armed forces. The gendarmes officers -came up. They were attended by additions to the mob. - -As they had no catapult to force the door, they summoned the locksmith. -But when he was going to insert a picklock, the door opened and Abb -Fortier appeared, with fiery eye and hair bristling. - -"Back," he cried with a threatening gesture, "back, heretics, impious -relapsers! avaunt ye from the sill of the man of God!" - -The murmur receiving his outburst was not flattering to him. - -"Excuse me," said the unctuous mayor, "but we only wanted to know -whether you would serve the mass on the altar of the country, or not?" - -"Sanction revolt, rebellion and ingratitude," yelled the holy man in one -of the fits of passion habitual to him: "curse virtue and bless sin? you -cannot have hoped it, mayor. I will not say your sacrilegous mass!" - -"Very well; this is a free country now--you need not unless you like." - -"Free? ha, ha, ha!" and with a most exasperating laugh he was going to -slam the door in their faces when a man burst through the throng, pushed -the door nearly open again and all but overturned Fortier though he was -a stout man. - -It was Billet. - -There was profound silence as all divined that not two mere men, but two -forces were opposing each other. - -Though Billet had displayed so much strength to open the door, he spoke -in a calm voice: - -"Pardon me, mayor, but I think I heard you say that the father might say -the mass or not, at his pleasure? this is an error and it is no longer -the time when errors are allowed to flourish. Every man who is paid to -do work is bound to do it. You are paid by the country to say mass and -you shall say it." - -"Blasphemer, Manichean," roared the priest. - -"You ought to set the example of obedience and here you are doing the -other thing. If you are a citizen and a Frenchman, obey the nation." - -"Bravo, Billet!" cried the multitude. "To the altar, with the priest." - -Encouraged by the acclamations, Billet lugged out from his hall the -first priest who had given the signal for counter-revolution. - -"I am a martyr," groaned the priest, comprehending that resistance was -impossible in the farmer's vigorous hands, "I call for martyrdom!" And -as he was hurried along he sang "Good Lord, deliver us!" - -This crowd conducting him was the cause of the turbulence towards which -Pitou was marching his cohort. But on seeing the reason, he and -Catherine appealed to the farmer with the same voice. - -Untouched, the latter carried the prize up to the altar where he let him -fall. - -"I proclaim you unworthy to serve at this altar which you disdained," -said Billet: "no man should go up these steps unless his head is filled -with these feelings, the desire of liberty, devotion to the country and -love of mankind. Priest, have you these sentiments? if so, go up boldly -and invoke our Maker. But if you do not feel you are the foremost of us -all as a citizen, give place to the more worthy, and be off!" - -"Madman, you do not know what you are declaring war upon," hissed the -priest, retiring with uplifted finger. - -"I do know, if they are like you, vipers, foxes, wolves," returned -Billet: "all that sneak and poison and tear in the shade. Come at me, -then--I can face ye, in the open!" he concluded, smiting his broad -chest. - -During a silent moment the throng parted to let the priest skulk -through, and, closing, remained mute and admiring the vigorous man who -offered himself as target to the terrible power to which half the world -was enslaved at that era. - -There was no longer mayor, town councilmen or gendarmes, only the Hero -of the People, Billet. - -"But we have no priest now," said Mayor Longpre. - -"We do not want him," replied Billet who had never been in church but -twice, for his wedding and his child's baptism. "We will read the -Declaration of the Rights of Man from the altar. That is the Creed of -Liberty and the Gospel of the Future." - -Billet could not read but he had his manifesto by heart. When he had -finished and with a noble movement embraced the Law and the Sword by -taking the mayor's and Pitou's hands, the multitude appreciated the -grandeur of what they were doing in shouting: - -"Long live the Nation!" - -It was one of the scenes of which Gilbert had spoken to the Queen -without her understanding him. - -From that time forward, France became one great family, with one heart -and one language. - - - - -CHAPTER XXX. - -UNDER THE WINDOW. - - -On the surface all was calm and almost smiling on the Billet Farm. - -As before, Billet, on his strong horse, trotted all over the land -keeping his hands up to the mark. But a sharp observer would have -noticed that on whatever part he was he tried to get a look at his -daughter's room window. - -Though his face had a little softened toward her, Catherine felt that -paternal distrust hovered over her. - -Mother Billet was vegetating as formerly; she did not know that her -husband harbored suspicion in his bosom, and her daughter anguish in -hers. - -Pitou, after his glory as captain of the uniformed National Guards, had -fallen back into his habitual state of sweet and kindly melancholy. By -the postmark on Isidore's letters he noticed that he had returned to -Paris. - -He concluded that he would not be long before returning to his estate. -Pitou's heart shrank at this prospect. - -Under pretence of snaring rabbits to give his friend more succulent food -than farm fare, he haunted the wood until he saw Catherine. She was -seeking him, too, for she had a word for him. - -He need not trouble about her letters as she would not be receiving any -for some days. - -He guessed that the writer was coming in person to repeat his vows. - -"Have you noticed," he said, "how gloomy the master has become of late?" - -Catherine turned pale. - -"I tell you as a sure thing that whoever is the cause of this change in -such a hearty good fellow, will have an unpleasant time with him when he -meets him." - -"You say, 'him,'" said Catherine; "why may he not have quarrelled with -a woman, against whom he nurses this sullen rage?" - -"You have seen something? have you any reason to fear?" - -"I have to fear all that a girl may fear when she loves above her -station and has an irritated father." - -"It seems to me that in your place," Pitou ventured to give advice, "I -should--no, it nearly killed you to part with him, and to give him up -altogether would be your death. Oh, all this is very unfortunate!" - -"Hush, speak of something else--here comes father." - -Indeed, seeing his daughter with a man, the farmer rode up at speed: but -recognizing Pitou, he asked him in to dinner with less gloom on his -face. - -"Gracious," muttered Catherine at the door, "can he know?" - -"What?" whispered Pitou. - -"Nothing," replied the girl, going up to her room and closing the -shutters. - -When she came down, dinner was ready, but she ate little. - -"You might tell us what brought you our way to-day," asked the morose -farmer of Pitou. - -The latter showed some brass wire loops. - -"The rabbits over our way are getting shy of me. I am going to lay some -snares on your farm, if you do not mind. Yours are so tender from the -grain they get." - -"I did not know you had so sweet a tooth." - -"Oh, not for me but for Miss Catherine." - -"Yes, she has no appetite, lately, that is a fact." - -At this moment, Pitou felt a touch to his foot. It was Catherine -directing his attention to the window past which a man was making for -the door where he entered with the farmer's gun on his shoulder. - -"Father Clovis," he was hailed by the master. - -Clovis was the old soldier who had taught Pitou to drill. - -"Yes, Papa Billet, a bargain is a bargain. You paid me to pick out a -dozen bullets to suit your rifle and here they are." - -He handed the farmer his gun and a bag of bullets. Calm as the veteran -was, he inspired terror in Catherine as he sat at table. - -"By the way I cast thirteen bullets instead of a dozen so I squandered -one on the hare you see. Your gun carries fine." - -"Is there a prize for shooting offered anywhere?" asked Pitou simply. -"You will win it, I guess like you did that silver cup and the bowl you -are drinking of, Miss Catherine. Why, what is the matter?" - -"Nothing," replied the girl opening her eyes which she had half closed -and leaning back in her chair. - -"All I know is," said Billet, "that I am going to lay in wait. It is a -wolf, I think." - -Clovis turned the bullets out on a plate. Had Pitou looked from them to -Catherine he would have seen that she nearly swooned. - -"Wolf?" repeated he. "I am astonished that before the snowfalls we -should see them here." - -"The shepherd says one is prowling round, out Boursonne way." - -Pitou looked from the speaker to Catherine. - -"Yes, he was spied last year, I was told; but he went off, and it was -thought forever; but he has turned up again. I mean to turn him down!" - -This was all the girl could endure; she uttered a cry and staggered out -of the door. Pitou followed her to offer his arm and found her in the -kitchen. - -"What ails you?" - -"Can you not guess? he knows that Isidore has arrived at Boursonne this -morning, and he is going to shoot him." - -"I will put him on his guard----" - -The voice of Billet interrupted the pair. - -"If you are going to lay snares, Master Pitou, it seems to me it is time -you were jogging. Father Clovis is going your way." - -"I am off," and he went out by the kitchen door, while Catherine went up -to her room, where she bolted the door. - -The forest was Pitou's kingdom and when he had left Clovis to go home, -he felt easy about what he had undertaken to do. - -He thought of running to Boursonne and warning Viscount Isidore; but he -might not be believed and the warning might not be heeded. - -He considered he had better wait. - -He had not a doubt that at the windows of Billet's room and of his -daughter's, they two were on the alert. All the tragedy or its failure -depended on him. If he let the viscount pass within rifle range, he -would let him march to his death. - -In fact, Billet, sure that the nobleman would not marry a farmer's -daughter, had resolved to wipe out the insult done him in blood. - -Suddenly Pitou, lying on the ground in a clump of willow, heard the -gallop of a horse. - -Billet must have heard it also for he came out of the house; and Ange -had not a doubt that the willow copse which he had chosen to spy -Catherine's window had for the same reason recommended itself to the -farmer. - -As the latter advanced, he slipped back and slid down into the ditch. - -The horse crossed the road at sixty paces, and as a shadow was soon -detached from it, the rider must have leaped off, and turned the steed -loose. It went on without stopping. - -There was ten minutes of dreadful silence. - -The night was so black that Pitou, reckoning his eyes better than -Billet's, hoped that he alone saw the shadow stealing towards the house. - -But at the same moment, as the shadow went up under Catherine's window, -Pitou heard the click of a hammer going on full cock on the gun. - -The shadow did not notice but rapped three times on the shutter. - -Pitou quivered--Catherine would surely blame him for not having passed -the warning as he had promised. - -But what could he do? - -Pitou heard the hammer fall and saw the priming flash; the powder in the -touchhole did not catch and the living target received no bullet. - -At the same moment Catherine opened her window. She saw all and cried: -"Up, it is my father!" she almost dragged Charny in at the casement. - -The farmer had his second barrel to fire and he thought: - -"He must come out and this time I will not miss him." - -Presently the dogs began barking. - -"Oh, the jade," he growled, "she has let him out at the back, through -the orchard." - -He ran round the house to overtake the escaping prey. - -"There is hope," thought Pitou: "aim cannot be taken in the night as in -the day and the hand is not so steady in firing on a man as at a wolf in -the den." - -Indeed, Billet had fired on a man whom he saw scaling the orchard wall -but he had got away on a horse which came up at his whistle. While -Billet was following the pair in vague hope that he had hurt the rider -so that he must fall out of the saddle, Ange reached the orchard where -he saw Catherine leaning up against a tree with her hand on her heart. - -"Let me take you into the house," he said. - -"No, I will not live under the roof of the man who shot at my -sweetheart." - -"But then----" - -"Do you refuse to accompany me?" - -"No, but----" - -"Come." - -No one saw them leave the farm and both disappeared in the valley. - -God only knew the refuge of Catherine Billet! - -All night a dreadful storm raged in the heart of the injured father. -Something vital seemed to snap in the mighty frame of the man when he -returned emptyhanded to see that his daughter had taken to flight. - -When he came home at nine as usual to breakfast, his wife said. "Where -is our Catherine?" - -"Catherine?" he said with an effort. "The air is bad on the farm and I -sent her over to her aunt's in Sologne." - -"Good, she wanted a change. Will she make a long stay?" - -"Till she gets better." - -Drying her tears the good woman went to sit in the chimney corner while -her husband rode off into the fields. - -Dr. Raynal had passed a restless night also. He was roused by Viscount -Charny's lackey pulling at his nightbell and, riding over to Boursonne, -found that he had a couple of bullets in his side. Neither wound was -dangerous, though one was serious. In three calls he set him up again; -but he had to wear a bandage for a time, which did not prevent him -riding out. Nobody had an idea of his accident. - -It was time for him to be healed--time to return to Paris! - -Mirabeau had promised the Queen to save her, and she wrote to her -brother on the Austrian throne: - -"I follow your counsel. I am making use of Mirabeau but there is nothing -of weight in my relations with him." - -On the following day, he saw groups on the way to the Assembly and went -up to learn the nature of the outcries. - -Little newsheets were passing from hand to hand and newsdealers were -calling out: - -"Buy the Great Treason of Mirabeau!" - -"It seems this concerns me," he said, taking a piece of money out. "My -friend," he said to one of the venders who had a donkey carrying -panniers full of the sheets, "how much is this Great Treason of -Mirabeau?" - -"Nothing to you, my lord," replied the man, looking him in the eye, "and -it is struck off in an edition of one hundred thousand." - -The orator went away thoughtful. A lampoon in such an edition and given -away by a newsman who knew him! - -Still the sheet might be one of those catchpennys which abounded at that -epoch, stupid or spiteful. No, it was the list of his debts, accurate, -and the note that their 200,000 francs had been paid by the Queen's -almoner on a certain date; also the statement that the court paid him -six thousand francs per month. Lastly the account of his reception by -the Queen. - -What mysterious enemy pursued him, or rather pursued the monarchy like a -hellhound? - -This is what we shall learn, with many another secret which none but -Cagliostro the superhuman might divine, in the sequel to this volume -entitled "THE ROYAL LIFEGUARD." - - -THE END - - * * * * * - -_A BOOK FOR EVERY FAMILY._ - -How to Live Well On 25 Cents a Day. - -By MRS. GESINE LEMCKE, One of the Most Noted Cooks and Housekeepers of -the Day. - -It contains a complete bill of fare for every day for six weeks, also -valuable hints and helps for housekeepers. - -_The Philadelphia Call_ says of it: - -"Utopia discovered! Everybody happy and want absolutely abolished. Hats -off to Mrs. Lemcke! 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OGILVIE PUBLISHING CO., -57 Rose Street, New York.= - - - - -ARE YOU A WOMAN? - -And Do You Want to Get Married? - -If so, you ought to buy our new book. - - "How to Get married - Although a Woman," - -By A YOUNG WIDOW. - -Read what _The Christian Advocate_ says about it: - -"How to Get Married Although a Woman," by a young widow, comes from the -J. S. Ogilvie Publishing Co., 57 Rose Street, New York. The woman -anxious to get married, but unable to do so, will find an immense amount -of advice and assistance in this little volume, and will learn what -manner of woman is liked and what disliked by men, the reasons of -success and failure in the race matrimonial, some unfailing methods of -catching a husband, why it is that a plain widow can come into a -community and take her pick among the most eligible men, and finally, -how to retain the love of a husband when he has been captured and how to -get another one when he has been gathered to his fathers. 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Any boy who wishes to -obtain an art by which he can develop a Wonderful amount of -astonishment, mystery, and fun, should learn Ventriloquism, as he easily -can follow the simple secret given in this book. Mailed for 15 cents. - - -=BAD BOY'S DIARY (A).=--This is one of the most successful humorous books -of the present day, filled with fun and good humor, and "will drive the -blues out of a bag of indigo." It is printed from new, large type, and -on fine, heavy white paper of a superior finish, and contains 280 pages. -New, full-page illustrations from unique designs have been prepared -expressly for this edition. Handsome paper cover, 25 cents. - - -=BATTLE FOR BREAD (THE).=--This book contains a series of Sermons by Rev. -T. DeWitt Talmage, the greatest of living preachers. Every workingman -and those who employ them should read this book, and thus be informed of -the real solution of the question of the relations of Labor and Capital, -12mo, 135 pages. Paper cover, 25 cents; cloth, 75 cents. - - -=BLACK ART EXPOSED (THE).=--This book contains some of the most marvelous -things in ancient and modern magic, jugglery, etc., ever printed, and -has to be seen to be fully appreciated. Suffice it to say that any boy -knowing the secrets it contains will be able to do things that will -astonish all. 15 cts. - - -=BLUNDERS OF A BASHFUL MAN (THE).=--By the popular author of "A Bad Boy's -Diary." This is one of the most humorous books ever issued, and has been -pronounced _better_ than "A Bad Boy's Diary." 12mo, 160 pages. -Handsomely illustrated from original designs, including also the -portrait and autograph of "The Bashful Man." Price, paper cover, 25 -cents. - - -=BOILER-MAKER'S ASSISTANT (THE),= and the Theoretical and Practical -Boiler-Maker and Engineer's Reference Book. By Samuel Nicholls, Foreman -Boiler-Maker. 1 vol. 12mo, extra cloth, $2.50. - - -=COMPLETE FORTUNE TELLER AND DREAM BOOK.=--This book contains a complete -Dictionary of Dreams, alphabetically, with a clear interpretation of -each dream, and the lucky numbers that belong to it. It includes -Palmistry, or telling fortunes by the lines of the hand; fortune telling -by the grounds in a tea or coffee cup; how to read your future life by -the white of an egg; tells how to know who your future husband will be, -and how soon you will be married; fortune-telling by cards; Hymen's -lottery; good and had omens, etc. 25 cents. - - -=CONCERT EXERCISES FOR SUNDAY SCHOOLS.=--5 cents each; 30 cents per dozen; -per hundred, by mail, postpaid, $2.00. No. 1, THE CHRISTIAN'S JOURNEY. -No. 2, THE STORY OF REDEEMING LOVE. (For Christmas.) No. 3, CHRIST IS -RISEN. (Appropriate for Easter.) No. 4, WELCOME GREETING. (Appropriate -for Children's Day.) No. 5, GOOD TIDINGS. (Appropriate for anniversaries -and celebrations.) - - -=LEISURE-HOUR WORK FOR LADIES.=--Containing instructions for flower and -shell work; Antique, Grecian and Theorem painting; Botanical specimens; -Cone work; Anglo Japanese work; Decalcomanie; Diaphame; Leather work; -Modeling in clay; Transferring; Crayon drawing; Photograph coloring, -etc., etc. A very complete book, and one that no young lady having spare -time can afford to be without. 15 cents. - - -=LOVER'S GUIDE (THE).=--A book no lover should be without. It gives -handkerchief, parasol, glove, and fan flirtations; also window and -dining-room signaling; the language of flowers; how to kiss deliciously; -love-letters, and how to write them, with specimens; bashfulness and -timidity, and how to overcome them, etc., etc. 15 cents. - - -=COURTSHIP AND MARRIAGE;= or, The Mysteries of Making Love Fully -Explained.--This is an entirely new work on a most interesting subject. -CONTENTS: First steps in courtship; Advice to both parties at the -outset; Introduction to the lady's family; Restrictions imposed by -etiquette; What the lady should observe in early courtship; What the -suitor should observe; Etiquette as to presents; The proposal; Mode of -refusal when not approved; Conduct to be observed by a rejected suitor; -Refusal by the lady's parents or guardians; Etiquette of an engagement; -Demeanor of the betrothed pair; Should a courtship be long or short; -Preliminary etiquette of a wedding; Fixing the day; How to be married; -The trousseau; Duties to be attended to by the bridegroom; Who should be -asked to the wedding; Duties of the bridesmaids and groomsmen; Etiquette -of a wedding; Costume of bride, bridesmaids, and bridegroom; Arrival at -the church; The marriage ceremonial; Registry of the marriage; Return -home, and wedding breakfast; Departure for the honeymoon; Wedding cards; -Modern practice of "No cards;" Reception and return of wedding visits; -Practical advice to a newly married couple. Price, 25 cents. - - -="DON'T MARRY"=--At least until you have read our new book entitled "Don't -Marry." Some marry too soon, others wait too long. This book will tell -you how, when, and whom to marry; besides giving you valuable hints and -helps not found in any other book. It contains 112 pages, paper cover, -and is worth $10 to any one. Price, 25 cents. - - -=DIARY OF A MINISTER'S WIFE.=--By Almedia M. Brown. Complete edition, -12mo, 544 pages. Handsomely bound in cloth, with fine full-page -illustrations, including portraits of Mrs. Minnie Hardscrabble, the -minister's wife, from the facts and incidents in whose life the story -was written; also Rev. John Hardscrabble, with three other -characteristic engravings, which will amuse and interest every reader. -Price, $1.50. - -This popular book is also issued complete in two volumes in paper -covers. Price, per volume, 25 cents. - - -=DIARY OF A VILLAGE GOSSIP.=--By Almedia M. Brown, author of "Diary of a -Minister's Wife," etc., etc. 12mo, 293 pages. Paper cover, 25 cents; -handsomely bound in cloth, $1.00. - - -=MAGIC DIAL (THE).=--By the use of which secret correspondence may be -carried on without fear of detection. No one (even if provided with one -of these dials) can decipher it. It is entirely new, and nothing like it -has ever appeared. It is simple and reliable and can be used by any -person. It will be mailed for 25 cents. - - -=EDUCATING THE HORSE.=--A new and improved system of Educating the Horse. -Also a Treatise on Shoeing, with new and valuable Receipts for Diseases -of Horses. CONTENTS: The great secret of Horse-Taming; How to throw a -horse; the wild colts to halter; break a colt; hitching colt in stall; -how to handle a colt's feet; breaking and driving colts to harness; -objects of fear; to train a horse to stand when getting into a carriage; -balking horses; pulling at halter; to break horses from jumping; pawing -in stall and kicking in harness; the runaway horse; shoeing; corns; to -teach a horse to appear intelligent; to teach a horse how to dance, -waltz, kiss you, shake hands, etc., etc.; cure of sore breasts, big -head, big leg, fullness of blood, catarrh, loose bowels, corns, cough, -inflammation of eye, brittle feet, sand crack in foot, founder (a sure -cure), galled back, grease, inflammation of kidneys, worms, itch, nasal, -gleet, over-reaching, staggers, botts, etc., etc.; concluding with rules -and regulations for the government of trotting and racing. =>No man who -owns a horse can afford to do without this book. It is very thorough, -complete and reliable, and well worth a dozen times the price asked for -it. It contains matter not to be found in any other horse book. Price, -15 cents. - - -=GRAND WONDER COLLECTION.=--A wonderful offer. $3.00 worth of goods for -only 50 cents! Everything is now very cheap, and people get a good deal -more for their money than they used to, but we have no hesitation in -saying that never before was so much offered for the money as is offered -in this GRAND WONDER COLLECTION. It could not be done, only that we -expect to sell thousands of them and are fully satisfied that each one -sold will sell a dozen more. - -The contents of the GRAND WONDER COLLECTION--comprising seven complete -books in one--1. Old Secrets and New Discoveries. 2. Secrets for -Farmers. 3. Laughing Gas. 4. The Swindlers of America. 5. Preserving and -Manufacturing Secrets. 6. The Housewife's Treasure. 7. Fourteen Popular -Songs, Words and Music. - -=>Any person ordering this collection and not fully satisfied, the money -will be cheerfully refunded. Price, 50 cents. - - -=MAGIC TRICK CARDS.=--The Magician's Own Cards, for performing wonderful -tricks. Every boy a magician! Every man a conjurer! Every girl a witch! -Every one astonished! They are the most superior trick cards ever -offered for sale, and with them you can perform some of the most -remarkable illusions ever discovered. - -Complete illustrated directions accompany each pack. They will be -mailed, postpaid, sealed as a letter, for 15 cents a pack. - - -=HEALTH HINTS.=--A new book showing how to Acquire and Retain Bodily -Symmetry, Health, Vigor, and Beauty. Its contents are as follows: Laws -of Beauty--Air, Sunshine, Water, and Food--Work and Rest--Dress and -Ornament--The Hair and its Management--Skin and Complexion--The -Mouth--The Eyes, Ears, and Nose--The Neck, Hands and Feet--Growth and -Marks that are Enemies of Beauty--Cosmetics and Perfumery. - -=Fat People.=--It gives ample rules how Corpulency may be cured--the Fat -made Lean, Comely and Active. - -=Lean People.=--It also gives directions, the following of which will -enable Lean, Angular, Bony or Sharp Visaged People, to be Plump and Rosy -Skinned. - -=Gray Hair.=--It tells how Gray Hair may be Restored to its natural color -without the aid of Dyes, Restorers or Pomades. - -=Baldness.=--It gives ample directions for Restoring Hair on Bald Heads, -as well as how to stop Falling of the Hair, how to Curl the Hair, etc. - -=Beard and Mustache.=--It tells what Young Men should do to acquire a -Fine, Silky and Handsome Beard and Mustache. - -=Freckles and Pimples.=--It gives full directions for the Cure of Sunburn, -Freckles, Pimples, Wrinkles, Warts, etc., so that they can be entirely -removed. - -=Cosmetics.=--This chapter, among other things, gives an Analysis of -Perry's Moth and Freckle Lotion, Balm of White Lilies, Hagan's Magnolia -Balm, Laird's Bloom of Youth, Phalon's Enamel, Clark's Restorative for -the Hair, Chevalier's Life for the Hair, Ayer's Hair Vigor, Professor -Wood's Hair Restorative, Hair Restorer America, Gray's Hair Restorative, -Phalon's Vitalia, Ring's Vegetable Ambrosia, Mrs. Allen's World's Hair -Restorer, Hall's Vegetable Sicilian Hair Renewer, Martha Washington Hair -Restorative, etc., etc. (no room for more), showing how the lead, etc., -in these mixtures causes disease and oftentimes premature death. Price, -25 cents. - - -=LOVE AND COURTSHIP CARDS.=--Sparking, courting, and lovemaking all made -easy by the use of these cards. They are arranged with such apt -conversation that you will be able to ask the momentous question in such -a delicate manner that the girl will not suspect what you are at. They -may be used by two persons only, or they will make lots of fun for an -evening party of young people. There are sixty cards in all, and each -answer will respond differently to every one of the questions. Price, 30 -cents. - - -=MISS SLIMMENS' BOARDING-HOUSE.=--By the author of "A Bad Boy's Diary." -16mo, 188 pages, with nine illustrations. Complete edition. Paper cover, -25 cents. - - -=HOUSEWIFE'S TREASURE (THE).=--A manual of information of everything that -relates to household economies. It gives the method of making Jackson's -Universal Washing Compound, which can clean the dirtiest cotton, linen -or woolen clothes in twenty minutes without rubbing or harming the -material. This recipe is being constantly peddled through the country at -$5.00 each, and is certainly worth it. It also tells all about -soap-making at home, so as to make it cost about one-quarter of what bar -soap costs; it tells how to make candles by molding or dipping; it gives -seven methods for destroying rats and mice; how to make healthy bread -without flour (something entirely new); to preserve clothes and furs -from moths; a sure plan for destroying houseflies, cockroaches, beetles, -ants, bedbugs and fleas; all about house cleaning, papering, etc., and -hundreds of other valuable hints just such as housekeepers are wanting -to know. 25 cents. - - -=HOW TO ENTERTAIN A SOCIAL PARTY.=--A complete selection of Home -Recreations. Profusely illustrated with fine wood-cuts, containing: -Round Games and Forfeit Games; Parlor Magic and Curious Puzzles; Comic -Diversions and Parlor Tricks; Scientific Recreations and Evening -Amusements; The Blue Beard tableaux; Tableaux-vivant for acting; The -play-room; Blind-man's buff; One old ox opening oysters; How do you like -it? when do you like it? and where do you like it? Cross questions and -crooked answers; Cupid's coming; Proverbs; Earth, air and water; Yes and -no; Copenhagen; Hunt the hare, and a thousand other games. - -Here is family amusement for the million. Here is parlor or drawing-room -entertainment, night after night, for a whole winter. A young man with -this volume may render himself the _beau ideal_ of a delightful -companion to every party. Price, 25 cents. - - -=HOW TO WOO AND HOW TO WIN.-=-This interesting work contains full and -interesting rules for the etiquette of courtship, with directions -showing how to win the favor of the ladies; how to begin and end a -courtship; and how love-letters should be written. It not only tells how -to win the favor of the ladies, but how to address a lady; Conduct a -courtship; "Pop the Question;" Write love-letters; All about the -marriage ceremony; Bridal chamber; After marriage, etc. Price, 15 cents. - - -=ODELL'S SYSTEM OF SHORTHAND.=--By which the taking down of sermons, -lectures, trials, speeches, etc., may be easily acquired, without the -aid of a master. By this plan the difficulties of mastering this useful -art are very much lessened, and the time required to attain proficiency -reduced to the least possible limits. Price, 15 cents. - - -=HOW TO TALK AND DEBATE.=--CONTENTS: Introduction; Laws of Conversation; -Listening; Self-possession; Appreciativeness; Conversation, when -confidential; The matter and the manner; Proper subjects; Trifles; -Objectionable subjects; Politics; Rights of women; Wit and humor; -Questions and negatives; Our own hobbies; The voice, how to improve; -Speaking one's mind; Public speaking; How to make a speech; Opening a -debate; Division of the subject; The affirmative; The reply, etc., etc. -A really valuable book, and one that every man and woman, boy and girl -should possess. 15 cents. - - -=LIFE IN THE BACKWOODS.=--A Guide to the successful without the wool or -hair; to skin and stuff birds; baits and hooks for fishing; how to fish -successfully without nets, lines, spears, snares, "bobs," or bait (a -great secret), how to choose and clean guns; how to breed minks for -their skins (hundreds of dollars can be made by any boy or young man who -knows how to breed minks), etc. - -This book is by an old trapper, for many years engaged in trapping in -the Northwest, who has finally consented to publish and disclose these -secrets. Persons living where wild animals exist, with some traps and -the information contained in this book, can make money faster through -the trapping season by giving their time and energies to the business -than they can by seeking their fortunes in the gold regions or in oil -speculations. This is at once the most complete and practical book now -in the market. Price, 15 cents. - - -=MODEL LETTER-WRITER (THE).=--A comprehensive and complete guide -and assistant for those who desire to carry on epistolary -correspondence--containing instructions for writing letters of -introduction; Letters of business; Letters of recommendation; -Applications for employment; Letters of congratulation; Letters of -condolence; Letters of friendship and relationship; Love-letters; Notes -of invitation; Letters of favor, of advice, and of excuse, etc., etc., -together with appropriate answers to each. This is an invaluable book -for those persons who have not had sufficient practice to enable them to -write letters without great effort. 15 cents. - - -=NAPOLEON'S COMPLETE BOOK= of Fate and Complete Fortune Teller.--This is -the celebrated Oracle of Human Destiny consulted by Napoleon the First -previous to any of his undertakings, and by which he was so successful -in war, business, and love. It is the only authentic and complete copy -extant, being translated into English from a German translation of an -ancient Egyptian manuscript found in the year 1801 by M. Sonini, in one -of the royal tombs near Mount Libycus, in Upper Egypt. This Oraculum is -so arranged that any question on business, love, wealth, losses, hidden -treasures, no matter what its nature, the Oraculum has an answer for it. -It also shows how to learn of one's fate by consulting the planets. -Price 15 cents. - - -=OGILVIE'S HOUSE PLANS; OR HOW TO BUILD A HOUSE.=--A neat new book, -containing over thirty finely executed engravings of dwellings of all -sizes, from two rooms up; also churches, barns, and out-houses in great -variety. - -This handy, compact, and very useful volume contains, in addition to the -foregoing, plans for each floor in each and every dwelling of which an -engraving is given. It has, also, valuable information relative to -building, such as number of shingles required in a roof, quantity of -plaster for a house, quantity of materials required for building a -house, etc., etc., and much other information of permanent and practical -value. - -Any one of the plans is alone worth very much more than the price asked -for the book. It is invaluable to every architect, builder, mason, or -carpenter, and particularly do we urge all who anticipate erecting a new -or remodeling an old dwelling to send for a copy, as its fortunate -possessor may save hundred of dollars by following the suggestions it -contains. 25 cents. - - -=HOW TO BEHAVE.=--Hand-book of Etiquette and Guide to True Politeness. -CONTENTS: Etiquette and its uses; Introductions; Cutting acquaintances; -Letters of introduction; Street etiquette; Domestic etiquette and -duties; Visiting; Receiving company; Evening parties; The lady's toilet; -The gentleman's toilet; Invitations; Etiquette of the ball-room; General -rules of conversation; Bashfulness and how to overcome it; Dinner -parties; Table etiquette; Carving; Servants; Traveling; Visiting cards; -Letter writing; Conclusion. This is the best book of the kind yet -published, and every person wishing to be considered well-bred, who -wishes to understand the customs of good society, and to avoid incorrect -and vulgar habits, should send for a copy. 15 cents. - - -=MISS SLIMMENS' WINDOW.=--Complete edition in one volume now ready. 16mo, -150 pages. Bound in heavy paper covers, with 13 illustrations. 25 -cents. - - -=OGILVIE'S HANDY MONITOR AND UNIVERSAL ASSISTANT,= containing Statistical -Tables of Practical Value for Mechanics, Merchants, Editors, Lawyers, -Printers, Doctors, Farmers, Lumbermen, Bankers, Bookkeepers, Politicians -and all classes of workers in every department of human effort, and -containing a compilation of facts for reference on various subjects, -being an epitome of matters Historical, Statistical, Biographical, -Political, Geographical and general interest. 192 pages bound in paper, -25 cents. - -No more valuable book has ever been offered containing so much -information of practical value in everyday life. - - -=OLD SECRETS AND NEW DISCOVERIES.=--Containing Information of Rare Value -for all Classes, in all Conditions of Society. - -=It Tells= all about _Electrical Psychology_, showing how you can -biologize any person, and, while under the influence, he will do -anything you may wish him, no matter how ridiculous it may be, and he -cannot help doing it. - -=It Tells= how to _Mesmerize_. Knowing this, you can place any person in a -mesmeric sleep, and then be able to do with him as you will. This secret -has been sold over and over again for $10. - -=It Tells= how to make persons at a distance think of you--something all -lovers should know. - -=It Tells= how you can charm those you meet and make them love you, -whether they will or not. - -=It Tells= how Spiritualists and others can make writing appear on the arm -in blood characters, as performed by Foster and all noted magicians. - -=It Tells= how to make a cheap Galvanic Battery; how to plate and gild -without a battery; how to make a candle burn all night; how to make a -clock for 25 cents; how to detect counterfeit money; how to banish and -prevent mosquitoes from biting; how to make yellow butter in winter; -Circassian curling fluid; Sympathetic or Secret Writing Ink; Cologne -Water; Artificial honey; Stammering; how to make large noses small; to -cure drunkenness; to copy letters without a press; to obtain fresh-blown -flowers in winter; to make good burning candles from lard. - -=It Tells= how to make a horse appear as though he was badly foundered; to -make a horse temporarily lame; how to make him stand by his food and not -eat it; how to cure a horse from the crib or sucking wind; how to put a -young countenance on the horse; how to cover up the heaves; how to make -him appear as if he had the glanders; how to make a true-pulling horse -balk; how to nerve a horse that is lame, etc., etc.--These horse secrets -are being continually sold at one dollar each. - -=It Tells= how to make the Eggs of Pharo's Serpents, which when lighted, -though but the size of a pea, there issues from it a coiling, hissing -serpent, wonderful in length and similarity to a genuine serpent. - -=It Tells= how to make gold and silver from block tin (the least said -about which the better). Also how to take impressions from coins. Also -how to imitate gold and silver. - -=It Tells= of a simple and ingenious method of copying any kind of drawing -or picture. Also, more wonderful still, how to print pictures from the -print itself. - -=It Tells= how to perform the Davenport Brothers "Spirit Mysteries." So -that any person can astonish an audience, as they have done. Also scores -of other wonderful things which there is no room to mention. - -=Old Secrets and New Discoveries= is worth $5 to any person; but it will -be mailed to any address on receipt of only 25 cents. - - -=OUT IN THE STREETS.=--By S. N. Cook. Price, 15 cents. - -We take pleasure in offering the strictly moral and very amusing -temperance drama entitled, "Out in the Streets," to all entertainment -committees as one that will give entire satisfaction. The parts are -taken by six male and six female characters. - - -=PHUNNY PHELLOW'S GRAB BAG;= or, Jolly Tid-Bits for Mirthful -Mortals.--Josh Billings, Danbury News Man and Bret Harte rolled into -one. It is not too much to say that the book contains the choicest humor -in the English language. Its size is mammoth, containing more than one -thousand of the raciest jests, comical hits, exhilarating stories, -flowers of wit, excruciating jokes, uproarious poems, laughable -sketches, darky comicalities, clowns' efforts, button-bursting -conundrums, endmen's jokes, plantation humors, funny caricatures, -hifalutin dialogues, curious scenes, cute sayings, ludicrous drolleries, -peculiar repartees, and nearly 500 illustrations. 25 cents. - - -=SCIENCE OF A NEW LIFE (THE).=--By John Cowan, M.D. A handsome 8vo, -containing over 400 pages, with more than 100 illustrations, and sold at -the following prices: English cloth, beveled boards, gilt side and back, -$3.00; leather, sprinkled edges, $3.50; half turkey morocco, marbled -edges, gilt back, $4.00. - - -=SOME FUNNY THINGS= said by Clever Children. Who is not interested in -children? We are satisfied that this book will give genuine satisfaction -to all who are interested in listening to the happy voices of children. -This will show that humor is not confined to adult minds by any means. -64 pages, 10 cents. - - - - -THE EVERY-DAY EDUCATOR - -OR, - -How To Do Business. - -Prepared for Ambitious Americans by -Prof. SEYMOUR EATON. - -The Brightest and Best Help Manual ever issued in this Country. - -Each of the numerous departments forms a unique feature. Here are the -titles of a few: - -[Illustration: HOW TO APPLY] - -[Illustration: _For a Situation_] - - BOOK-KEEPING, BANKING, CORRESPONDENCE, - ARITHMETIC, FRENCH, GERMAN, - LESSONS IN ELECTRICITY, ASTRONOMY, - PENMANSHIP, PHYSICAL CULTURE, - HOW TO WRITE FOR THE PRESS, - FIGURE SHORTHAND, LESSONS IN DRAWING, - TELEGRAPHY, FACTS and FIGURES, - THESE BODIES OF OURS, GAMES AND PUZZLES, - CHARACTER IN HANDS, - GOOD OPENINGS IN NEW TRADES, U. S. HISTORY, - PUBLIC SPEAKING, HOW TO GET A START, - LITERATURE, AUTHORS and BOOKS. - -[Illustration: RULES OF ORDER FOR BUSINESS MEETINGS] - -But why go further? Get the book and we guarantee you will say it is -away ahead of anything you have seen before. - -=The Every-Day Educator= contains 240 pages. Handsomely printed on fine -paper. Fully illustrated. Substantially bound in cloth, and in every -respect a perfect specimen of advanced book-making, price, 75 cents; -bound in paper cover, 25 cents. Sent by mail, postpaid, to any address -on receipt of price. Agents wanted. Address all orders and applications -for an agency to - -_J. S. OGILVIE PUBLISHING COMPANY_, -_Lock Box 2767._ _57 Rose Street, New York._ - - -AYER'S - -Hair Vigor - -cures scalp humors, prevents dandruff, restores color and vitality to -faded and gray hair, stimulates growth, makes the hair soft, glossy, and -beautiful. As a tonic and dressing for the hair and scalp it has no -equal, being used by both ladies and gentlemen - -FOR THE TOILET - -[Illustration] - -"I have used Ayer's Hair Vigor for years. It prevents the hair from -falling out, thickens the growth of the hair and gives it a fine, rich, -glossy appearance, such as no other dressing will impart. It is an -elegant toilet article, and I can cordially recommend it."--Miss DYDA -YATES, Utica, Mississippi. - -NO MORE -GRAY HAIR - -AYER'S PILLS cure Stomach Troubles. - - * * * * * - - -Typographical errors corrected by the etext transcriber: - -costly fireram come into the hands=> costly firearm come into the hands -{pg 4} - -I did make a mistep at=> I did make a mis step at {pg 8} - -his eyebrows were so baldy shape=> his eyebrows were so badly shape {pg -13} - -gifted with this elasticty=> gifted with this elasticity {pg 13} - -That is why weh aveoc me to=> That is why we have [illegible]oc me to -{pg 57} - -what has happend me=> what has happened me {pg 129} - -story of Oledipus=> story of OEdipus {pg 170} - -gold earings and chain=> gold earrings and chain {pg 14} - -the royal couch tramped men and women=> the royal coach tramped men and -women {pg 18} - -had complaisant treasures=> had complaisant treasurers {pg 20} - -Queen and their son is in the midst=> Queen and their son are in the -midst {pg 21} - -I always come with pelasure and confidence=> I always come with pleasure -and confidence {pg 34} - -probably intented to=> probably intended to {pg 49} - -But Piton did not participate=> But Pitou did not participate {pg 64} - -with the competeitors=> with the competitors {pg 67} - -started through the words=> started through the woods {pg 72} - -has anything bad happened him=> has anything bad happened to him {pg 72} - -Her recoiled on the lounge=> She recoiled on the lounge {pg 83} - -he demaded=> he demanded {pg 83} - -Rosseau was dead=> Rousseau was dead {pg 95} - -He laid peculiar streets on this name=> He laid peculiar stress on this -name {pg 100} - -villian=> villain {pg 103} - -so distinguised a man=> so distinguished a man {pg 104} - -wanting fine thousand=> wanting five thousand {pg 104} - -I have no pretention=> I have no pretension {pg 116} - -your are a friend=> you are a friend {pg 118} - -Ravaillac's or Damiens'=> Ravaillac's or Damien's {pg 119} - -Provence's owns Guards=> Provence's own Guards {pg 119} - -Govenror of Metz=> Governor of Metz {pg 120} - -neasure of greatness=> measure of greatness {pg 130} - -meetings in the craypt=> meetings in the crypt {pg 141} - -The Jacobin is a young minotaurs=> The Jacobin is a young minotaur {pg -143} - -you are funeral, count=> you are funereal, count {pg 143} - -or we shall Surgeon=> or we shall have Surgeon {pg 150} - -I could notifiy him=> I could notify him {pg 151} - -he was wearing on old uniform=> he was wearing an old uniform {pg 153} - -nails properly trimed=> nails properly trimmed {pg 153} - -A kind gentelman=> A kind gentleman {pg 158} - -While Nocole would educate the boy=> While Nicole would educate the boy -{pg 161} - -Do you not rocognize me=> Do you not recognize me {pg 167} - -what anology between=> what analogy between {pg 170} - -amoniacal dose=> ammoniacal dose {pg 189} - -this very mornng=> this very morning {pg 194} - -three corpes furnished=> three corpses furnished {pg 194} - -that this indicent broke=> that this incident broke {pg 195} - -loking steadily at her=> looking steadily at her {pg 196} - -instead of kepping it down=> instead of keeping it down {pg 197} - -yet in embyro=> yet in embryo {pg 199} - -road her down=> rode her down {pg 203} - -the vetran was=> the veteran was {pg 208} - -while her husaband rode off=> while her husband rode off {pg 211} - - - - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's The Hero of the People, by Alexandre Dumas - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HERO OF THE PEOPLE *** - -***** This file should be named 42681-8.txt or 42681-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/2/6/8/42681/ - -Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Chuck Greif and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: The Hero of the People - A Historical Romance of Love, Liberty and Loyalty - -Author: Alexandre Dumas - -Translator: Henry Llewellyn Williams - -Release Date: May 10, 2013 [EBook #42681] -[Last updated: October 4, 2014] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HERO OF THE PEOPLE *** - - - - -Produced by Juliet Sutherland. Chuck Greif and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - -</pre> - -<hr class="full" /> - -<table border="2" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary=""> -<tr><td align="center">Many spelling and punctuation errors have been corrected. <a href="#transcriber">A list</a> of the -etext transcriber’s spelling corrections follows the text.<br />Consistent -archaic spellings have not been changed.<br /> -(Note of etext transcriber.)</td></tr></table> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/cover.jpg" width="336" height="500" alt="bookcover" title="" /> -<br /> -<a href="images/cover_lg.jpg"> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -</p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" summary="" -style="font-weight:bold;"> -<tr><td align="left">PRICE, 25 CENTS.</td><td> </td><td align="right">No. 80.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center" colspan="3">THE SUNSET SERIES.</td></tr> -<tr><td> -By Subscription, per Year, Nine Dollars.</td><td> </td><td align="right">February 22, 1894.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center" colspan="3"><small>Entered at the New York Post-Office as second-class matter.</small></td></tr> -<tr><td align="center" colspan="3" style="border-top:3px black double;"><small>Copyright 1891, by J. S. OGILVIE.</small></td></tr> -</table> - -<h1>The Hero Of<br /> - The People.</h1> - -<p class="cb"><small>BY</small><br /><br /> -Alex. Dumas.<br /><br /> -———<br /> -NEW YORK:<br /> -J. S. OGILVIE PUBLISHING COMPANY,<br /> -<span class="smcap">57 Rose Street</span>.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p class="cb"><big><big>A WONDERFUL OFFER!</big></big><br /> -———<br /> -<big>70 House Plans for $1.00.</big><br /> -———<br /></p> - -<div class="figleft" style="width: 104px;"> -<img src="images/illus02_sml.png" width="104" height="89" alt="" title="" /> -<br /> -<a href="images/illus02_lg.png"> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -</div> - -<p>If you are thinking about building<br /> a house don’t fail to get the new -book</p> - -<p><b>PALLISER’S<br /> - <span style="margin-left: 2em;">AMERICAN</span><br /> - <span style="margin-left: 2em;">ARCHITECTURE,</span></b></p> - -<p class="nind">containing 104 pages, 11×14 inches in size, consisting of large 9×12 -plate pages giving plans, elevations, perspective views, descriptions, -owners’ names, actual cost of construction (<b><i>no guess work</i></b>), and -instructions <b><i>How to Build</i></b> 70 Cottages, Villas, Double Houses, Brick -Block Houses, suitable for city suburbs, town and country, houses for -the farm, and workingmen’s homes for all sections of the country, and -costing from $300 to $6,500, together with specifications, form of -contract, and a large amount of information on the erection of buildings -and employment of architects, prepared by Palliser, Palliser & Co., the -well-known architects.</p> - -<p>This book will save you hundreds of dollars.</p> - -<p>There is not a Builder, nor anyone intending to build or otherwise -interested, that can afford to be without it. It is a practical work, -and the best, cheapest and most popular book ever issued on Building. -Nearly four hundred drawings.</p> - -<p>It is worth $5.00 to anyone, but we will send it bound in paper cover, -by mail, post-paid for only $1.00; bound in handsome cloth, $2.00. -Address all orders to</p> - -<p class="cb"> -<i>J. S. OGILVIE PUBLISHING CO.,<br /> -Lock Box 2767. 57 Rose Street, New York.</i></p> - -<hr /> - -<p><a name="page_001" id="page_001"></a></p> - -<h1> -THE HERO OF THE PEOPLE.</h1> - -<p class="cb">A HISTORICAL ROMANCE<br /> -<small>OF</small><br /> -LOVE, LIBERTY AND LOYALTY.<br /> -<br /> -BY ALEX. DUMAS.<br /> -<small>Author of “The Queen’s Necklace,” “The Three Musketeers,”<br /> -“Balsamo the Magician,” “Monte Cristo,” “Taking the Bastile,”<br /> -“Chicot the Jester,” etc.</small><br /> -<br /> -TRANSLATED FROM THE AUTHOR’S REVISED<br /> -LATEST EDITION.<br /> -<br /> -BY<br /> -HENRY LLEWELLYN WILLIAMS<br /> -<br /> -<span class="smcap">New York</span>:<br /> -J. S. OGILVIE PUBLISHING COMPANY,<br /> -<span class="smcap">57 Rose Street</span>.<br /> -</p> - -<p> </p> - -<p class="c"><a href="#CHAPTER_I"><b>CHAPTER: I., </b></a> -<a href="#CHAPTER_II"><b>II., </b></a> -<a href="#CHAPTER_III"><b>III., </b></a> -<a href="#CHAPTER_IV"><b>IV., </b></a> -<a href="#CHAPTER_V"><b>V., </b></a> -<a href="#CHAPTER_VI"><b>VI., </b></a> -<a href="#CHAPTER_VII"><b>VII., </b></a> -<a href="#CHAPTER_VIII"><b>VIII., </b></a> -<a href="#CHAPTER_IX"><b>IX., </b></a> -<a href="#CHAPTER_X"><b>X., </b></a> -<a href="#CHAPTER_XI"><b>XI., </b></a> -<a href="#CHAPTER_XII"><b>XII., </b></a> -<a href="#CHAPTER_XIII"><b>XIII., </b></a> -<a href="#CHAPTER_XIV"><b>XIV., </b></a> -<a href="#CHAPTER_XV"><b>XV., </b></a> -<a href="#CHAPTER_XVI"><b>XVI., </b></a> -<a href="#CHAPTER_XVII"><b>XVII., </b></a> -<a href="#CHAPTER_XVIII"><b>XVIII., </b></a> -<a href="#CHAPTER_XIX"><b>XIX., </b></a> -<a href="#CHAPTER_XX"><b>XX., </b></a> -<a href="#CHAPTER_XXI"><b>XXI., </b></a> -<a href="#CHAPTER_XXII"><b>XXII., </b></a> -<a href="#CHAPTER_XXIII"><b>XXIII., </b></a> -<a href="#CHAPTER_XXIV"><b>XXIV., </b></a> -<a href="#CHAPTER_XXV"><b>XXV., </b></a> -<a href="#CHAPTER_XXVI"><b>XXVI., </b></a> -<a href="#CHAPTER_XXVII"><b>XXVII., </b></a> -<a href="#CHAPTER_XXVIII"><b>XXVIII., </b></a> -<a href="#CHAPTER_XXX"><b>XXX.</b></a> -</p> - -<p><a name="page_002" id="page_002"></a> </p> - -<p class="c">———<br /> -<small><i>Entered according to act of Congress in the year 1892, by A. E. Smith & -Co.,<br /> -in the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.</i></small><br /> -———</p> - -<p><a name="page_003" id="page_003"></a> </p> - -<p class="cb">THE HERO OF THE PEOPLE.</p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I"></a>CHAPTER I.<br /><br /> -LOCKSMITH AND GUNSMITH.</h2> - -<p>T<small>HE</small> French Revolution had begun by the Taking of the Bastile by the -people of Paris on the Fourteenth of July, 1789, but it seemed to have -reached the high tide by King Louis XVI, with his Queen Marie Antoinette -and others of the Royal Family, leaving Versailles, after some -sanguinary rioting, for the Capital, Paris.</p> - -<p>But those who think, in such lulls of popular tempests, that all the -mischief has blown over, make a mistake.</p> - -<p>Behind the men who make the first onset, are those who planned it and -who wait for the rush to be made and, then, while others are tried or -satisfied, glide into the crowds to stir them up.</p> - -<p>Mysterious agents of secret, fatal passions, they push on the movement -from where it paused, and having urged it to its farthest limit, those -who opened the way are horrified, at awakening to see that others -attained the end.</p> - -<p>At the doorway of a wine saloon at Sevres by the bridge, over the Seine, -a man was standing who had played the main part, though unseen, in the -riots which compelled the Royal Family to renounce an attempt to escape -out of the kingdom like many of their sycophants, and go from Versailles -Palace to the Tuileries.</p> - -<p>This man was in the prime of life: he was dressed like a<a name="page_004" id="page_004"></a> workingman, -wearing velveteen breeches shielded by a leather apron with pockets such -as shinglers wear to carry nailes in, or blacksmith-farriers or -locksmiths. His stockings were grey, and his shoes had brass buckles; on -his head was a fur cap like a grenadier’s cut in half or what is called -nowadays an artillerist’s busby. Grey locks came straggling from under -its hair and mingled with shaggy eyebrows; they shaded large bulging -eyes, keen and sharp, quick, with such rapid changes that it was hard to -tell their true color. His nose was rather thick than medium, the lips -full, the teeth white, and his complexion sunburnt.</p> - -<p>Without being largely built, this man was well formed: his joints were -not course and his hands were small and might have seemed delicate but -for their being swart like those of workers in metal.</p> - -<p>Despite the vigor of the biceps muscle shown from his having rolled up -his shirt sleeves, the skin was remarkable for its whiteness, and almost -aristocratically fine.</p> - -<p>Within his reach was a richly gold-inlaid double-barrelled fowling -piece, branded with the name of Leclere, the fashionable gunsmith of -Paris. You may ask how could such a costly firearm come into the hands -of a common artisan? In times of riot it is not always the whitest hands -which grasp the finest weapons.</p> - -<p>This man had only arrived from Versailles since an hour, and perfectly -well knew what had happened there: for to the landlord’s questions as he -supplied him with a bottle of wine which he did not touch, he had -answered as follows:</p> - -<p>“The Queen is coming along with the King and the Dauphin. They had -started at half afternoon, having at last decided to live at the -Tuileries; in consequence of which for the future Paris would no longer -want for bread, as it would have in her midst, the Baker, the Baker’s -Wife and the Baker’s Boy, as the popular slang dubbed the three -‘Royals'.”</p> - -<p>As for himself, he was going to hang round to see the procession go by.</p> - -<p>This last assertion might be true, although it was easy to tell that his -glance was more often bent on the side towards Paris than Versailles, -which led one to surmise that he did not<a name="page_005" id="page_005"></a> feel obliged to tell Boniface -exactly what his intentions were.</p> - -<p>In a few seconds his attraction seemed gratified, for he spied a man, -garbed much like himself, and appearing of the same trade, outlined on -the ridge of the road. He walked heavily like one who had journeyed from -afar.</p> - -<p>His age appeared to be like his awaiter’s, that is, what is called the -wrong side of forty. His features were those of a common fellow with low -inclinations and vulgar instincts.</p> - -<p>The stranger’s eye was fastened on him with an odd expression as if he -wished with a single scrutiny to measure the gold, if any, and the alloy -in his composition.</p> - -<p>When the wayfarer from the town was within twenty steps of this man -lounging in the doorway, the latter stepped inside, poured the wine from -the bottle into two glasses and returning to the doorstep with one -tumbler held up, he hailed him:</p> - -<p>“Hello, mate! it is pretty cold weather, and the road is a long one. -What do you say to our having a drop of the red to cheer us up and warm -us?”</p> - -<p>The workman from town looked round to make sure that he was alone and -that the greeting was addressed to him.</p> - -<p>“Speaking to me, are you?”</p> - -<p>“Who else, as you are alone?”</p> - -<p>“And offering me a go of wine?”</p> - -<p>“Why not, as we are brothers of the file and bossing-hammer alike? or -some at nigh.”</p> - -<p>“Anybody can belong to a trade,” said the other looking hard at the -speaker; “but the point is, are you a greenhand or a master of the -craft?”</p> - -<p>“I reckon we shall tell how far we have learnt the trade while drinking -and chatting together.”</p> - -<p>“All right then!” said the other, walking up to the door, while the -inviter showed the table set out with the wine. The man took the -tumbler, eyed the contents as if he had doubts, but they disappeared -when the stranger poured himself out a second brimmer.</p> - -<p>“Why, hang it all, are you getting so proud that you will not drink with -a shopmate?”</p> - -<p>“No, dash me if I am—here is Good Luck to the Nation!<a name="page_006" id="page_006"></a>”</p> - -<p>The workman’s grey eyes were fixed on the toast-giver’s.</p> - -<p>He tossed off the glass at a draft, and wiped his lips on his sleeve.</p> - -<p>“Deuse take it, but it is Burgundy wine,” he remarked.</p> - -<p>“And good liquor, too, eh? the vintage was recommended to me; and -happening along I dropped in, and I am not repenting it. But why not sit -down and be at home? there is some more in the bottle and more in the -cellar when that is gone.”</p> - -<p>“I say, what are you working at here?”</p> - -<p>“I have knocked off for the day. I finished a job at Versailles and I am -going on to Paris with the royal procession as soon as it comes along.”</p> - -<p>“What procession?”</p> - -<p>“Why, the King and the Queen and the little Prince, who are returning to -the city with the Fishmarket women and two hundred Assemblymen, all -under protection of Gen. Lafayette and the National Guard.”</p> - -<p>“So the fat old gentleman has decided to come to town?”</p> - -<p>“They made him do it.”</p> - -<p>“I suspected so when I started for Paris at three this morning.”</p> - -<p>“Hello! did you leave Versailles at three without any curiosity about -what was going off?”</p> - -<p>“No, no, I itched to know what the gent was up to, being an -acquaintance, a chum of mine, by the way, though I am not bragging; but -you know, old man, one must get on with the work. I have a wife and -children to provide for, and it is no joke now. I am not working at the -royal forge.”</p> - -<p>The listener let what he heard pass without putting any questions.</p> - -<p>“So, it was on a pressing job that you went back to Paris?” he only -inquired.</p> - -<p>“Just that, as it appears, and handsomely paid too,” said the workman, -jingling some coin in his pocket, “though it was paid for by a kind of -servant, which was not polite, and by a German, too, which blocked me -from having any pleasant chatter during the work. I am not one for gab, -but it amuses one if no harm is spoken of others.<a name="page_007" id="page_007"></a>”</p> - -<p>“And it is no harm when harm is spoken of the neighbors, eh?”</p> - -<p>Both men laughed, the stranger showing sound teeth against the other’s -snaggy ones.</p> - -<p>“So, then, you have knocked off a good job, wanted doing in a hurry, and -well paid?” said the former, like one who advances only a step at a -time, but still does advance. “Hard work, no doubt?”</p> - -<p>“You bet it was hard. Worse than a secret lock—an invisible door. What -do you think of one house inside of another? some one who wants to hide -away, be sure. What a game he could have—in or out, as he pleased. -‘Your master in?’ ‘No, sir: just stepped out.’ ‘You are a liar—he came -in just now.’ ‘You had better look, since you are so cocksure.’ So they -look round, but I defy them to find the gentleman. An iron door, you -will understand, which closes on a beading-framed panel, while it runs -on balls in a groove as on wheels. On the metal is a veneer of old oak, -so that you can rap with your knuckles on it and the sound is identical -with that of a solid plank. I tell you when the job was done, it would -take me in myself.”</p> - -<p>“Where the mischief would you do a job like that? but I suppose you -would not tell even a pal?”</p> - -<p>“I cannot tell because I do not know.”</p> - -<p>“What hoodwinked you?”</p> - -<p>“Guess again and you will be wrong. A hack was waiting for me at the -city turnpike bars. A chap came up and asked: ‘Are you so and-so?’ I -said ‘I am.’ ‘Good, we are waiting for you: jump in.’ So I got inside -the coach, where they bandaged my eyes, and after the wheels had gone -round for about half an hour, a big carriage-door was opened. They took -me out and up ten steps of a flight of stairs into a vestibule, where I -found a German servant who said to the others: ‘Goot! make scarce of -yourseluffs; no longer want we you.’ They slung their hook out of it, -while the blinders were taken me off, and I was shown what I had to do. -I had pitched into the work like a good hand, and was done in an hour. -They paid me in bran-new gold, tied up my eyes, put me back in the -carriage, dropped me on the same spot where I was taken up, wished me -safe home—and here I am.<a name="page_008" id="page_008"></a>”</p> - -<p>“Without your having seen anything, even out of the tail of the eye? -Deuse take me if ever I heard of a bandage which would stop a man -catching a glimpse on one side or t’other. Better own up that you had a -peep at something?” pursued the stranger.</p> - -<p>“Well, I did make a misstep at the first stone of the stairs so that, in -throwing up my hands to keep from falling, I got a peep from its -disarranging the handkerchief. I saw a regular row of trees on my left -hand which made me think that I was in some avenue. That is all, on my -honor.”</p> - -<p>“I can’t say it is much. For the main avenue is long and more than one -house has a carriage-doorway betwixt the St. Honore Coffeehouse and the -Bastile.”</p> - -<p>“The fact is,” said the locksmith, scratching his head, “I don’t think I -am up to telling the house.”</p> - -<p>The questioner appeared satisfied, although his countenance did not -usually betray his feelings.</p> - -<p>“But,” exclaimed he, as if skipping to another topic, “are there no good -locksmiths at Paris that they have to send to Versailles for one?”</p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II"></a>CHAPTER II.<br /><br /> -THE THREE ODDITIES.</h2> - -<p>T<small>HE</small> locksmith lifted his tumbler to his eye’s level, admired the liquor -with pleasure, and said after sipping it with gratification:</p> - -<p>“Bless you, yes, plenty of locksmiths at Paris.”</p> - -<p>He drank a few drops more.</p> - -<p>“Ay, and masters of the craft.” He drank again. “Yes, but there is a -difference between them.”</p> - -<p>“Hang me,” said the other, “but I believe you are like St. Eloi, our -patron saint, master among the master-workmen.”</p> - -<p>“Are you one of us?”</p> - -<p>“Akin, my boy: I am a gunsmith. All smiths are brothers. This is a -sample of my work.<a name="page_009" id="page_009"></a>”</p> - -<p>The locksmith took the gun from the speaker’s hands, examined it with -attention, clicked the hammers and approved with a nod of the sharp -action of the lock: but spying the name on the plate, he said:</p> - -<p>“Leclere? this won’t do, friend, for Leclere is scanty thirty, and we -are both a good forty, without meaning to hurt your feelings.”</p> - -<p>“Quite true, I am not Leclere, but it is the same thing, only a little -more so. For I am his master.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, capital!” chuckled the locksmith; “it is the same as my saying ‘I -am not the King but I am the same thing, only more so, as I am his -master.'”</p> - -<p>“Oho,” said the other rising and burlesquing the military salute, “have -I the honor of addressing Master Gamain, the King of Locksmiths?”</p> - -<p>“Himself in person, and delighted if he can do anything for you,” -replied Gamain, enchanted at the effect his name had produced.</p> - -<p>“The devil! I had no idea I was talking to one of the high flyers in our -line,” said the other. “A man so well considered.”</p> - -<p>“Of such consequence, do you mean?”</p> - -<p>“Well, maybe I have not used the right word, but then I am only a poor -smith, and you are the master smith for the master of France. I say,” he -went on in another tone, “it can’t be always funny to have a king for a -‘prentice, eh?”</p> - -<p>“Why not?”</p> - -<p>“Plain enough. You cannot eternally be wearing gloves to say to the mate -on your bench: ‘Chuck us the hammer or pass the retail file along.'”</p> - -<p>“Certainly not.”</p> - -<p>“I suppose you have to say: ‘Please your gracious Majesty, don’t hold -the drill askew.'”</p> - -<p>“Why, that is just the charm with him, d’ye see, for he is a -plain-dealer at heart. Once in the forge, when he has the anvil to the -fore, and the leathern apron tied on, none would ever take him for the -Son of St. Louis, as he is called.”</p> - -<p>“Indeed you are right, it is astonishing how much he is like the next -man.<a name="page_010" id="page_010"></a>”</p> - -<p>“And yet these perking courtiers are a long time seeing that.”</p> - -<p>“It would be nothing if those close around him found that out,” said the -stranger, “but those who are at a distance are beginning to get an idea -of it.”</p> - -<p>His queer laugh made Gamain look at him with marked astonishment. But he -saw that he had blundered in his pretended character by making a -witticism, and gave the man no time to study his sentence, for he -hastened to recur to the topic by saying:</p> - -<p>“A good thing, too; for I think it lowers a man to have to slaver him -with Your Majesty here and My Noble Sire there.”</p> - -<p>“But you do not have to call him high names. Once in the workshop we -drop all that stuff. I call him Citizen, and he calls me Gamain, but I -ain’t what you would call chummy with him, while he <i>is</i> familiar with -me.”</p> - -<p>“That is all very well; but when the dinner hour comes round I expect he -sends you off to the kitchen to have your bread and cheese with the -flunkeys.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, Lor', No! he has never done that; quite the other way about, for he -gets me to bring in a table all set into the workshop and he will often -put his legs under the mahogany with me, particularly at breakfast, -saying: ‘I shall not bother about having breakfast with the Queen, as I -should have to wash my hands.'”</p> - -<p>“I can’t make this out.”</p> - -<p>“You can’t understand that when the King works like us, he has his hands -smeared with oil and rust and filings, which does not prevent us being -honest folks, and the Queen would say to him, with her hoity-toity -prudish air: ‘Dirty beggar, your hands are foul.’ How can a man have a -fop’s hands if he works at the forge?”</p> - -<p>“Don’t talk to me about that—I might have married high if I could have -kept my fingers nice,” sighed the stranger.</p> - -<p>“Let me tell you that the old chap does not have a lively time in his -geographical study or his library; but I believe he likes my company the -best.”</p> - -<p>“That is all very amusing for you, except having to endure so poor a -pupil.<a name="page_011" id="page_011"></a>”</p> - -<p>“Poor,” repeated Gamain. “Oh, no, you must not say that. He is to be -pitied, to tell the truth, in his coming into the world as a king, for -he is but a man—and having to waste himself on a pack of nonsense -instead of sticking to our art, in which he makes good way. He will -never be but a third-rate king for he is too honest, but he would have -made an excellent locksmith. There is one man I execrate for stealing -away his time—that Necker fellow, who made him lose such a lot of -time!”</p> - -<p>“You mean with his accounts and financing.”</p> - -<p>“Ay, his fine-Nancy-ing, indeed.”</p> - -<p>“But you must make a fat thing out of such a lad to bring on.”</p> - -<p>“No, that is just where you are in error: that is why I bear a grudge to -him, Louis the Father of the Kingdom, the Restorer of the French Nation! -People believe that I am rich as <i>Creases</i>, while I am as poor as Job.”</p> - -<p>“You, poor? why, what does he do with all his money?”</p> - -<p>“He gives half to the poor and the other half is got away by his -parasites, so that he never has any brass. The Coigny, Polignac and -Vaudreuil families eat him up, poor dear old boy! One day he wanted to -cut down Lord Coigny’s appointments, and the gentleman waylaid him at -our forge door: after going out for five minutes, the King came back, -pale as a ghost, muttering: ‘Faith, I believe he would have caned me.’ -‘Did he get the appointments reduced, Sire?’ I inquired. ‘I let them -stand,’ he said: ‘what else could I do?’ Another time he wanted to scold -the Queen for giving Duchess Polignac three hundred thousand francs for -the linen for her baby, and what do you think?”</p> - -<p>“It is a pretty sum for a baby!”</p> - -<p>“Right you are: but it was not enough: the Queen made him give her five -hundred thousand. You have only to look how these Polignacs have got on, -who had not a penny when they started in, but are running away from -France with millions. I should not have minded if they had any talent, -but just give those neerdowells a hammer or cold chisel; they could not -forge a horseshoe: give them file and screw-driver and see how they -would get on at a common lock! However,<a name="page_012" id="page_012"></a> they can wag the tongue to some -purpose, since they hounded the King on so that they leave him in a -quagmire. He may flounder out as best he can, with the help of General -Lafayette and Mayor Bailly, and Lord Mirabeau. I gave him good advice, -but he would not listen to me, and he leaves me with fifteen hundred -livres a-year, though I am his trainer, who first showed him to hold a -file properly.”</p> - -<p>“But I suppose that when you worked with him, there were some pickings?”</p> - -<p>“But am I working with him now? Since the Taking of the Bastile, I have -not set foot inside his palace. Once or twice I met him: the first time, -as there was a crowd about in the street, he just bobbed his head; the -next, on the Satory Road, he stopped the coach for the coast was clear. -‘Good morning, my poor Gamain, how goes it?’ he sighed. ‘How goes it -with you, Sire? but I know it is rough—but that will be a lesson to -you.’ ‘Are your wife and children well?’ he said to shift the talk. ‘All -fine but with appetites like ogres.’ ‘You must make them a little -present from me.’ He searched his pockets, but he could rake up only -nine louis. ‘That is all I carry with me, my poor Gamain,’ he said with -a kind of groan, ‘and I am ashamed to do so little.’ Of course, it was -small cash for a monarch to give, short of ten gold pieces, so paltry a -sum to a work-fellow—So——“</p> - -<p>“You refused them?”</p> - -<p>“Catch me? No, I said: ‘I had better grab, for he will meet somebody -else not so delicate as me, who would take them.’ Still, he need not -fret himself, I shall never walk into Versailles unless I am sent for, -and I do not know as I shall then.”</p> - -<p>“What a grateful heart this rogue has,” muttered the stranger, but all -he said aloud was: “It is very affecting, Master Gamain, to see devotion -like yours survive misfortune. A last glass to the health of your -‘prentice.”</p> - -<p>“Faith, he does not deserve it, but never mind! here’s to his health, -all the same!” He drank. “Only to think that he had thousands of bottles -in his cellar which would beat this, and he never said to a footman: -Take a basket of this lush to my friend Gamain!’ Not he—he would sooner -have it<a name="page_013" id="page_013"></a> swilled by his Lifeguardsmen, the Swiss, or his Flanders -Regiment. They did him a lot of good, I do not think!”</p> - -<p>“What did you expect?” questioned the other, sipping his wine, “kings -are ungrateful like this one. But hush! we are no longer alone.”</p> - -<p>In fact, three persons were entering the drinking saloon, two men of the -common sort and a fishfag, and they took seats at the table matching -that at which Gamain and his “treater” were sitting.</p> - -<p>The locksmith raised his eyes to them and stared with an attention -making the other smile. They were truly worthy of some remark.</p> - -<p>One of the two men was all body: the other all legs: it was hard to say -anything about the woman.</p> - -<p>All-Body resembled a dwarf: he was under five feet in hight: he may have -lost an inch or so from his knees knocking although when he stood up, -his feet kept apart. Instead of his countenance redeeming the deformity, -it seemed to highten it;—for his oily and dirty hair was flattened down -on his bald forehead; his eyebrows were so badly shaped as to seem -traced at random; his eyes were usually dull but when lighted up sheeny -and glassy as the toad’s. In moments of irritation, they threw out -sparks like a viper’s, from concentrated pupils. His nose was flat, and -deviated from the straight line so that his prominent cheek bones stood -out all the more. Lastly, to complete the hideous aspect, his yellow -lips only partly covered the few, black and loose teeth in his twisted -mouth.</p> - -<p>At first glance you would say that gall, not blood, flowed in his veins.</p> - -<p>The other was so opposed to the short-legged one that he seemed a heron -on its stilts. The likeness to the bird was the closer from his head -being lost between his humped shoulders so as to be distinguished solely -by the eyes, like blood-spots, and a long, pointed, beak-like nose. Like -the heron, too, he seemed to have the ability to stretch his neck, and -put out the eyes of one at a distance. His arms also were gifted with -this elasticity, and while seated, he might pick up a handkerchief -dropped at his feet without moving his body.<a name="page_014" id="page_014"></a></p> - -<p>The third person was ambiguous; it being difficult to divine the sex. If -a man, he was upwards of thirty-four, wearing a stylish costume of the -fishmarket stallkeepers, with lace kerchief and tucker, and gold -earrings and chain. His features, as well as could be made out through -layers of rouge and flake white, together with beauty-patches of -sticking plaster of all fancy shapes, were slightly softened as in -degenerated races. As soon as one caught sight of him one wanted to hear -him speak in the hope that the voice’s sound would give his dubious -appearance a stamp by which he could be classed. But it was nothing to -the purpose: his soprano voice left the curious observer still deeper -plunged into doubt.</p> - -<p>The shoes and stockings of the trio were daubed in mud to show that they -had been tramping in the road for some time.</p> - -<p>“Lord save us, I seem to know that woman, from having met her before,” -said Gamain.</p> - -<p>“Very likely at court,” sneered the pretended workman “their manners -have been there quite a while and they have been visitors, the -fishmarket dames, of late. But,” he went on, pulling his cap down on his -brow and taking up his gun, “they are here on business: consequently, we -had better leave them alone.”</p> - -<p>“Do you know them?”</p> - -<p>“By sight. Do you?”</p> - -<p>“I say that I have met the woman before: tell me who the men are and I -may put my finger on her name.”</p> - -<p>“Of the two men, the knock-kneed one is the surgeon, Jean Paul Marat; -while the humpback is Prosper Verrieres.”</p> - -<p>“Aha!”</p> - -<p>“Does not that put you on the right track?”</p> - -<p>“My tongue to the dogs if it does!”</p> - -<p>“The fishwoman is——“</p> - -<p>“Wait, it is—but, no—impossible——“</p> - -<p>“I see that you will not name <i>him</i>—the fish<i>woman</i> is the Duke of -Aiguillon.”</p> - -<p>At this utterance of the title, the disguised nobleman started and -turned, as well as his companions. They made a movement to rise as men -do when in presence of a leader: but the pretended<a name="page_015" id="page_015"></a> gunsmith laid a -finger on his lips and passed them by.</p> - -<p>Gamain followed him, believing he was in a dream.</p> - -<p>At the doorway he was jostled by a running man, who seemed to be pursued -by a mob, shouting:</p> - -<p>“Stop him—that is the Queen’s hairdresser! stop the hairdresser!”</p> - -<p>Among the howling and racing men were two who carried each a human head -on a pikestaff. They were those of two Lifeguards, killed at Versailles -in defending the Queen from the mob.</p> - -<p>“Halloa, it is Leonard,” said the strange workman, to the fugitive.</p> - -<p>“Silence, do not name me,” yelled the barber, dashing into the saloon.</p> - -<p>“What do they chase him for?” inquired Gamain.</p> - -<p>“The Lord knows,” was the response: “maybe they want him to curl the -hair of the poor soldiers. In Revolutionary times, fellows have such -quaint fancies!”</p> - -<p>He mixed in with the throng, leaving Gamain, from whom he had probably -extracted all he wanted, to make his way alone to his workshop at -Versailles.</p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III"></a>CHAPTER III.<br /><br /> -THE UNDYING MAN.</h2> - -<p>I<small>T</small> was the more easy for the pretended gunsmith to blend with the crowd -as it was numerous.</p> - -<p>It was the advance guard of the procession around the King, Queen and -the Prince Royal, leaving the court suburb at half past one.</p> - -<p>In the royal coach were the Queen, her son, her daughter, called Madam -Royale though a child, Count Provence, the King’s brother. Lady -Elizabeth his sister, and the Queen’s favorite lady of the household, -Andrea Taverney Countess of Charny.<a name="page_016" id="page_016"></a></p> - -<p>In a hundred carriages came the National Assemblymen who had declared -they would henceforth be inseparable from the monarch.</p> - -<p>This mob was about a quarter of an hour ahead of the royal party, and -rallied round the two royal guardsmen’s heads as their colors. All -stopped at the Sevres wine saloon. The collection was of tattered and -half-drunken wretches, the scum that comes to the surface whether the -inundation is water or lava.</p> - -<p>Suddenly, great stir in the concourse, for they had seen the National -Guards’ bayonets and General Lafayette’s white horse, immediately -preceding the royal coach.</p> - -<p>Lafayette was fond of popular gatherings: he really reigned among the -Paris people whose idol he was. But he did not like the lowest orders. -Paris, like Rome, had a grade under the mere mob.</p> - -<p>In particular, he did not approve of Lynch Law, and he had done his -utmost to try to save those aristocrats whom the crowd had executed. It -was to hide their trophies and preserve the bloody tokens of victory -that the multitude kept on ahead. But on being encouraged by the trio of -captains waiting at the Sevres saloon, they decided to keep the heads up -and wait for the King, so that he should not be parted from his faithful -guards.</p> - -<p>The mob was increased by the country folks flocking to the road from all -quarters to see the cortege go by. A few cheered, adding their uproar to -the howls, hoots and groans of the marching column, but the majority, -stood dull and quiet on both sides of the road.</p> - -<p>Did this mean that they were for the Royal Family? No: or at least -unless they belonged to the court party, everybody, even the upper -middle class, suffered more or less from the dreadful famine spreading -over the kingdom. If they did not insult the King and Queen, they -remained hushed, and the silence of an assemblage is often worse than an -insult.</p> - -<p>On the other hand the myriads roared with all their lung power: “Hurrah -for Lafayette!” who took off his hat now and then or waved the sword in -his right hand: and “Long live Mirabeau!” who thrust his head out of the -carriage window,<a name="page_017" id="page_017"></a> where he was one of six, to get a whiff of the air -necessary for his broad chest.</p> - -<p>Hence, amid the silence for himself, the unfortunate Louis XVI. heard -applauded that Popularity which he had lost and that Genius which he had -never possessed.</p> - -<p>By the King’s right side carriage-window walked a man in a black suit -whose dress pointed him out as one of the Philosophers, as they were -termed, or Revolutionists who worked intellectually for the amelioration -of the monarchy. This was the royal honorary physician, Dr. Honore -Gilbert. The crowd cheered him at times, for he was a hero of their own. -Born a Frenchman, of humble degree, a boy on the estate of the -ultra-royalist Baron Taverney, he had educated himself in democratic -learning. Falling in love with his master’s lovely daughter, Andrea, -since Countess of Charny, he had followed her to court. At Paris he -became favorite pupil of Rousseau, the revolutionist, and this farther -confirmed him in his subversive principles.</p> - -<p>But having taken advantage of Andrea while she was powerless under the -influence of a mesmeric sleep, he fled the country. He had deposited in -sure hands the living evidence of his crime, a boy named Emile (In honor -of Rousseau, who wrote a book so called) Sebastian Gilbert, and fled the -country. But at the Azores Islands he came in contact with the young -lady’s brother Philip, who shot him down and believed he left him dead.</p> - -<p>But, restored to life by his friend, the Baron Balsamo, otherwise -Cagliostro the Magician he accompanied him to America.</p> - -<p>The two formed part of the legion of Frenchmen who helped the revolted -Thirteen Colonies to throw off the British yoke.</p> - -<p>Returning to his country he was arrested at Havre and thown into the -Bastile. When that hated prison was stormed by the Parisians led by the -Farmer Billet, he was rescued. He had gone to court to learn who had -caused this arrest, and to his amazement discovered that its author was -the woman whom he had unutterably wronged. Yes, the baron’s daughter had -married the Queen’s favorite, thought by some to be her<a name="page_018" id="page_018"></a> paramour, Count -George Charny, very rich, very brave and altogether fit to create her a -power in the realm.</p> - -<p>Gilbert had a sincere pity for royalty under a cloud. He was known to -the King as the author of certain articles on the way to steer the Ship -of State, and his offer to serve him was gladly accepted.</p> - -<p>The mob cheered at the remarkable shaking up of the sands in Time’s box -by which the revolutionary advocate, fresh from the Bastile dungeons, -should walk at the side of the King’s coach to shield his life from the -assassin. No mere touch of rhetoric, for on the royal visit to Paris -lately a bullet had cut a button off the doctor’s coat and slain a woman -in the throng: this graceful gentlemen in black was then a better -safeguard than the soldiers whose heads were now garnishing the pikes -there in advance.</p> - -<p>Queen Marie Antoinette looked with wonder at this doctor, whose stoicism -she could not understand, while to it the American manner of forced -quiet added more sternness. Without love or devotion for his sovereigns, -he carried out what he considered duty towards them, as ready to die for -them as those who had the qualities of the loyalist he lacked.</p> - -<p>On both sides of the royal coach tramped men and women, in mud six -inches deep, while amid the ribbons and rags, the Fishmarket women and -porters of the Paris Markets swarmed round waves more compact than the -rest of the human sea. These clumps were cannon or ammunition wagons, on -which sat women singing at the top of their voices. An old song which -had been applied to King Louis XV.'s mistress Jeanne Dubarry, and was -now altered to suit Marie Antoinette and the situation of affairs, was -their choice. They roared:</p> - -<p class="c">“The Baker’s wife has got the cash, which costs her very little.”</p> - -<p>They also kept reiterating: “We shall not want for bread any more, as we -have got the Baker, the Baker’s Wife and the Baker’s Little Boy along.”</p> - -<p>The Queen seemed to listen to it all without understanding. Between her -knees she held her son, who looked at the multitude as frightened -princes stare when appalled.</p> - -<p>The King watched with a dull and heavy eye. He had little<a name="page_019" id="page_019"></a> sleep in the -night; he had not made a good breakfast though usually a hearty eater; -he had no time to have his hair dressed and his beard had grown long. -His linen was limp and roughened, too—all things to his disadvantage. -Alas, Louis was not the man for emergencies, and this was a period of -emergencies. He bent his head when they came: save once when he held his -chin up—it was when he walked upon the scaffold.</p> - -<p>Lady Elizabeth was the angel of sweetness and resignation placed by -heaven beside those doomed creatures to console the King during the -Queen’s absence; and the Queen after the King’s death.</p> - -<p>Count Provence, here as everywhere, had the squinting glance of a false -man; he knew that he ran no present danger; he was the popular member of -the family—no one knew why—perhaps because he remained in France when his -brother Artois fled.</p> - -<p>Could the King have read his heart, he might not have felt any gratitude -to him for what he pledged in the way of devotion.</p> - -<p>Countess Andrea seemed of marble. She had recognized the man she most -hated in the King’s new confidential adviser, and one whom the Queen -seemed bound to win to her side. Like a statue, the stir round her -seemed not to affect her, and she looked in attire as trim as if fresh -from a band-box. One thought was alive within her, fierce and -luminous—love for some unknown—perchance her husband, or hate for -Gilbert—at whom she darted lightnings involuntarily whenever their -glances crossed. But she felt that she might not defy his with impunity, -for he was a pupil of Balsamo Cagliostro, the arch-mesmerist, and might -sway her with the same art.</p> - -<p>A hundred paces on the other side of the little drinking saloon, the -royal train stopped. All along the line the clamor doubled.</p> - -<p>The Queen bent out of the window and as the movement looked like a bow -to the crowd, there was a long murmur. She called Dr. Gilbert.</p> - -<p>He went up to the window: as he had kept his hat off all<a name="page_020" id="page_020"></a> the way, he -had no need to bare his head in respect. His attitude showed he was -entirely under her orders.</p> - -<p>“What are your people shouting and singing?” she requested to know.</p> - -<p>The Queen’s form of putting the question showed that she had been -ruminating it for some time. He sighed as much as to say, it is the same -old story.</p> - -<p>“Alas, my lady,” he proceeded with profound melancholy, “those you call -my people, were yours in former times, and it is less than twenty years -ago when Lord Brissac, a delightful courtier whom I look in vain for -here, showed you the same people shouting for the Dauphin under the City -Hall windows and said: ‘You behold twenty thousand admirers there.'”</p> - -<p>The Queen bit her lips from the impossibility of catching this man in -want of a repartee or of respect.</p> - -<p>“That is true—it only proves that the many-headed change,” she said.</p> - -<p>Gilbert bowed this time, without retort.</p> - -<p>“I asked you a question, doctor,” persisted the lady, with the obstinacy -she had for even disagreeable matters.</p> - -<p>“Yes, and I answer since your Majesty insists. They are singing that the -Baker’s Wife has plenty of money which it gave her no trouble to get. -You are aware that they style your Majesty the Baker’s Wife?”</p> - -<p>“Just as they called me Lady Deficit before. Is there any connection -between the nicknames?”</p> - -<p>“So much also as the finances are concerned. They mean by your money -being easily come by that you had complaisant treasurers such as Calonne -in particular, who gave you whatever you asked; the people therefore -assume that you got your money readily for the asking.”</p> - -<p>The Queen’s hand was clenched on the red velvet carriage-window ledge.</p> - -<p>“So much for what they are singing. Now, for what they bellow out?”</p> - -<p>“They say that they shall no longer want for bread since they have the -Baker, the Baker’s Wife and the Baker’s Son among them.<a name="page_021" id="page_021"></a>”</p> - -<p>“I expect you to make this second piece of insolence clear.”</p> - -<p>“You would see that they are not so much to blame as you fancy if you -were to look to the intention and not weigh the words of the people. -Wrongly or rightfully, the masses believe that a great Grain Trust is -carried on at Versailles. This prevents flour from coming freely into -the capital. Who feeds the Paris poor? the Baker. Towards whom does the -working man and his wife hold out their supplicating hands when their -children cry for food? the baker and the baker’s wife. Who do they pray -to after the Sender of the harvest? the lady of the estate—that is, the -loaf-giver, as the name is derived. Are not you three the loaf-givers -for the country, the King, yourself and this august child? Do not be -astonished at the mighty, blessed name the people give you, but thank -them for cherishing the hope that as soon as the King, the Queen and -their son are in the midst of the famished thousands, they will no -longer be in want.”</p> - -<p>For an instant the royal lady closed her eyes, and she made the movement -of swallowing as though to keep down her hatred as well as bitter saliva -which scorched her throat.</p> - -<p>“So we ought to thank these howlers for their songs and nick-names upon -us?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, and most sincerely: the song is but an expression of their good -humor as the shouts are of their expectations. The whole explains their -desire.”</p> - -<p>“So they want Lafayette and Mirabeau to live long?”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” returned Gilbert, seeing that the Queen had clearly heard the -cries, “for those two leaders, separated by the gulf over which you -hang, may, united, save the monarchy.”</p> - -<p>“Do you mean that the monarchy has sunk so low that it can be picked up -by those two?” queried the lady.</p> - -<p>He was going to make some kind of reply when a burst of voices, in -dread, with atrocious peals of laughter and a great swaying of the -gathering, driving Gilbert closer to the vehicle, announced that he -would be needed in defense of the Queen by speech or action. It was the -two head-carriers, who, after having made Leonard barb and curl the -hair, wanted to have the fun of presenting them to Marie Antoinette—<a name="page_022" id="page_022"></a>as -other roughs, or perhaps the same—had presented the dead heads of sons -to their fathers.</p> - -<p>The crowd yelled with horror and fell away as these ghastly things came -up.</p> - -<p>“In heaven’s name, do not look to the right,” cried Gilbert.</p> - -<p>The Queen was no woman to obey such an injunction without a peep to see -the reason. So her first movement was to turn her gaze in the forbidden -direction and she uttered a scream of fright. But, all of a sudden, as -she tore her sight from this horrible spectacle as if they were Gorgon -heads, they became fixed as though they met another view even more -awful, from which she could not detach it.</p> - -<p>This Medusa’s head was the stranger’s who had been drinking and chatting -with Locksmith Gamain in the wine-store: with folded arms, he was -leaning against a tree.</p> - -<p>The Queen’s hand left the window cushion, and resting on Gilbert’s -shoulder, he felt her clench her nails into its flesh. He turned to see -her pale, with fixed eyes and quivering, blanched lips.</p> - -<p>He would have ascribed the emotion to the two death’s heads but for her -not looking at either. The gaze was in another direction, traveling -visually in which he descried the object and he emitted a cry of amaze.</p> - -<p>“Cagliostro!” both uttered at the same time.</p> - -<p>The man at the tree clearly saw the Queen, but all he did was beckon for -Gilbert to come to him.</p> - -<p>At this point of time the carriages started on once more. By a natural -and mechanical impulse the Queen gave Gilbert an outward push to prevent -his being run over by the wheel. It looked as though she urged him -towards the summoner. Anyhow, he was not sufficiently master of himself -not to obey the mandate. Motionless, he let the party proceed; then, -following the mock gunsmith who merely looked back to be sure he was -followed, he entered behind him a little lane going uphill to Bellevue, -where they disappeared behind a wall at the same time as the procession -went out of sight in a declivity of the hills, as though plunging into -an abyss.<a name="page_023" id="page_023"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV"></a>CHAPTER IV.<br /><br /> -FATALITY.</h2> - -<p>G<small>ILBERT</small> followed his guide half-way up the slope where stood a handsome -house. The foregoer pulled out a key and opened a side door intended for -the master to go in or come out without the servants knowing when he did -so. He left the door ajar to signify that the companion of the journey -was to use it. Gilbert entered and shut the door gently but it silently -closed itself tightly with a pneumatic arrangement at the hinges which -seemed the work of magic. Such an appliance would have been the delight -of Master Gamain.</p> - -<p>Through luxuriously fitted passages Gilbert finally came into a drawing -room, hung with Indian satin tapestry; a fantastic Oriental bird held -the lustre in its beak and it emitted a light which Gilbert knew was -electricity, though its application thus would have been a puzzle to -others than this specialist in advanced science. The lights represented -lily-blooms, which again was an anticipation of modern illuminators.</p> - -<p>One picture alone adorned this room but it was Raphael’s Madonna.</p> - -<p>Gilbert was admiring this masterpiece when the host entered by a secret -door behind him from a dressing room.</p> - -<p>An instant had sufficed for him to wash off the stain and the -pencillings and to give his black hair, without any grey, a stylish -turn. He had also changed his clothes. Instead of the workman was an -elegant nobleman. His embroidered coat and his hands glittering with -rings in the Italian style, strongly contrasted with Gilbert’s American -black coat and his plain gold ring, a keepsake from General Washington.</p> - -<p>Count Cagliostro advanced with a smiling open face and held out his hand -to Gilbert.</p> - -<p>“Dear Master,” cried the latter rushing to him.</p> - -<p>“Stop a bit,” interrupted the other, laughing: “since we<a name="page_024" id="page_024"></a> have parted, -my dear Gilbert, you have made such progress in revolutionary methods at -all events, that you are the master at present and I not fit to undo -your shoestrings.”</p> - -<p>“I thank you for the compliment,” responded the doctor, “but how do you -know I have made such progress, granting I have progressed?”</p> - -<p>“Do you believe you are one of those men whose movement is not marked -although not seen? Since eight years I have not set eyes on you but I -have had a daily report of what you did. Do you doubt I have -double-sight?”</p> - -<p>“You know I am a mathematician.”</p> - -<p>“You mean, incredulous? Let me show you, then. In the first place you -returned to France on family matters; they do not concern me, and -consequently——“</p> - -<p>“Nay, dear master, go on,” interposed the other.</p> - -<p>“Well, you came to have your son Sebastian educated in a boarding school -not far from Paris in quiet, and to settle business affairs with your -farmer, an honest fellow whom you are now retaining in town against his -wishes. For a thousand reasons he wants to be home beside his wife.”</p> - -<p>“Really, master, you are prodigious!”</p> - -<p>“Wait for something stronger. The second time you returned to France -because political questions drew you, like many others; besides you had -published several political treatises which you sent to King Louis XVI., -and as there is much of the Old Man in you—you are prouder for the -approval of the King than perhaps you would be of that of my predecessor -in your training, Rousseau—who would be higher than a king this day, -had he lived—you yearn to learn what is thought of Dr. Gilbert by the -descendant of St. Louis, Henry Fourth and Louis XIV. Unfortunately a -little matter has kept alive which you did not bear in mind, as a sequel -to which I picked you up in a cave in the Azores, where my yacht put in. -I restored you from the effects of a bullet in your breast. This little -affair concerned Mdlle. Andrea Taverney, become Countess Charny, which -she deserves, to save the Queen’s reputation, compromised by the King -coming upon her and Count Charny by surprise.</p> - -<p>“As the Queen could refuse nothing to this saver, she got<a name="page_025" id="page_025"></a> a blank -warrant and committal to prison for you, so that you were arrested on -the road out of Havre and taken to the Bastile. There you would be to -this day, dear doctor, if the people, prepared for a rising by a person -whom you may divine, had not in a day knocked the old building lower -than the gutter. I was not sorry, for I had a taste of the fare myself -before I was banished the Kingdom. This morning early, you contributed -to the rescue of the Royal Family, by running to arouse Lafayette, who -was sleeping the sleep of the virtuous; and just now, when you saw me, -you were about to make a breastwork of your body for the Queen who -seemed threatened—though, between ourselves, she detests you. Is this -right? Have I forgotten anything of note, such as a hypnotic seance -before the King when Countess Charny was made to disclose how she had -led to your imprisonment and how she obtained a certain casket of your -papers by one Wolfstep, a police agent? Tell me and if I have omitted -any point, I am ready to do penance for it.”</p> - -<p>Gilbert stood stupefied before this extraordinary man, who knew so well -to prepare his march that his hearer was inclined to attribute to him -the faculty of comprising heavenly as well as mundane things, and to -read in the heart of man.</p> - -<p>“Yes, it is thus and you are still the magician, the fortune-teller, the -thaumaturgist, Cagliostro!”</p> - -<p>The wonder-worker smiled with satisfaction, for it was evident that he -was proud of having worked on Gilbert such an impression as the latter’s -visage revealed.</p> - -<p>“And now,” continued Gilbert, “as I love you as much as you do me, dear -master, and my desire to learn what you have been doing is equal to -yours and how I have fared, will you kindly tell me, if I am not -intruding too far, in what part of the globe you have exhibited your -genius and practiced your power?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I?” said Cagliostro, smiling, “like yourself I have been rubbing -shoulders with kings, but with another aim. You go up to them to uphold -them; I to knock them over. You try to manufacture a constitutional -monarch and will not succeed; I, to make emperors, kings and princes -democratic, and I am coming on.<a name="page_026" id="page_026"></a>”</p> - -<p>“Are you really?” queried Gilbert with an air of doubt.</p> - -<p>“Decidedly. It must be allowed that they were prepared for me by -Voltaire, Alembert and Diderot, admirable Mecaenases, sublime contemners -of the gods, and also by the example of Frederick the Great, whom we -have the misfortune to lose. But you know we are all mortal, except the -Count of St. Germain and myself.</p> - -<p>“So long as the Queen is fair, my dear Gilbert, and she can recruit -soldiers to fight among themselves, kings who fret to push over thrones -have never thought of hurling over the altar. But we have her brother, -Kaiser Joseph II. who suppresses three-fourths of the monasteries, -seizes ecclesiastical property, drives even the Camelite nuns out of -their cells, and sends his sister prince of nuns trying on the latest -fashions in hats and monks having their hair curled. We have the King of -Denmark, who began by killing his doctor Struensee, and who, at -seventeen, the precocious philosopher, said: ‘Voltaire made a man of me -for he taught me to think.’ We have the Empress Catherine, who made such -giant strides in philosophy that—while she dismembered Poland, Voltaire -wrote to her: ‘Diderot, Alembert and myself are raising altars to you. -We have the Queen of Sweden and many princes in the Empire and -throughout Germany.'”</p> - -<p>“You have nothing left you but to convert the Pope, my dear master, and -I hope you will, as nothing is beyond you.”</p> - -<p>“That will be a hard task. I have just slipped out of his claws. I was -locked up in Castle Sanangelo as you were in the Bastile.”</p> - -<p>“You don’t say so? did the Romans upset the castle as the people of St. -Antoine Ward overthrew the Bastile?”</p> - -<p>“No, my dear doctor, the Romans are a century behind that point. But, be -easy: it will come in its day: the Papacy will have its revolutionary -days, and Versailles and the Vatican can shake hands in equality at that -era.”</p> - -<p>“I thought that nobody came alive out of Castle Sanangelo?”</p> - -<p>“Pooh! what about Benvenuto Cellini, the sculptor?”</p> - -<p>“You had not wings such as he made, had you, and did you flit over the -Tiber like a new Icarus?<a name="page_027" id="page_027"></a>”</p> - -<p>“It would be the more difficult as I was lodged for the farther security -in the blackest dungeon of the keep. But I did get out, as you see.”</p> - -<p>“Bribed the jailor with gold?”</p> - -<p>“I was out of luck, for my turnkey was incorruptible. But, fortunately, -he was not immortal. Chance—the believers say, Providence—well, the -Architect of the Universe granted that he should die on the morrow of -his refusing to open the prison doors. He died very suddenly! and he had -to be replaced.”</p> - -<p>“The new hand was not unbribable?”</p> - -<p>“The day of his taking up his office, as he brought me the soup, he -said: ‘Eat heartily and get your strength, for we have to do some stiff -traveling this night.’ By George, the good fellow told no lie. That same -night we rode three horses out dead, and covered a hundred miles.”</p> - -<p>“What did the government say when your disappearance was known?”</p> - -<p>“Nothing. The dead and still-warm other jailer was clad in the clothes I -left behind; and a pistol was fired in his face; it was laid by his side -and the statement was given out that in despair at having no escape and -with the useless weapon which I had procured none could tell how, I had -blown out my brains. It follows that I am officially pronounced dead and -buried; the jailer being interred in my name. It will be useless, my -dear Gilbert, my saying that I am alive, for the certificate of my death -and burial will be produced to prove that I am no more. But they will -not have to do anything of the sort as it suits me to be thought passed -away at this date. I have made a dive into the sombre river, as the -poets say, but I have come up under another name. I am now Baron Zanone, -a Genoese banker. I discount the paper of princes—good paper in the -sort of Cardinal Prince Rohan’s, you know. But I am not lending money -merely for the interest. By the way, if you need cash, my dear Gilbert, -say so? You know that my purse, like my heart, is always at your call.”</p> - -<p>“I thank you.”</p> - -<p>“Ah, you think to incommode me, because you met me in my dress as a -workman? do not trouble about that; it is<a name="page_028" id="page_028"></a> merely one of my disguises; -you know my ideas about life being one long masquerade where all are -more or less masked. In any case, my dear boy, if ever you want money, -out of my private cash box here—for the grand cash box of the -Invisibles is in St. Claude Street—come to me at any hour, whether I am -at home or not—I showed you the little, side door; push this spring -so—“ he showed him the trick—“and you will find about a million -ready.”</p> - -<p>The round top of the desk opened of itself on the spring being pressed, -and displayed a heap of gold coin and bundles of banknotes.</p> - -<p>“You are in truth a wonderful man!” exclaimed Gilbert; “but you ought to -know that with twenty thousand a-year, I am richer than the King. But do -you not fear being disquieted in Paris?”</p> - -<p>“On account of the matter of the Queen’s Necklace for which I was forbid -the realm? Go to! they dare not. In the present ferment of minds I have -only to speak one word to evoke a riot: you forget that I am friendly -with all the popular leaders—Lafayette, Necker, Mirabeau and yourself.”</p> - -<p>“What have you come to do at Paris?”</p> - -<p>“Who knows? perhaps what you went over to the United States to do—found -a republic.”</p> - -<p>“France has not a republican turn of mind,” said the other, shaking his -head.</p> - -<p>“We shall teach her that way, that is all. It has taken fifteen hundred -years to rule with a monarchy; in one hundred the Republic will be -founded to endure—why not as long?”</p> - -<p>“The King will resist; the nobility fly to arms; and then what will you -do?”</p> - -<p>“We will make a revolution before we have the Republic.”</p> - -<p>“It will be awful to do that, Joseph,” said Gilbert, hanging his head.</p> - -<p>“Awful indeed, if we meet many such as you on the road.”</p> - -<p>“I am not strong, but honest,” said the doctor.</p> - -<p>“That is worse: so I want to bring you over.”</p> - -<p>“I am convinced—not that I shall prevent you in your work, but will -stay you.”</p> - -<p>“You are mad, Gilbert; you do not understand the mission<a name="page_029" id="page_029"></a> of France in -Europe. It is the brain of the Old World, and must think freely so that -the world will be the happier for its thought. Do you know what -overthrew the Bastile?”</p> - -<p>“The people.”</p> - -<p>“No: public opinion. You are taking the effect for the cause.”</p> - -<p>“For five hundred years they have been imprisoning nobles in the Bastile -and it stood. But the mad idea struck an insane monarch one day to lock -up thought—the spirit which must be free, and requires space unto -immensity, and crack! it burst the walls and the mob surged in at the -breach.”</p> - -<p>“True enough,” mused the younger man.</p> - -<p>“Twenty-six years ago, Voltaire wrote to Chauvelin: ‘All that I see is -sowing Revolution round us, and it will inevitably come though I shall -not have the bliss to see the harvest. The French are sometimes slow to -come into the battle but they get there before the fight is over. Light -is so spread from one to another, that it will burst forth in a mass -soon, and then there will be a fine explosion. The young men are happy -for they will behold splendors. What do you say about the flare-ups of -yesterday and what is going on to-day?'”</p> - -<p>“Terrible!”</p> - -<p>“And what you have beheld in the way of events?”</p> - -<p>“Dreadful!”</p> - -<p>“We are only at the beginning.”</p> - -<p>“Prophet of evil!”</p> - -<p>“For instance, I was at the house of a man of merit, a doctor of -medicine and a philanthropist: what do you think he was busy over?”</p> - -<p>“Seeking the remedy for some great disease.”</p> - -<p>“You have it. He is trying to cure, not death, but life.”</p> - -<p>“What do you mean?”</p> - -<p>“Leaving epigrams aside, I mean that there not being means enough for -quitting life, he is inventing a very ingenious machine which he reckons -to present to his fellow countrymen, to put fifty or eighty persons to -death in an hour. Well, my dear Gilbert, do you believe that so human a -philanthropist, so distinguished a physician as Dr. Louis Guillotin, -would busy himself about such an instrument unless he felt the want of -it?<a name="page_030" id="page_030"></a></p> - -<p>“I know that this is not so much a novelty as a machine forgotten, as a -proof of which I showed it as an image in a glass of water to Marie -Antoinette. She was then espoused to the Dauphin of France, now its -sovereign, and it was down at Taverney where you were a dependent. The -old baron was alive then, and the lady of the manor was Mdlle. Andrea.”</p> - -<p>“Ah,” sighed Gilbert at this reminder of his boyhood.</p> - -<p>“But at the first you had eyes only for the servant-maid, Nicole, -afterwards Olive Legay, as the Dauphiness, to whom she bore an amazing -resemblance by the bye, is the Queen of France. Well I repeat that the -future Queen was shown by me this instrument to which I shall suggest no -name, though the olden ones are the Maiden, the Widow and the <i>Mannaya</i> -in my country. The thing so alarmed her that she swooned dead away. It -was in limbo at the era, but you shall see it at work presently if it be -successful; and then you must be blind if you do not spy the hand of -heaven in it all, it being foreseen that the time would come when the -headsman would have his hands too full and that a new method must be -devised.”</p> - -<p>“Count, your remarks were more consoling when we were in America.”</p> - -<p>“I should rather think they were! I was in the midst of a people who -rose and here in society which falls. In our Old World, all march -towards the grave, nobility and royalty, and this grave is a bottomless -pit.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I abandon the nobility to you, count, or rather it threw itself -away in the night of the fourth of August; but the royalty must be saved -as the national palladium.”</p> - -<p>“Big words, my dear Gilbert: but did the palladium save Troy? Do you -believe it will be easy to save the realm with such a king?”</p> - -<p>“But in short he is the descendant of a grand race.”</p> - -<p>“Eagles that have degenerated into parrots. They have been marrying in -and out till they are rundown.”</p> - -<p>“My dear sorcerer,” said Gilbert, rising and taking up his hat, “you -frighten me so that I must haste and take my place by the King.<a name="page_031" id="page_031"></a>”</p> - -<p>Cagliostro stopped him in making some steps towards the door.</p> - -<p>“Mark me, Gilbert,” he said, “you know whether I love you or not and if -I am not the man to expose myself to a hundred sorrows to aid you to -avoid one—well, take this piece of advice: let the King depart, quit -France, while it is yet time. In a year, in six months, in three, it -will be too late.”</p> - -<p>“Count, do you counsel a soldier to leave his post because there is -danger in his staying?”</p> - -<p>“If the soldier were so surrounded, engirt, and disarmed that he could -not defend himself: if, above all, his life exposed meant that of half a -million of men—yes, I should bid him flee. And you yourself, Gilbert, -you shall tell him so. The King will listen to you unless it is all too -late. Do not wait till the morrow but tell him to-day. Do not wait till -the afternoon but tell him in an hour.”</p> - -<p>“Count, you know that I am of the fatalist school. Come what come may! -so long as I shall have any hold on the King it will be to retain him in -France, and I shall stay by him. Farewell, count: we shall meet in the -action: perhaps we shall sleep side by side on the battlefield.”</p> - -<p>“Come, come, it is written that man shall not elude his doom however -keen-witted he may be,” muttered the magician: “I sought you out to tell -you what I said, and you have heard it. Like Cassandra’s prediction it -is useless, but remember that Cassandra was correct. Fare thee well!”</p> - -<p>“Speak frankly, count,” said Gilbert, stopping on the threshold to gaze -fixedly at the speaker, “do you here, as in America, pretend to make -folk believe that you can read the future?”</p> - -<p>“As surely, Gilbert,” returned the self-asserted undying one, “as you -can read the pathway of the stars, though the mass of mankind believe -they are fixed or wandering at hazard.”</p> - -<p>“Well, then—someone knocks at your door.”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“Tell me his fate: when he shall die and how?”</p> - -<p>“Be it so,” rejoined the sorcerer, “let us go and open the door to him.”</p> - -<p>Gilbert proceed towards the corridor end, with a beating<a name="page_032" id="page_032"></a> of the heart -which he could not repress, albeit he whispered to himself that it was -absurd to take this quackering as serious.</p> - -<p>The door opened. A man of lofty carriage, tall in stature, and with -strong-will impressed on his lineaments, appeared on the sill and cast a -swift glance on Dr. Gilbert not exempt from uneasiness.</p> - -<p>“Good day, marquis,” said Cagliostro.</p> - -<p>“How do you do, baron?” responded the other.</p> - -<p>“Marquis,” went on the host as he saw the caller’s gaze still settled on -the doctor, “this is one of my friends, Dr. Gilbert. Gilbert, you see -Marquis Favras, one of my clients. Marquis, will you kindly step into my -sitting-room,” continued he as the two saluted each other, “and wait for -a few seconds when I shall be with you.”</p> - -<p>“Well?” queried Gilbert as the marquis bowed again and went into the -parlor.</p> - -<p>“You wished to know in what way this gentleman would die?” said -Cagliostro with an odd smile; “have you ever seen a nobleman hanged?”</p> - -<p>“Noblemen are privileged not to die by hanging.”</p> - -<p>“Then it will be the more curious sight; be on the Strand when the -Marquis of Favras is executed.” He conducted his visitor to the street -door, and said: “When you wish to call on me without being seen and to -see none but me, push this knob up and to the left, so—now, -farewell—excuse me—I must not make those wait who have not long to -live.”</p> - -<p>He left Gilbert astounded by his assurance, which staggered him but -could not vanquish his incredulity.</p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V"></a>CHAPTER V.<br /><br /> -THE CANDLE OMEN.</h2> - -<p>I<small>N</small> the meantime the Royal Family had continued their road to Paris. The -pace was so slow and delayed that it was six o’clock before the carriage -containing so much sorrow, hatred, passions and innocence, arrived at -the city bars.<a name="page_033" id="page_033"></a></p> - -<p>During the journey the Dauphin had complained of being hungry. There was -no want of bread as many of the pikes and bayonets were holding up -loaves and the Queen would have asked Gilbert to get one, if he had been -by. She could not ask the mob, whom she held in horror.</p> - -<p>“Wait till we are in the Tuileries Palace this evening,” she said, -hugging the boy to her.</p> - -<p>“But these men have plenty,” he protested.</p> - -<p>“But that is theirs, not ours. And they went all the way to Versailles -for it as there was none in Paris, these three days.”</p> - -<p>“Have they not eaten for three days?” said the Prince. “Then they must -be awful hungry, mamma.”</p> - -<p>Etiquet ordered him to address his mother as Madam, but he was hungry as -a poor boy and he called her mamma as a poor boy would his mother.</p> - -<p>Ceasing to grieve, he tried to sleep. Poor royal babe, who would cry -many times yet for bread before he died.</p> - -<p>At the bars a halt was made, not to repose but to rejoice over the -arrival. It was hailed with song and dance. A strange scene almost as -terrifying in this joy as the others had been for ghastliness.</p> - -<p>The fishmarket-women got off their horses, captured from the slain -Lifeguardsmen, hanging their swords and carbines to the horns. Other -women and the market-girls jumped off their cannon, which appeared in -their alarming smoothness.</p> - -<p>They all joined hands and danced around the royal carriage. Separating -it from the deputies and the National Guard, an omen of what was to -follow. This round dance had the good intention to set the enforced -guests at ease: the men and women capered, kissed, hugged and sang -together. The men lifted up their partners as in Teniers’ pictures.</p> - -<p>This went on as night was falling, on a dark and rainy day, so that the -dancing by the light of torches and the gun-stocks and fireworks, took -fantastic effects of light and shade almost infernal.</p> - -<p>After half an hour all shouted a general hurrah; all the firearms were -shot off at risk of shooting somebody; and the bullets came down in the -puddles with a sinister plash.<a name="page_034" id="page_034"></a></p> - -<p>The prince and his sister wept; they were too frightened to feel -hungered.</p> - -<p>At the City Hall a line of troops prevented the crowd from entering the -place. Here the Queen perceived her foster-brother, and confidential -servant, Weber, an Austrian who had followed her fortunes from home, and -was trying to pass the cordon and go in with her. To be more useful to -the Queen he had put on a National Guard uniform and added the insignia -of a staff-officer. The Royal Groom had lent him a horse. Not to excite -suspicion he kept at a distance during the journey. Now he ran up at her -call.</p> - -<p>“What have you come for?” she demanded; “you will be useless here while -at the Tuileries you will be needed. If you do not go on before, nothing -will be ready for our accommodation.”</p> - -<p>“Capital idea that,” said the King.</p> - -<p>The Queen had spoken in German and the King had replied in English as he -did not speak the other tongue though understanding it.</p> - -<p>The bystanders held foreign tongues in horror, and they murmured and -this swelled to a roar when the square opened and let the coach roll -through.</p> - -<p>The welcoming speech was made by Billy, Mayor of Paris, who played the -King a scurvy trick by repeating his answer: “I always come with -pleasure and confidence among my good people of Paris,” without the word -“confidence” which spoilt matters, and he was taken to task by the Queen -for it.</p> - -<p>It was not till ten o’clock that the royal carriage got back to the -Tuileries where Weber had done the best he could for them.</p> - -<p>Count Provence had gone to Luxembourg Palace.</p> - -<p>Weber had located the Royal Family in Countess Lamarck’s rooms, but the -comforts were limited. For instance there was no room for Countess -Charny at supper and she talked of spending the night in a chair for -want of a bed. But knowing the great favor in which the Queen held the -countess, they placed a couch for her in the next room to the Queen’s.</p> - -<p>The latter shuddered at this for she thought of the count being with his -wife, and Andrea saw the emotion<a name="page_035" id="page_035"></a>.</p> - -<p>“There must be some corner for me elsewhere,” said she; “I will go find -it.”</p> - -<p>“You are right, countess,” said the King while Marie Antoinette mumbled -something unintelligible. “We will do something better to-morrow.”</p> - -<p>The King watched the stately countess go out, while he held the plate to -his mouth.</p> - -<p>“That lady is a delightful creature,” he said, “and Charny ought to be -happy to find such a phoenix at court.”</p> - -<p>The Queen leant back in her chair to hide her sensation, not from the -speaker, but from his sister Elizabeth, who was frightened lest she had -fallen ill.</p> - -<p>The Queen did not breathe at ease till alone in her room.</p> - -<p>She had heard her daughter say her prayers, speaking a little longer -than usual as she was pleading for her brother who had gone to rest -forgetting to say his.</p> - -<p>Sitting alone at a table, somehow she had the panorama of her life pass -before her.</p> - -<p>She recalled that she was born on the second of November, 1755, the day -of the Lisbon earthquake, which swallowed up fifty thousand souls and -extended five thousand miles.</p> - -<p>She recalled that the room she slept in, in France, at Strasburg, -represented the Massacre of the Innocents and so frightened her in the -flickering lamplight that she had always retained a terrible memory of -her first night on French soil.</p> - -<p>She recalled how, stopping at Taverney House, she had been shown in the -gardens by Baron Balsamo the image of an unknown instrument for -decapitation: this was the man who, under the name of Cagliostro, had -exercised a fatal influence on her destiny, as witness his hand in the -Queen’s Necklace trial; though she was advised that he had perished in -the papal dungeons as a magician and atheist, had she not seen him this -day in the mob during the halt at Sevres?</p> - -<p>She recalled that in Madam Lebrun’s portrait she had unwittingly made -her pose as the unfortunate Henrietta Maria of England, in her portrait, -as Wife of Charles I. the Beheaded.</p> - -<p>She recalled how, when she got out of her coach for the first time at -Versailles, in that Marble Court where so much<a name="page_036" id="page_036"></a> blood lately flowed on -her behalf, a lightning stroke had flashed so extraordinarily that -Marshal Richelieu had said: “An evil omen!” albeit he was a cynic not -easily startled by superstition.</p> - -<p>She was recalling all this when a reddish cloud, from her eyes being -strained, thickened around her, and one of the four candles in the -candelabrum went out without evident cause.</p> - -<p>While she was looking at it, still smoking, it seemed to her that the -next taper to it paled sensibly, and turning red and then blue in the -flame, faded away and lengthened upward, as if to quit the wick, from -which it leaped altogether. It was extinguished, as though by an unseen -breath from below.</p> - -<p>She had watched the death of this with haggard eyes and panting bosom, -and her hands went out towards the candlestick proportionable to the -eclipse. When gone out, she closed her eyes, drew back in her armchair, -and ran her hand over her forehead, streaming with perspiration.</p> - -<p>When she opened them anew, after ten minutes, she perceived that the -flame of the third candle was affected like the rest.</p> - -<p>She believed it was a dream or that she was under some hallucination. -She tried to rise but seemed nailed to her chair. She wanted to call her -daughter, whom she would not have aroused a few minutes before for a -second crown, but her voice died away in her throat. She tried to turn -her head but it was rigid as if the third light expiring attracted her -eyes and breath. Like the other pair, it changed hue and swaying to one -side and the other, finally shot itself out.</p> - -<p>Then fear had such mastery that speech returned to her and that made her -feel restored in courage.</p> - -<p>“I am not going to distress myself because three candles happened to go -out,” she said; “but if the fourth suffers the same fate, then woe is -me!”</p> - -<p>Suddenly, without going through the transitions of the others, without -lengthening or fluttering to left or right as if the death-angel wing -had wafted it, the fourth flame went out.<a name="page_037" id="page_037"></a></p> - -<p>She screamed with terror, rose, reeled and fell to the floor.</p> - -<p>At this appeal the door opened and Andrea, white and silent in her -night-wrapper appeared like a ghost on the sill. When she had revived -her mistress with the mechanical action of one impelled by sheer duty, -the Queen remembered all the presage, and aware that it was a woman -beside her, flung her arms round her neck, and cried:</p> - -<p>“Save me, defend me!”</p> - -<p>“Your Majesty needs no defense among her friends,” said Andrea, “and you -appear free of the swoon in which you fell.”</p> - -<p>“Countess Charny,” gasped the other, letting go of her whom she had -embraced, and almost repelling her in the first impulse.</p> - -<p>Neither the feeling nor the expression had escaped the lady. But she -remained motionless to impassibility.</p> - -<p>“I shall undress alone,” faltered the Queen. “Return to your room, as -you must require sleep.”</p> - -<p>“I shall go back, not to sleep but to watch over your Majesty’s -slumber,” returned Andrea, respectfully curtseying to the other and -stalking away with the solemn step of a vitalized statue.</p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI"></a>CHAPTER VI.<br /><br /> -THE REVOLUTION IN THE COUNTRY.</h2> - -<p>O<small>UR</small> intention being to temporarily abandon the fortunes of our high and -mighty characters to follow those of more humble but perhaps no less -engaging heroes, we take up with Sebastian Gilbert whom his father, -immediately after his release from the Bastile, confided to a young -peasant named Ange Pitou, foster-brother of the youth, and despatched -them to the latter’s birthplace, Villers Cotterets.</p> - -<p>It was eighteen leagues from the city, and Gilbert might have sent them -down by stage-coach or his own carriage; but he feared isolation for the -son of the mesmerists’ victim, and nothing so isolates a traveler as a -closed carriage.<a name="page_038" id="page_038"></a></p> - -<p>Ange Pitou had accepted the trust with pride at the choice of the King’s -honorary physician. He travelled tranquilly, passing through villages -trembling with the thrill from the shock of the events at Paris as it -was the commencement of August when the pair left town.</p> - -<p>Besides Pitou had kept a helmet and a sabre picked up on the battlefield -where he had shown himself more brave than he had expected. One does not -help in the taking of a Bastile without preserving some heroic touch in -his bearing subsequently.</p> - -<p>Moreover he had become something of an orator; he had studied the -Classics and he had heard the many speeches of the period, scattered out -of the City Hall, in the mobs, during lulls in the street fights.</p> - -<p>Furnished with these powerful forces, added to by a pair of ponderous -fists, plenty of broad grins, and a most interesting appetite for -loiters-on who did not have to pay the bill, Pitou journeyed most -pleasantly. For those inquisitive in political matters, he told the -news, inventing what he had not heard, Paris having a knack that way -which he had picked up.</p> - -<p>As Sebastian ate little and spoke hardly at all, everybody admired -Pitou’s vigorous paternal care.</p> - -<p>They went through Haramont, the little village where the mother of one -and the nurse of the other had died and was laid in earth.</p> - -<p>Her living home, sold by Pitou’s Aunt Angelique, her sister-in-law, had -been razed by the new owner, and a black cat snarled at the young men -from the wall built round the garden.</p> - -<p>But nothing was changed at the burying-ground; the grass had so grown -that the chances were that the young peasant could not find his mother’s -grave. Luckily he knew it by a slip of weeping willow, which he had -planted; while the grass was growing it had grown also and had become in -a few years a tolerable tree.</p> - -<p>Ange walked directly to it, and the pair said their prayers under the -lithe branches which Pitou took in his arms as they were his mother’s -tresses.<a name="page_039" id="page_039"></a></p> - -<p>Nobody noticed them as all the country folk were in the field and none -seeing Pitou would have recognized him in his dragoon’s helmet and with -the sword and belt.</p> - -<p>At five in the afternoon they reached their destination.</p> - -<p>While Pitou had been away from Haramont three years, it was only as many -weeks since he quitted Villers Cotterets, so that it was simple enough -that he should be recognized at the latter place.</p> - -<p>The two visitors were reported to have gone to the back door of Father -Fortier’s academy for young gentlemen where Pitou had been educated with -Sebastian, and where the latter was to resume his studies.</p> - -<p>A crowd collected at the front door where they thought Pitou would come -forth, as they wanted to see him in the soldier’s appurtenances.</p> - -<p>After giving the doctor’s letter and money for the schooling to Abbé -Fortier’s sister, the priest being out for a walk with the pupils, Pitou -left the house, cocking his helmet quite dashingly on the side of his -head.</p> - -<p>Sebastian’s chagrin at parting was softened by Ange Pitou’s promise to -see him often. Pitou was like those big, lubberly Newfoundland dogs who -sometimes weary you with their fawning, but usually disarm you by their -jolly good humor.</p> - -<p>The score of people outside the door thought that as Pitou was in battle -array he had seen the fights in Paris and they wanted to have news.</p> - -<p>He gave it with majesty; telling how he and Farmer Billet, their -neighbor, had taken the Bastile and set Dr. Gilbert free. They had -learnt something in the Gazettes but no newspaper can equal an -eye-witness who can be questioned and will reply. And the obliging -fellow did reply and explain and at such length that in an hour, one of -the listeners suddenly remarked that he was flagging and said:</p> - -<p>“But our dear Pitou is tired, and here we are keeping him on his legs, -when he ought to go home, to his Aunt Angelique’s. The poor old girl -will be delighted to see him again.”</p> - -<p>“I am not tired but hungry,” returned the other. “I am never tired but I -am always sharpset.”</p> - -<p>Before this plain way of putting it, the throng broke up to<a name="page_040" id="page_040"></a> let Pitou -go through. Followed by some more curious than the rest, he proceeded to -his father’s sister’s house.</p> - -<p>It was a cottage where he would have been starved to death by the pious -old humbug of an old maid, but for his poaching in the woods for -something that they could eat while the superfluity was sold by her to -have the cash in augmentation of a very pretty hoard the miser kept in a -chair cushion.</p> - -<p>As the door was fastened, from the old lady being out gossiping, and -Pitou declared that an aunt should never shut out a loving nephew, he -drew his great sabre and opened the lock with it as it were an oyster, -to the admiration of the boys.</p> - -<p>Pitou entered the familiar cottage with a bland smile, and went straight -up to the cupboard where the food was kept. He used in his boyish days -to ogle the crust and the hunk of cheese with the wish to have magical -powers to conjure them out into his mouth.</p> - -<p>Now he was a man: he went up to the safe, opened it, opened also his -pocket-knife, and taking out a loaf, cut off a slice which might weigh a -fair two pounds.</p> - -<p>He seemed to hear Aunt Angelique snarl at him, but it was only the creak -of the door hinges.</p> - -<p>In former times, the old fraud used to whine about poverty and palm him -off with cheap cheese and few flavors. But since he had left she got up -little delicacies of value which lasted her a week, such as stewed beef -smothered in carrots and onions; baked mutton with potatoes as large as -melons; or calves-foot, decked with pickled shallots; or a giant omelet -sprinkled with parsley or dotted with slices of fat pork of which one -sufficed for a meal even when she had an appetite.</p> - -<p>Pitou was in luck. He lighted on a day when Aunt Angelique had cooked an -old rooster in rice, so long that the bones had quitted the flesh and -the latter was almost tender. It was basking in a deep dish, black -outside but glossy and attractive within. The coxcomb stuck up in the -midst like Ceuta in Gibraltar Straits.</p> - -<p>Pitou had been so spoilt by the good living at Paris that he never even -reflected that he had never seen such magnificence in his relative’s -house.</p> - -<p>He had his hunk of bread in his right hand: he seized the<a name="page_041" id="page_041"></a> baking dish -in his left and held it by the grip of his thumb in the grease. But at -this moment it seemed to him that a shadow clouded the doorway.</p> - -<p>He turned round, grinning, for he had one of those characters which let -their happiness be painted on their faces.</p> - -<p>The shadow was cast by Angelique Pitou, drier, sourer, bonier, not -bonnier, and more mean than ever.</p> - -<p>Formerly, at this sight, Pitou would have dropped the bread and dish and -fled.</p> - -<p>But he was altered. His helmet and sword had not more changed his aspect -than his mind was changed by frequenting the society of the -revolutionary lights of the capital.</p> - -<p>Far from fleeing, he went up to her and opening his arms he embraced her -so that his hands, holding the knife, the bread and the dish, crossed -behind her skeleton back.</p> - -<p>“It is poor Pitou,” he said in accomplishing this act of nepotism.</p> - -<p>She feared that he was trying to stifle her because she had caught him -red-handed in plundering her store. Literally, she did not breathe -freely until she was released from this perillous clasp.</p> - -<p>She was horrified that he did not express any emotion over his prize and -at his sitting in the best chair: previously he would have perched -himself on the edge of a stool or the broken chair. Thus easily lodged -he set to demolishing the baked fowl. In a few minutes the pattern of -the dish began to appear clean at the bottom as the rocks and sand on -the seashore when the tide goes out.</p> - -<p>In her frightful perplexity she endeavored to scream but the ogre smiled -so bewitchingly that the scream died away on her prim lips.</p> - -<p>She smiled, without any effect on him, and then turned to weeping. This -annoyed the devourer a little but did not hinder his eating.</p> - -<p>“How good you are to weep with joy at my return,” he said. “I thank you, -my kind aunt.”</p> - -<p>Evidently the Revolution had transmogrified this lad.</p> - -<p>Having tucked away three fourths of the bird he left a little of the -Indian grain at the end of the dish, saying:<a name="page_042" id="page_042"></a></p> - -<p>“You are fond of rice, my dear auntie: and, besides, it is good for your -poor teeth.”</p> - -<p>At this attention, taken for a bitter jest, Angelique nearly suffocated. -She sprang upon Pitou and snatched the lightened platter from his hand, -with an oath which would not have been out of place in the mouth of an -old soldier.</p> - -<p>“Bewailing the rooster, aunt?” he sighed.</p> - -<p>“The rogue—I believe he is chaffing me,” cried the old prude.</p> - -<p>“Aunt,” returned the other, rising majestically, “my intention was to -pay you. I have money. I will come and board with you, if you please, -only I reserve the right to make up the bill of fare. As for this snack, -suppose we put the lot at six cents, four of the fowl and two of bread.”</p> - -<p>“Six? when the meat is worth eight alone and the bread four,” cried the -woman.</p> - -<p>“But you did not buy the bird—I know the old acquaintance by his nine -years comb. I stole him for you from under his mother and by the same -token, you flogged me because I did not steal enough corn to feed him. -But I begged the grain from Miss Catherine Billet; as I procured the -bird and the food, I had a lien on him, as the lawyers say. I have only -been eating my own property.”</p> - -<p>“Out of this house,” she gasped, almost losing her voice while she tried -to pulverize him with her gaze.</p> - -<p>Pitou remarked with satisfaction that he could not have swallowed one -grain more of rice.</p> - -<p>“Aunt, you are a bad relative,” he said loftily. “I wanted you to show -yourself as of old, spiteful and avaricious. But I am not going to have -it said that I eat my way without paying.”</p> - -<p>He stood on the threshold and called out with a voice which was not only -heard by the starers without but by anybody within five hundred paces:</p> - -<p>“I call these honest folk for witnesses, that I have come from Paris -afoot, after having taken the Bastile. I was hungered and tired, and I -have sat down under my only relation’s roof, and eaten, but my keep is -thrown up at me, and I am driven away pitilessly!<a name="page_043" id="page_043"></a>”</p> - -<p>He infused so much pathos in this exordium that the hearers began to -murmur against the old maid.</p> - -<p>“I want you to bear witness that she is turning from her door a poor -wayfarer who has tramped nineteen leagues afoot; an honest lad, honored -with the trust of Farmer Billet and Dr. Gilbert; who has brought Master -Sebastian Gilbert here to Father Fortier’s; a conqueror of the Bastile, -a friend of Mayor Bailly and General Lafayette.”</p> - -<p>The murmuring increased.</p> - -<p>“And I am not a beggar,” he pursued, “for when I am accused of having a -bite of bread, I am ready to meet the score, as proof of which I plank -down this silver bit—in payment of what I have eaten at my own folk’s.”</p> - -<p>He drew a silver crown from his pocket with a flourish, and tossed it on -the table under the eyes of all, whence it bounced into the dish and -buried itself in the rice. This last act finished the mercenary aunt; -she hung her head under the universal reprobation displayed in a -prolonged groan. Twenty arms were opened towards Pitou, who went forth, -shaking the dust off his brogans, and disappeared, escorted by a mob -eager to offer hospitality to a captor of the Bastile, and -boon-companion of General Lafayette.</p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII"></a>CHAPTER VII.<br /><br /> -THE ABDICATION IN A FARMHOUSE.</h2> - -<p>A<small>FTER</small> having appeased the duties of obedience, Pitou wished to satisfy -the cravings of his heart. It is sweet to obey when the order chimes in -with one’s secret sympathies.</p> - -<p>Ange Pitou was in love with Catherine, daughter of farmer Billet who had -succored him when he fled from his aunt’s and with whom he had taken the -trip to Paris which returned him a full-fledged hero to his -fellow-villagers.</p> - -<p>When he perceived the long ridge of the farmhouse roofs, measured the -aged elms which twisted to stand the higher over the smoking chimneys, -when he heard the distant lowing of<a name="page_044" id="page_044"></a> the cattle, the barking of the -watchdogs, and the rumbling of the farm carts, he shook his casque on -his head to tighten its hold, hung the calvary sabre more firmly by his -side, and tried to give himself the bold swagger of a lover and a -soldier. As nobody recognized him at the first it was a proof that he -had fairly succeeded.</p> - -<p>The farmhands responded to his hail by taking off their caps or pulling -their forelocks.</p> - -<p>Through the dininghall window pane Mother Billet saw the military -visitor. She was a comely, kind old soul who fed her employes like -fighting cocks. She was, like other housewives, on the alert, as there -was talk of armed robbers being about the country. They cut the woods -down and reaped the green corn. What did this warrior’s appearance -signify? attack or assistance?</p> - -<p>She was perplexed by the clodhopper shoes beneath a helmet so shining -and her supposition fluctuated between suspicion and hope.</p> - -<p>She took a couple of steps towards the new-comer as he strode into the -kitchen, and he took off his headpiece not to be outdone in politeness.</p> - -<p>“Ange Pitou?” she ejaculated. “Whoever would have guessed that you would -enlist.”</p> - -<p>“Enlist indeed?” sneered Pitou, smiling loftily.</p> - -<p>As he looked round him, seeking someone, Mistress Billet smiled, -divining who he was after.</p> - -<p>“Looking for Catherine?” she asked unaffectedly.</p> - -<p>“To present her with my duty,” said Pitou.</p> - -<p>“She is ironing,” responded Mrs. Billet; “but sit ye down and talk to -me.”</p> - -<p>“Quite willing, mother.” And he took a chair.</p> - -<p>In all the doorways and windows the servants and laboring men flocked to -see their old fellow. He had a kindly glance for them all, a caress in -his smile for the most part.</p> - -<p>“So you come from town, Ange?” began Mother Billet. “How did you leave -the master?”</p> - -<p>“He is all right, but Paris is all wrong.”</p> - -<p>The circle of listeners drew in closer.</p> - -<p>“What about the King?” inquired the mistress.<a name="page_045" id="page_045"></a></p> - -<p>Pitou shook his head and clacked his tongue in a way humiliating to the -head of the monarchy.</p> - -<p>“And the Queen?”</p> - -<p>Pitou said never a word.</p> - -<p>“Oh,” groaned the crowd.</p> - -<p>Pitou was aching for Catherine’s coming.</p> - -<p>“Why are you wearing a helmet?”</p> - -<p>“It is a trophy of war,” rejoined the young peasant. “A trophy is a -tangible testimonial that you have vanquished an enemy.”</p> - -<p>“Have you vanquished an enemy, Pitou?”</p> - -<p>“An enemy—pooh!” said the valiant one, disdainfully. “Ah, good Mother -Billet, you do not know that Farmer Billet and yours truly took the -Bastile between us.”</p> - -<p>This speech electrified the auditory. Pitou felt the breath on his hair -and the helmet mane, while their hands grasped the back of his chair.</p> - -<p>“Do tell us what our master has done,” pleaded Mrs. Billet, proud and -tremulous at the same time.</p> - -<p>Pitou was hurt that Catherine did not leave her linen to come and hear -such a messenger as he was. He shook his head for he was growing -discontented.</p> - -<p>“It will take a time,” he observed.</p> - -<p>“Are you hungry, or thirsty?”</p> - -<p>“I am not saying no.”</p> - -<p>Instantly all the men and maids bustled about so that Pitou found under -his hand goblets, mugs, bread, meat, cheese, without realizing the -extent of his hint. He had a hot liver, as the rustics say: that is, he -digested quickly. But he had not shaken down the Angelican fowl in rice; -he tried to eat again but had to give up at the second mouthful.</p> - -<p>“If I begin now,” he said, “I should have to do it all over again when -Miss Catherine comes.”</p> - -<p>While they were all hunting after the young girl, Pitou happened to look -up and saw the girl in question leaning out of a window on the upper -landing. She was gazing towards Boursonne Woods.</p> - -<p>“Oh,” he sighed, “she is looking towards the manor of the Charnys. She -is in love with Master Isidor Charny, that is what it is.<a name="page_046" id="page_046"></a>”</p> - -<p>He sighed again, much more lamentably than before.</p> - -<p>Taking the farmer’s wife by the hand as the searchers returned fruitless -in their search, he took her up a couple of the stairs and showed her -the girl, mooning on the window sill among the morning glories and -vines.</p> - -<p>“Catherine!” she called: “Come, Catherine, here is Ange Pitou, with news -from town.”</p> - -<p>“Ah,” said Catherine coldly.</p> - -<p>So coldly that Pitou’s heart failed him as he anxiously waited for her -reply.</p> - -<p>She came down the stairs with the phlegm of the Flemish girls in the old -Dutch paintings.</p> - -<p>“Yes, it is he,” she said, when on the floor.</p> - -<p>Pitou bowed, red and trembling.</p> - -<p>“He’s wearing a soldier’s helmet,” said a servant-woman in her young -mistress’s ear.</p> - -<p>Pitou overheard and watched for the effect. But her somewhat pallid -though evercharming face showed no admiration for the brazen cap.</p> - -<p>“What is he wearing that thing for?” she inquired.</p> - -<p>This time indignation got the upperhand in the peasant.</p> - -<p>“I am wearing helmet and sabre,” he retorted proudly, “because I have -been fighting and have killed Swiss and dragoons: and if you doubt me, -Miss Catherine, you can ask your father, and that is all.”</p> - -<p>She was so absent-minded that she appeared to catch the latter part of -the speech alone.</p> - -<p>“How is my father?” asked she; “and why does he not return home with -you? Is the news from Paris bad?”</p> - -<p>“Very,” replied the young man.</p> - -<p>“I thought that all was settled,” the girl objected.</p> - -<p>“Quite true, but all is unsettled again.”</p> - -<p>“Have not the King and the people agreed and is not the recall of -Minister Necker arranged?”</p> - -<p>“Necker is not of much consequence now,” said Pitou jeeringly.</p> - -<p>“But that ought to satisfy the people.”</p> - -<p>“It falls so short of that, that the people are doing justice on their -own account and killing their enemies.<a name="page_047" id="page_047"></a>”</p> - -<p>“Their enemies? who are their enemies?” cried the girl astonished.</p> - -<p>“The aristocrats, of course,” answered the other.</p> - -<p>“Whom do you call aristocrat?” she asked, turning paler.</p> - -<p>“Why, naturally, they that have grand houses, and big properties, and -starve the nation—those that have everything while we have nothing; -that travel on fine horses or in bright coaches while we jog on foot.”</p> - -<p>“Heavens,” exclaimed the girl, so white as to be corpselike.</p> - -<p>“I can name some aristo’s of our acquaintance,” continued he, noticing -the emotion. “Lord Berthier Sauvigny, for instance, who gave you those -gold earrings you wore on the day you danced with Master Isidore. Well, -I have seen men eat the heart of him!”</p> - -<p>A terrible cry burst from all breasts and Catherine fell back in the -chair she had taken.</p> - -<p>“Did you see that?” faltered Mother Billet, quivering with horror.</p> - -<p>“And so did Farmer Billet. By this time they have killed or burnt all -the aristocrats of Paris and Versailles. What do you call it dreadful -for? you are not of the higher classes, Mother Billet.”</p> - -<p>“Pitou, I did not think you were so bloodthirsty when you started for -Paris,” said Catherine with sombre energy.</p> - -<p>“I do not know as I am so, now; but——“</p> - -<p>“But then do not boast of the crimes which the Parisians commit, since -you are not a Parisian and did not do them.”</p> - -<p>“I had so little hand in them that Farmer Billet and me were nigh -slaughtered in taking the part of Lord Berthier—though he had famished -the people.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, my good, brave father! that is just like him,” said Catherine, -excitedly.</p> - -<p>“My worthy man,” said Mrs. Billet with tearful eyes. “What has he been -about?”</p> - -<p>Pitou related that the mob had seized Foulon and Berthier for being the -active agents for higher personages in the great Grain Ring which held -the corn from the poor, and torn them to pieces, though Billet and he -had tried to defend them.<a name="page_048" id="page_048"></a></p> - -<p>“The farmer was sickened and wanted to come home, but Dr. Gilbert would -not let him.”</p> - -<p>“Does he want my man to get killed there?” sobbed poor Mother Billet.</p> - -<p>“Oh, no,” replied Pitou. “It is all fixed between master and the doctor. -He is going to stay a little longer in town to finish up the revolution. -Not alone, you understand, but with Mayor Bailly and General Lafayette.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I am not so much alarmed about him as long as in the gentlemen’s -company,” said the good old soul with admiration.</p> - -<p>“When does he think of returning?” inquired the daughter.</p> - -<p>“I don’t know in the least.”</p> - -<p>“Then, what have you come back for?”</p> - -<p>“To bring Sebastian Gilbert to Father Fortier’s school, and you, Farmer -Billet’s instructions.”</p> - -<p>Pitou spoke like a herald, with so much dignity that the farmer’s wife -dismissed all the gapers.</p> - -<p>“Mrs. Billet,” began the messenger, “the master wants you to be worried -as little as possible, so he thinks that while he is away, the -management of the farm should be in other hands, younger and livelier.”</p> - -<p>“Oh!”</p> - -<p>“Yes, and he has selected Miss Catherine.”</p> - -<p>“My daughter to rule in my house,” cried the woman, with distrust and -inexpressible jealousy.</p> - -<p>“Under your orders,” the girl hastened to say, while reddening.</p> - -<p>“No, no,” persisted Pitou, who went on well since he was in full swing: -“I bear the commission entire: Master Billet delegates and authorizes -Miss Catherine to see to all the work and govern the house and household -in his stead.”</p> - -<p>As Billet was infallible in his wife’s eyes, all her resistance ceased -instantly.</p> - -<p>“Billet is right,” she declared after a glance at her daughter; “she is -young but she has a good head, and she can even be headstrong. She can -get along outdoors better than me; she knows how to make folks obey. But -to be running about over field and hills will make a tomboy of her—-<a name="page_049" id="page_049"></a>-“</p> - -<p>“Fear nothing for her,” interposed Pitou with a consequential air; “I am -here and I will go around with her.”</p> - -<p>This gracious offer, by which Ange probably intended to make an effect, -drew such a strange glance from Catherine that he was dumbfounded.</p> - -<p>Pitou was not experienced in feminine ways but he guessed by her blush -that she was not giving complete acquiescence, for he said with an -agreeable smile which showed his strong teeth between the large lips:</p> - -<p>“Even the Queen has a Lifeguard. Besides, I may be useful in the woods.”</p> - -<p>“Is this also in my husband’s instructions?” queried Madam Billet who -showed some tendency towards cutting sayings.</p> - -<p>“Nay,” said Catherine, “that would be an idle errand and father would -not have set it for Master Pitou while he would not have accepted it.”</p> - -<p>Pitou rolled his frightened eyes from one to the other: all his castle -in the air came tumbling down. A true woman, the younger one understood -his painful disappointment.</p> - -<p>“Did you see the girls in Paris with the young men tagging at their -gown-tails?”</p> - -<p>“But you are not a girl, after you become mistress of the house,” -remonstrated Pitou.</p> - -<p>“Enough chatter,” interrupted Mother Billet; “the mistress of the house -has too much work to do. Come, Catherine, and let me turn over things to -you, as your father bids us.”</p> - -<p>As soon as the house was placed under the new ruler the servants and -workmen were presented to her as the one from whom in the future orders -would flow. Each departed with the alacrity shown by the new officials -at the beginning of a fresh term.</p> - -<p>“What about me?” inquired Pitou, left alone and going up to the girl.</p> - -<p>“I have no orders for you. What do you think of doing?”</p> - -<p>“What I did before I went away.”</p> - -<p>“Then you worked for my father and mother. I have nothing in your line, -for you are a scholar and a fine Paris gentleman now.”</p> - -<p>“But look at the muscle in my arms,” protested the poor<a name="page_050" id="page_050"></a> fellow in -desperation. “Why do you force me to die of hunger under the pretence -that I am a learned man? Are you ignorant that Epictetus the philosopher -was a tavern waiter to earn his bread, and that Æsop the fabulist had to -work for a living? and yet they were more learned than ever I shall be. -But Master Billet sent me down here to help on the farm.”</p> - -<p>“Be it so; but my father can force you to do things that I should shrink -from imposing upon you.”</p> - -<p>“Don’t shrink, and impose on me. You will see that I can stand anything. -Besides you have books to keep and accounts to make out; and my strong -point is figuring and ciphering.”</p> - -<p>“I do not think it enough for a man,” rejoined Catherine.</p> - -<p>“Am I good for nothing, then?” groaned Pitou.</p> - -<p>“Well, live here a bit,” she said; “I will think it over and we shall -see what turns up.”</p> - -<p>“You want to think it over, about my staying. What have I done to you, -Miss Catherine? you do not seem to be the same as before.”</p> - -<p>Catherine shrugged her shoulders very slightly. She had no good reasons -to fear Pitou and yet his persistency worried her.</p> - -<p>“Enough of this,” she said, “I am going over to Fertemilon.”</p> - -<p>“I will saddle a horse and go with you.”</p> - -<p>“No; stay where you are.”</p> - -<p>She spoke so imperiously that the peasant remained riveted to the spot, -hanging his head.</p> - -<p>“She thinks I am changed, but,” said he, “it is she who is another sort -altogether.”</p> - -<p>When he was roused by hearing the horse’s hoofs going away, he looked -out and saw Catherine riding by a side path towards the highway.</p> - -<p>It occurred to him that though she had forbid him to accompany her, she -had not said he must not follow her.</p> - -<p>He dashed out and took a short cut through the woods, where he was at -home, till he reached the main road. But though he waited a half-hour, -he saw nobody.<a name="page_051" id="page_051"></a></p> - -<p>He thought she might have forgotten something at the farm and started -back for it; and he returned by the highway. But on looking up a lane he -spied her white cap at a distance.</p> - -<p>Instead of going to Fertemilon, as she distinctly stated, she was -proceeding to Boursonne.</p> - -<p>He darted on in the same direction but by a parallel line.</p> - -<p>It was no longer to follow her but to spy her.</p> - -<p>She had spoken a falsehood. In what end?</p> - -<p>He was answered by seeing her thrash her horse into the trot in order to -rejoin a horseman who rode to meet her with as much eagerness as she -showed on her part.</p> - -<p>On coming nearer, as the pair halted at meeting, Pitou recognized by his -elegant form and stylish dress the neighboring lord, Isidore Charny. He -was brother of the Count of Charny, lieutenant of the Royal Lifeguards, -and accredited as favorite of the Queen.</p> - -<p>Pitou knew him well and lately from having seen him at the village -dances where Catherine chose him for partner.</p> - -<p>Dropping to the ground in the brush and creeping up like a viper, he -heard the couple.</p> - -<p>“You are late to-day, Master Isidore,” began Catherine.</p> - -<p>“To-day?” thought the eavesdropper; “it appears that he has been -punctual on other meetings.”</p> - -<p>“It is not my fault, my darling Kate,” replied the young noble. “A -letter from my brother delayed me, to which I had to reply by the -bearer. But fear nothing, I shall be more exact another time.”</p> - -<p>Catherine smiled and Isidore pressed her hand so tenderly that Pitou -felt upon thorns.</p> - -<p>“Fresh news from Paris?” she asked. “So have I. Did you not say that -when something alike happens to two persons, it is called sympathy?”</p> - -<p>“Just so. Who brings you news?”</p> - -<p>“Pitou.”</p> - -<p>“And pray who is Pitou?” asked the young noble with a free and easy air -which changed the red of the listener’s cheek to crimson.</p> - -<p>“You know well enough,” was her reply: “Pitou is the<a name="page_052" id="page_052"></a> farmboy that my -father took on out of charity: the one who played propriety for me when -I went to the dance.”</p> - -<p>“Lord, yes—the chap with knees that look like knots tied in a rope.”</p> - -<p>Catherine set to laughing. Pitou felt lowered; he looked at his knees, -so useful lately while he was keeping pace with a horse, and he sighed.</p> - -<p>“Come, come, do not tear my poor Pitou to pieces,” said Catherine; “Let -me tell you that he wanted to come with me just now—to Fertemilon, -where I pretended I was going.”</p> - -<p>“Why did you not accept the squire—he would have amused you.”</p> - -<p>“Not always,” laughed the girl.</p> - -<p>“You are right, my pet,” said Isidore, fixing his eyes, brilliant with -love, on the pretty girl.</p> - -<p>She hid her blushing face in his arms closing round it.</p> - -<p>Pitou closed his eyes not to see, but he did not close his ears, and the -sound of a kiss reached them. He tore his hair in despair.</p> - -<p>When he came to his senses the loving couple were slowly riding away.</p> - -<p>The last words he caught were:</p> - -<p>“You are right, Master Isidore; let us ride about for an hour which I -will gain by making my nag go faster—he is a good beast who will tell -no tales,” she added, merrily.</p> - -<p>This was all: the vision vanished. Darkness fell on Pitou’s spirit and -he said:</p> - -<p>“No more of the farm for me, where I am trodden on and made fun of. I am -not going to eat the bread of a woman who is in love with another man, -handsomer, richer and more graceful than me, I allow. No, my place is -not in the town but in my village of Haramont, where I may find those -who will think well of me whether my knees are like knots in a rope or -not.”</p> - -<p>He marched towards his native place, where his reputation and that of -his sword and helmet had preceded him, and where glory awaited him, if -not happiness. But we know that perfect bliss is not a human attribute.<a name="page_053" id="page_053"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII"></a>CHAPTER VIII.<br /><br /> -ANOTHER BLOW.</h2> - -<p>A<small>S</small> everybody in his village would be abed by ten o’clock, Pitou was glad -to find accommodation at the inn, where he slept till seven in the -morning. At that hour everybody had risen.</p> - -<p>On leaving the Dolphin Tavern, he noticed that his sword and casque won -universal attention. A crowd was round him in a few steps.</p> - -<p>Undoubtedly he had attained popularity.</p> - -<p>Few prophets have this good fortune in their own country. But few -prophets have mean and acrimonious aunts who bake fowls in rice for them -to eat up the whole at a sitting. Besides, the brazen helmet and the -heavy dragoon’s sabre recommended Pitou to his fellow-villager’s -attention.</p> - -<p>Hence, some of the Villers Cotterets folk, who had escorted him about -their town, were constrained to accompany him to his village of -Haramont. This caused the inhabitants of the latter to appreciate their -fellow-villager at his true worth.</p> - -<p>The fact is, the ground was prepared for the seed. He had flitted -through their midst before so rapidly that it was a wonder he left any -trace of memory: but they were impressed and they were glad of his -second appearance. They overwhelmed him with tokens of consideration, -begged him to lay aside his armor, and pitch his tent under the four -lime trees shading the village green.</p> - -<p>Pitou yielded all the more readily as it was his intention to take up -residence here and he accepted the offer of a room which a bellicose -villager let him have furnished. Settling the terms, the rent <i>per -annum</i> being but six livres, the price of two fowls baked in rice, Ange -took possession, treated those who had accompanied him to mugs of cider -all round, and made a speech on the doorsill.<a name="page_054" id="page_054"></a></p> - -<p>His speech was a great event, with all Haramont encircling the doorstep. -Pitou had studied a little; he had heard Paris speechifying -inexhaustibly; there was a space between him and General Lafayette as -there is between Paris and Haramont, mentally speaking.</p> - -<p>He began by saying that he came back to the hamlet as into the bosom of -his only family. This was a touching allusion to his orphanage for the -women to hear.</p> - -<p>Then he related that he and Farmer Billet had gone to Paris on hearing -that Dr. Gilbert had been arrested and because a casket Gilbert had -entrusted to his farmer had been stolen from him by the myrmidons of the -King under false pretences. Billet and he had rescued the doctor from -the Bastile by attacking it, with a few Parisians at their back. At the -end of his story his helmet was as grand as the cupola of an -observatory.</p> - -<p>He ascribed the outbreak to the privileges of the nobility and clergy -and called on his brothers to unite against the common enemy.</p> - -<p>At this point he drew his sabre and brandished it.</p> - -<p>This gave him the cue to call the Haramontese to arms after the example -of revolted Paris.</p> - -<p>The Revolution was proclaimed in the village.</p> - -<p>All echoed the cry of “To arms!” but the only arms in the place were -those old Spanish muskets kept at Father Fortier’s.</p> - -<p>A bold youth, who had not, like Pitou, been educated under his knout, -proposed going thither to demand them. Ange wavered, but had to yield to -the impulse of the mob.</p> - -<p>“Heavens,” he muttered: “if they thus lead me before I am their leader, -what will it be when I am at their head?”</p> - -<p>He was compelled to promise to summon his old master to deliver the -firearms. Next day, therefore, he armed himself and departed for Father -Fortier’s academy.</p> - -<p>He knocked at the garden door loud enough to be heard there, and yet -modestly enough not to be heard in the house.</p> - -<p>He did it to tranquilize his conscience, and was surprised to see the -door open; but it was Sebastian who stood on the sill.<a name="page_055" id="page_055"></a></p> - -<p>He was musing in the grounds, with an open book in his hand.</p> - -<p>He uttered a cry of gladness on seeing Pitou, for whom he had a line in -his father’s letter to impart.</p> - -<p>“Billet wishes you to remind him to Pitou and tell him not to upset the -men, and things on the farm.”</p> - -<p>“Me? a lot I have to do with the farm,” muttered the young man: “the -advice had better be sent on to Master Isidore.”</p> - -<p>But all he said aloud was: “Where is the father?”</p> - -<p>Sebastian pointed and walked away. Priest Fortier was coming down into -the garden. Pitou composed his face for the encounter with his former -master.</p> - -<p>Fortier had been almoner of the old hunting-box in the woods and as such -was keeper of the lumber-room. Among the effects of the hunting -establishment of the Duke of Orleans were old weapons and particularly -some fifty musketoons, brought home from the Ouessant battle by Prince -Joseph Philip, which he had given to the township. Not knowing what to -do with them, the section selectmen left them under charge of the -schoolmaster.</p> - -<p>The old gentleman was clad in clerical black, with his cat-o’-nine tails -thrust into his girdle like a sword. On seeing Pitou, who saluted him, -he folded up the newspaper he was reading and tucked it into his band on -the opposite side to the scourge.</p> - -<p>“Pitou?” he exclaimed.</p> - -<p>“At your service as far as he is capable,” said the other.</p> - -<p>“But the trouble is that you are not capable, you Revolutionist.”</p> - -<p>This was a declaration of war, for it was clear that Pitou had put the -abbe out of temper.</p> - -<p>“Hello! why do you call me a Revolutionist? do you think I have turned -the state over all by myself?”</p> - -<p>“You are hand and glove with those who did it.”</p> - -<p>“Father, every man is free in his mind,” returned Pitou. “I do not say -it in Latin for I have improved in that tongue since I quitted your -school. Those whom I frequent and at whom you sneer, talk it like their -own and they would think the way you taught it to be faulty.<a name="page_056" id="page_056"></a>”</p> - -<p>“My Latin faulty?” repeated the pedagogue, visibly wounded by the -ex-pupil’s manner. “How comes it that you never spoke up in this style -when you were under my—whip—that is, roof?”</p> - -<p>“Because you brutalized me then,” responded Pitou: “your despotism -trampled on my wits, and liberty could not lay hold of my speech. You -treated me like a fool, whereas all men are equal.”</p> - -<p>“I will never suffer anybody to utter such rank blasphemy before me,” -cried the irritated schoolmaster. “You the equal of one whom nature and -heaven have taken sixty years to form? never!”</p> - -<p>“Ask General Lafayette, who has proclaimed the Rights of Man.”</p> - -<p>“What, do you quote as an authority that traitor, that firebrand of all -discord, that bad subject of the King?”</p> - -<p>“It is you who blaspheme,” retaliated the peasant: “you must have been -buried for the last three months. This bad subject is the very one who -most serves the King. This torch of discord is the pledge of public -peace. This traitor is the best of Frenchmen.”</p> - -<p>“Oh,” thundered the priest, “that ever I should believe that the royal -authority should sink so low that a goodfornothing of this sort invokes -Lafayette as once they called on Aristides.”</p> - -<p>“Lucky for you the people do not hear you,” said Pitou.</p> - -<p>“Oho, you reveal yourself now in your true colors,” said the priest -triumphantly: “you bully me. The people, those who cut the throats of -the royal bodyguard; who trample on the fallen, the people of your -Baillys, Lafayettes and Pitous. Why do you not denounce me to the people -of Villers Cotterets? Why do you not tuck up your sleeves to drag me out -to hang me up to the lamppost? where is your rope—you can be the -hangman.”</p> - -<p>“You are saying odious things—you insult me,” said Pitou. “Have a care -that I do not show you up to the National Assembly!”</p> - -<p>“Show me up? I will show you up, sirrah! as a failure as a scholar, as a -Latinist full of barbarisms, and as a beggar who<a name="page_057" id="page_057"></a> comes preaching -subversive doctrines in order to prey upon your clients.”</p> - -<p>“I do not prey upon anybody—it is not by <i>preying</i> I live but by work: -and as for lowering me in the eyes of my fellow-citizens, know that I -have been elected by them commander of the National Guards of Haramont.”</p> - -<p>“National Guards at Haramont? and you, Pitou, the captain? Abomination -of desolation! Such gangs as you would be chief of must be robbers, -footpads, bandits, and highwaymen.”</p> - -<p>“On the contrary, they are organized to defend the home and the fields -as well as the life and liberties of all good citizens. That is why we -have [illegible]oc me to—for the arms.”</p> - -<p>“Arms? oh, my museum?” shrieked the schoolmaster. “You come to pillage -my arsenal. The armor of the paladins on your ignoble backs. You are mad -to want to arm the ragamuffins of Pitou with the swords of the Spaniards -and the pikes of the Swiss.”</p> - -<p>The priest laughed with such disdainful menace that Pitou shuddered in -every vein.</p> - -<p>“No, father, we do not want the old curiosities, but the thirty marines’ -guns which you have.”</p> - -<p>“Avaunt!” said the abbe, taking a step towards the envoy.</p> - -<p>“And you shall have the glory of contributing to deliver the country of -the oppressors,” said Pitou, who took a backward step.</p> - -<p>“Furnish weapons against myself and friends,” said the other, “give you -guns to be fired against myself?” He plucked his scourge from his belt. -“Never, never!”</p> - -<p>He waved the whip over his head.</p> - -<p>“But your refusal will have a bad effect,” pleaded Pitou, retreating, -“you will be accused of national treason, and of being no citizen. Do -not expose yourself to this, good Father Fortier!”</p> - -<p>“Mark me a martyr, eh, Nero? is that what you intend?” roared the -priest, with flaring eye and much more resembling the executioner than -the victim.</p> - -<p>“No, father, I come as a peaceful envoy to——“</p> - -<p>“Pillage my house for arms as your friends gutted the Soldiers’ Home at -Paris.<a name="page_058" id="page_058"></a>”</p> - -<p>“We received plenty of praise for that up there,” said Ange.</p> - -<p>“And you would get plenty of strokes of the whip down here.”</p> - -<p>“Look out,” said Pitou, who had backed to the door, and who recognized -the scourge as an old acquaintance, “you must not violate the rights of -man!”</p> - -<p>“You shall see about that, rascal.”</p> - -<p>“I am protected by my sacred character as an ambassador——“</p> - -<p>“Are you?”</p> - -<p>And just as Pitou had to turn after getting the street door open, for he -had backed through the hall, the infuriated schoolmaster let him have a -terrible lash where his backplate would have to be unusually long to -defend him. Whatever the courage of the conqueror of the Bastile, he -could not help emitting a shriek of pain as he bounded out among the -crowd expecting him.</p> - -<p>At the yell, neighbors ran forth from their dwellings and to the -profound general astonishment all beheld the young man flying with all -swiftness under his helmet and with his sabre, while Father Fortier -stood on the doorstep, brandishing his whip like the Exterminating Angel -waves his sword.</p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX"></a>CHAPTER IX.<br /><br /> -PITOU BECOMES A TACTICIAN.</h2> - -<p>O<small>UR</small> hero’s fall was deep. How could he go back to his friends without -the arms? How, after having had so much confidence shown in him, tell -them that their leader was a braggart who, in spite of his sword and -helmet, had let a priest whack him in the rear?</p> - -<p>To vaunt of carrying all before him with Father Fortier and fail so -shamefully—what a fault!</p> - -<p>To obtain the muskets, force or cunning was the means. He might steal -into the school and steal out the arms. But the word “steal,” sounded -badly in the rustic’s ears. There were<a name="page_059" id="page_059"></a> still left some people in France -who would call this the high-handed outrage of brigands.</p> - -<p>So he recoiled before force and treachery.</p> - -<p>His vanity was committed to the task, and prompted a fresh direction for -his searches.</p> - -<p>General Lafayette was Commander-in-chief of the National Guards of -France; Haramont was in France and had a National Guards company. -Consequently, General Lafayette commanded the latter force. He could not -tolerate that his soldiers at Haramont should go unarmed when all his -others were armed. To appeal to Lafayette, he could apply to Billet who -would address Gilbert, and he the general.</p> - -<p>Pitou wrote to Billet but as he could not read, it must be Gilbert who -would have the letter placed before him.</p> - -<p>This settled, he waited for nightfall, returned to his lodgings -mysteriously and let his friends there see that he was writing at night. -This was the large square note which they also saw him post next day:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>“<span class="smcap">Dear and honored friend Billet</span>:</p> - -<p>“The Revolutionary cause gains daily hereabouts and while the -aristocrats lose, the patriots advance. The Village of Haramont -enrolls itself in the active service of the National Guard; but it -has no arms. The means to procure them lies in those who harbor -arms in quantity should be made to surrender the overplus, so that -the country would be saved expense. If it pleases General Lafayette -to authorize that such illegal magazines of arms should be placed -at the call of the townships, proportionately to the number of men -to be armed, I undertake for my part to supply the Haramont Arsenal -with at least thirty guns. This is the only means to oppose a dam -to the contra-Revolutionary movements of the aristocrats and -enemies of the Nation.</p> - -<p class="r"> -“Your fellow-Citizen and most humble Servant,<br /> -“<span class="smcap">Ange Pitou</span>.”</p></div> - -<p>When this was written the author perceived that he had omitted to speak -to his correspondent of his wife and daughter. He treated him too much -in the Brutus style; on the<a name="page_060" id="page_060"></a> other hand, to give Billet particulars -about Catherine’s love affair was to rend the father’s heart; it was -also to re-open Pitou’s bleeding wounds. He stifled a sigh and appended -this P. S.</p> - -<p>“Mistress Billet and Miss Catherine and all the household are well, and -beg to be remembered to Master Billet.”</p> - -<p>Thus he entangled neither himself nor others.</p> - -<p>The reply to this was not slow in coming. Two days subsequently, a -mounted express messenger dashed into Haramont and asked for Captain -Ange Pitou. His horse was white with foam. He wore the uniform of a -staff-officer of the Parisian National Guards.</p> - -<p>Judge of the effect he produced and the trouble and throbs of Pitou! He -went up to the officer who smiled, and pale and trembling he took the -paper he bore for him. It was a response from Billet, by the hand of -Gilbert.</p> - -<p>Billet advised Pitou to move moderately in his patriotism.</p> - -<p>He enclosed General Lafayette’s order, countersigned by the War -Minister, to arm the Haramont National Guards.</p> - -<p>The bearer was an officer charged to see to the arming of cities on the -road.</p> - -<p>Thus ran the Order:</p> - -<p>“All who possess more than one gun or sword are hereby bound to place -the excess at the disposal of the chief officials in their cantons. The -Present Measure is to be executed throughout the entire country.”</p> - -<p>Red with joy, Pitou thanked the officer, who smiled again, and started -off for the next post for changing horses.</p> - -<p>Thus was our friend at the high tide of honor: he had received a -communication from General Lafayette, and the War Minister.</p> - -<p>This message served his schemes and plans most timely.</p> - -<p>To see the animated faces of his fellows, their brightened eyes and -eager manner; the profound respect all at once entertained for Ange -Pitou, the most credulous observer must have owned that he had become an -important character.</p> - -<p>One after another the electors begged to touch the seal of the War -Department.<a name="page_061" id="page_061"></a></p> - -<p>When the crowd had tapered down to the chosen friends, Pitou said:</p> - -<p>“Citizens, my plans have succeeded as I anticipated. I wrote to the -Commander-in-chief your desire to be constituted National Guards, and -your choice of me as leader. Read the address on the order brought me.”</p> - -<p>The envelope was superscribed: “<span class="smcap">Captain Ange Pitou</span>, Commander of the -National Guards. Haramont.”</p> - -<p>“Therefore,” continued the martial peasant, “I am known and accepted as -commander by the Chief of the Army. You are recognized and approved as -Soldiers of the Nation by General Lafayette and the Minister of War.”</p> - -<p>A long cheer shook the walls of the little house which sheltered Pitou.</p> - -<p>“I know where to get the arms,” he went on. “Select two of your number -to accompany me. Let them be lusty lads, for we may have a difficulty.”</p> - -<p>The embryo regiment chose one Claude Tellier sergeant and one Desire -Maniquet lieutenant. Pitou approved.</p> - -<p>Accompanied by the two, Captain Pitou proceeded once more to Villers -Cotterets where he went straight to the mayor to be still farther -supported in his demand.</p> - -<p>On the way he was puzzled why the letter from Billet, written by -Gilbert, asked no news of Sebastian.</p> - -<p>On the way he fretted over a paragraph in the letter from Billet, -written as it was by Dr. Gilbert, which read:</p> - -<p>“Why has Pitou forgot to send news about Sebastian and why does not the -boy himself write news?”</p> - -<p>Meanwhile, Father Fortier was little aware of the storm he had aroused; -and nobody was more astounded when a thunderclap came to his door. When -it was opened he saw on the sill the mayor, his vice, and his secretary. -Behind them appeared the cocked hats of two gendarmes, and half-a-dozen -curious people behind them.</p> - -<p>“Father Fortier,” said the mayor, “are you aware of the new decree of -the Minister of War?”</p> - -<p>“No, mayor,” said he.</p> - -<p>“Read it, then.”</p> - -<p>The secretary read the warrant to take extra arms from the domiciles. -The schoolmaster turned pale.<a name="page_062" id="page_062"></a></p> - -<p>“The Haramont National Guard have come for the guns.”</p> - -<p>Fortier jumped as if he meant to fly at the guardsmen.</p> - -<p>Judging that this was the nick for his appearance, Pitou approached, -backed by his lieutenant and sergeant.</p> - -<p>“These rogues,” cried the abbe, passing from white to red, “these -scums!”</p> - -<p>The mayor was a neutral who wanted things to go on quietly; he had no -wish to quarrel with the altar or the guard-house; the invectives only -called forth his hearty laugh.</p> - -<p>“You hear how the reverend gentleman treats the Haramont National -Guards,” he said to Pitou and his officers.</p> - -<p>“Because he knew us when boys and does not think we have grown up,” said -Ange, with melancholy mildness.</p> - -<p>“But we have become men,” roughly said Maniquet, holding out towards the -priest his hand, maimed by a gun going off prematurely while he was -poaching on a nobleman’s warren. Needless to say he was determined the -nobility should pay for this accident.</p> - -<p>“Serpents,” said the schoolmaster in irritation.</p> - -<p>“Who will sting if trodden on,” retorted Sergeant Claude, joining in.</p> - -<p>In these threats the mayor saw the extent of the Revolution and the -priest martyrdom.</p> - -<p>“We want some of the arms here,” said the former, to conciliate -everybody.</p> - -<p>“They are not mine but belong to the Duke of Orleans,” was the reply.</p> - -<p>“Granted,” said Pitou, “but that does not prevent us asking for them all -the same.”</p> - -<p>“I will write to the prince,” said the pedagogue loftily.</p> - -<p>“You forget that the delay will avail nothing,” interposed the mayor; -“the duke is for the people and would reply that they ought to be given -not only the muskets but the old cannon.”</p> - -<p>This probability painfully struck the priest who groaned in Latin: “I am -surrounded by foes.”</p> - -<p>“Quite true, but these are merely political enemies,” observed Pitou; -“we hate in you only the bad patriot.<a name="page_063" id="page_063"></a>”</p> - -<p>“Absurd and dangerous fool,” returned the priest, in excitement which -gave him eloquence of a kind, “which is of us the better lover of his -country, I who wish to keep cruel weapons in the shade, or you demanding -them for civil strife and discord? which is the true son, I who seek -palms to decorate our common mother, or you who hunt for the steel to -rend her bosom?”</p> - -<p>The mayor turned aside his head to hide his emotion, making a slight nod -as much as to say: “That is very neatly put.” The deputy mayor, like -another Tarquin, was cropping the flowers with his cane. Ange was set -back, which caused his two companions to frown.</p> - -<p>Sebastian, a Spartan child, was impassible. Going up to Pitou he asked -him what was the to-do.</p> - -<p>“An order signed by General Lafayette, and written by my father?” he -repeated when briefly informed. “Why is there any hesitation in obeying -it?”</p> - -<p>He revealed the indomitable spirit of the two races creating him in his -dilated pupils, and the rigidity of his brow.</p> - -<p>The priest shuddered to hear the words and lowered his crest.</p> - -<p>“This is rebellion,” continued Sebastian; “beware, sir!”</p> - -<p>“Thou, also?” cried the schoolmaster, draping himself in his gown after -the manner of Caesar.</p> - -<p>“And I,” said Pitou, comprehending that his post was at stake. “Do you -style me a traitor, because I came to you with the olive branch in my -hand to ask the arms, and am forced this day to wrench them from you -under support of the authorities? Well, I would rather appear as a -traitor to my duties than give a favoring hand to the Anti-Revolution. -The Country forever and above all! hand over the arms, or we will use -ours!”</p> - -<p>The mayor nodded on the sly to Pitou as he had to the priest to signify: -“You have said that finely.”</p> - -<p>The speech had thunderstricken the priest and electrified the hearers. -The mayor slipped away, and the deputy would have liked to follow his -example, but the absence of the two principal functionaries would look -bad. He therefore followed the secretary, who led the gendarmes along to -the museum,<a name="page_064" id="page_064"></a> guided by Pitou who, instructed in the place was also -instructed on the place of deposit.</p> - -<p>Like a lion cub, Sebastian bounded with the patriots. The schoolmaster -fell half dead on a chair.</p> - -<p>The invaders wanted to pillage everything, but Pitou only selected -thirty-three muskets, with an extra one, a rifle, for himself, together -with a straight sword, which he girded on.</p> - -<p>The others, made up into two bundles, were carried by the joyous pair of -officers in spite of the weight, past the disconsolate priest.</p> - -<p>They were distributed to the Haramontese that evening, and in presenting -a gun to each, Pitou said, like the Spartan mother giving out the -buckler: “Come home with it, or go to sleep on it!”</p> - -<p>Thus was the little place set in a ferment by Pitou’s act. The delight -was great to own a gun where firearms had been forbidden lest the lords’ -game should be injured and where the long oppression of the gamekeepers -had infused a mania for hunting.</p> - -<p>But Pitou did not participate in the glee. The soldiers had weapons but -not only was their captain ignorant how to drill them but to handle them -in file or squad.</p> - -<p>During the night his taxed brain suggested the remedy.</p> - -<p>He remembered an old friend, also an old soldier, who had lost a leg at -the Battle of Fontenoy; the Duke of Orleans gave him the privilege to -live in the woods, and kill either a hare or a rabbit a-day. He was a -dead shot and on the proceeds of his shooting under this license he -fared very well.</p> - -<p>His manual of arms might be musty but then Pitou could procure from -Paris the new Drill-book of the National Guards, and correct what was -obsolete by the newest tactics.</p> - -<p>He called on old Clovis at a lucky moment as the old hunter was saddened -by his gun having burst. He welcomed the present of the rifle which Ange -brought him and eagerly embraced the opportunity of paying him in -kindness by teaching him the drill.</p> - -<p>Each day Pitou repeated to his soldiery what he had learnt overnight -from the hunter, and he became more popular, the admired of men, -children and the aged. Even women were<a name="page_065" id="page_065"></a> quieted when his lusty voice -thundered: “Heads up—eyes right! bear yourselves nobly! look at me!” -for Pitou looked noble.</p> - -<p>As soon as the manoeuvres became complicated, Pitou went over to a large -town where he studied the troops on the parade grounds, and picked up -more in a day from practice than from the books in three months.</p> - -<p>Thus two months passed by, in fatigue, toil and feverish excitement.</p> - -<p>Pitou was still unhappy in love, but he was satiated with glory. He had -run about so much, so moved his limbs, and whetted his mind, that you -may be astonished that he should long to appease or comfort his heart. -But he was thinking of that.</p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_X" id="CHAPTER_X"></a>CHAPTER X.<br /><br /> -THE LOVER’S PARTING.</h2> - -<p>M<small>ANY</small> times after drill, and that followed nights spent in learning the -tactics, Pitou would wander in the skirts of Boursonne Wood to see how -faithful Catherine was to her love-trysts.</p> - -<p>Stealing an hour or two from her farm and house duties, the girl would -go to a little hunting-box, in a rabbit warren belonging to Boursonne -Manor, to meet the happy Isidore, the mortal more than ever proud and -handsome, when all the country was in suffering around him.</p> - -<p>What anguish devoured poor Pitou, what sad reflections he was driven to -make on the inequality of men as regards happiness.</p> - -<p>He whom the pretty maids were ogling, preferred to come and mope like a -dog whipped for following the master too far from home, at the door of -the summerhouse where the amorous pair were billing and cooing.</p> - -<p>All because he adored Catherine and the more as he deemed her vastly -superior to him. He did not regard her as loving another, for Isidore -Charny had ceased to be an object<a name="page_066" id="page_066"></a> of jealousy. He was a lord, handsome -and worthy of being loved: but Catherine as a daughter of the lower -orders ought not for that reason disgrace her family or drive Pitou to -despair.</p> - -<p>Meditation on this cut him with sharp edges and keen points.</p> - -<p>“She showed no proper feeling in letting me go from the farm,” he mused, -“and since I went off, she has not inquired whether I starved to death -or not. What would Father Billet say if he knew how his friends are thus -cast off, and his business neglected? What would he say if he heard -that, instead of looking after the working people, his daughter goes to -keep appointments with the aristocrat, Lord Charny? He would not say -much, but he would kill her. It is something to have the means of -revenge in one’s hand,” thought Pitou.</p> - -<p>But it is grander not to use them.</p> - -<p>Still, Pitou had learnt that there is no benefit in doing good unless -the actions are known to the person befriended.</p> - -<p>Would it be possible to let Catherine know that he was helping her?</p> - -<p>He knew that she came through the woods to go to the hunting-box, and it -was very easy for him to plant himself under the trees, a book in hand -as if he were studying, where she would be sure to come along.</p> - -<p>Indeed, as he was pretending to pore over the “Perfect National -Guardsman,” after having watched her to her rendezvous, he heard the -soft shutting of a door. The rustle of a dress in the brush came next. -Catherine’s head appeared above the bushes, looking with an apprehensive -air all round for fear somebody would see her.</p> - -<p>She was ten paces from her rustic worshipper, who kept still with the -book on his knee. But he no longer looked on it but at the girl so that -she should mark that he saw her.</p> - -<p>She uttered a slight faint, stifled scream, recognized him, became pale -as though death had flitted by and grazed her, and, after a short -indecision betrayed in her trembling and the shrug of her shoulders, she -flew wildly into the underwood and found her hitched-up horse in the -forest. She mounted and fled.<a name="page_067" id="page_067"></a></p> - -<p>Pitou’s plot was well laid and she had fallen into it.</p> - -<p>He went home, half-frightened, half delighted.</p> - -<p>He perceived a number of details most alarming in the accomplished -trick.</p> - -<p>The following Sunday was appointed for a grand military parade at -Haramont. Sufficiently drilled, the Haramontese meant to give warlike -exercises. Several rival villages also making military studies, were to -contest with them in the career of arms.</p> - -<p>The announcement drew a great crowd, and the people in holiday attire -gathered on the green, where they feasted frugally on homemade cake and -fruit, washed down with spring water.</p> - -<p>Some of the spectators were the gentry and squires, come to laugh at the -clowns playing at soldiers.</p> - -<p>Haramont had become a centre, for four corps of other Guards came -hither, headed by fife and drum.</p> - -<p>Among the farmers, came Catherine and Mother Billet on horseback.</p> - -<p>This was at the same time as the Haramont National Guard marched up, -with fife and drum, with Commander Pitou on a borrowed white horse, in -order that the likeness should be complete to General Lafayette -reviewing the National Guards at Paris.</p> - -<p>Without joking, if he did not look stylish and aristocratic, he was -noble and valiant and pleasant to behold.</p> - -<p>This company of Guards had shining muskets, the national cockades, and -marched with most satisfactory time in two files. It had won the tribute -before reaching the parade ground.</p> - -<p>Out of the corner of his eye, Pitou saw that Catherine changed color. -From that moment the review had more interest to him than anything in -the world.</p> - -<p>He passed his men through the simple manual of arms, and they did it so -smartly and neatly that it elicited applause.</p> - -<p>Not so with the competitors, who were irregularly armed and had not been -trained steadily. Others exaggerated from their conceit what they could -have done properly.</p> - -<p>On the whole imperfect results.</p> - -<p>For the grand array, Pitou was outranked in seniority by an<a name="page_068" id="page_068"></a> army -sergeant who took the general command; but unhappily he had grasped more -than he could hold: he bunched his men, lost grip of some files, let a -company meander under the surrounding trees, and finally lost his head -so that his own soldiers began to grumble.</p> - -<p>From the Haramont side rose a shout:</p> - -<p>“Let Pitou try!”</p> - -<p>“Yes, yes Pitou!” caught up the other villagers, furious at their -inferiority being manifested through their own instructors.</p> - -<p>Pitou jumped on his white charger, and replacing himself at the head of -his troop, become the rallying point of the little army, uttered a word -of command so superbly that the oaks shivered. On the instant, and as by -miracle, order was re-established: the movements fitted in with one -another with such uniformity that the enthusiasm did not disturb the -regularity. Pitou so well applied the theory of the instruction books -and the practice of old Clovis that he obtained immense success.</p> - -<p>Formed into a hollow square, the whole army raised but one voice and -proclaimed him Colonel on the spot.</p> - -<p>Bathed in perspiration and drunk with glory, Pitou got down off his -horse and received the people’s felicitations when he alighted.</p> - -<p>But at the same time he glanced round for Catherine. He heard her voice -by his side; he had no need to hunt for her, as she had come to him. -Great was this triumph.</p> - -<p>“Have you not a word for us, Captain Pitou?” she demanded, with a -laughing air belied by her pale face; “I suppose you have grown proud -since you are a great general?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, no,” responded he, saluting, “I am not that, but just a poor fellow -who loves his country and desires to serve her.”</p> - -<p>This reply was carried away on the waves of the multitude and was -proclaimed sublime by the acclamation in unison.</p> - -<p>“Ange, I want to speak with you,” whispered Catherine. “Do come back to -the farm with mother and me.”</p> - -<p>“All right.”</p> - -<p>Catherine had already arranged that they should be alone together on the -road. She had switched her mother into the train of several neighbors -and gossips who held her in talk so<a name="page_069" id="page_069"></a> that the girl could walk through -the woods with the National Guardsman.</p> - -<p>“Why have you kept aloof from the farm so long?” began Catherine when -they were beneath the hoary oaks. “It is bad behavior on your part.”</p> - -<p>Pitou was silent, for it hurt him to hear Catherine tell lies.</p> - -<p>“But, I have something else to speak about,” she continued, seeing that -he was avoiding her with his usually straight and loyal glance. “The -other day I saw you in the copse. Did you know me?”</p> - -<p>“Not at first, but I did know you.”</p> - -<p>“What were you doing there in hiding?”</p> - -<p>“Why should I be in hiding? I was studying a military book.”</p> - -<p>“I only thought that curiosity——“</p> - -<p>“I am not a Peeping Tom.”</p> - -<p>She stamped testily with her small foot.</p> - -<p>“You are always stuck there and it is not a regular place for students.”</p> - -<p>“It is very secluded—nothing disturbs one there.”</p> - -<p>“Nothing? do you stay there any length of time?”</p> - -<p>“Sometimes whole days.”</p> - -<p>“And have you been in the habit of making that your resort?” she -inquired quickly.</p> - -<p>“Since a good while back.”</p> - -<p>“It is astonishing that I should not have seen you before,” she said, -lying so boldly that Pitou was almost convinced.</p> - -<p>But he was ashamed for her sake; he was timid from being in love and -this led him to be guarded.</p> - -<p>“I may have dozed off,” he replied; “it has happened when I have taxed -my brain too much.”</p> - -<p>“Then in your sleep you would not have noticed where I strayed for -shade—I would go as far as the walls of the old shooting-lodge.”</p> - -<p>“What lodge?” questioned Pitou.</p> - -<p>“The Charny Hunting-lodge,” replied she, blushing from his innocence -being too thickly laid on not to be suspicious. “It is there grow the -finest houseleeks in the section. I burnt myself while ironing and -wanted to make a poultice of them.”</p> - -<p>As if willing to believe her, he looked at her hands.<a name="page_070" id="page_070"></a></p> - -<p>“No, not my hand, my foot,” she said quickly. “I—I dropped the iron: -but it has done me good; you see, that I do not limp.”</p> - -<p>“She did not limp either when she scampered through the wood like a -fawn,” thought Ange.</p> - -<p>She imagined she had succeeded and that Pitou had seen and heard -nothing. Giving way to delight, mean in so fine a spirit, she said:</p> - -<p>“So Captain Pitou is riding his high horse; proud of his new rank, he -scorns us rustics from being a military officer.”</p> - -<p>Pitou felt wounded. Even a dissimulated sacrifice almost requires some -reward, and as Catherine only mystified Pitou or jested at him, no doubt -contrasting him with the intelligent Charny, all his good intentions -vanished. Self-esteem is a charmed serpent, on which it is perillous to -step unless you crush it once for all.</p> - -<p>“It seems to me that you are the haughty one,” he returned, “for you -drove me off the farm on the grounds that there was no work for me. I -haven’t told Master Billet so far I have arms for earning my bread, -thank God! However, you are the mistress under your own roof. In short, -you sent me away. Hence, as you saw me at the Charny Lodge, and we were -not enemies, it was your place to speak to me instead of running away -like a boy stealing apples.”</p> - -<p>The viper had bitten; Catherine dropped out of her calm.</p> - -<p>“I, run away?” she exclaimed.</p> - -<p>“As though fire had broken out on the farm. I had not time to shut up my -book before you were on the back of Younker, where he was concealed in -the foliage, after barking an ashtree, and ruining it.”</p> - -<p>“What do you mean by ruining?”</p> - -<p>“That is right enough,” continued Pitou: “while you were gathering -houseleeks, Younker was browsing, and in an hour a horse eats a heap of -stuff. It must have taken quite an hour for him to strip that sized tree -of bark. You must have collected enough plants to cure all the wounds -inflicted in taking the Bastile—it is a great thing for poultices!”</p> - -<p>Pale and in despair, Catherine could not find a word to speak. Pitou was -silent also, as he had said quite enough.<a name="page_071" id="page_071"></a></p> - -<p>Mother Billet, stopping at the road forks, was bidding adieu to her -cronies.</p> - -<p>“What does the officer say?” queried the woman.</p> - -<p>“He says goodnight to you, Mother Billet.”</p> - -<p>“Not yet,” cried Catherine with a desperate tone. “Tell me the -truth—are we no longer friends?”</p> - -<p>Pitou felt his secret well up to his lips: but it was all over with him -if he spoke; so he bowed mutely with respect which touched her heart; -gave Mother Billet a pleasant smile, and disappeared in the dense wood.</p> - -<p>“Is that what is called love?” Pitou monologued to himself; “it is sweet -at times and then again bitter.”</p> - -<p>He returned to Haramont, singing the most doleful of rural ballads to -the mournfullest tunes.</p> - -<p>Luckily he did not find his warriors in any such mood. On the contrary, -they were preparing for a feast and they had set aside the chair of -honor for their Caesar who had overcome the other villages’ Pompeys.</p> - -<p>Dragged by his officers into the banquet room, he saluted in silence in -return for the greetings, and with the calmness we know as his, attacked -the roast veal and potatoes. His action lasted so long that his -“digester” was filled while his heart was freed of gall. At the end of a -couple of hours he perceived that his grief was no worse.</p> - -<p>He stood up when his brother revellers could not stand, while the ladies -had fled before the dessert. He made a speech on the sobriety of the -Spartans—when all were dead drunk. He said that it was healthier to -take a stroll than sleep under the table.</p> - -<p>Alone he set the example; he asked of the shadows beneath the glades, -why he should be so stern towards a young woman, made for love, grace -and sweetness; one who might also cherish a fancy at the outset of life? -Alas, why had she not fancied him?</p> - -<p>Why should an ugly, uncouth bear like him inspire amorous sentiments in -a pretty girl, when a handsome young nobleman—a very peacock beside -him—was there to glitter and enchant?</p> - -<p>He reasoned that, dazzled by Charny’s brilliancy, she would<a name="page_072" id="page_072"></a> not see -Pitou’s real value if he acted harshly towards her. Consequently, he -ought to behave nicely to her.</p> - -<p>The good soul, heated white hot by wine and love, vowed to make -Catherine ashamed of having scorned the affection of such a sterling -lover as he was.</p> - -<p>He could not admit that the fair, chaste and proud Catherine was -anything like a plaything to the dashing gallant, or a bright flirt, -smiling on the lace ruffles and spurred boots.</p> - -<p>Some day Master Isidore would go to the city to marry a countess, and -the romance would end by his never looking at Catherine again.</p> - -<p>To prove to the maid that he was not ugly, he resolved to take back any -harsh words he had used; to do which it was necessary for him to see -her.</p> - -<p>He started through the woods for the Billet Farm, slashing the bushes -with his stick—which blows the shrubs returned with usury.</p> - -<p>During this time Catherine was pensively following her mother.</p> - -<p>A few steps from the farm was a swamp. The road narrows there so that -two horses can hardly go abreast. Mother Billet had gone through and the -girl was about to follow when she heard a whistle.</p> - -<p>In the shadow she spied the laced cap of Isidore’s groom. She let her -mother ride on and waited for the messenger.</p> - -<p>“Master wants to see you very particular this evening at eleven, -wherever you like,” said the man.</p> - -<p>“Good gracious, has anything bad happened to him?” she said.</p> - -<p>“I do not know; but he had a letter from town sealed with black wax. I -have been waiting an hour for you.”</p> - -<p>Ten o’clock struck on the village church bell. Catherine looked round -her.</p> - -<p>“This place is dark and out of the way,” she said; “I will await your -Master here.”</p> - -<p>At the fixed time she ran out to the spot, warned by the sound of a -galloping horse. It was Isidore, attended by the groom, who stood at a -space while the noble advanced, without getting off his horse.<a name="page_073" id="page_073"></a></p> - -<p>He held out his arms to her, lifted her on the stirrup, kissed her and -said:</p> - -<p>“My brother Valence was killed yesterday at Versailles and my brother -the count calls me. I am off, Catherine!”</p> - -<p>“Oh,” she moaned painfully, as she furiously embraced him, “if they have -killed him, they will kill you as well.”</p> - -<p>“Catherine, whatever betides, my eldest brother awaits me; Catherine, -you know that I love you.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, stay, stay,” she cried, only knowing one thing—that her beloved -talked of leaving her.</p> - -<p>“But, honor, Catherine—my murdered brother! vengeance!”</p> - -<p>“Oh, what an unhappy girl I am,” moaned she, collapsing, palpitating but -rigid in the horseman’s arms.</p> - -<p>Resigned, for she at last comprehended that the brother’s summons was an -order, she glided to the ground after a farewell kiss.</p> - -<p>He turned his eyes, sighed and wavered for a time; but, attracted by the -imperative order received, he set his horse to the gallop, and flung -Catherine a final farewell.</p> - -<p>The lackey followed him across the country.</p> - -<p>Catherine remained on the ground, where she had dropped, barring the way -with her body.</p> - -<p>Almost immediately a man appeared on the hill, striding towards the -farm. In his rapid course he could not fail to stumble on the body. He -staggered and rolled in the fall, and his groping hands touched the -inert form.</p> - -<p>“Catherine—dead!” he yelled so that the farm dogs’ took up the howling. -“Who has killed Catherine?”</p> - -<p>He knelt down, pale and ice-cold, beside the inanimate body with its -head across his knee.</p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XI" id="CHAPTER_XI"></a>CHAPTER XI.<br /><br /> -THE ROAD TO PARIS.</h2> - -<p>O<small>N</small> this same evening, a no less grave event set the college of Father -Fortier in an uproar. Sebastian Gilbert had disappeared<a name="page_074" id="page_074"></a> about six -o’clock and had not been found up to midnight by the most active search.</p> - -<p>Nobody had seen him save Aunt Angelique, who, coming from the church, -where she let out the chairs, had thought to see him going up a lane. -This report added to the schoolmaster’s disquiet. He knew that the youth -had strange delusions, during which he believed he was following a -beautiful lady; more than once when on a walk he had seen him stare at -vacancy and if he plunged too deeply into the copse, he would start the -best pedestrians of the class after him.</p> - -<p>But he had never gone off in the night.</p> - -<p>This time, he had taken the road to Haramont, and Angelique had really -seen him. He was going to find Pitou. But the latter left the village by -one end, to go and see Catherine, at the same time as the doctor’s son -quitted it by the other.</p> - -<p>Pitou’s door was open, for the captain was still simple in his habits. -He lit the candle and waited: but he was too fretful. He found a sheet -of paper, half of that on which Pitou had inscribed the name of his -company of soldiers, and wrote as follows:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>“<span class="smcap">My dear Pitou</span>: I have come to tell you of a conversation I -overheard between Father Fortier and the Villers Cotterets Vicar. -Fortier is in connivance with the aristocratic party of Paris and -says that a counter-revolutionary movement is hatching at -Versailles. The cue was given when the Queen wore the black cockade -and trampled the tricolor under-foot. This threat already made me -uneasy about my father, who is the aristocrats’ enemy, as you know: -but this time it is worse.</p> - -<p>“The vicar has returned the priest’s visit, and as I feared for my -father, I listened to their talk to hear the sequel to what I -overheard by accident last time. It appears, my dear Pitou, that -the people stormed Versailles and killed a great many royalists, -among them Lord Valence Charny.</p> - -<p>“Father Fortier said: ‘Speak low, not to startle little Gilbert, -whose father has gone to Versailles and may be killed in the lot!’</p> - -<p>“You understand, Pitou, that I did not wait for more, but I<a name="page_075" id="page_075"></a> have -stolen away and I come to have you take me back to Paris. I will -not wait any longer, as you may have gone to lay snares in the -woods and would not be home till to-morrow. So I proceed on my road -to Paris. Have no anxiety as I know the way and besides I have two -gold pieces left out of the money my father gave me, so that I can -take a seat in the first conveyance I catch up with.</p> - -<p>“P. S.—I make this rather long in order to explain my departure, -and to delay me that you may return before I finish. But no, I have -finished, and you have not come, so that I am off. Farewell, until -we meet again! if nothing has happened to my father and he runs no -danger, I will return. If not, I shall ask his leave to stay beside -him. Calm Father Fortier about my absence; but do not do so until -it is too late for him to overtake me. Good-bye, again!”</p></div> - -<p>Knowing his friend’s economy, he put out the candle, and set off.</p> - -<p>He went by the starlight at first till he struck through byways the main -road at Vauciennes. At the branch of the Paris and Crespy roads, he had -to stop as he did not know which to take. They were both alike. He sat -down discouraged, partly to rest, partly to reflect, when he heard the -galloping of horses from Villers Cotterets way.</p> - -<p>He waited to ask the riders the information he wanted. Soon he saw two -shadows in the gloom, one riding at a space behind the other so that he -judged the foremost to be the master and the other his groom.</p> - -<p>He walked out three steps from the roadside to accost him when the -horseman clapped his hand to his holster for a pistol.</p> - -<p>“I am not a thief, sir,” cried Sebastian, interpreting the action -correctly, “but a boy whom recent events at Versailles calls thither to -seek his father. I do not know which of these roads I ought to take to -get to Paris—point it out, please, and you will do me a great service.”</p> - -<p>The speaker’s stylish language and his juvenile tone did not seem -unknown to the rider, who reined in his steed, albeit he seemed in -haste.<a name="page_076" id="page_076"></a></p> - -<p>“Who are you, my boy, and how comes it you are out on the highway at -such an hour?” he inquired.</p> - -<p>“I am not asking you who you are—only my road—the way for a poor boy -to reach his father in distress.”</p> - -<p>In the almost childish voice was firmness which struck the cavalier.</p> - -<p>“My friend, we are on the road to Paris,” he replied: “I have only been -there twice and do not know it very well, but I am sure this is the -right one.”</p> - -<p>Sebastian drew back a step offering his thanks. The horses had need of -getting their wind and started off again not very rapidly.</p> - -<p>“My Lord Viscount,” said the lackey to his master, “do you not recognize -that youth?”</p> - -<p>“No: though I fancied——“</p> - -<p>“It is young Sebastian Gilbert, who is at boarding school, at Abbé -Fortier’s; and who comes over to Billet’s Farm with Ange Pitou.”</p> - -<p>“You are right, by Jove!” Turning his horse and stopping, he called out: -“Is this you, Sebastian?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, my lord,” returned the boy, who had known the horseman all the -time.</p> - -<p>“Then, come, and tell me how I find you here?”</p> - -<p>“I did tell you—I want to learn that my father in Paris is not killed -or hurt.”</p> - -<p>“Alas, my poor boy,” said Isidore with profound sadness, “I am going to -town on the like errand: only I have no doubt; one of my brothers, -Valence, was slain at Versailles yesterday.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I am so sorry,” said the youth, holding out his hand to the -speaker, which the latter took and squeezed.</p> - -<p>“Well, my dear boy, since our fate is akin,” said the cavalier, “we must -not separate; you must like me be eager to get to Paris.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, dear, yes!”</p> - -<p>“You can never reach it on foot.”</p> - -<p>“I could do it but it would take too long; so I reckon on taking a place -in a stage going my way, and get what lift I can do the journey.<a name="page_077" id="page_077"></a>”</p> - -<p>“Better than that, my boy; get up behind my man.”</p> - -<p>Sebastian plucked his hands out of the other’s grasp.</p> - -<p>“I thank you, my lord,” said he in such a tone that the noble understood -that he had hurt the youth’s feelings by offering to mount him behind -his inferior.</p> - -<p>“Or, better still, now I think of it,” he went on, “take his place. He -can come on afterwards. He can learn where I am by asking at the -Tuileries Palace.”</p> - -<p>“I thank you again, my lord,” replied the adolescent, in a milder voice, -for he had comprehended the delicacy of the offer: “I do not wish to -deprive you of his services.”</p> - -<p>It was hard to come to an arrangement now that the terms of peace were -laid down.</p> - -<p>“Better again, my dear Sebastian. Get up behind me. Dawn is peeping: at -ten we shall be at Dammartin, half way; there we will leave the two -horses, which would not carry us much farther, under charge of -Baptistin, and we will take the post-chaise to Paris. I intended to do -this so that you do not lead to any change in my arrangements.”</p> - -<p>“If this be true, then, I accept,” said the young man, hesitating but -dying to go.</p> - -<p>“Down with you, Baptistin, and help Master Sebastian to mount.”</p> - -<p>“Thanks, but it is useless,” said the youth leaping up behind the -gentleman as light as a schoolboy.</p> - -<p>The three on the two horses started off at the gallop, and disappeared -over the ridge.</p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XII" id="CHAPTER_XII"></a>CHAPTER XII.<br /><br /> -THE SPIRIT MATERIALIZED.</h2> - -<p>A<small>T</small> five next afternoon, Viscount Charny and Sebastian reached the -Tuileries Palace gates. The name of his brother passed Isidore and his -companion into the middle courtyard.</p> - -<p>Young Gilbert had wanted to go to the house in Honore Street where his -father dwelt, but the other had pointed out that as he was honorary -physician to the Royal Household, he<a name="page_078" id="page_078"></a> might be at the palace, where the -latest news of him could be had.</p> - -<p>While an usher made inquiries, Sebastian sat on a sofa and Isidore -walked up and down the sitting-room.</p> - -<p>In ten minutes the man returned: Count Charny was with the Queen; Dr. -Gilbert had had nothing happen to him; he was supposed to be with the -King, as a doctor was with his Majesty. If it were so, he would be -informed on coming out that a person was waiting to see him.</p> - -<p>Isidore was much affected in parting with him as his joy at recovering -his father made the loss of his brother more painful.</p> - -<p>At this the door opened for a servant to call: “The Viscount of Charny -is asked for in the Queen’s apartments.”</p> - -<p>“You will wait for me,” said Isidore; “unless your father comes, promise -me, Gilbert, for I am answerable for you to the doctor.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, and receive my thanks in the meantime,” rejoined Sebastian, -resuming his place on the sofa as the Viscount left the room with the -domestic.</p> - -<p>Easy about his father’s fate, and himself, certain that the good intent -would earn his forgiveness for the journey, he went back in memory to -Father Fortier, and on Pitou, and reflected on the trouble which his -flight and his note would cause them severally.</p> - -<p>And naturally, by the mechanism of ideas, he thought of the woods around -Pitou’s home, where he had so often pursued the ghost in his reverie. -The White Lady seen so oft in visions, and once only in reality, he -believed in Satory Wood, appearing and flitting away in a magnificent -carriage drawn by a galloping pair.</p> - -<p>He recalled the profound emotion this sight had given him and half -plunged in dreams anew, he murmured:</p> - -<p>“My mother?”</p> - -<p>At this juncture, a door in the wall over against him opened. A woman -appeared. This appearance was so much in harmony with what happened in -his fancy, that he started to see his ghost take substance. In this -woman was the vision and the reality—the lady seen at Satory.<a name="page_079" id="page_079"></a></p> - -<p>He sprang up as though a spring had acted under his feet.</p> - -<p>His lips tightened on one another, his eyes expanded, and the pupils -dilated. His heaving breast in vain endeavored to form a sound.</p> - -<p>Majestic, haughty and disdainful, the lady passed him without any heed. -Calm as she was externally, yet her pale countenance, frowning brow and -whistling respiration, betrayed that she was in great nervous -irritation.</p> - -<p>She crossed the room diagonally, opened another door, and walked into a -corridor.</p> - -<p>Sebastian comprehended that she was escaping him, if he did not hasten. -He still looked as if apprehensive that it was a ghost, but then darted -after her, before the skirt of her silken robe had disappeared round the -turning of the lobby.</p> - -<p>Hearing steps behind her, she walked more briskly as if fearing pursuit.</p> - -<p>He quickened his gait as much as he could, fearing as the corridor was -dark that he might miss her. This caused her to accelerate her pace -also, but she looked round.</p> - -<p>He uttered a cry of joy for it was clearly the vision.</p> - -<p>Seeing but a boy with extended arms and understanding nothing why she -should be chased, the lady hurried down a flight of stairs. But she had -barely descended to one landing than Sebastian arrived at the end of the -passage where he called out:</p> - -<p>“Lady, oh, lady!”</p> - -<p>This voice produced a strange sensation throughout the hearer; she -seemed struck in the heart by a pain which was half delight, and from -the heart a shudder sent by the blood through all her veins.</p> - -<p>Nevertheless, as all was a puzzle to her; she doubled her speed, and the -course resembled a flight.</p> - -<p>They reached the foot of the stairs at the same time.</p> - -<p>It was the courtyard into which the lady sped. A carriage was waiting -for her, for a servant was holding the door open. She stepped in swiftly -and took her seat.</p> - -<p>Before the door could be closed, Sebastian glided in between it and the -footman, and seizing the hem of her dress, kissed with frenzy and cried:</p> - -<p>“Oh, lady!<a name="page_080" id="page_080"></a>”</p> - -<p>Looking at the pretty boy who had frightened her at first, she said in a -sweeter voice than she usually spoke, though it was yet shaken with fear -and emotion:</p> - -<p>“Well, my little friend, why are you running after me? why do you call -me? what do you want?”</p> - -<p>“I want to see you, and kiss you,” replied the child. “I want to call -you ‘Mother,'” he added in so low a voice that only she could hear him.</p> - -<p>She uttered a scream, embraced him, and approaching him as by a sudden -revelation, fastened her ardent lips on his brow. Then, as though she -dreaded someone coming to snatch away this child whom she had found, she -drew him entirely into the vehicle, pushed him to its other side, shut -the door with her own hand, and lowering the glass to order: “Drive to -No. 9 Coq-Heron Street, the first carriage-doorway from Plastriere -Street,” she shut the window instantly.</p> - -<p>Turning to the boy she asked his name.</p> - -<p>“Sebastian? come, Sebastian, come here, on my heart.”</p> - -<p>She threw herself back as if going to swoon, muttering: “What new -sensation is this? can it be what is called happiness?”</p> - -<p>The journey was one long kiss of mother and son.</p> - -<p>She had found this son by a miracle, whom the father had torn from her -in a terrible night of anguish and dishonor; he had disappeared with no -trace but the abductor’s tracks in the snow; this child had been -detested until she heard its first wail, whereupon she had loved him; -this child had been prayed for, called for, begged for. Her brother had -uselessly hunted for him over land and ocean. For fifteen years she had -yearned for him, and despaired to behold him again; she had begun to -think no more of him but as a cherished spirit. Here he was, running and -crying after her, seeking her, in his turn, calling her “Mother!”</p> - -<p>He was pillowed on her heart, pressing on her bosom, loving her filially -although he had never seen her, as she loved him with maternal -affection. Her pure lips recovered all the joys of a lost life in this -first kiss given her son.</p> - -<p>Above the head of mankind is Something else than the void in which the -spheres revolve: in life there is Another Thing than chance and -fatality.<a name="page_081" id="page_081"></a></p> - -<p>After fourteen years she was taken back to the house where he was born, -this offspring of the union of the mesmerist Gilbert and the daughter of -the House of Taverney, his victim. There he had drawn the first breath -of life and thence his father had stolen him.</p> - -<p>This little residence, bought by the late Baron Taverney, served as -lodging for his son when he came to town, which was rarely, and for -Andrea, when she slept in town.</p> - -<p>After her conflict with the Queen, unable to bear meeting the woman who -loved her husband, Andrea had made up her mind to go away from the -rival, who visited on her retaliation for all her griefs, and whom the -woes of the Queen, great though they were, always remained beneath the -sufferings of the loving woman.</p> - -<p>All concurred then in making this evening a happy one for the ex-Queen’s -maid of honor. Nothing should trouble her. Instead of a room in a palace -where the walls are all ears and eyes, she was harboring her child in -her own little, secluded house.</p> - -<p>As soon as she was closeted with Sebastian in her boudoir, she drew him -to a lounge, on which were concentrated the lights from both candles and -fire.</p> - -<p>“Oh, my boy, is it really you?” she exclaimed with a joy which still -quivered with lingering doubt.</p> - -<p>“Mother!” ejaculated Sebastian with an outburst of the heart, flowing -like refreshing dews on Andrea’s burning heart and enfevered veins.</p> - -<p>“And the meeting to be here,” said she, looking round with terror -towards the room whence he had been stolen.</p> - -<p>“What do you mean by ‘Here?'”</p> - -<p>“Fifteen years ago, my boy, you were born in this room, and I bless the -mercy of the Almighty that you are miraculously restored to me.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, miraculously indeed,” said the youth, “for if I had not feared for -my father——“</p> - -<p>Andrea closed her eyes and leaned back, so sharp was the pang shooting -through her.</p> - -<p>“If I had not set out alone in the night, I should not have been -perplexed about the road: and then I should not have<a name="page_082" id="page_082"></a> been recognized by -Lord Isidore Charny, who offered his help and conducted me to the -Tuileries——“</p> - -<p>Her eyes re-opened, her heart expanded and her glance thanked heaven: -for it increased the miracle that Sebastian should be led to her by her -husband’s brother.</p> - -<p>“I should not have seen you passing through the palace and not following -you might never have called you ‘Mother!’ the word so sweet and tender -to utter.”</p> - -<p>Recalled to her bliss, she hugged him again and said:</p> - -<p>“Yes, you are right, my boy; it is most sweet: but there is perchance -another one more sweet and tender; ‘My son!’ which I say to you as I -press you to my heart. But in short,” she suddenly said, “it is -impossible that all should remain mysterious around us. You have -explained how you come here, but not how you recognized me and ran after -me, calling me your mother.”</p> - -<p>“How can I tell? I do not myself know,” replied Sebastian, looking at -her with love unspeakable. “You speak of mysteries? all is mysterious -about you and me. List to me, and I will tell you what seems a prodigy.”</p> - -<p>Andrea bent nearer.</p> - -<p>“It is ten years since I knew you. You do not understand. I have dreams -which my father calls hallucinations.”</p> - -<p>At the reminder of Gilbert, passing like a steel point from the boyish -lips, Andrea started.</p> - -<p>“I have seen you twenty times, mother. In the village, while playing -with the other schoolboys, I have followed you as you flitted through -the woods and pursued you with useless calls till you faded away. -Crushed by fatigue I would drop on the spot, as if your presence alone -had sustained me.”</p> - -<p>This kind of second existence, this living dream, too much resembled -what the medium herself experienced for her not to understand him.</p> - -<p>“Poor darling,” she said as she pressed him more closely, “it was vainly -that hate strove to part us. Heaven was bringing us together without my -suspecting it. Less happy than you, I saw my dear child neither in dream -nor reality. Still, when I passed through that Green Saloon I felt a -shiver; when I heard your footsteps behind mine, giddiness thrilled my -heart and<a name="page_083" id="page_083"></a> brain; when you called me ‘Lady’ I all but stopped; when you -called me ‘Mother!’ I nearly swooned; when I embraced you, I believed.”</p> - -<p>“My mother,” repeated Sebastian, as if to console her for not having -heard the welcome title for so long.</p> - -<p>“Yes, your mother,” said the countess, with a transport of love -impossible to describe.</p> - -<p>“Now that we have found each other,” said the youth, “and as you are -contented and happy at our union, we are not going to part any more, -tell me?”</p> - -<p>She shuddered: she was enjoying the present to the exclusion of the past -and totally closing her eyes on the future.</p> - -<p>“How I should bless you, my poor boy, if you could accomplish this -miracle!” she sighingly murmured.</p> - -<p>“Let me manage it; I will do it. I do not know the causes separating you -from my father,”—Andrea turned pale—“but they will be effaced by my -tears and entreaties, however serious they may be.”</p> - -<p>“Never,” returned the countess, shaking her head.</p> - -<p>“I tell you that my father adores you,” said Sebastian, who believed -that the woman was in the wrong from the way his father had forbidden -him ever to mention her name.</p> - -<p>Her hands holding the speaker’s relaxed but he did not notice this, as -he continued:</p> - -<p>“I will prepare him to greet you; I will tell him all the happiness you -give me; one of these days, I will take you by the hand and lead you to -him, saying: ‘Here she is, father—look, how handsome she is!'”</p> - -<p>Repulsing Sebastian, she sprang up.</p> - -<p>“Never,” repeated she, while he stared with astounded eyes for she was -so white as to alarm him. This time her accent expressed a threat rather -than fright.</p> - -<p>She recoiled on the lounge; in that face he had seen the hard lines -which Raphael gives to irritated angels.</p> - -<p>“Why do you refuse to receive my father?” he demanded, in a sullen -voice.</p> - -<p>At these words, the lightning burst as at the contact of two clouds.<a name="page_084" id="page_084"></a></p> - -<p>“Why? do you ask me why? well, never shall you know.”</p> - -<p>“Still, I ask why,” said Sebastian, with firmness.</p> - -<p>“Because, then,” said Andrea, incapable of self-restraint under the -sting of the serpent gnawing at her heart, “because your father is an -infamous villain!”</p> - -<p>He bounded up from the divan and stood before her.</p> - -<p>“Do you say that of my father,” he cried, “of Dr. Gilbert, who brought -me up and educated me, the only friend I ever knew? I am making a -mistake—you are no mother of mine!”</p> - -<p>She stopped him darting towards the door.</p> - -<p>“Stay,” she said, “you cannot know, ought not understand, may not -judge.”</p> - -<p>“No; but I can feel, and I feel that I love you no more.”</p> - -<p>She screamed with pain.</p> - -<p>Simultaneously, a diversion was given to the emotion overwhelming her by -the sound of a carriage coming up to the street doorway. Such a shudder -ran over her that he thrilled in sympathy.</p> - -<p>“Wait, and be silent,” she said so that he was subjugated.</p> - -<p>“Who am I to announce?” she heard the old footman demand in the -ante-room.</p> - -<p>“The Count of Charny; and inquire if my lady will do me the honor to -receive me?”</p> - -<p>“Into this room, child,” said Andrea, “he must not see you—he must not -know that you exist!”</p> - -<p>She pushed the frightened youth into the adjoining apartment.</p> - -<p>“Remain here till he shall have gone, when I will relate to—No, nothing -of that can be said? I will so love you that you will not doubt that I -am your own loving mother.”</p> - -<p>His only reply was a moan.</p> - -<p>At this moment the door opened and the servant, cap in hand, acquitted -himself of the errand entrusted to him.</p> - -<p>“Show in the Count of Charny,” she said in the firmest voice she could -find.</p> - -<p>As the old man retired, the nobleman appeared on the sill.<a name="page_085" id="page_085"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIII" id="CHAPTER_XIII"></a>CHAPTER XIII.<br /><br /> -HUSBAND AND WIFE.</h2> - -<p>C<small>OUNT</small> C<small>HARNY</small> was clad in black, mourning for his brother slain two days -before.</p> - -<p>This mourning was not solely in his habit, but in the recesses of his -heart, and his pallid cheeks attested what grief he had undergone. Never -are handsome faces finer than after sorrow, and the rapid glance of his -wife perceived that he had never looked more superb.</p> - -<p>She closed her eyes an instant, slightly held back her head to draw a -full breath and laid her hand on her heart which seemed about to break.</p> - -<p>When she opened them, after a second, Charny was in the same place.</p> - -<p>“Is the carriage to wait?” inquired the servant, urged by the footman at -the door.</p> - -<p>An unspeakable look shot from the yearning eyes of the visitor upon his -wife, who was dazed into closing her own again, while she stood -breathless as though she had not noticed the glance or heard the -question. Both had penetrated to her heart.</p> - -<p>Charny sought in this lovely living statue for some token to indicate -what answer he should make. As her shiver might be read both ways, he -said: “Bid the coachman wait.”</p> - -<p>The door closed and perhaps for the first time since their wedding the -lord and his lady were alone together.</p> - -<p>“Pardon me,” said the count, breaking the silence, “but is my unexpected -call intrusion? I have not seated myself and the carriage waits so that -I can depart as I came.”</p> - -<p>“No, my lord, quite the contrary,” quickly said Andrea. “I knew you were -well and safe, but I am not the less happy to see you after recent -events.”</p> - -<p>“You have been good enough then to ask after me?”</p> - -<p>“Of course; yesterday, and this morning, when I was answered<a name="page_086" id="page_086"></a> that you -were at Versailles; and this evening, when I learnt that you were in -attendance on the Queen.”</p> - -<p>Were those last words spoken simply or did they contain a reproach? Not -knowing what to make of them, the count was evidently set thinking by -them. But probably leaving to the outcome of the dialogue the lifting of -the veil lowered on his mind for the time, he replied almost instantly:</p> - -<p>“My lady, a pious duty retained me at Versailles yesterday and this day; -one as sacred in my eyes brought me instantly on my arrival in town -beside her Majesty.”</p> - -<p>Andrea tried in her turn to discover the true intent of the words. -Thinking that she ought to respond, she said:</p> - -<p>“Yes, I know of the terrible loss which—<i>you</i> have experienced.” She -had been on the point of saying “we,” but she dared not, and continued: -“You have had the misfortune to lose your brother Valence de Charny.”</p> - -<p>The count seemed to be waiting for the clue, for he had started on -hearing the pronoun “Your.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, my lady. As you say, a terrible loss for me, but you cannot -appreciate the young man, as you little knew poor Valence, happily.”</p> - -<p>In the last word was a mild and melancholy reproach, which his auditor -comprehended, though no outward sign was manifested that she gave it -heed.</p> - -<p>“Still, one thing consoles me, if anything can console me; poor Valence -died doing his duty, as probably his brother Isidore will die, and I -myself.”</p> - -<p>This deeply affected Andrea.</p> - -<p>“Alas, my lord,” she asked, “do you believe matters so desperate that -fresh sacrifices of blood are necessary to appease the wrath of heaven?”</p> - -<p>“I believe that the hour comes when the knell of kings is to peal; that -an evil genius pushes monarchy unto the abysm. In short I think, if it -is to fall, it will be accompanied, and should be so, by all those who -took part in its splendor.”</p> - -<p>“True, but when comes that day, believe that it will find me ready like -yourself for the utmost devotion,” said Andrea.</p> - -<p>“Your ladyship has given too many proofs of that devotion in the past, -for any one to doubt it for the future—I least of<a name="page_087" id="page_087"></a> all—the less as I -have for the first time flinched about an order from the Queen. On -arriving from Versailles, I found the order to present myself to her -Majesty instantly.”</p> - -<p>“Oh,” said Andrea, sadly smiling; “it is plain,” she added, after a -pause, “like you, the Queen sees the future is sombre and mysterious and -wishes to gather round her all those she can depend on.”</p> - -<p>“You are wrong, my lady,” returned Charny, “for the Queen summoned me, -not to bid me stand by her, but to send me afar.”</p> - -<p>“Send you away?” quickly exclaimed the countess, taking a step towards -the speaker. “But I am keeping you standing,” she said, pointing to a -chair.</p> - -<p>So saying, she herself sank, as though unable to remain on foot any -longer, on the sofa where she had been sitting with Sebastian shortly -before.</p> - -<p>“Send you away? in what end?” she said with emotion not devoid of joy at -the thought that the suspected lovers were parting.</p> - -<p>“To have me go to Turin to confer with Count Artois and the Duke of -Bourbon, who have quitted the country.”</p> - -<p>“And you accepted?”</p> - -<p>“No, my lady,” responded Charny, watching her fixedly.</p> - -<p>She lost color so badly that he moved as if to assist her, but this -revived her strength and she recovered.</p> - -<p>“No? you have answered No to an order of the Queen’s, my lord?” she -faltered, with an indescribable accent of doubt and astonishment.</p> - -<p>“I answered that I believed my presence here at present more necessary -than in Italy. Anybody could bear the message with which I was to be -honored; I had a second brother, just arrived from the country, to place -at the orders of the King, and he was ready to start in my stead.”</p> - -<p>“Of course the Queen was happy to see the substitute,” exclaimed Andrea, -with bitterness she could not contain, and not appearing to escape -Charny.</p> - -<p>“It was just the other way, for she seemed to be deeply wounded by the -refusal. I should have been forced to go had not the King chanced in and -I made him the arbiter.<a name="page_088" id="page_088"></a>”</p> - -<p>“The King held you to be right?” sneered the lady with an ironical -smile: “he like you advised your staying in the Tuileries? Oh, how good -his Majesty is!”</p> - -<p>“So he is,” went on the count, without wincing: “he said that my brother -Isidore would be well fitted for the mission and the more so as it was -his first visit to court, so that his absence would not be remarked. He -added that it would be cruel for the Queen to require my being sent away -from you at present.”</p> - -<p>“The King said, from me?” exclaimed Andrea.</p> - -<p>“I repeat his own words, my lady. Looking round and addressing me, he -wanted to know where the Countess of Charny was. ‘I have not seen her -this evening,’ said he. As this was specially directed to me, I made -bold to reply. ‘Sire,’ I said, ‘I have so seldom the pleasure of seeing -the countess that I am in the state of impossibility to tell where she -is; but if your Majesty wishes to know, he might inquire of the Queen -who, knowing, will reply!’ I insisted as I judged from the Queen looking -black, that some difference had arisen between you.”</p> - -<p>Andrea was so enwrapt in the listening that she did not think of saying -anything.</p> - -<p>“The Queen made answer that the Countess of Charny had gone away from -the palace with no intention to return. ‘Why, what motive can your best -friend have in quitting the palace at this juncture?’ inquired the King. -‘Because she is uncomfortable here,’ replied the Queen who had started -at the title you were given. ‘Well, that may be so; but we will find -accommodation for her and the count beside our own rooms,’ went on the -King. ‘You will not be very particular, eh, my lord?’ I told him that I -should be satisfied with any post as long as I could serve him in it. ‘I -know it well: so that we only want the lady called back from—’ the -Queen did not know whither you had departed. ‘Not know where your friend -has gone?’ exclaimed the King. ‘When my friends leave me I do not -inquire after them.’ ‘Good, some woman’s quarrel,’ said Louis; ‘my Lord -Charny, I have to speak a while with the Queen. Kindly wait for me and -present your brother who shall start for Turin this evening. I am of -your opinion that<a name="page_089" id="page_089"></a> I shall require you and I mean to keep you by me.’ So -I sent for my brother who was awaiting me in the Green Saloon, I was -told.”</p> - -<p>At the mention, Andrea, who had nearly forgotten Sebastian in her -interest in her husband’s story, was made to think of all that had -passed between mother and son, and she threw her eyes with anguish on -the bedroom door where she had placed him.</p> - -<p>“But you must excuse me for talking of matters but slightly interesting -you while you are no doubt wishful to know why I have come here.”</p> - -<p>“No, my lord, what you say does engage me,” replied the countess; “your -presence can only be agreeable on account of the fears I have felt on -your account. I pray you to continue. The King asked you to wait for him -and to bring your brother.”</p> - -<p>“We went to the royal apartments, where he joined us in ten minutes. As -the mission for the princes was urgent he began by that. Their -Highnesses were to be instructed about what had happened. A quarter of -an hour after the King came, my brother was on the road, and the King -and I were left alone. He stopped suddenly in pacing the room and said: -‘My lord, do you know what has passed between the Queen and the -countess?’ I was ignorant. ‘Something must have happened,’ he went on, -‘for the Queen is in a temper fit to massacre everybody, and it appears -to me unjust to the countess—which is odd, as the Queen usually defends -her friends through thick and thin, even when they are wrong.’ ‘I repeat -I know nothing, but I venture to assert that the countess has done no -wrong—even if we cannot admit that a queen ever does so.'”</p> - -<p>“I thank your lordship for having so good an opinion of me,” said -Andrea.</p> - -<p>“'I suppose as the countess has a house in town that she has retired -there,’ I suggested. ‘Of course! I will give you leave of absence till -to-morrow on condition that you bring back the countess,’ said the -King.”</p> - -<p>Charny looked at his wife so fixedly that she was unable to bear the -glance and had to close her eyes.<a name="page_090" id="page_090"></a></p> - -<p>“Then, seeing that I was in mourning, he stayed me to say that my loss -was one of those which monarchs could not repair; but that if my brother -left a widow or a child he would help them, and would like them -presented to him, at any rate; the Queen should take care of the widow -and he would of the children.”</p> - -<p>Charny spoke with tears in his voice.</p> - -<p>“I daresay the King was only repeating what the Queen had said,” -remarked the lady.</p> - -<p>“The Queen did not honor me with a word on the subject,” returned -Charny, “and that is why the King’s speech affected me most deeply. He -ended by bidding me ‘Go to our dear Andrea; for though those we love -cannot console us they can mourn with us, and that is a relief!’ Thus it -is that I come by the King’s order, which may be my excuse, my lady,” -concluded the count.</p> - -<p>“Did you doubt your welcome?” cried the lady, quickly rising and holding -out both hands to him.</p> - -<p>He grasped them and kissed them; she uttered a scream as though they -were redhot iron, and sank back on the divan. But her hands were -clinging to his and he was drawn down so as to be placed sitting beside -her.</p> - -<p>But it was then that she thought she heard a noise in the next room, and -she started from him so abruptly that he rose and stood off a little, -not knowing to what to attribute the outcry and the repulsion so -suddenly made.</p> - -<p>Leaning on the sofa back, he sighed. The sigh touched her deeply.</p> - -<p>At the very time when the bereaved mother found her child, something -like the dawn of love beamed on her previously dismal and sorrowful -horizon. But by a strange coincidence, proven that she was not born to -happiness, the two events were so combined that one annulled the other: -the return of the husband thrust aside the son’s love as the latter’s -presence destroyed the budding passion.</p> - -<p>Charny could not divine this in the exclamation and the starting aloof, -the silence full of sadness following, although the cry was of love and -the retreat from fear, not repulsion.</p> - -<p>He gazed upon her with an expression which she could not have mistaken -if she had been looking up.<a name="page_091" id="page_091"></a></p> - -<p>“What answer am I to carry to the King?” he inquired emitting a sigh.</p> - -<p>“My lord,” she replied, starting at the sound and raising her clear and -limpid eyes to him, “I suffered so much while in the court that I -accepted the leave to go when accorded by the Queen, with thankfulness. -I am not fitted to live in society, and in solitude I have found repose -if not happiness. My happiest days were those spent as a girl at -Taverney and in the convent of St. Denis with the noble princess of the -House of France, the Lady Louise. But, with your lordship’s permission, -I will dwell in this summerhouse, full of recollections which are not -without some sweetness spite of their sadness.”</p> - -<p>Charny bowed at this suggestion of his permission being sought, like a -man who was obeying an order, far more than granting a request.</p> - -<p>“As this is a fixed resolve,” he said, marking how steady she was with -all her meekness, “am I to be allowed to call on you here?”</p> - -<p>She fastened her eyes on him, usually clear but now full of astonishment -and blandness.</p> - -<p>“Of course, my lord,” was her response, “and as I shall have no company, -you can come any time that your duties at the palace allow you to set -aside a little while to me.”</p> - -<p>Never had Charny seen so much charm in her gaze, or such tenderness in -her voice. Something ran through his veins, like the shudder from a -lover’s first kiss. He glanced at the place whence he had risen when -Andrea got up; he would have given a year of life to take his seat there -again if she would not once more repel him. But the soldier was timid, -and he dared not allow himself the liberty.</p> - -<p>On her part, Andrea would have given ten years, sooner than only one, to -have him in that place, but, unfortunately, each was ignorant of the -other’s mood, and they stood still, in almost painful expectation.</p> - -<p>“You were saying that you had to endure a great deal at court. Was not -the Queen pleasant towards you?”</p> - -<p>“I have nothing to blame her Majesty for,” replied the ex-lady of honor, -“and I should be unjust if I did not acknowledge her Majesty’s kind -treatment.<a name="page_092" id="page_092"></a>”</p> - -<p>“I hinted at this, because I have lately noticed that the friendship -seemed to show a falling off,” continued the count.</p> - -<p>“That is possible, and that is why I am leaving the court.”</p> - -<p>“But you will live so lonely?”</p> - -<p>“Have I not always lived so, my lord?” sighed Andrea, “as maid—wife—“ -she stopped, seeing that she was going too far.</p> - -<p>“Do you make me a reproach?”</p> - -<p>“What right have I in heaven’s name to make reproaches to your -lordship?” retorted the countess: “do you believe I have forgot the -circumstances under which we were plighted? Just the opposite of those -who vow before the altar reciprocal love and mutual protection, we swore -eternal indifference and complete separation. The blame would be to the -one who forgot that oath.”</p> - -<p>Charny caught the sigh which these words had not entirely suppressed, -from the speaker’s heart.</p> - -<p>“But this is such a small dwelling,” he said: “a countess in one sitting -room with only another to eat in, and this for repose——“</p> - -<p>She sprang in between him and the bedroom, seeing Sebastian behind the -door, in her mind’s eye.</p> - -<p>“Oh, my lord, do not go that way, I entreat you,” she exclaimed, barring -the passage with her extended arms.</p> - -<p>“Oh, my lady,” said he, looking at her so pale and trembling, with -fright never more plain on a human face, “I knew that you did not like -me: but I had no idea you hated me to this degree.”</p> - -<p>Incapable of remaining any longer beside his wife without an outburst, -he reeled for a space like an intoxicated man; recovering himself, he -rushed out of the room with an exclamation of pain which echoed in the -depths of the hearer’s heart.</p> - -<p>She watched him till he was out of sight; she listened till she could no -longer hear his departing carriage, and then with a breaking heart, -dreading that she had not enough motherly love to combat with this other -passion, she darted into the bedroom, calling out:</p> - -<p>“Sebastian,” but no voice replied.</p> - -<p>By the trembling of the night-lamp in a draft she perceived<a name="page_093" id="page_093"></a> that the -window was open. It was the same by which the child was kidnapped -fifteen years before.</p> - -<p>“This is justice,” she muttered; “did he not say that I was no more his -mother?”</p> - -<p>Comprehending that she had lost both husband and child at the period -when she had recovered them, Andrea threw herself on the couch, at the -end of her resignation and her prayers exhausted.</p> - -<p>Suddenly it seemed to her that something more dreadful than her -sorrowful plight glided in between grief and her tears.</p> - -<p>She looked up and beheld a man, after climbing in at the open window, -standing on the floor.</p> - -<p>She wished to shriek and ring for help; but he bent on her the -fascinating gaze which caused her the invincible lethargy she remembered -Cagliostro could impose upon her: but in this mesmerist and his -spell-binding look and bearing, she recognized Gilbert.</p> - -<p>How was it the execrated father stood in the stead of his beloved son?</p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIV" id="CHAPTER_XIV"></a>CHAPTER XIV.<br /><br /> -IN SEARCH OF THEIR SON.</h2> - -<p>I<small>T</small> was Dr. Gilbert who was closeted with the King when the usher -inquired after him on the order of Isidore and the entreaty of -Sebastian.</p> - -<p>The upright heart of Louis XVI. had appreciated the loyalty in the -doctor’s. After half an hour, the latter came forth and went into the -Queen’s ante-chamber, where he saw Isidore.</p> - -<p>“I asked for you, doctor, but I have another with me who wants still -more to see you. It will be cruel to detain you from him: so let us -hasten to the Green Saloon.”</p> - -<p>But the room was empty and such was the confusion in the palace that no -servant was at hand to inform them what had become of the young man.</p> - -<p>“It was a person I met on the road, eager to get to Paris<a name="page_094" id="page_094"></a> and coming -here on foot only for my giving him a ride.”</p> - -<p>“Are you speaking of the peasant Pitou?”</p> - -<p>“No, doctor—of your son, Sebastian.”</p> - -<p>At this, the usher who had taken Isidore away returned.</p> - -<p>He was ignorant of what had happened but, luckily, a second footman had -seen the singular disappearance of the boy in the carriage of a court -lady.</p> - -<p>They hastened to the gates where the janitor well recalled that the -direction to the coachman was “No. 9 Coq-Heron Street, first carriage -entrance from Plastriere Street.”</p> - -<p>“My sister-in-law’s,” exclaimed Isidore, “the countess of Charny!”</p> - -<p>“Fatality,” muttered Gilbert. “He must have recognized her,” he said in -a lower tone.</p> - -<p>“Let us go there,” suggested the young noble.</p> - -<p>Gilbert saw all the dangers of Andrea’s son being discovered by her -husband.</p> - -<p>“My lord,” he said, “my son is in safety in the hands of the Countess of -Charny, and as I have the honor to know her, I think I can call by -myself. Besides it is more proper that you should be on your road; for I -presume you are going to Turin, from what I heard in the King’s -presence.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, doctor.”</p> - -<p>“Receive my thanks for your kindness to Sebastian, and be off! When a -father says he is not uneasy, you need feel no anxiety.”</p> - -<p>Isidore held out his hand which the revolutionist shook with more -heartiness than he had for most of his class; while the nobleman -returned within the palace, he went along to the junction of the streets -Coq-Heron and Plastriere.</p> - -<p>Both were painful memories.</p> - -<p>In the latter he had lived, a poor boy, earning his bread by copying -music, by receiving instruction from the author Rousseau. From his -window he had contemplated Andrea at her own casement, under the hands -of her maid, Nicole, his first sweetheart, and to that window he had -made his way by a rope and by scaling the wall, to view more closely and -satisfy his passion for the high-born lady who had bewitched him.<a name="page_095" id="page_095"></a></p> - -<p>Rousseau was dead, but Andrea was rich and nobler still; he had also -attained wealth and consideration.</p> - -<p>But was he any happier than when he walked out of doors to dip his crust -in the waters of this public fountain?</p> - -<p>He could not help walking up to the door where Rousseau had lived. It -was open on the alley which ran under the building to the yard at the -back as well as up to the attic where he was lodged.</p> - -<p>He went up to the first floor back, where the window on the landing gave -a view of the rear house where Baron Taverney had dwelt.</p> - -<p>No one disturbed him in his contemplation; the house had come down in -the world; no janitor; the inhabitants were poor folk who did not fear -thieves.</p> - -<p>The garden at Taverney’s house was the same as a dozen years before. The -vine still hung on the trellis which had served him as ladder in his -night clamberings within the enclosure.</p> - -<p>He was unaware whether Count Charny was with his wife, but he was so -bent on learning about Sebastian that he meant to risk all.</p> - -<p>He climbed the wall and descended on the other side. In the garden -nothing obstructed him, and thus he reached the window of Andrea’s -Bedroom.</p> - -<p>In another instant, as related, the two enemies stood face to face.</p> - -<p>The lady’s first feeling was invincible repugnance rather than profound -terror.</p> - -<p>For her the Americanized Gilbert, the friend of Washington and -Lafayette, aristocratic through study, science and genius, was still the -hangdog Gilbert of her father’s manor house, and the gardener’s boy of -Trianon Palace.</p> - -<p>Gilbert no longer bore her the ardent love which had driven him to crime -in his youth, but the deep and tender affection, spite of her insults -and persecutions, of a man ready to do a service at risk of his life.</p> - -<p>With the insight nature had given him and the justice education -implanted, Gilbert had weighed himself: he understood that Andrea’s -misfortunes arose from him, and he would<a name="page_096" id="page_096"></a> never be quits with her until -he had made her as happy as he had the reverse.</p> - -<p>But how could he blissfully affect her future.</p> - -<p>It was impossible for him yet to comprehend.</p> - -<p>On seeing this but to so much despair, again the prey to woe, all his -fibres of mercy were moved for so much misery.</p> - -<p>Instead of using his hypnotic power to subdue her, he spoke softly to -her, ready to master her if she became rebellious.</p> - -<p>The result was that the medium felt the ethereal fluid fade away like a -dissolving fog, by Gilbert’s permission, and she was able to speak of -her own free will.</p> - -<p>“What do you want, sir? how came you here?”</p> - -<p>“By the way I used before,” replied the doctor. “Hence you can be -easy—no one will know of it. Why? because I come to claim a treasure, -of no consequence to you, but precious to me, my son. I want you to tell -what has become of my son, taken away in your carriage and brought -here.”</p> - -<p>“How do I know? taught by you to hate his mother, he has fled.”</p> - -<p>“His mother? are you really a mother to him?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, you see my grief, you have heard my cries, and looking on my -despair, you ask me if I am his mother?”</p> - -<p>“How then are you ignorant what has become of him?”</p> - -<p>“But I tell you he has fled; that I came into this room for him and -found the window open and the room vacant.”</p> - -<p>“Where could he have gone—good God!” exclaimed Gilbert. “It is past -midnight and he does not know the town.”</p> - -<p>“Do you believe anything evil has befallen him?” asked she, approaching.</p> - -<p>“We shall hear, for it is you who shall tell me.”</p> - -<p>And with a wave of the hand he began anew to plunge her into the -mesmeric sleep.</p> - -<p>She uttered a sigh and fell off into repose.</p> - -<p>“Am I to put forth all my will power or will you answer voluntarily?” -asked Gilbert when she was under control.</p> - -<p>“Will you tell the boy again that I am not his mother?”</p> - -<p>“That depends. Do you love him?”</p> - -<p>“Ardently, with all my soul.<a name="page_097" id="page_097"></a>”</p> - -<p>“Then you are his mother as I am his father, for it is thus I love him. -Loving him, you shall see him again. When did you part from the boy?”</p> - -<p>“About half an hour ago, when Count Charny called. I had pushed him into -this room.”</p> - -<p>“What were his last words?”</p> - -<p>“That I was no more his mother: because I had told him that you were a -villain.”</p> - -<p>“Look into the poor boy’s heart and see what harm you wrought.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, God forgive me,” said Andrea: “forgive me, my son.”</p> - -<p>“Did Count Charny suspect the boy was here?”</p> - -<p>“No, I am sure.”</p> - -<p>“Why did he not stay?”</p> - -<p>“Because he never stays long with me. Oh, wretch that I am,” she -interrupted herself, “he was returning to me after refusing that -mission—because he loves me—he loves me!”</p> - -<p>Gilbert began to see more clearly into this drama which his eye was -first to penetrate.</p> - -<p>“But do you love him?” he demanded.</p> - -<p>“I see your intention is good: you wish to make up to me for the grief -you have caused: but I refuse the boon coming from you. I hate you and -wish to continue in my hatred.”</p> - -<p>“Poor mortality,” muttered the philosopher, “have you had so much -happiness that you can dally with a certain amount offered you? so you -love him?”</p> - -<p>“Yes. Since first I saw him, as the Queen and I sat with him in a -hackney-carriage in which we returned from Paris to Versailles one -night.”</p> - -<p>“You know what love is, Andrea,” queried Gilbert, mournfully.</p> - -<p>“I know that love has been given as a standard by which we can measure -how much sadness we can endure,” replied she.</p> - -<p>“It is well: you are a true woman and a true mother: a rough diamond, -you were shaped by the stern lapidary known as Grief. Return to -Sebastian.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, I see him leaving the house with clenched hands and knit brow. He -wanders up the street—he goes up to a woman and asks her for St. Honore -Street—-<a name="page_098" id="page_098"></a>-“</p> - -<p>“My street: he was seeking for my house. Poor child! he will be there -awaiting me.”</p> - -<p>“Hold! he has gone astray—he is in New St. Roch Street. Oh, he does not -see that vehicle coming down Sourdiere Street, but I see the -horses—Ah!”</p> - -<p>She drew herself up with an awful scream, maternal anguish depicted on -her visage, down which rolled tears and perspiration.</p> - -<p>“Oh, if harm befalls him, remember that it will recoil on your head,” -hissed Gilbert.</p> - -<p>“Ah,” sighed Andrea in relief, without hearing or heeding him, “God in -heaven be praised! it is the horse’s breast which struck him, and he is -thrown out of the rut of the wheel. There he lies, stunned, but he is -not killed. Only swooned. Hasten to help him. It is my son! They form a -crowd round him: is there not a doctor or surgeon among them all?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I shall run,” said Gilbert.</p> - -<p>“Wait,” said Andrea, stopping him by the arm, “they are dividing to let -help come. It is the doct—oh, do not let that man approach him—I -loathe him—he is a vampire, he is hideous!”</p> - -<p>“Oh, for heaven’s sake, do not lose sight of Sebastian,” said Gilbert, -shuddering.</p> - -<p>“This ghoul carries him away—up the street—into the blind alley, -called St. Hyacinthe: where he goes down some steps. He places him on a -table where books and printed papers are heaped. He takes off his coat -and rolls up his sleeve. He ties the arm with bandages from a woman as -dirty and hideous as himself. He finds a lance in a case—he is going to -bleed him. Oh, I cannot bear to see my son’s blood flow. Run, run, and -you will find him as I say.”</p> - -<p>“Shall I awaken you at once with recollection: or would you sleep till -the morning and know nothing of what has happened?”</p> - -<p>“Awaken me at once with full memory.”</p> - -<p>Gilbert described a double curve with his hands so that his thumbs came -upon the medium’s eyelids; he breathed on her forehead and said merely:</p> - -<p>“Awake!<a name="page_099" id="page_099"></a>”</p> - -<p>Instantly her eyes became animated; her limbs were supple; she looked at -Gilbert almost without terror, and continuing, though aroused, the -impulse in her vision, she cried:</p> - -<p>“Oh, run, run, and snatch the boy from the hands of that man who causes -me so much fright!”</p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XV" id="CHAPTER_XV"></a>CHAPTER XV.<br /><br /> -THE MAN WITH THE MODEL.</h2> - -<p>W<small>ITH</small> no need to be spurred in his quest, Gilbert darted through the -rooms and as it would have taken too long to climb the walls, he made -for the front door, which he opened himself and bounded out on the -street.</p> - -<p>Knowing Paris intimately, he reached the spot indicated by Andrea in her -vision without delay and his first question to a storekeeper, who had -witnessed the accident to the boy, confirmed the statement.</p> - -<p>He proceeded straightway to the door in the alley, and knocked.</p> - -<p>“Who knocks?” challenged a woman’s voice.</p> - -<p>“I, the father of the wounded child whom you succored,” replied the -knocker.</p> - -<p>“Open, Albertine,” said a man’s voice: “it is Dr. Gilbert.”</p> - -<p>He was let into a cellar, or rather cavern, down some moldering steps, -lighted by a lamp set on the table cumbered with printed papers, books -and manuscripts as Andrea had described.</p> - -<p>In the shadow, and on a mattress, young Gilbert lay, but held out his -arms to his father, calling him. However powerful the philosophical -command in Gilbert, paternal love overruled decorum, and he sprang to -the boy whom he pressed to his breast, with care not to hurt his bruised -chest or his cut arm. After a long, fond kiss, he turned to thank the -good Samaritan. He was standing with his feet far apart, one hand on the -table, the other on his hip, lit by the lamp of which he had removed the -shade the better to illumine the scene.<a name="page_100" id="page_100"></a></p> - -<p>“Look, Albertine,” said he, “and with me thank the chance enabling me to -do a good turn for one of my brothers.”</p> - -<p>The speaker was a green and sallow man, like one of those country clowns -whom Latona’s wrath pursued and who was turning to a frog. Gilbert -shuddered, thinking that he had seen this abortion before as through a -sheet of blood.</p> - -<p>He drew nearer to Sebastian and hugged him once more. But triumphing -over his first impulse, he went back to the strange man who had so -appalled Andrea in the second-sight vision, and said:</p> - -<p>“Receive all the thanks of a father, sir, for having preserved his son: -they are sincere and come right from his heart.”</p> - -<p>“I have merely done my duty as prescribed by nature and recommended by -science,” replied the other. “I am a man, and as Terence says, nothing -human is foreign to me; besides, I have a tender heart, and cannot see -even an insect suffer; consequently still less my fellow man.”</p> - -<p>“May I learn to what fervent philanthropist I have the honor to speak?”</p> - -<p>“Do you not know your brother-physician?” said the surgeon, laughing in -what he wanted to seem benevolence though it was ghastly. “I know you, -Dr. Gilbert, the friend of the American patriots, and of Lafayette!” He -laid peculiar stress on this name. “The republican of America and -France, the honorable Utopist who has written magnificent articles on -constitutional government, which you sent to Louis XVI. from the States, -and for which he lodged you in the Bastile, the moment you touched -French soil. You wanted to save him by clearing the road to the future, -and he opened that into jail—regular royal gratitude!”</p> - -<p>He laughed again, this time terribly and threateningly.</p> - -<p>“If you know me it is a farther reason for me to insist on learning to -whom I am indebted.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, it is a long while since we made acquaintance,” said the surgeon. -“Twenty years, sir, on the dreadful night of the thirtieth of May, 1770; -the night when the fireworks exploded by accident among the people in -the Paris square, and injured and killed many who came to rejoice over -the wedding of the Archduchess and our Prince Royal, but who had to -curse<a name="page_101" id="page_101"></a> their names. You were but a boy whom Rousseau brought to me, -wounded and crushed almost to death, and I bled you on a board amid the -dead and the cut-off limbs. Yet that awful night is a pleasant memory to -me for I was able to save many existences by my steel knowing where to -dissever to preserve life and where to cut to spare pain.”</p> - -<p>“You are Jean Paul Marat, then,” cried Gilbert, falling back a step -despite himself.</p> - -<p>“Mark, Albertine, that my name makes some effect,” said Marat with a -sinister laugh.</p> - -<p>“But I thought you were physician to Count Artois; why are you in this -cave, why lighted by this smoky lamp?”</p> - -<p>“I was the Prince’s veterinary surgeon, you mean. But he emigrated? no -prince, no stables; no stables, no vet. Besides, I gave in my -resignation, for I would no longer serve the tyrants.”</p> - -<p>The dwarf drew himself up to the full extent of his form.</p> - -<p>“But, in short, why are you in this hole?”</p> - -<p>“Because, Master Philosopher, I am a sound patriot writing to decry the -ambitious; Bailly fears me, Necker detests me, and Lafayette sets the -National Guard on to hunt me down and has put a price on my head—the -aspiring dictator! but I brave him! out of my hole, I pursue him, and -denounce the Caesar. Do you know what he has done? He has had fifteen -thousand snuffboxes made with his portrait on them, which hides some -trick. So I entreat all good citizens to smash them when found. It is -the rallying sign for the great Royalist Plot, for you cannot be -ignorant that Lafayette is conspiring with the Queen while poor Louis is -blubbering scalding tears over the blunders the Austrian is leading him -into.</p> - -<p>“The Queen,” said Gilbert pensively.</p> - -<p>“Yes; don’t tell me that she is not plotting: lately she gave away so -many white cockades that white ribbon went away up in the market. It is -a fact, for I had it from one of the workgirls of Bertin the dressmaker, -her Prime Minister in Fashions, who used to say: ‘I have been discussing -matters this morning with her Majesty.'”</p> - -<p>“And how do you denounce such things?” inquired the doctor.<a name="page_102" id="page_102"></a></p> - -<p>“In my newspaper, the one I have just started, twenty numbers having -appeared. It is ‘The Friend of the people or the Parisian Publicist,’ an -impartial political organ. To pay for the paper and the printing—look -behind you—I have sold the sheets and blankets off my bed.”</p> - -<p>Turning, Gilbert indeed saw that Sebastian lay on the mattress -absolutely bare, but he had fallen asleep, overcome with pain and -fatigue. He went up to him to see that it was not a swoon, but reassured -by the regular breathing he, returned to this journalist, who -irresistibly inspired him with the interest we feel for a hyena, tiger -or other wild beast.</p> - -<p>“Who help you in this gigantic work?” he inquired.</p> - -<p>“My staff?” sneered Marat. “Ha, ha, ha! the geese fly in files: the -eagle soars alone. My helpers are these,” and he showed his head and -hands. “I write the whole paper single handed—I can show you the copy, -though it runs into sixteen pages octavo sometimes, and often I use -small type though I commenced with large. So, it is not merely a -newspaper—but a personality—it is Marat!”</p> - -<p>“Enormous labor—how do you manage it?” asked the other doctor.</p> - -<p>“It is the secret of nature—a compact I have made with death. I have -given ten years of my life, so that I need no rest by day and no sleep -by night. My existence is summed up in writing: I do it day and night. -Lafayette’s police coop me up in this cell, where they chain me body and -soul to my work: they have doubled my activity. It was heavy on me at -first but I am inured to it. It delights me now to see poor humanity -through this airhole, by the narrow and slanting beam. From my gloomy -den I judge mankind living, and science and politics without appeal. -With one hand I demolish the savants, with the other the politicians. I -shall upset the whole state of things, like Samson destroying the -Temple, and under the ruins perhaps crushing me, I shall bury the -throne!”</p> - -<p>In spite of himself the hearer shuddered: in his rags and the -poverty-stricken vault this man repeated very nearly what Cagliostro had -said in his palace under his embroidered clothes.<a name="page_103" id="page_103"></a></p> - -<p>“But when you are so popular, why do you not try for a nomination in the -National Assembly?” he asked.</p> - -<p>“Because the day has not come for that,” replied the demagogue; -expressing his regret, he continued, “Oh, were I a tribune of the -masses, sustained by only a few thousand of determined men, I answer for -the Constitution being perfectly safe in six weeks: the political -machine should move better: no villain would dare play ticks with it: -the Nation should be free and happy: in less than a year, it should be -flourishing and redoubtable: and thus would it remain while I was -erect.”</p> - -<p>The vain creature was transformed under Gilbert’s eyes: his eyes became -bloodshot; his yellow skin shone with sweat; the monster became great in -his hideousness as another is grand in his beauty.</p> - -<p>“Yes, but I am not a representative,” he proceeded, resuming his train -of ideas from where he had interrupted himself: “I have not the -thousands of followers. No, but I am a journalist, and have my weapons -and ammunition, my subscribers and readers, for whom I am an oracle, a -prophet and a diviner. I have my following for whom I am a friend, and I -lead them on, trembling, from treachery to treachery, discovery to -discovery, from one dreadful thing to another. In the first number of -The Friend of the People, I denounced the upper classes saying that -there were six hundred guilty wretches in France and that number of -ropes-ends would do the job: but I made a mistake, ha, ha! The deeds of -the fifth and sixth of October opened my eyes and I see that we must -hang twenty thousand of the patricians.”</p> - -<p>Gilbert smiled, for fury elevated to this point, seemed madness to him.</p> - -<p>“Why, there is not enough hemp in France to do this work, and rope would -go up in price,” he said.</p> - -<p>“That is why I am looking round for some other means,” returned Marat, -“more expeditious and novel. Do you know whom I expect this evening? one -of our brother medicos, a member of the National Assembly whom you must -know by name, Dr. Guillotin——“</p> - -<p>“The one who moved that the Assembly, expelled from the<a name="page_104" id="page_104"></a> Session Hall at -Versailles, should meet in the Tennis Court a learned man?”</p> - -<p>“Do you know what this able citizen has discovered? a marvellous machine -which kills without pain, for death must be punishment not torture; he -has invented it and we shall try it one of these mornings.”</p> - -<p>Gilbert started: this was the second time that this brother Invisible -reminded him of the Chief, Cagliostro; no doubt this death-machine was -the same he had spoken of.</p> - -<p>“But you are lucky—a knock! it is he. Run and open the door, -Albertine.”</p> - -<p>The hag, who was the wife—rather the female mate of Marat—rose from -the stool on which she was squatting, and staggered half asleep towards -the door.</p> - -<p>Giddy with terror, Gilbert went instinctively towards Sebastian, ready -to take him in his arms and flee.</p> - -<p>“Just think of an automatic executioner,” said Marat, enthusiastically, -“with no need of a man to set it going; which can, if the knife is -changed a couple of times, cut off three hundred heads a-day!”</p> - -<p>“And add,” said a bland, melodious voice, behind Marat, “which can cut -off these heads without other sensation than a slight coolness around -the neck.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, is this you, doctor?” exclaimed Marat, turning towards a dapper -little man of forty or so, whose gentle demeanor and spruce dress made a -marked contrast with his host: in his hand he carried a small box such -as children’s toys are kept in. “What are you bringing us?”</p> - -<p>“A model of my machine, my dear Marat. But I see Dr. Gilbert here, -unless I mistake,” said the little dandy, trying to pierce the -obscurity.</p> - -<p>“The same, sir,” said the other visitor bowing.</p> - -<p>“Enchanted to meet you, sir; you are only too welcome, and I shall be -happy to have the opinion of so distinguished a man on my invention. I -must tell you, my dear Marat, that I have found a skillful carpenter, -named Guidon, to make my machine on the working scale. He is dear, -though, wanting five thousand five hundred francs; but no sacrifice is -too great for me to make for humanity. In two months it will be built, -and<a name="page_105" id="page_105"></a> we can try it: I shall propose it to the Assembly. I hope you will -approve of it in your excellent new paper, though, in sober earnest, the -machine recommends itself, as you will see with your own eyes, Dr. -Gilbert. But a few lines in the People’s Friend will do no harm.”</p> - -<p>“Be easy on that score; it is not a few lines but a whole number that I -shall dedicate to it.”</p> - -<p>“You are too good, Marat; but I am not going to let you puff a pig in a -poke.”</p> - -<p>He took out of his pocket a much smaller box, in which a sound indicated -that some little live thing or several such were fidgeting in their -prison. This noise did not escape Marat’s subtle hearing.</p> - -<p>“What have you got there?” he asked, putting out his hand towards the -box.</p> - -<p>“Mind,” said the doctor, drawing it back, “do not let them escape as we -could not catch them again; they are mice whose heads we are going to -nick off with the machine. What, are you going to leave us, Dr. -Gilbert?”</p> - -<p>“Alas, yes, sir, to my great regret; but my son, wounded by being run -over by a horse just now, has been relieved by Friend Marat, to whom I -also owe my own life in an almost similar affair. I have to thank him -again. The boy needs a fresh bed, cares and repose: so that I cannot -witness your interesting experiment.”</p> - -<p>“But you will come and see the one with the real machine, in two months, -you promise, doctor?”</p> - -<p>“I pledge my word.”</p> - -<p>“Doctor,” said Marat, “I need not say, keep my abode secret. If your -friend Lafayette were to discover it he would have me shot like a dog, -or hung like a thief.”</p> - -<p>“Shooting, hanging,” exclaimed Guillotin. “But we shall put an end to -these cannibal deaths. We shall have a death, soft, easy, instantaneous, -such as old people, disgusted with their life and wishful to pass away -like sages and philosophers, will prefer to a natural one. Come and see -how it works, Marat!”</p> - -<p>And without troubling any farther about Dr. Gilbert, the enthusiast -opened his larger box and began to set up on the<a name="page_106" id="page_106"></a> table a model -apparatus which the surgeon regarded with curiosity equal to his -enthusiasm.</p> - -<p>Gilbert profited by their being so engaged, to carry away Sebastian, -guided by Albertine who fastened up the outer door after him.</p> - -<p>Once in the street, he felt the night wind chill the perspiration -gathered on his brow.</p> - -<p>“Heavens,” he muttered, “what will happen to a city where the cellars -perhaps hide five hundred lovers of mankind who are occupied with such -work as we have a sample of there? one day they will perform in broad -daylight before the crowd.”</p> - -<p>It was little distance to his house in St. Honore Street.</p> - -<p>The cold revived Sebastian but his father would not let him walk. When -he knocked at his door, a heavy step was heard approaching.</p> - -<p>“Is that you, Dr. Gilbert?” challenged one within.</p> - -<p>“That is Pitou’s voice,” said the boy.</p> - -<p>“Praise heaven, Sebastian is found,” shouted Pitou on opening the door. -“Master Billet,” he shouted still more loudly, “Sebastian is found, and -all right, I hope, doctor?”</p> - -<p>“Without any serious hurt, anyway,” replied the other, “Come, -Sebastian.”</p> - -<p>He carried his son up to his bed.</p> - -<p>Pitou followed with the light; by his mud-bespattered shoes and -stockings it was plain that he had come a long journey.</p> - -<p>Indeed, after taking the broken-hearted Catherine home and learning from -her lips that her deep sorrow came from Isidore Charny being called away -to Paris, he took leave of her and Mother Billet, weeping by her -bedside, and went home to Haramont. He walked so slowly that he did not -get there until daybreak.</p> - -<p>He fell off to sleep so that it was not till he awoke, that he found the -youth’s letter. Immediately he started to overtake him.</p> - -<p>He girded up with a leather strap, took some bread and with a walking -stick in his fist, proceeded to town, where he arrived at eight that -night.<a name="page_107" id="page_107"></a></p> - -<p>He found neither the doctor nor his son at home—only Farmer Billet.</p> - -<p>This hearty, robust man, unnerved by the bloody scenes witnessed since -the Taking of the Bastile, of which enterprise he was the leader, had no -news for Pitou.</p> - -<p>Their sad waiting was rewarded by the double arrival.</p> - -<p>Though tranquil about Sebastian, Pitou, when sent to bed had his budget -to unfold to the farmer. Let no reader think that he revealed -Catherine’s secrets and spoke of her amour with the young noble. The -honest soul of the Commander of the Haramont National Guard would not -stoop to that story. But he told Billet that the harvest was bad, the -barley a failure, part of the wheat wind-laid, and the barns but a third -full—and that he had found Catherine on the road.</p> - -<p>Billet was little vexed about the grain, but the illness of his daughter -distressed him.</p> - -<p>He ran to Dr. Gilbert with a sad face as the latter was finishing this -note to Andrea: “Be of good heart; the child is found, with no one -hurt.”</p> - -<p>“Dr. Gilbert, you were right to retain me in town where I might be -useful; but everything has been going wrong in the country while the -good man is away.”</p> - -<p>Gilbert agreed with his friend that a hearty buxom girl like Catherine -should not faint on the public road. Feeling with a parent, he -responded:</p> - -<p>“Go home, my dear Billet, since land and family call you. But do not -forget that I shall claim you in the name of the country.”</p> - -<p>Thus Billet returned home after an absence of three months, although he -had intended to be away only a week.</p> - -<p>Pitou followed him, bearing twenty-five louis destined from Gilbert for -the equipment and maintenance of the Haramont National Guard.</p> - -<p>Sebastian stayed with his father.<a name="page_108" id="page_108"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVI" id="CHAPTER_XVI"></a>CHAPTER XVI.<br /><br /> -THE PORTRAIT OF CHARLES FIRST.</h2> - -<p>A <small>WEEK</small> has passed since the events related. Everybody was saying: The -Revolution is finished; the King is delivered from Versailles, and his -courtiers and evil counsellors. The King is placed in life and -actuality. He had heretofore the license to work wrong; now he has full -liberty to do good.</p> - -<p>The dread from the riots had brought the conservatives over to the -royalty. The Assembly had been frightened, too, and saw that it depended -on the King. A hundred and fifty of its members took to flight.</p> - -<p>The two most popular men, Lafayette and Mirabeau, became royalists. The -latter wanted the other to unite with him to save the crown, but while -honorable Lafayette had a limited brain, he did not see the orator’s -genius.</p> - -<p>Mirabeau was all for the Duke of Orleans, whom Lafayette advised, nay, -ordered to quit the kingdom.</p> - -<p>“But suppose I come back without your permission?” said the prince.</p> - -<p>“Then, I hope you will do me the honor to cross swords with me at the -first battle,” replied the marquis.</p> - -<p>He was the veritable ruler and the duke had to depart; he did not return -until called to be King of the French.</p> - -<p>Lafayette had saved the Queen and protected the King; he was perfectly a -royalist.</p> - -<p>But still, like Gilbert, he was not so much the friend of the King as of -the crown.</p> - -<p>The monarch had too just a mind not to see this clearly.</p> - -<p>Although he had not seen the doctor lately he remembered that this was -his day of duty and he called him.</p> - -<p>The King was pacing the bedroom, but stopping now and then to look at -the Vandyke picture of Charles First, now in the Louvre.<a name="page_109" id="page_109"></a></p> - -<p>The sovereign of England is painted as a Cavalier, with his horse, as -ready for flight as for battle.</p> - -<p>This picture seemed fatally the goal of the King’s wanderings.</p> - -<p>At the step, Louis turned round.</p> - -<p>“Oh, is it you, doctor?” he said. “Come in, I am glad to see you.” -Leading him up to the painting he said: “Do you know this? where did you -see it?”</p> - -<p>“In Lady Dubarry’s house, when I was a boy, but it deeply struck me.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, she pretended to be descended from the page who holds the horse. -Jeanne Dubarry was the woman chosen by Marshal Richelieu to be the sole -feminine ruler over the worn-out monarch Louis XV. and to induce him to -shut up the infamous Deerpark, which was the harem ruining the old man. -She was an adroit actress and played her part marvellously. She -entertained while making sport of him, and he became manly because she -persuaded him he was so.”</p> - -<p>He stopped as if blaming himself for his imprudence in speaking of his -grandfather thus openly before a stranger; but one glance at Gilbert’s -frank face encouraged him, for he saw that he could speak all to a man -who understood every thing.</p> - -<p>“This melancholy, lofty face,” went on the King, referring to the -portrait, “was placed in the strange Egeria’s boudoir, where it heard -her impudent laughs and saw her lascivious gambols. Merrily she would -take Louis by the arm and show him Charles, saying: ‘Old gossip, this -King had his neck cut through because he was too weak towards his -Parliament. Take warning about your own!’ Hence Louis broke up his -Parliament and died peacefully on his throne. Thereupon we exiled the -poor woman, for whom we ought to have been most indulgent. The picture -was packed away in the lumber room of Versailles and I never thought -about it. Now, how comes it here, in my bedroom? why does it haunt me?” -He shook his head. “There is some fate in this.”</p> - -<p>“Fatality, if the portrait reads no lesson, Sire; Providence if it does. -What does it say to your Majesty?”</p> - -<p>“That Charles lost his throne from having made war on his<a name="page_110" id="page_110"></a> subjects, and -James the Second for having tired his own.”</p> - -<p>“Like me, then, it speaks the truth.”</p> - -<p>“Well?” inquired the sovereign, questioning the doctor with his glance.</p> - -<p>“Well, I beg to ask for your answer to the portrait.”</p> - -<p>“Friend Gilbert, I have resolved on nothing: I will take the cue from -circumstances.”</p> - -<p>“The people fear that your Majesty purposes war upon them.”</p> - -<p>“No, sir,” he rejoined, “I cannot make war on them without foreign -support and I know the state of Europe too well to rely on that. The -King of Prussia offers to enter France at the head of a hundred thousand -men; but I too well know his ambitious and intriguing spirit—a petty -monarchy which wishes to become a great one, thriving on turmoil and -hoping to catch some fish like another Silesia. On her part, Austria -places a hundred thousand men at my call; but I do not like my -brother-in-law Leopold, a two-faced Janus, whose mother, Marie Theresa, -had my father poisoned.</p> - -<p>“My brother Artois proposes the support of Sardinia and Spain, but I do -not trust those powers, led by Artois. Beside him is Calonne, in other -words, the Queen’s worst enemy, the one who annotated with his own hand -the pamphlet of the Countess Lamotte Valois anent the conspiracy of the -Queen’s Necklace, for which she was branded. I know all that is going on -yonder. In their last council a debate ensued about deposing me and -appointing a regent who would be probably my dear, very dear brother -Count Provence. Prince Conde suggested marching with an enemy upon -Lyons, ‘whatever happened me at Paris!’</p> - -<p>“It is another thing with the Great Empress Catherine; she confines -herself to advice, bless her! you can understand that when you reflect -that she is at table digesting Poland and cannot rise until she has -finished her feast. She gives me advice which aims to be sublime but is -only ridiculous, considering what has lately occurred. She says: -‘Monarchs ought to proceed on their course like the moon in her orbit, -without being disturbed by the baying of curs!’—that is, the protests -of the common people. It appears that the Russian curs<a name="page_111" id="page_111"></a> merely bark; -ours do some biting, as you may learn of my poor Lifeguardsmen, torn to -pieces by them.”</p> - -<p>“The people thought that your Majesty was going to quit the country.”</p> - -<p>“Doctor,” said the King after hesitating, and he laid his hand on the -other’s shoulder, “I have promised you the truth and you shall have it -thoroughly. Such a matter has been broached; it is the opinion of many -faithful servitors surrounding me that I ought to flee. But on the sixth -of October night, when weeping in my arms, the Queen besought me never -to flee without her, and that we should all depart together, to be saved -or die in company. I shall keep my word; and as I do not think that we -could flee in such a number without being stopped, a dozen times before -we got to the frontier, I conclude that we shall never get away.”</p> - -<p>“Well, Sire, there is indeed no need of the foreigners. What would be -the use until you shall exhaust your own resources? My advice is that we -are only beginning the fight and that the Taking of the Bastile and the -attack on the Palace at Versailles are only the two first acts in the -tragedy to be played by France under the eyes of Europe.”</p> - -<p>“I hope you are mistaken, sir,” replied Louis, slightly turning pale: -“My police tell me nothing like this.”</p> - -<p>“I have no police or information to check them; but in my position I am -the natural conductor between the heavens and what is still concealed in -the bowels of the earth. Sire, what we have experienced is merely the -rumble that runs before the earthquake; we have yet to meet the lava, -the fire and the smoke. I fear that the Revolutionary torrent will run -ahead of us. There are only two methods to save yourself. One is to -place yourself on the foremost breaker and be carried on with it.”</p> - -<p>“I do not wish to go where it would carry me.”</p> - -<p>“The second is to place a barrier across the tide. It is Genius and -Popularity in one dam: and it is named Mirabeau.”</p> - -<p>“The King looked Gilbert in the face as though he had misunderstood him; -then turning to the portrait, he said:</p> - -<p>“What would you have replied, Charles Stuart, if when you<a name="page_112" id="page_112"></a> felt the -ground quake beneath your feet, some one had suggested your leaning on -Cromwell?”</p> - -<p>“He would have refused, and rightly; for there is no likeness between -Cromwell and Mirabeau.” Such was Gilbert’s answer.</p> - -<p>“They were both traitors.”</p> - -<p>“Sire,” replied the other with profound respect but invincible firmness; -“neither were traitors: Cromwell was a rebellious subject, and Mirabeau -is a discontented nobleman.”</p> - -<p>“What is he discontented with?”</p> - -<p>“With his father, who locked him up in prison; the courts which -condemned him to death; with the King who miscomprehended and still -miscomprehends his genius.”</p> - -<p>“The spirit of a public man is honesty,” said the King quickly.</p> - -<p>“The reply is fine, worthy of Titus, Trajan or Marcus Aurelius, -unluckily many examples arise to the contrary.”</p> - -<p>“How can you ask me to confide in a man who has a price?”</p> - -<p>“Because he is a man of his price. If he will sell himself for a -million, it is a bargain. Do you think he is worth twice a Polignac?”</p> - -<p>“You are pleading for a friend.”</p> - -<p>“I have not that honor: but he has a friend who is of the Queen’s party, -too.”</p> - -<p>“Count Lamarck? We cast it up to him every day.”</p> - -<p>“On the contrary, your Majesty ought to dissuade him breaking the -friendship with him, under pain of death. Mirabeau is a noble, an -aristocrat, a King’s-man above all. He was elected by the people because -the nobles scorned him and he had sublime disdain of the means to attain -an end which genius thirsted for. You may say that he will never quit -the party of his constituents to join the court party? Why is there not -union of the court and plebeians? Mirabeau could make them one. Take -him, my lord! To-morrow, rebuffed by your despisal, he may turn against -you, and then you will say, as the portrait of your Martyr King will -say: All is lost!”</p> - -<p>“I will talk this over with the Queen, sir,” said the monarch, having -turned pale and hesitatingly glanced at the royal portrait.<a name="page_113" id="page_113"></a> “She may -decide on speaking with Mirabeau: but I will not. I like to be able to -shake hands with those I confer with, and I could never take the hand of -a Mirabeau, though my life, my liberty, and my throne were at -stake—After she shall have seen him, we will see——“</p> - -<p>“I pray God that it will not be too late.”</p> - -<p>“Do you believe the peril so imminent?”</p> - -<p>“Sire, do not let the portrait of Charles First be removed from your -room,” said Gilbert; “it is a good adviser.”</p> - -<p>Bowing, he went forth as another visitor appeared on the sill. He could -not restrain from a cry of surprise. This gentleman was Marquis Favras, -whom he had met at Cagliostro’s a week or so before and to whom the -magician had predicted a near and shameful death.</p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVII" id="CHAPTER_XVII"></a>CHAPTER XVII.<br /><br /> -THE KING ATTENDS TO PRIVATE MATTERS.</h2> - -<p>L<small>OUIS</small> the King displayed the usual irresolution in dealing with Favras’ -proposition, approved by the Queen, to make a rush out of the kingdom. -He reflected all the night and at breakfast called for Count Charny.</p> - -<p>He was still at table when the officer walked in.</p> - -<p>“Won’t you take breakfast with me, count?”</p> - -<p>Charny was obliged to excuse himself from the honor as he had broken his -fast.</p> - -<p>“I must ask you to wait a while as I never care to speak of important -matters while at meals and I have something to talk over with your -lordship. Let us speak of other matters for the moment. Of yourself, for -instance. I hear that you are badly lodged here; somewhere in the -garret, my lord, while the countess is lodging in Paris.”</p> - -<p>“Sire, I am in a room of my own choice: the countess is dwelling in her -own house in Coq-Heron Street.”</p> - -<p>“I must confess my ignorance; is it near the palace?”</p> - -<p>“Tolerably, Sire.<a name="page_114" id="page_114"></a>”</p> - -<p>“What does this mean that after only three years of married life, you -have separate establishments?”</p> - -<p>“Sire, I have no answer to make than that my lady wishes to live alone. -I have not had the pleasure of seeing her since your Majesty sent me for -news. That is, better than a week ago.”</p> - -<p>The King understood grief more readily than melancholy and noticed the -difference in the tone.</p> - -<p>“Count, there is some of your fault in this estrangement,” said the -monarch, with the familiarity of the family man, as he called himself.</p> - -<p>“The man must be to blame when so charming a woman keeps aloof from him. -Do not tell me that this is none of my business: for a king can do a -great deal by speaking a word. You must treat the lady ungratefully, for -she loves you dearly—or did when Lady Taverney.”</p> - -<p>“Sire, you know that one must not dispute with a king.”</p> - -<p>“I do not know that the signs were visible to me alone; but this I know -very well that on that dreadful October night, when she came to join us, -she did not lose sight of you throughout, and her eyes expressed all her -soul’s anguish, so much so that I saw her make a movement to fling -herself between you and danger when the Bullseye Saloon door was beaten -down.”</p> - -<p>Count Charny was not softened; he believed he had seen something of this -sort: but the details of his recent interview with his wife were too -distinct for him to have his opinion shaken.</p> - -<p>“I was paying all the more attention to her,” went on Louis, “from the -Queen having said when you were sent to the City Hall while I was on my -journey to Paris, that she almost died of distress in your absence and -of joy at your return.”</p> - -<p>“Sire,” replied Charny with a sad smile, “God had allowed those who are -born above us to receive in birth as a privilege of their rank, the gift -of seeing deeper into one’s heart than oneself can do; the King and the -Queen have perceived secrets unrevealed to me: but my limited vision -prevents me seeing the same. Therefore I beg to be employed on any -dangerous errand or one that would take me to a distance<a name="page_115" id="page_115"></a> without -considering the great love of the Countess of Charny. Absence or danger -will be equally welcome, coming at least for my part.”</p> - -<p>“Nevertheless, a week ago, you appeared wishful to stay in town when the -Queen desired to despatch you to Italy.”</p> - -<p>“I deemed my brother adequate for the position and reserved myself for a -mission more difficult or dangerous.”</p> - -<p>“Then count, this is the very time when I have a difficult task to -entrust to you, that with danger to you in the future, that I spoke of -the countess’s isolation and wished her to have a lady friend’s company -while I took away her husband.”</p> - -<p>“I will write to the countess, yes, write: for from the way she last -received me, I ought in that manner acquaint her with my movements.”</p> - -<p>“Say no more on this head; I will talk it over with the Queen during -your absence,” said Louis, rising. “Faith, the medical lights are right -to say that things look differently as you handle them before or after a -hearty meal. Come into my study, count; I feel in a mood to talk -straight out to you.”</p> - -<p>Charny followed, thinking how much Majesty lost by this material side, -for which the proud Marie Antoinette was always carping at him.</p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVIII" id="CHAPTER_XVIII"></a>CHAPTER XVIII.<br /><br /> -THE KING ATTENDS TO PUBLIC MATTERS.</h2> - -<p>T<small>HOUGH</small> the King had been only a fortnight in the Tuileries he had two -places fitted out completely for him. The forge was one, the study the -other.</p> - -<p>Charny walked up to the desk at which his royal master seated himself -without looking round at the papers with which he was familiar.</p> - -<p>“Count Charny,” began the King at last, yet seeming to halt, “I noticed -one thing, on the night of the attack by the rioters, you stood by me -while you set your brother on guard over the Queen.<a name="page_116" id="page_116"></a>”</p> - -<p>“Sire, it was my right as head of my family, as you are chief of the -realm, to die for you.”</p> - -<p>“That made me think, that if ever I had a secret errand, difficult and -dangerous, I could rely on your loyalty as a Frenchman, and on your -heart as a friend’s.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, Sire, however the King may raise me, I have no pretension to -believe that I shall be more than a faithful and thankful subject.”</p> - -<p>“My lord, you are a grave man though but thirty-six; you have not passed -through recent events without drawing some conclusion from them. What do -you think of the situation and what would be your means to relieve me, -if you were my Premier?”</p> - -<p>“Sire, I am a soldier and a seaman,” returned Charny, with more -hesitation than embarrassment, “these high social questions fly over my -head.”</p> - -<p>“Nay, you are a man,” said the sovereign with a dignity in holding out -his hand which sprang from the quandary; “another man, who believes you -to be his friend, asks you, purely and simply, what you, with your -upright heart and healthy mind, would do in his place.”</p> - -<p>“Sire, in a no less serious position, the Queen asked my opinion: the -day after the Taking of the Bastile, when she wanted to fling the -foreign legions upon the mobs. My reply would have embroiled me with her -Majesty had I been less known to her and my respect and devotion less -plain. I said that your Majesty must not enter these walls as a -conqueror if he could not as a father of his people.”</p> - -<p>“Well, my lord, is not that the counsel I followed? The question is was -I right? am I here as a King or a captive?”</p> - -<p>“Speaking in full frankness, I disapproved of the banquet at Versailles, -supplicating the Queen not to go there; I was in despair when she threw -down the tricolor and set up the black cockade of Austria.”</p> - -<p>“Do you believe that led really to the attack on the palace?”</p> - -<p>“No, Sire; but it was the cover for it. You are not unjust for the lower -orders; they are kindly and love you—they are royalist. But they are in -pain from cold and hunger; beneath and around them are evil advisers, -who urge them on, and<a name="page_117" id="page_117"></a> they know not their own strength. Once started -they become flood or fire, for they overwhelm or they consume.”</p> - -<p>“Well, what am I to do? supposing, as is natural enough, I do not want -to be drowned or burned.”</p> - -<p>“We must not open the sluices to the flood or windows to the flame. But -pardon me forgetting that I should not speak thus, even on a royal -order——“</p> - -<p>“But you will on a royal entreaty. Count Charny, the King entreats -you—to continue.”</p> - -<p>“Well, Sire, there are two strata of the lower orders, the soil and the -mud; the one which may be reposed upon and the other which will yield -and smother one. Distrust one and rest on the other.”</p> - -<p>“Count, you are repeating at two hours’ interval, what Dr. Gilbert told -me.”</p> - -<p>“Sire, how is it that after taking the advice of a learned man, you ask -that of a poor naval officer like me?”</p> - -<p>“Because there is a wide difference between you, I believe. Dr. Gilbert -is devoted to royalty and you to the King. If the principle remains -safe, he would let the King go.”</p> - -<p>“Then there is a difference between us, for the King and the principle -are inseparable for me,” responded the nobleman; “under this head it is -that I beg your Majesty to deal with me.”</p> - -<p>“First, I should like to hear to whom you would apply in this space of -calm between two storms perhaps, to efface the wreck made by one and -soothe the coming tempest.”</p> - -<p>“If I had the honor and the misfortune to be the wearer of the crown, I -should remember the cheers I heard round my carriage, and I should hold -out my hands to General Lafayette and Member Mirabeau.”</p> - -<p>“Can you advise this when you detest one and scorn the other?”</p> - -<p>“My sympathies are of no moment, the whole question is the safety of the -crown and the salvation of the monarchy.”</p> - -<p>“Just what Dr. Gilbert says,” muttered the hearer as though speaking to -himself.</p> - -<p>“Sire, I am happy to be in tune with such an eminent man.<a name="page_118" id="page_118"></a>”</p> - -<p>“But if I were to agree to such a union and there should be failure, -what think you I ought to do?”</p> - -<p>“Think of your safety and your family’s.”</p> - -<p>“Then you suggest that I should flee?”</p> - -<p>“I should propose that your Majesty should retire with such regiments as -are reliable and the true nobles to some fortified place.”</p> - -<p>“Ah,” said the King with a radiant face: “but among the commanders who -have given proof of devotion, you knowing them all, to which would you -confide this dangerous mission, of guarding and removing the King?”</p> - -<p>“Sire,” replied Charny, after hesitation, “it is not because ties of -friendship—almost of family—attach me to a certain nobleman that I -name him, but because he is known for his steadfast devotion; as -Governor of the Leeward Islands, he not only protected our possessions -in the Antilles, but captured some islands from the British: he had been -charged with various commands, and at present he is General Governor, I -believe, at Metz—this is the Marquis of Bouille. Were I a father, I -should trust my son to him; a subject, I would confide the King!”</p> - -<p>At the name the hearer could not repress an outcry of joy. He held out a -letter, saying:</p> - -<p>“Read this address, my lord, and see if Providence itself did not -inspire me to apply to you.”</p> - -<p>The address ran: “To Lord François Claude Amour, Marquis of Bouille, -General Commander at Metz.”</p> - -<p>“After what has happened, I do not feel that I ought to keep anything -back from you. I have thought of this flight before, but in all the -propositions was the hand of Austria beckoning me into a trap, and I -have recoiled. I do not love Austria more than you do yourself.”</p> - -<p>“Sire, you forget that I am the faithful subject of the King and the -Queen of France.” He emphasized the second title.</p> - -<p>“I have already told you, count,” went on the King, “that you are a -friend, and I can speak the more frankly as the prejudice I cherished -against the Queen is completely effaced from my mind. But it was against -my will that I received into my house the double enemy of my line, as an -Austrian and a<a name="page_119" id="page_119"></a> Lorrainer. After ten years’ struggle it was despite my -will that I had to charge Lord Breteuil with the management of my -household and the government of Paris; make the Premier of the -Archbishop of Toulouse, an atheist; lastly, pay to Austria the millions -she extorted from the Low Countries. At present speaking, who succeeds -the dead Maria Theresa, to counsel and direct the Queen? Her brother -Joseph II., who is luckily dying. He is advised by old women of -councillors who sway the Queen of France through her hairdresser Leonard -and her dressmaker Bertin.</p> - -<p>“They are pensioned by us while they are leading her to alliance with -Austria. Austria has always been fatal to France, either as foe or -friend, as when she put the dagger in Jacques Clement’s or Ravaillac’s -or Damien’s to slay our kings. Formerly it was Catholic and devout -Austria, but she is abjuring now and is partly philosophical under -Joseph; rashly, she runs against her own sword, Hungary: without -foresight, she lets the Belgian priesthood rob her of the finest jewels -in her crown, the Low Countries; become the vassal of Russia, she wears -out her troops in fighting for it against the Turks, our allies. No, my -lord, I hate Austria and I will not trust to her. But I was saying that -her overtures of flight were not the only ones. I have had one proposed -by Marquis Favras. Do you know him?”</p> - -<p>“He was the captain in the Belgunze Regiment, and lieutenant in the -Count of Provence’s own Guards.”</p> - -<p>“You have hit it with the latter shot. What think you of him?”</p> - -<p>“He is a brave soldier and a loyal gentleman. Unfortunately he has no -means and this makes him restless and fit for mad projects and hazardous -attempts. But he is a man of honor who will die without retreating a -step, or uttering a complaint in order to keep his word. He may be -trusted to make a dash but not to manage an enterprise.”</p> - -<p>“He is not the leader,” said the King, with marked bitterness; “that is -Provence, who finds the means and manages all; devoted to the end, he -will remain while Favras bears me hence. This is not the plot of Austria -but of the fugitive princes and peers.<a name="page_120" id="page_120"></a>”</p> - -<p>“But why should not your Majesty’s brother go with you? why would he -remain?”</p> - -<p>“Through devotion, and also to be at hand in case the people should be -tired of revolution and seek a regent. I tell you what all know, my dear -count, and what your brother wrote me yesterday from Turin. They debate -about deposing me and ruling by a regent. You see that unless in an -extremity I can no sooner accept the Favras plan than the Austrian. This -is what I have said to nobody, my dear count, but yourself, and I do it -in order that nobody, not even the Queen,” he laid stress on the last -three words, “can make you more devoted to them than to me, since they -cannot show more confidence.”</p> - -<p>“Sire, am I to keep the journey a secret from everybody?” inquired -Charny, bowing.</p> - -<p>“It little matters, count, that it should be known whither you go, as -long as the design is unknown. You know the situation, my fears and -hopes, better than my Minister Necker and my adviser Gilbert. Act -accordingly; I put the scissors and the thread in your -hands—disentangle or cut, as you see fit.”</p> - -<p>He held the letter open for him to read:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="r"> -<span class="smcap">Tuileries Palace</span>, Oct. 29th.</p> - -<p>“I hope, my lord, that you continue contented with your post as -Governor of Metz. Count Charny, Lieutenant of my Lifeguards, -passing through your city, will inquire if among your desires are -any I can gratify. In that event I will take the opportunity to be -agreeable to you as I do this one to renew the assurance of my -feelings of esteem for your lordship.</p> - -<p class="r"> -“<span class="smcap">Louis.</span>”</p></div> - -<p>“Now, my Lord Charny,” said the King, “you have full power to make -promises to Bouille if you think he needs any; only do not commit me -farther than I can perform.”</p> - -<p>For the second time he held out his hand.</p> - -<p>Charny kissed it with emotion forefending any fresh pledges, and went -forth, leaving his master convinced that he had acquired by his trust, -the heart of the servitor, better than by<a name="page_121" id="page_121"></a> offerings of wealth and -favors such as he had lavished in the days of his power.</p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIX" id="CHAPTER_XIX"></a>CHAPTER XIX.<br /><br /> -A LOVING QUEEN.</h2> - -<p>C<small>HARNY</small> left the King with his heart full of opposing feelings.</p> - -<p>The primary one, mounting to the surface over the tumultuous waves of -turbulent thoughts, was deep gratitude for the boundless confidence -testified to him.</p> - -<p>This imposed duties the more holy from his conscience not being dumb. He -remembered his wrongs towards this worthy monarch who laid his hand on -his shoulder as on a true friend at the time of danger.</p> - -<p>The more Charny felt guilty towards his master, the more ready he was to -devote himself to him.</p> - -<p>The more this respectful allegiance grew the lesser became the less pure -emotion which he had cherished for the Queen during years.</p> - -<p>This is the reason why he—having lost the vague hope which led him -towards Andrea for the test, as if she was one of those flowering shrubs -on the precipice edge by which a falling man can save himself—grasped -with eagerness this mission diverging him from the court. Here he felt -the double torment of being still loved by the woman whom he was ceasing -to love and of not being loved by her whom he was beginning to adore.</p> - -<p>Profiting by the coldness lately introduced into his relations with the -Queen, he went to her rooms with the intention of leaving a note to tell -of his departure when he found Weber awaiting him.</p> - -<p>The Queen wished to see him forthwith, and there is no eluding the -wishes of crowned heads in their palace.</p> - -<p>Marie Antoinette was in the opposite mood to her visitor’s, she was -recalling her harshness towards him and his devotion at Versailles; at -the sight of the count’s brother laid dead<a name="page_122" id="page_122"></a> across her threshold she had -felt a kind of remorse; she confessed to herself that had this been the -count she would have badly paid him for the sacrifice.</p> - -<p>But had she any right to expect aught else than devotion of Charny?</p> - -<p>She admitted that she was stern and unfair towards him, when the door -opened and the gentleman appeared in the irreproachable costume of the -military officer on duty.</p> - -<p>But there was in his deeply respectful bearing something chilly which -repelled the magnetic flow from the Queen’s heart, to go and seek in his -the tender, sweet and sad memories collected during four years.</p> - -<p>The Queen looked round her as though to try to ascertain why he remained -on the sill, and when assured it was a matter of his will, she said:</p> - -<p>“Come, my lord: we are alone.”</p> - -<p>“I see that, but I do not see what in that fact should alter the bearing -of a subject to his sovereign.”</p> - -<p>“When I sent Weber for you I thought that fond friends were going to -speak with one another.”</p> - -<p>Charny smiled bitterly.</p> - -<p>“I understand that smile and that you say, inwardly, the Queen was -unjust at Versailles and is capricious here.”</p> - -<p>“Injustice or caprice, a woman is allowed anything,” returned Charny: “a -queen more than all.”</p> - -<p>“Whatever the caprice, my friend,” said Marie with all the witchingness -she could put in a voice or smile, “the Queen cannot do without you as -adviser or the woman without you as loved friend.”</p> - -<p>She held out her hand, a little thinned but still worthy of a lovely -statue. He kissed it respectfully and was about to let it fall when he -felt her retain his.</p> - -<p>“I ought to have wept with you over the loss of your brother, slain for -my sake: well, I have been weeping these ten days since I have not seen -you: they are falling yet.”</p> - -<p>Ah, if Charny could have surmised what a quantity of tears would follow -those, no doubt the immense grief would have made him fall at her feet, -and ask pardon for any grievances she had against him.<a name="page_123" id="page_123"></a></p> - -<p>But the future is enveloped in mystery which no human hand can unveil -before the hour and the black garb which Marie Antoinette was to wear to -the scaffold, was too thickly embroidered with gold for one to spy the -gloom of it.</p> - -<p>“Believe, my lady,” he said, “that I am truly grateful for your -remembrance of me and sorrow for my brother? unfortunately I must be -brief as the King has entrusted me with a mission so that I leave in an -hour.”</p> - -<p>“What, do you abandon us like the others?”</p> - -<p>“I repeat it is a mission.”</p> - -<p>“But you refused the like a week ago!”</p> - -<p>“In a week much happens in a man’s existence to alter his -determination.”</p> - -<p>“Do you depart alone?” she asked, making an effort.</p> - -<p>She breathed again when he answered: “Alone.”</p> - -<p>“Where do you go?” she asked, recovering from her weakness.</p> - -<p>“It is the King’s secret, but he has none from you.”</p> - -<p>“My lord, the secret is ours alike,” said Marie Antoinette haughtily. -“But is it abroad or in the kingdom?”</p> - -<p>“The King alone can give your Majesty the desired information.”</p> - -<p>“So you go away,” said she, with profound sorrow overcoming the -irritation from Charny’s reserve, “to run into dangers afar, and I am -not to know what they are!”</p> - -<p>“Wheresoever I go, you will have a devoted heart daring all for you: and -the dangers will be light since I expose my life in the service of the -two sovereigns whom I most venerate on earth.”</p> - -<p>The Queen uttered a sob which seemed to tear out her heart; and she said -with a hand on her throat as if to keep down her gorge.</p> - -<p>“It is well—go! for you love me no longer.”</p> - -<p>Charny felt a thrill run through him; it was the first time this haughty -woman and ruler had bowed unto him.</p> - -<p>At any other time and under any other circumstances, he must have fallen -at her feet if only to crave pardon; but the remembrance of what had -happened between him and the King recalled all his strength.<a name="page_124" id="page_124"></a></p> - -<p>“My lady,” he said, “I should be a scoundrel if, after all the tokens of -kindness and confidence the King has showered on me, I were to assure -your Majesty of anything but my respect and devotion.”</p> - -<p>“It is very well,” said she; “you are free to go.”</p> - -<p>But when he departed without looking behind him, she waited till she -heard him, not returning, but continuing his departure, in the carriage -which rolled out of the courtyard.</p> - -<p>She rang for her foster-brother.</p> - -<p>“Weber,” she ordered, “go to the Countess of Charny’s residence and say -I must speak with her this evening. I had an appointment with Dr. -Gilbert, but I postpone that till the morning.”</p> - -<p>She dismissed him with a wave of the hand.</p> - -<p>“Yes, politics to-morrow,” she mused: “besides my conversation with -Andrea may influence me on the course I take.”</p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XX" id="CHAPTER_XX"></a>CHAPTER XX.<br /><br /> -WITHOUT HUSBAND—WITHOUT LOVER.</h2> - -<p>T<small>HE</small> Queen was wrong for Charny did not go to his wife’s house. He went -to the Royal Post to have horses put to his own carriage. But while -waiting, he wrote a farewell to Andrea which the servant who took his -horses home, carried to her.</p> - -<p>She was still dwelling over it, having kissed it with profound feeling, -when Weber arrived. Her answer to him was simply that she would conform -to her Majesty’s orders. And she proceeded to the palace without dread -as without impatience.</p> - -<p>But it was not so with the Queen. Feverish, she had welcomed Count -Provence coming to see how Favras had been received, and she committed -the King more deeply than he had pledged himself.</p> - -<p>Provence went away delighted, thinking that the King would be removed, -thanks to the money he had borrowed from the Genoese banker Zannone, and -to Favras and his Hectors. Then he stood a chance of becoming Regent of<a name="page_125" id="page_125"></a> -the realm, perhaps foreseeing that he would yet be King as Louis XVIII.</p> - -<p>If the forced departure of the King failed, he would take to flight with -what was left of the loan, and join his brothers in Italy.</p> - -<p>On his leaving, the Queen went to Princess Lamballe, on whom she made it -a habit to pour her woes or her joys in the absence of her other -favorites, Andrea or the Polignacs.</p> - -<p>Poor martyr! who dares grope in the darkness of alcoves to learn if this -friendship were pure or criminal, when inexorable History was coming -with feet red-shod in blood, to tell the price you paid for it?</p> - -<p>Then she went to dinner for an hour, where both chief guests were absent -in thought, the King thinking of Charny’s quest, the Queen of the Favras -enterprise.</p> - -<p>While the former preferred anything to being helped by the foreigners, -the Queen set them first: for of course they were her people. The King -was connected with the Germans, but then the Austrians are not German to -the Germans.</p> - -<p>In the flight she was arranging she saw no such crimes as she was -afterwards taxed with: she felt justified in calling in the mailed hand -to avenge her for the slights and insults with which she was deluged.</p> - -<p>The King, as we have shown him, distrusted kings and princes. He relied -on the priests. He approved of all the decrees against nobles and -classes but not of the decree against the priests, which he vetoed. For -them he risked his greatest dangers. Hence the Pope, unable to make a -saint of him, made him a martyr.</p> - -<p>Contrary to her habit, the Queen gave little time to her children this -day; untrue to her husband in heart, she had no claim on their -endearments. Such odd contradictions are known only to woman’s heart.</p> - -<p>The Queen retired early to her own rooms, where she shut herself up with -Weber as door-ward. She alleged that she had letters to write.</p> - -<p>The King little noticed her going, as some minor events engrossed him; -the Chief of Police was coming to confer with him.<a name="page_126" id="page_126"></a></p> - -<p>The Assembly had changed the old form in public documents of “King of -France and Navarre” to “King of the French”: and it was debating on the -Rights of Man, when it had better be seeing to the Bread Question, more -pressing than ever. The arrival of the “Baker” and his family from -Versailles had not fed the famished people and the bakeries had strings -of customers at their doors.</p> - -<p>But the Assemblymen did not have to dance attendance for a loaf, and -they had a special baker, one François in Marchepalu Street, who set -aside rolls for them out of every baking.</p> - -<p>The head of the police was discussing the bread riots with the ruler -when Weber ushered Andrea into his mistress’s presence.</p> - -<p>Though she expected her, Marie Antoinette started when her visitor was -announced.</p> - -<p>When they were girls together, at Taverney, they had made a kind of -agreement of love and duties exchanged in which the higher personage had -always had the advantage.</p> - -<p>Nothing annoys rulers so much as senses of obligation, particularly in -matters of affection.</p> - -<p>While thinking she had reproaches to cast on her friend, the Queen felt -under a debt to her.</p> - -<p>Andrea was always the same: pure and cool as the diamond but cutting and -invulnerable like it, too.</p> - -<p>“Be welcome, Andrea, as ever,” said the Queen to this cold, walking -ghost.</p> - -<p>The countess shivered for she recognized some of the tone the Queen used -to speak with when the Dauphiness.</p> - -<p>“Needs must I tell your Majesty that she should not have had to send for -me without the royal residence, if I had always been spoken to, in that -tone?” said the countess.</p> - -<p>Nothing could better help the Queen than this opening: she greeted it as -facilitating her course.</p> - -<p>“Alas, you ought to know that all womankind have not your immutable -serenity,” she said; “I, above all, who had to ask your aid so -generously accorded——“</p> - -<p>“The Queen speaks of a time forgotten by me and I believed gone from her -memory.<a name="page_127" id="page_127"></a>”</p> - -<p>“The reply is stern,” said the other: “you might naturally hold me as -ungrateful: but what you took for ingratitude was but impotence.”</p> - -<p>“I should have the right to accuse you, if ever I had asked you for -anything and my wish were opposed,” said the countess, “but how can your -Majesty expect me to complain when I have sought nothing?”</p> - -<p>“Shall I tell you that it is just this indifference which shocks me; -yes, you seem a supernatural being brought from another sphere in some -whirlwind, and thrown among us like the crystal aerolites. One is -daunted by her weakness beside the never-weakening; but in the end -assurance returns, for supreme indulgence must be in perfection: it is -the purest source in which to lave the soul, and in profound grief, one -sends for the superhuman being for consolation, though her blame is -dreaded.”</p> - -<p>“Alas, if your Majesty sends for me for this, I fear the expectation -will be disappointed.”</p> - -<p>“Andrea, you forget in what awful plight you upheld me and comforted -me,” said the Queen.</p> - -<p>Her hearer turned visibly paler. Seeing her totter and close her eyes -from losing strength, the Queen moved to support her but she resisted -and stood steady.</p> - -<p>“If your Majesty had pity on your faithful servant, you would spare her -memories which she had almost banished from her: she is a poor comforter -who seeks comfort from nobody, not even heaven, from doubt that even -heaven hath power to console certain sorrows.”</p> - -<p>“Then you have others to tell of than what you have entrusted to me? the -time has come for you to explain, and that is why I sent for you. You -love Count Charny?”</p> - -<p>“I do,” replied Andrea.</p> - -<p>“Oh!” groaned the Queen like a wounded lioness. “I thought as much. How -long since?”</p> - -<p>“Since I first laid eyes on him.”</p> - -<p>Marie Antoinette recoiled from this statue which confessed it was -animated by a spirit.</p> - -<p>“And yet you said nothing?”</p> - -<p>“You perceived it, because you loved him.<a name="page_128" id="page_128"></a>”</p> - -<p>“No; but you mean that you loved him more than I, because you perceived -my love. If I see it now, it is because he loves me no longer say?” and -she clutched her arm.</p> - -<p>Andrea replied not by word, or sign.</p> - -<p>“This is enough to drive one mad,” cried the royal lady. “Why not kill -me outright by telling me that he loves me not.”</p> - -<p>“Count Charny’s love or indifference to other women than his wife are -secrets of Count Charny. They are not for me to reveal,” observed -Andrea.</p> - -<p>“His secrets? I dare say he has made you his bosom friend, indeed,” -sneered the Queen with bitterness.</p> - -<p>“The count has never spoken to me of his love or indifference towards -your Majesty.”</p> - -<p>“Not even this morning?” She fixed a soul penetrative glance upon her.</p> - -<p>“Not even this morning. He announced his departure to me by letter.”</p> - -<p>“Ah, he wrote to you?” exclaimed the Queen in a burst which, like King -Richard’s cry: “My kingdom for a horse!” implied that she would give her -crown for that letter.</p> - -<p>Andrea comprehended her absorbing desire but she wished to enjoy her -anxiety for a space, like a woman. At last, drawing the letter from her -corsage, warm and perfumed, she held it out to her royal mistress. The -temptation was too strong, and the latter opened it and read:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>“<span class="smcap">My Lady</span>: I am leaving town on a formal order from the King. I -cannot tell even you whither I go, wherefore, or how long I am to -stay away: these are matters probably little in import to you, but -I ought none the less to wish I were authorized to tell you.</p> - -<p>“I had the intention to take farewell of you: but I dared not -without your permission——“</p></div> - -<p>The Queen had learnt what she wanted to know, and was about to return -the writing, but Andrea bade her read to the end as if she had a claim -to command.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>“I refused the last mission offered me because, poor madman!<a name="page_129" id="page_129"></a> I -believed that affection retained me in Paris: but I have -unfortunately acquired proof to the contrary, and I accept with joy -this opportunity to depart from hearts to which I am indifferent.</p> - -<p>“If, during this journey, that happens me which befel poor Valence, -all my measures are taken for you, my lady, to be <i>the first</i> to -know of the misfortune visiting me and the liberty restored to you. -Then, only, will you learn what profound admiration was born in my -heart from your sublime devotion, so poorly recompensed by her to -whom you sacrificed youth, beauty and bliss.</p> - -<p>“All I beseech of heaven and you is your according me a remembrance -for having too late perceived the treasure he possessed.</p> - -<p>“With all the respect in my heart,</p> - -<p class="r"> -“<span class="smcap">George Oliver de Charny.</span>”</p></div> - -<p>The reader returned the letter to Andrea, and let her hand fall inert by -her side, with a sigh.</p> - -<p>“Have I betrayed you,” murmured the countess: “have I failed in the -faith you put me in, for I made no promises?”</p> - -<p>“Forgive me, for I have suffered so much,” faltered Marie.</p> - -<p>“You, suffered,” exclaimed the ex-lady of honor, “do you dare to talk to -me of suffering? what has happened me, then? Oh, I shall not say that I -suffered, for I would not use the word another did for painting the same -idea. I need a new one to sum up all griefs, pangs and pains,—you -suffer? but you have not seen the man you loved indifferent to that -love, and paying court on his bended knees to another woman! you have -not seen your brother, jealous of this other woman whom he adored in -silence as a pagan does his goddess, fight with the man you loved! you -have not heard this man, wounded it was thought mortally, call out in -his delirium for this other woman, whose confidential friend you were: -you have not seen this other prowling in the lobbies, where you were -wandering to hear the revelations of fever which prove that if a mad -passion does not outlive life it may follow one to the grave-brink! you -have not seen this beloved one, returning to life by a miracle of nature -<a name="page_130" id="page_130"></a>and science, rising from his couch to fall at the rival’s feet.—— I -say, rival, and one, from the standard of love being the measure of -greatness of ranks. In your despair you have not gone into the nunnery -at the age of twenty-five, trying to quiet at the cold crucifix your -scorching love: then, one day when you hoped to have damped with tears -if not extinguished the flame consuming you, you have not had this -rival, once your friend, come to you in the name of the former -friendship to ask you to be the wife of this very man whom you had -worshipped for three years—for the sake of her salvation as a wife, her -royal Majesty endangered——!</p> - -<p>“She was to be a wife without a husband, a mere veil thrown between the -crowd and another’s happiness, like the shroud between the corpse and -the common eye: overruled by the compulsory duty, not by mercy, for -jealous love knows no pity—you sacrificed me—you accepted my immense -devotion. You did not have to hear the priest ask if you took for -helpmate the man who was not to be your husband: you did not feel him -pass the ring over your finger as the pledge of eternal love, while it -was a vain and meaningless symbol; you did not see your husband quit you -at the church door within an hour of the wedding, to be the gallant of -your rival! oh, madam, these three years has been of torture!”</p> - -<p>The Queen lifted her failing hand to seek the speaker’s but it was -shunned.</p> - -<p>“I promised nothing, but see what I have done,” said she. “But you -promised two things—not to see Count Charny, the more sacred as I had -not asked it; and, by writing, to treat me as a sister, also the more -sacred as I never solicited it.</p> - -<p>“Must I recall the terms of that pledge? I burnt the paper but I -remember the words; and thus you wrote:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>“'Andrea: You have saved me! my honor and my life are saved by you. -In the name of that reputation which costs you so dear, I vow that -you may call me sister; do it, and you will not see me blush. I -place this writing in your hands as pledge of my gratitude and the -dower I owe you. Your heart is the noblest of boons and it will -value aright the present I offer.</p> - -<p class="r"> -‘<span class="smcap">Marie Antoinette.</span>'”</p></div> - -<p><a name="page_131" id="page_131"></a></p> - -<p>“Forgive me, Andrea, I thought that he loved you.”</p> - -<p>“Did you believe it the law of the affections that when one loves a -woman less he loves another woman more?”</p> - -<p>She had undergone so much that she became cruel in her turn.</p> - -<p>“So you too perceive his love falling off?” questioned the Queen -dolefully.</p> - -<p>Without replying Andrea watched the despairing sovereign and something -like a smile was defined on her lips.</p> - -<p>“Oh heaven, what must I do to retain this fleeting love? my life that -ebbs? Oh, if you know the way, Andrea, my friend and sister, tell me, I -supplicate you!” She held out both hands from which the other receded -one step.</p> - -<p>“How am I to know, who have never loved?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, but he may love you. Some day he will come to your arms for -forgiveness and to make amends for the past, asking your pardon for all -he has made you suffer: suffering is quickly forgotten, God be thanked! -in loving arms, pardon is soon granted to the beloved who gave pain.”</p> - -<p>“This misfortune coming—and it would be that for both of us, madam, do -you forget the secret which I confided in you, how—before I became the -wife of Count Charny—I was mother of a son?”</p> - -<p>The Queen took breath.</p> - -<p>“You mean you will do nothing to bring Charny back to you?” she asked.</p> - -<p>“Nothing; no more in the future than in the past.”</p> - -<p>“You will not tell him—will not let him suspect that you love him?”</p> - -<p>“No, unless he comes to tell me that he loves me.”</p> - -<p>“But, if he should——“</p> - -<p>“Oh, madam,” interrupted Andrea.</p> - -<p>“Yes, you are right, Andrea, my sister and friend; and I am unjust, -exacting and cruel. But when all falls away from me, friends, power and -fame, I may wish that at least this passion to which I have sacrificed -friendship, power and reputation, should be left to me.”</p> - -<p>“And, now,” went on the lady of honor, with the glacial coldness she had -laid aside only for a moment, when she spoke of<a name="page_132" id="page_132"></a> the torments she had -undergone, “have you anything more to ask me—or fresh orders to -transmit?”</p> - -<p>“No, nothing, I thank you. I wished to restore you my friendship but you -will not accept it. Farewell; at least take my gratitude with you.”</p> - -<p>Andrea waved away this second feeling as she had the former, and making -a cold and deep reverence, stole forth silently and slowly as a ghost.</p> - -<p>“Oh, body of ice, heart of diamond and soul of fire, you are right not -to wish either my friendship or my gratitude; for I feel—though the -Lord forgive me! that I hate you as I never hated any one—for if he -does not love you now, I foresee that he will love you some day.”</p> - -<p>She called Weber to ask if Dr. Gilbert was coming next day.</p> - -<p>“At ten in the morning.”</p> - -<p>Pleading that she was ailing and wearied, she forbade her ladies to -disturb her before ten, the only person she intended to see being -Gilbert.</p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXI" id="CHAPTER_XXI"></a>CHAPTER XXI.<br /><br /> -WHAT A CUT-OFF HEAD MAY COUNSEL.</h2> - -<p>W<small>HEN</small> Gilbert appeared before the Queen, she uttered a scream, for his -ruffles and part of his coat were torn and drops of blood stained his -shirt.</p> - -<p>“I ask pardon for presenting myself to your Majesty in this attire,” he -said, “but your trusty servant who came to learn why I was late to the -appointment, will tell you that he found me in the midst of a mob, -trying to save a baker who was done to death for withholding bread. They -cut the poor fellow to pieces: and to make matters worse, in parading -his head on a pike it was shown to his wife who fell down and alas! has -been prematurely confined.”</p> - -<p>“Poor woman,” cried the Queen, “if she does not die I will see her -to-morrow and, any way, her child shall be maintained out of my private -purse.<a name="page_133" id="page_133"></a>”</p> - -<p>“Ah, madam,” exclaimed Gilbert, “why cannot all France see these tears -in your eyes and hear these words from your lips!”</p> - -<p>But almost instantly the monarch returned to master the woman. She said -with a change of tone:</p> - -<p>“And are these, sir, the fruits of your revolution? after slaying the -great lords, the officials and the soldiery, the people are killing one -another; is there no means of dealing out justice to these cutthroats?”</p> - -<p>“We will try to do so; but it would be better to prevent the murders -than wait and punish the murderers.”</p> - -<p>“How? the King and I ask nothing more fervently.”</p> - -<p>“All these woes come from the people having lost confidence in those set -above them. Nothing of the kind would occur if they were ruled by men -with the public confidence.”</p> - -<p>“You allude to this Mirabeau and Lafayette?”</p> - -<p>“I hoped that your Majesty had sent to tell me that the King was no -longer hostile to the Cabinet I proposed.”</p> - -<p>“In the first place, doctor,” replied the royal lady, “you fall into a -grave error shared with many more, I admit: you think that I have -influence over the King. You believe that he follows my inspirations? -You mistake: if any body has a sway over him, it is Lady Elizabeth; the -proof is that she yesterday sent one of my servitors, Count Charny, on -an errand without my knowing whither he goes or what is its aim.”</p> - -<p>“Still, if your Majesty will surmount her repugnance to Mirabeau, I can -answer for bringing the King round to my views.”</p> - -<p>“Is not such repugnance based on a motive, tell me?” counterqueried the -lady.</p> - -<p>“In politics, there should be neither sympathy nor antipathy; only the -meetings of principles and combinations of gains, and I ought to say -that gains are surer than principles.”</p> - -<p>“Do you believe that this man who has publicly insulted me, would -consent to join us?”</p> - -<p>“He is entirely yours: when a Mirabeau turns from monarchy, it is like a -horse that shies; reminded of his allegiance<a name="page_134" id="page_134"></a> by whip or spur, he will -resume his place in the right road.”</p> - -<p>“But he is for the Duke of Orleans?”</p> - -<p>“So far from him is he, that on hearing of the duke going over to -England when Lafayette threatened him, he said: ‘They say I am in his -pay! I would not have him for my lackey.'”</p> - -<p>“That reconciles him some with me,” said the lady, trying to smile: “if -I could believe he might be relied on——“</p> - -<p>“Well?”</p> - -<p>“Perhaps I should be nearer him than the King.”</p> - -<p>“Madam, I saw him at Versailles when the mob stormed the palace: then he -thought the Royal Family ought to flee but I have had a note from him -this day.”</p> - -<p>He took out a slip of rough paper.</p> - -<p>“Excuse the writing—it is on paper found in a wine saloon and written -on the counter.”</p> - -<p>“Never mind that: it is in keeping with the present style of politics.”</p> - -<p>Taking the paper, the Queen read:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>“This bread riot changes the face of things. A great deal can be -drawn from this cut-off head. The Assembly will be frightened and -call for martial law. If there be a Mirabeau-Lafayette Cabinet, -Mirabeau will answer for all?”</p></div> - -<p>“It is not signed,” objected the Queen.</p> - -<p>“He handed it to me himself. My advice is that he is perfectly right and -that this alliance alone can save France.”</p> - -<p>“Be it so, let the gentleman put the project on paper and I will lay it -before the King, as well as support it.”</p> - -<p>“Then I will go to the Assembly and see him. In two hours I shall -return.”</p> - -<p>The Queen waited in impatience, always fond of plotting and agitation as -she was. His answer was that Mirabeau had become the spokesman of the -court.</p> - -<p>In fact, after a hot discussion, martial law was voted by the Assembly. -The crime of treason was to be tried at the Chatelet Royal Court, which -meant that royalty still held three fourths of the active power.</p> - -<p>Gilbert did not go near the Queen until the cases were tried here which -would test the alliance.<a name="page_135" id="page_135"></a></p> - -<p>The triumph was great to have them tried under the Royal party’s thumb. -The first trial was of three men who had killed the baker of the -Assemblymen, François; two of whom were hanged on the mere accusation -and public notoriety; the third was tried and sent to the gallows -likewise.</p> - -<p>Two other cases were on the docket.</p> - -<p>Both the accused prisoners were on the court side, the contractor -Augeard and Inspector General Pierre Victor Benzenval, of the Swiss -Guards.</p> - -<p>Augeard was suspected of supplying the funds for the Queen’s -<i>camerailla</i> to pay the troops gathered in July to fight the Parisians: -the contractor was not much known and the people bore him no grudge so -that he was acquitted without protest.</p> - -<p>It was not so with Benzenval, who was notorious. He had commanded the -Swiss regiments during the riots and the week of the attack on the -Bastile. It was remembered that he had charged the crowds, who wanted to -pay him out.</p> - -<p>But the most precious orders had been sent out by the King and the -court; under no pretext must Benzenval be punished. It took at least -this two-fold protection to save him. He had acknowledged himself guilty -by taking to flight after the Bastile fell: caught half way to the -frontier, he had been brought back to the capital.</p> - -<p>Nevertheless he was acquitted.</p> - -<p>Amid the hooting, angry crowd, leaving the court, was a man, dressed -like a plain storekeeper who familiarly laid his hand on the shoulder of -a gentleman dressed better than he, and said:</p> - -<p>“Well, what does Dr. Gilbert think of these acquittals?”</p> - -<p>The other started, but recognized the speaker by sight as well as by the -voice, and replied:</p> - -<p>“The Master!—you ought to be asked that, not me, for you know all, -present, past and future!”</p> - -<p>“Well, I should say: The third prisoner will catch it severely, even -though he be innocent.”</p> - -<p>“Why should the innocent, if coming next, be wrongfully punished?” -inquired the doctor.</p> - -<p>“For the simple reason that in this world the good pay for<a name="page_136" id="page_136"></a> the bad,” -returned the Chief of the Invisibles with the irony natural to him.</p> - -<p>“Good-bye, Master,” said Gilbert, offering his hand; “for I have -business.”</p> - -<p>“With whom? Mirabeau, Lafayette or the Queen?”</p> - -<p>Gilbert stopped and eyed Cagliostro uneasily.</p> - -<p>“Let me tell you that you ofttimes frighten me,” he said.</p> - -<p>“On the contrary, I want to encourage you,” said the magician. “Am I not -your friend? You may be sure of that: I will afford you a proof if you -will come with me home. I will give you such hidden particulars of this -negociation which you believe secret, that you who fancy you are -managing it, will confess ignorance of it.”</p> - -<p>“Listen,” said Gilbert; “perhaps you are jesting with me by one of those -marvellous funds of information familiar to you; but no matter! -circumstances amid which we are treading are so grave that I would -accept enlightenment though from Old Harry himself. I am following you -therefore whithersoever you lead me.”</p> - -<p>“Be easy, it will not be far and to a place not unknown to you; only let -me hail this passing hack; the dress I came out in did not allow me to -use my carriage and horses.”</p> - -<p>They got into the hackneycoach which came on at a sign.</p> - -<p>“Where am I to drive you, master?” inquired the Jehu, to Cagliostro as -though, somehow, he saw that he was the leader of the pair, though the -more plainly dressed.</p> - -<p>“Where you know,” answered the Chief, making a masonic sign, “The -Temple.”</p> - -<p>The driver looked at the Grand Copt with amazement.</p> - -<p>“Excuse me, Thou Supreme, I did not know you,” he said, replying with -another sign.</p> - -<p>“It is not thus with me,” replied Cagliostro, with a firm and lofty -voice, “innumerable as are those whom the uninitiated eyes see not, I -know all from the topmost to the lowest of those who bring the bricks -and hew the stones.”</p> - -<p>The coachman shut the door, got upon the box, and took the carriage at a -gallop to St. Claude Street. The carriage was stopped and the door -opened with a zeal which testified to the man’s respect.<a name="page_137" id="page_137"></a></p> - -<p>Cagliostro motioned for Gilbert to alight first and as he descended, he -said to the jarvey:</p> - -<p>“Any news?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, Master,” said the knight of the whip, “and I should have made my -report this evening if I had not the luck to meet you.”</p> - -<p>“Speak.”</p> - -<p>“My news is not for outsiders.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, the bystander is not an outsider,” returned Cagliostro, smiling.</p> - -<p>But Gilbert moved off a little, though he could not help glancing and -listening partially. He saw a smile on the hearers’s face as the man -told his story. He caught the name of Favras and Count Provence, before -the report was over, when the magician took out a goldpiece and offered -it.</p> - -<p>“The Master knows that it is forbidden to receive pay for giving -information,” he objected.</p> - -<p>“I am not paying for your report, it is plain, but for your bringing -us,” said the conspirator.</p> - -<p>“That I can accept. Thank you,” he said, taking the coin, “I need not -work any more to-day.”</p> - -<p>He drove away, leaving Gilbert amazed at what he had witnessed, and he -crossed the threshold reeling like a tipsy man.</p> - -<p>He knew this house from having traversed it years ago under impressive -circumstances; little was changed in it, even to the same servant Fritz, -only he had aged sixteen years.</p> - -<p>Ushered into a sitting room, the count bade his guest take a seat.</p> - -<p>“I am entirely yours, doctor,” said he.</p> - -<p>The younger man forgot his present curiosity in the memories evoked by -this room. Cagliostro looked at him like Mephistopheles regarding Faust -in his brown studies.</p> - -<p>“This room seems to set you thinking, doctor,” he said audibly.</p> - -<p>“It does, of the obligations I am under to you.”</p> - -<p>“Pooh, bubbles!”</p> - -<p>“Really, you are a strange man,” said Gilbert, speaking as much to -himself as to the other, “and if reason allowed me<a name="page_138" id="page_138"></a> to put faith in what -we learn from legends, I should be inclined to take you for a magician.”</p> - -<p>“This am I for the world, Gilbert: but not for you. I have never tried -to dazzle you with jugglery. You know I have always let you see the -bottom of the well and if you have seen Truth come up not so scantily -clothed as the painters represent her, it is because I am a Sicilian and -cannot help decorating my lady-love.”</p> - -<p>“It was here, count, that you gave me a large sum of money that I might -be rich in offering my hand to Andrea de Taverney, with the same ease as -I might give a penny to a beggar.”</p> - -<p>“You forget the most extraordinary part of it: the beggar brought back -the sum, except for a couple of coins which he spent for clothes.”</p> - -<p>“He was honest but you were generous.”</p> - -<p>“Who tells you that it was not more easy for him who handled millions to -give a hundred thousand crowns than for him who was penniless to bring -back so large a sum as that was to him? Besides, all depends on the -man’s state of mind. I was under the blow of the loss of the only woman -I ever loved—my darling wife was murdered, and I believe you might have -had my life for the asking.”</p> - -<p>“Do you feel grief, and experience it like other men,” inquired Gilbert, -eyeing him with marked astonishment.</p> - -<p>“You speak of memories this room gives you,” sighed the other. “Were I -to tell you—your hair would whiten—but let it pass; leave those events -in their grave. Let us speak of time present, and of that to-come if you -like.”</p> - -<p>“Count, you returned to realism just now; again you turn to pretence, -for you speak of the future with the voice of a conjurer asserting the -power to read indecipherable hieroglyphics.”</p> - -<p>“You forget that having more means at my beck and call than other men, I -see more clearly and farther than they. You shall see that the pretence -is but a veil—solid are the facts beneath. Come, doctor, how is your -Fusion Cabinet getting on? the Mirabeau-Lafayette Ministry?”</p> - -<p>“It is in the skies; you are trying to learn the facts by pretending to -know more than the rumors.<a name="page_139" id="page_139"></a>”</p> - -<p>“I see that you are doubt incarnate, or wish not to see what you do not -doubt. After telling you of things you do know I must tell of those -beyond your ken. Well, you have recommended Mirabeau to the King as the -only man who can save the monarchy. He will fail—all will fail, for the -monarchy is doomed. You know that I will not have it saved. You have -achieved your end; the two rulers will welcome your advocate: and you -flatter yourself that the royal conversion is due to your irrefutable -logic and irresistible arguments.”</p> - -<p>Gilbert could not help biting his lip on hearing this ironical tone.</p> - -<p>“Have you invented a stethoscope by which you can read the heart of -kings? pass the wonderful instrument on to me, count: only an enemy of -mankind would want to keep it to himself alone.”</p> - -<p>“I told you I keep nothing back from you, dear doctor. You shall have my -telescope and may look as you please through the small end which -diminishes or the other which magnifies. The Queen gave way for two -reasons: first, she met a great sorrow the night before and she must -have some mental distraction; next, she is a woman and having heard -Mirabeau spoken of as a tiger, she wants to see him and try to tame him. -She thinks: ‘It will be fine revenge to bring him to lick my feet: if -some good follows for France and the crown, so much the better.’ But you -understand, this idea is quite secondary.”</p> - -<p>“You are building on hypothesis and I want facts.”</p> - -<p>“I see you refuse my glass and I must come back to material things: such -as can be seen with the naked eye, Mirabeau’s debts, for instance.”</p> - -<p>“What a chance you have to exhibit your generosity, by paying his debts -as you once did Cardinal Rohan’s.”</p> - -<p>“Do not reproach me with that speculation, it was one of my greatest -successes. The Queen’s Necklace was a pretty affair, I think, and ruined -the Queen in the general eye. At the same price I would pay Mirabeau’s -debts. But you know that he is not looking to me for that, but to the -future Generalissimo, Lafayette, who will make him caper for a beggarly -fifty thousand<a name="page_140" id="page_140"></a> francs, which he will not get any more than the dog gets -the cake for which he has danced.</p> - -<p>“Poor Mirabeau, how all these fools and conceited dunces make your -genius pay for the follies of your youth! Yet all this is providential -and heaven is obliged to proceed by human methods. All these politicians -and wirepullers blame him for some virtue which is not theirs, and yet, -if he dies to-morrow, the masses will award him an apotheosis, and all -these pigmies, over whom he stands head and shoulders, will follow as -mourners and howl: ‘Woe to France which has lost her greatest -orator—woe to royalty which has lost its supporter!'”</p> - -<p>“Are you going to foretell the death of Mirabeau?” cried Gilbert, almost -frightened.</p> - -<p>“Frankly, doctor, do you see any length of life for a man whose blood -stews him, whose heart swells to suffocate him and whose genius eats him -up? do you believe that even such powers will not be worn out in -stemming the tide of mediocrity? his enterprise is the rock of Sisyphus. -For two years they have been holding him down with the cry of -Immorality. As if God moulded all men in the same form, and as if the -circle enlarged for a great mind should not enclose greater vices. -Mirabeau will not be Premier because he owes a hundred thousand francs -debt, which would be settled were he a rich contractor’s son, and -because he is condemned to death for having run away with an old -imbecile’s wife—who smothered herself in charcoal fumes for the love of -a strapping military captain! What a farce the tragedy of human life is! -How I should weep over it if I had not made up my mind to laugh!”</p> - -<p>“But your prediction?” cried Gilbert.</p> - -<p>“I tell you,” said the diviner, in the prophet’s tone which was his -alone, and allowed no reply, “Mirabeau will wear out his life without -becoming Prime Minister. So great a bar is mediocrity. Go to the -Assembly to-morrow and see. Meanwhile, come with me to the Jacobins -Club, for these night-birds will hold their session in an hour. Do you -belong?”</p> - -<p>“No: Danton and Desmoulins entered me at the Cordeliers. We will go -after dinner.”</p> - -<p>Two hours subsequently, two man in gentlemanly black<a name="page_141" id="page_141"></a> suits were set -down from a plain private carriage at the door of St. Roch’s church, -where the throng was great. They were Dr. Gilbert and Baron Zannone, as -Cagliostro chose to call himself at this epoch.</p> - -<p>“Will you come into the nave or sit in the gallery?” asked the magician.</p> - -<p>“I thought the nave was kept for the members?” said the other.</p> - -<p>“Just so, but am I not a member of all societies?” returned the -Arch-master laughing. “Besides, this club is but the seat of the -Invisibles, and you can enter as one of the Rosicrucians. We are sixty -thousand strong in France alone in three months since foundation as -Jacobins, and will be four hundred thousand in a year.”</p> - -<p>“Though I am a Rose-Croix, I prefer to be in the gallery where I can see -over the crowd and you can better tell me of the persons whom I descry.”</p> - -<p>The seats were roughly knocked up in tiers and a wooden staircase led up -them. Cagliostro made a sign and spoke a word to two who were sitting in -the already filled seats and they got up to give them their places as if -they had been sent before to keep them.</p> - -<p>The place was ill lighted in the growing gloom but it was clear that -these were the best sort of the revolutionists, while the uniforms of -officers of the army and navy abounded. For the common brothers held -their meetings in the crypt. Here the literati and artists were in the -majority.</p> - -<p>Casting a long look around, Gilbert was encouraged by seeing that most -were not so very hostile to the royal cause.</p> - -<p>“Whom do you see here hostile to royalty?” he inquired of his guide.</p> - -<p>“In my eyes there are but two.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, that is not many among four hundred men.”</p> - -<p>“It is quite enough when one will be the slayer of Louis XVI. and the -other his successor.”</p> - -<p>“A future Brutus and a future Caesar here?” exclaimed the doctor -starting.</p> - -<p>“Oh, apostle with scales over your eyes,” said Cagliostro;<a name="page_142" id="page_142"></a> “you shall -not only see them but touch them. Which shall I commence with?”</p> - -<p>“By the overthrower; I respect chronology: let us have Brutus first.”</p> - -<p>“You know that men do not use the same means to accomplish a like work,” -said Cagliostro, animated as by inspiration. “Therefore our Brutus will -not resemble the antique one.”</p> - -<p>“That makes me the more eager to see ours.”</p> - -<p>“There he is.”</p> - -<p>He pointed to a man leaning against the rostrum in such a position that -his head alone was in the light. Pale and livid, this head seemed -dissevered from the trunk. The eyes seemed to shine with a viper’s -expression, with almost scornful hatred, knowing his venom was deadly. -Gilbert felt a creeping of the flesh.</p> - -<p>“You were right to warn me,” he said; “this is neither Brutus nor -Cromwell.”</p> - -<p>“No, it is rather Cassius the pale-faced and leaned man whom the Emperor -dreaded most. Do you not know him?”</p> - -<p>“No; or rather I have seen him in the Assembly. He is one of the -longest-winded speechifyers of the Left, to whom nobody listens. A -pettifogger from Arras——“</p> - -<p>“The very man.”</p> - -<p>“His name is Maximilian Robespierre.”</p> - -<p>“Just so. Look at him. You are a pupil of Lavater the physiognomist.”</p> - -<p>“I see the spite of mediocrity for genius as he watches Barnave.”</p> - -<p>“In other words you judge like the world. I grant that he cannot expect -to make a hit among all these proven orators; but at least you cannot -accuse him of immorality; he is the Honest Man: he never steps outside -of the law, or only to act within a new law which he legally makes.”</p> - -<p>“But what is this Robespierre?” asked the other.</p> - -<p>“You ask that as Strafford did of the future Lord Protector: ‘What is -this Cromwell? a brewer!’ But he cut off his head, mark, you aristocrat -of the Seventeenth Century!”</p> - -<p>“Do you suggest that I run the same risk as Charles First<a name="page_143" id="page_143"></a>’s Minister,” -said Gilbert, trying to smile, but it was frozen on his lips.</p> - -<p>“Who can tell?” replied the diviner.</p> - -<p>“The more reason for me to inquire about him.”</p> - -<p>“Who is Robespierre? he was born in Arras, of Irish extraction, in 1758. -He was the best pupil in the Jesuits’ College and won a purse on which -he came to study at Paris. It was at the same college where your young -Sebastian had an experience. Other boys went out sometimes from those -sombre aisles which bleach the pallid, and had holidays with their -families and friends; young Robespierre was cooped up and breathed the -bad air of loneliness, sadness and tedium; three bad things which rob -the mind of its bloom and blight the heart with envy and hatred. The boy -became a wilted young man. His benefactor had him appointed judge, but -his tender heart would not let him dispose of the life of a man; he -resigned and became a lawyer. He took up the case of peasants disputing -with the Bishop of Arras and won their just claim; the grateful boors -sent him up to the Assembly. There he stood between the clergy’s -profound hatred for the lawyer who had dared speak against their bishop -and the scorn of the nobles for the scholar reared by charity.”</p> - -<p>“What is he doing?”</p> - -<p>“Nothing for others but much for the Revolution. If it did not enter -into my views that he should be kept poor, I would give him a million -francs to-morrow. Not that I should buy him, for he is joked with as the -Incorruptible! Our noble debaters have settled that he shall be the butt -of the House, for all assemblies must have one. Only one of his -colleagues understands and values him—it is Mirabeau. He told me the -other day, ‘that man will go far for he believes what he says!'”</p> - -<p>“This grows serious,” muttered Gilbert.</p> - -<p>“He comes here for he gets an audience. The Jacobin is a young minotaur: -suckling a calf, he will devour a nation in a while. I promised to show -you an instrument for lopping off heads, did I not? Well, Robespierre -will give it more work than all those here.”</p> - -<p>“Really, you are funereal, count,” said Gilbert; “if your<a name="page_144" id="page_144"></a> Caesar does -not compensate for your Brutus, I may forget what I came here for.”</p> - -<p>“You see my future Emperor yonder, talking with the tragic actor Talma, -and with another whom he does not know but who will have a great -influence over him. Keep this befriender’s name in mind—Barras, and -recall it one of these days.”</p> - -<p>“I do not know how right you are, but you choose your typical characters -well,” said Gilbert; “this Caesar of yours has the brow to wear a crown -and his eyes—but I cannot catch the expression——“</p> - -<p>“Because his sight is diverted inwards—such eyes study the future, -doctor.”</p> - -<p>“What is he saying to Barras?”</p> - -<p>“That he would have held the Bastile if he were defending it.”</p> - -<p>“He is not a patriot, then?”</p> - -<p>“Such as he are nothing before they are all in all.”</p> - -<p>“You seem to stick to your idea about this petty officer?”</p> - -<p>“Gilbert,” said the soothsayer, extending his hand towards Robespierre, -“as truly as that man will re-erect the scaffold of Charles Stuart, so -truly will ‘this one'”—he indicated the lieutenant of the line -regiment—“will re-erect the throne of Charlemagne.”</p> - -<p>“Then our struggle for liberty is useless,” said Gilbert discouraged.</p> - -<p>“Who tells you that he may not do as much for us on his throne as the -other on his scaffold?”</p> - -<p>“Will he be the Titus, or Marcus Aurelius, the god of peace consoling us -for the age of bronze?”</p> - -<p>“He will be Alexander and Hannibal in one. Born amid war, he will thrive -in war-fare and go down in warring. I defy you to calculate how much -blood the clergy and nobles have made Robespierre lose by his fits of -spite against them; take all that these nobles and priests will lose, -multiply upon multiplications, and you will not attain the sea of blood -this man will shed, with his armies of five hundred thousand men and his -three days’ battles in which hundreds of cannon-shots will be fired.”</p> - -<p>“And what will be the outcome of all this turmoil—all this chaos?<a name="page_145" id="page_145"></a>”</p> - -<p>“The outcome of all genesis, Gilbert. We are charged to bury this Old -World. Our children will spring up in a new one. This man is but the -giant who guards the door. Like Louis XIV., Leo X. and Agustus, he will -give his name to the era unfolding.”</p> - -<p>“What is his name?” inquired Gilbert, subjugated by Cagliostro’s -convinced manner.</p> - -<p>“His name is Buonaparte; but he will be hailed in History as Napoleon. -Others will follow of his name, but they will be shadows—the dynasty of -the first Charlemagne lasted two hundred years; of this second one, a -tithe: did I not tell you that in a hundred years the Republic will have -the empire of France?”</p> - -<p>Gilbert bowed his head. He did not notice that the debates were opened. -An hour passed when he felt a powerful hand grip his shoulder.</p> - -<p>He turned: Cagliostro had disappeared and Mirabeau stood in his -place—after the eagle, the lion.</p> - -<p>Mirabeau’s face was convulsed with rage as he roared in a dull voice:</p> - -<p>“We are flouted, deceived, betrayed! the court will not have me and you -have been taken for a dupe as I for a fool. On my moving in the House -that the Cabinet Ministers should be invited to be present at the -Assembly sessions, three friends of the King proposed that no member of -the House should be a minister. This laboriously managed combination -dissolves at a breath from the King; But,” concluded Mirabeau, like -Ajax, shaking his mighty fist at the sky, “by my name, I will pay them -for this, and if their breath can shake a minister, mine shall overthrow -the throne. I shall go to the Assembly and fight to the uttermost; I am -one of those who blow up the fort and perish under the ruins.”</p> - -<p>He rushed away, more terrible and handsomer for the divine streak which -lightning had impressed on his brow.</p> - -<p>Gilbert did not go to the House to witness his companion’s defeat—one -very like a victory. He was musing at home over Cagliostro’s strange -predictions. How could this man foresee what would be Robespierre and -Napoleon? I ask those who put this question to me how they explain -Mdlle. Lenormand<a name="page_146" id="page_146"></a>’s prediction to the Empress Josephine? One often meets -inexplicable things; doubt was invented to comfort those who cannot -explain them but will not believe them.</p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXII" id="CHAPTER_XXII"></a>CHAPTER XXII.<br /><br /> -THE SMILE AND THE NOD.</h2> - -<p>A<small>S</small> Cagliostro had said and Mirabeau surmised, the King had upset the -scheme.</p> - -<p>Without much regret the Queen saw the constitutional platform fall which -had wounded her pride. The King’s policy was to gain time and profit by -circumstances; besides he had two chances of getting away into some -stronghold, which was his favorite plan. These two plans, we know, were -his brother Provence’s, managed by Favras; the other his own, managed by -Charny.</p> - -<p>The latter reached Metz in a couple of days where the faithful royalist -Bouille did not doubt him, but resolved to send his son Louis to Paris -to be more exactly informed on the matter. Charny remained as a kind of -hostage.</p> - -<p>Count Louis Bouille arrived about the middle of November. At this period -the King was guarded closely by Lafayette whose cousin the young count -was.</p> - -<p>To keep him in ignorance of Charny’s negociations, the latter worked to -be presented to the King by his kinsman.</p> - -<p>Providence answered the envoy’s prayer for Lafayette, who had been -informed of his coming but swallowed his excuse that it was on a visit -to a sweetheart in Paris, offered to take him with him on his morning -call on the monarch.</p> - -<p>All the palace doors opened to the general. The sentinels presented arms -and the footmen bowed, so that Count Louis could see that his relative -was the real King of Paris.</p> - -<p>The King was in his forge so that the visitors had to see the Queen -first.</p> - -<p>Bouille had not seen her for three years. The sight of her at -thirty-four, a prisoner, slandered, threatened, and hated,<a name="page_147" id="page_147"></a> made a deep -impression on the chivalric heart of the young noble.</p> - -<p>She remembered him at a glance and with the same was sure this was a -friendly face. Without busying about General Lafayette she gave her hand -for the young man to kiss, which was a fault such as she plentifully -committed; without this favor she had won Louis Bouille, and by doing -him it before the general she slighted the latter who had never been so -gratified; she wounded the very man she most wanted as a friend.</p> - -<p>Hence with a faltering in the voice but with the courtesy never leaving -him, Lafayette said:</p> - -<p>“Faith, my dear cousin, you want me to present you to the Queen: but it -seems to me that you were better fitted to present me.”</p> - -<p>The Queen was so enraptured at meeting a friend on whom she could rely, -and as a woman so proud of the effect produced on the young nobleman, -that she turned round on the general with one of the beams of youth -which she had feared forever extinct.</p> - -<p>“General,” she said with one of the smiles of her sunnier days, “Count -Bouille is not a severe republican like you: he comes from Metz, not -from America; he does not come to bother about Constitutions but to -present his homage. Do not be astonished at the favor shown him by a -nearly dethroned Queen, which this country squire may esteem a boon——“</p> - -<p>She completed her sentence by a playful smile as much as to say: “You -are a Scipio and think nothing of such nonsense.”</p> - -<p>“It is a pity for me, and a great misfortune for your Majesty,” returned -Lafayette, “that I pass without my respect and devotion being noticed.”</p> - -<p>The Queen looked at him with her clear, searching eye. This was not the -first time that he had spoken in this strain and set her thinking: but -unfortunately, as he had said, she entertained an instinctive repugnance -for him.</p> - -<p>“Come, general, be generous and pardon me, my outburst of kindness -towards this excellent Bouille family, which loves me with a whole heart -and of which this youth is the chain<a name="page_148" id="page_148"></a> of contact. I see his whole family -in him, coming to kiss my hand. Let us shake hands, as the American and -English do, and be good friends.”</p> - -<p>The marquis touched the hand coldly.</p> - -<p>“I regret that you do not bear in mind that I am French. The night of -the attack on the Royal Family at Versailles ought to remind you.”</p> - -<p>“You are right, general,” responded the lady, making an effort and -shaking his hand. “I am ungrateful. Any news?”</p> - -<p>Lafayette had a little revenge to take.</p> - -<p>“No; merely an incident in the House. An old man of one hundred and -twenty was brought to the bar by five generations of descendants to -thank the Representatives for having made him free. Think of one who was -born a serf under Louis XIV. and eighty years after.”</p> - -<p>“Very touching,” retorted the Queen; “but I could not well be there as I -was succoring the widow and child of the baker murdered for supplying -bread to the Assembly.”</p> - -<p>“Madam, we could not foresee that atrocity but we have punished the -offenders.”</p> - -<p>“That will do her no good, as she is maddened and may give birth to a -still-born babe; if it should live, do you see any inconvenience to -standing godmother to it at the Cathedral of Notre Dame?”</p> - -<p>“None: and I take this opportunity of meeting your allusion, before my -kinsman, to your pretended captivity. Nothing prevents your going to -church or elsewhere, and the King may go hunting and out riding, as much -as he likes.”</p> - -<p>The Queen smiled, for this permission might be useful as far as it went.</p> - -<p>“Good-bye, count,” she said to Bouille; “the Princess of Lamballe -receives for me and you will be welcome any evening with your -illustrious kinsman.”</p> - -<p>“I shall profit by the invitation,” said Lafayette, “sure that I should -be oftener seen there and elsewhere by your Majesty if the request had -not been heretofore omitted.”</p> - -<p>The Queen dismissed them with a smile and a nod, and they went out, the -one with more bitterness because of the nod, the other with more -adherence because of the smile.<a name="page_149" id="page_149"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXIII" id="CHAPTER_XXIII"></a>CHAPTER XXIII.<br /><br /> -THE ROYAL LOCKSMITH.</h2> - -<p>A<small>S</small> the King had undertaken a very important piece of locksmith work, he -sent his valet Hue to beg General Lafayette to come into his smithy.</p> - -<p>It was on the second floor above his bedroom, with inner and outer -stairs.</p> - -<p>Since morning he had been hammering away at the work for which Master -Gamain gave him praise and so much regret that the politicians should -take him away from it to trouble about foreign countries.</p> - -<p>Perhaps he wanted to show the Commander of the National Guard that -however weak as a monarch, he was mighty as a Tubal Cain.</p> - -<p>On the road Count Louis had time to meditate; and he concluded that the -Queen knew nothing of his errand. He would have to study the King’s -reception and see if he did not give some sign of better understanding -what brought him to Paris than his cousin the marquis.</p> - -<p>The valet did not know Bouille so that he only announced the general.</p> - -<p>“Ah, it is you, marquis,” said the King, turning. “I must ask pardon for -calling you up here, but the smith assures you that you are welcome in -his forge. A charcoal-burner once said to my ancestor Henry IV.: ‘Jack -is king in his own castle.’ But you are master in the smithy as in the -palace.”</p> - -<p>Louis spoke much in the same way as Marie Antoinette.</p> - -<p>“Sire, under whatever circumstances I present myself to your Majesty,” -said Lafayette, “and whatever costume your Majesty is in, the King will -be ever the sovereign and I the faithful subject and devoted servant.”</p> - -<p>“I do not doubt that, my lord; but you are not alone. Have you changed -your aid-de-camp?”</p> - -<p>“This young officer, Sire, whom I ask leave to introduce,<a name="page_150" id="page_150"></a> is my cousin, -Count Louis Bouille, captain in the Provence Dragoons.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, son of Marquis Bouille, commander of Metz?” said the King, with a -slight start not escaping the young man.</p> - -<p>“The same, Sire,” he spoke up quickly.</p> - -<p>“Excuse me not knowing you, but I have short sight. Have you been long -in town?”</p> - -<p>“I left Metz five days ago; and being here without official furlough but -under special permission from my father, I solicited my kinsman the -marquis for the honor of presentation to your Majesty.”</p> - -<p>“You were very right, my lord, for nobody could so well present you at -any hour, and from no one could the introduction come more agreeably.”</p> - -<p>The words “at any hour” meant that Lafayette had the public and private -entry to the King. The few words from the sovereign put the young count -on his guard. The question about his coming signified that he wanted to -know if Charny had seen his father.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile Lafayette was looking round curiously where few penetrated; he -admired the regularity with which the tools were laid out. He blew the -bellows as the apprentice.</p> - -<p>“So your Majesty has undertaken an important work, eh?” queried -Lafayette, embarrassed how to talk to a King who was in a smutty apron, -with tucked up sleeves and had a file in his hand.</p> - -<p>“Yes, general, I have set to making our magnus opus a lock. I tell you -just what I am doing or we shall have Surgeon Marat saying that I am -forging the fetters of France. Tell him it is not so, if you lay hold of -him. I suppose you are not a smith, Bouille?”</p> - -<p>“At least I was bound apprentice, and to a locksmith, too.”</p> - -<p>“I remember, your nurse’s husband was a smith and your father, although -not much of a student of Rousseau acted on his advice in ‘Emile’ that -everybody should learn a craft, and bound you to the workbench.”</p> - -<p>“Exactly; so that if your Majesty wanted a boy——“</p> - -<p>“An apprentice would not be so useful to me as a master,<a name="page_151" id="page_151"></a>” returned the -King. “I am afraid I have ventured on too hard a job. Oh, that I had my -teacher Gamain, who used to say he was a crafts-master above the -masters.”</p> - -<p>“Is he dead, my lord?”</p> - -<p>“No,” replied the King, giving the young gentleman a glance for him to -be heedful; “he lives in Versailles, but the dear fellow does not dare -come and see me at the Tuileries for fear he will get an ill name. All -my friends have gone away, to London, Turin or Coblentz. Still, my dear -general, if you do not see any inconvenience in the old fellow coming -with one of his boys to lend me a hand, I might ask him to drop in some -day.”</p> - -<p>“Your Majesty ought to know perfectly that he can see and send for -anybody.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, on condition that you sentries search them as the revenue officers -do those suspected of smuggling; poor Gamain will believe he is to be -hanged, drawn and quartered if they found his bag of tools on him and -took his three-cornered file for a stiletto!”</p> - -<p>“Sire, I do not know how to excuse myself to your Majesty, but I am -answerable for your person to the Powers of Europe, and I cannot take -too many precautions for that precious life to be protected. As for the -honest fellow of whom we are speaking, the King can give what orders he -pleases.”</p> - -<p>“Very well; thank you, marquis; I might want him in a week or ten -days—him and his ’prentice,” he added, with a glance at Bouille; “I -could notify him by my valet Durey, who is a friend of his.”</p> - -<p>“He has only to call to be shown up to the King; his name will suffice. -Lord preserve me from getting the title of your jailer, Sire; never was -the monarch more free; and I have even desired your Majesty to resume -hunting and riding out.”</p> - -<p>“Thank you, but no more hunts for me! Besides, you see I have something -to keep me in doors, in my head. As for traveling, that is another -matter; the last trip from Versailles to Paris cured me of the desire to -travel, in such a large party at all events.”</p> - -<p>He threw a glance to Bouille who ventured to blink to show that he -understood.<a name="page_152" id="page_152"></a></p> - -<p>“Are you soon going back to your father?” inquired the King of the -latter.</p> - -<p>“Sire, I am leaving Paris in a couple of days to pay a visit to my -grandmother, living in Versailles; I am bound to pay my respects. Then I -am charged by my father to attend to a rather important family matter, -for which I expect to see the person who will give me the directions in -about a week. So I shall hardly be with my father before the first week -in December, unless the King has particular reasons for me to see him -sooner.”</p> - -<p>“No, my lord, take your time; go to Versailles and transact your -business and when done, go and tell the marquis, that I do not forget -him as one of my faithful lieges, and that I will speak of him one of -these days to General Lafayette for him to advance him.”</p> - -<p>Lafayette smiled faintly at this allusion to his omnipotence.</p> - -<p>“Sire,” he said, “I should have long ago recommended Marquis Bouille to -your Majesty had he not been my kinsman. The fear of raising the cry -that I am looking after my family alone prevented me doing him this -justice.”</p> - -<p>“This chimes in nicely, then; we will speak of this matter again.”</p> - -<p>“The King will kindly allow me to say that my father would consider any -change of a post a disgrace that robbed him of the chance to serve your -Majesty particularly.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, that is fully understood, count,” responded Louis the King, “and -Marquis Bouille shall not be moved without it being according to his -desires and mine. Let General Lafayette and I manage this, and you run -to your pleasure-making without altogether forgetting business. Good -bye, gentlemen!”</p> - -<p>He dismissed them with a majestic manner in singular contrast with the -vulgar attire.</p> - -<p>“Come, come,” he said to himself, when the door was shut. “I believe the -young blade has comprehended me, and that in a week or so we shall have -Master Gamain coming to aid me, <i>with his ’prentice</i>.<a name="page_153" id="page_153"></a>”</p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXIV" id="CHAPTER_XXIV"></a>CHAPTER XXIV.<br /><br /> -HAPPY FAMILY.</h2> - -<p>O<small>N</small> the evening of this same day, about five, a scene passed in the third -and top flat of a dirty old tumbledown house in Juiverie Street which we -would like our readers to behold.</p> - -<p>The interior of the sitting-room denoted poverty, and it was inhabited -by three persons, a man, a woman, and a boy.</p> - -<p>The man looked to be over fifty; he was wearing an old uniform of a -French Guards sergeant, a habit venerated since these troops sided with -the people in the riots and exchanged shots with the German dragoons.</p> - -<p>He was dealing out playing cards and trying to find an infallible means -of winning; a card by his side, pricked full of pinholes, showed that he -was keeping tally of the runs.</p> - -<p>The woman was four-and-thirty and appeared forty; she wore an old silk -dress; her poverty was the more dreadful as she exhibited tokens of -splendor; her hair was built up in a knot over a brass comb once gilded: -and her hands were scrupulously cared for with the nails properly -trimmed in an aristocratic style. The slippers on her feet, over -openwork stockings, had been worked with gold and silver.</p> - -<p>Her face might pass in candlelight for about thirty; but, without paint -and powder it looked five years older than reality.</p> - -<p>Its resemblance to Queen Marie Antoinette’s was still so marked that one -tried to recall it in the dusty clouds thrown up by royal horses around -the window of a royal coach.</p> - -<p>The boy was five years of age; his hair curled like a cherub’s; his -cheeks were round as an apple; he had his mother’s diabolical eyes, and -the sensual mouth of his father—in short, the idleness and whims of the -pair.</p> - -<p>He wore a faded pearl velvet suit and while munching a hunk of cake -sandwiched with preserves, he frayed out the ends of an old tricolored -scarf inside a pearl gray felt hat.<a name="page_154" id="page_154"></a></p> - -<p>The family was illuminated by a candle with a large “thief in the -gutter,” stuck in a bottle for holder, which light fell on the man and -left most of the room in darkness.</p> - -<p>“Mamma,” the child broke the silence by saying, as he threw the end of -the cake on the mattress which served as bed, “I am tired of that kind -of cake—faugh! I want a stick of red barley sugar candy.”</p> - -<p>“Dear little Toussaint,” said the woman. “Do you hear that, Beausire?”</p> - -<p>As the gamester was absorbed in his calculations, she lifted her foot -within snatch of her hand and taking off the slipper, cast it to his -nose.</p> - -<p>“What is the matter?” he demanded, with plain ill-humor.</p> - -<p>“Toussaint wants some candy, being tired of cheap cake.”</p> - -<p>“He shall have it to-morrow.”</p> - -<p>“I want it to-day—this evening—right now!” yelled the innocent in a -tearful voice which threatened stormy weather.</p> - -<p>“Toussaint, my boy, I advise you to give us quiet or papa will take you -in hand,” said the parent.</p> - -<p>The boy yelled again but more from deviltry than from fear.</p> - -<p>“You drunken sot, you just touch my darling, and I will attend to you,” -said the mother, stretching out the white hand towards the bully which -her care of the nails made to become a claw at need.</p> - -<p>“Who the deuse wants to touch the imp? you know it is only my style of -speaking, my dear Oliva, and that though I may dust your skirt now and -then I have always respected the kid’s jacket. Tut, tut, come and -embrace your poor Beausire who will be rich as a King in a week; come, -my little Nicole.”</p> - -<p>“When you are rich as a king, it will be another matter: but up to that -time no fooling.”</p> - -<p>“But I tell you that it is as safe as if I had a million. You might be -kind for a little while. Go and get credit of the baker.”</p> - -<p>“A man rolling in millions wants a baker to let him have a loaf on -trust, ha, ha!”</p> - -<p>“I want some red barely sugar,” howled the child.<a name="page_155" id="page_155"></a></p> - -<p>“Come, you king with the millions, give some sugar sticks to your -prince.”</p> - -<p>Beausire started to put his hand to his fob but stopped half way.</p> - -<p>“You know I gave you my last piece yesterday.”</p> - -<p>“Then, if you have the money,” said the child to the woman whom Beausire -called indifferently Nicole or Oliva, “give me a penny to buy candy.”</p> - -<p>“There are two cents, you naughty boy, and mind you do not fall in -sliding down the bannisters.”</p> - -<p>“Thank you, dear mother,” said the boy, capering for joy and holding out -his hand.</p> - -<p>“Come here till I set your hat on and adjust your sash: it must not be -said that Captain Beausire let his son race about the streets in -disorder—though it is all the same to him, the heartless fellow! I -should die of shame!”</p> - -<p>At the risk of whatever the neighbors might say against the heir to the -Beausire name, the boy would have dispensed with the hat and band, of -which he recognized the use before the other urchins did the freshness -and beauty. But as the arrangement of his dress was a condition of the -gift, the young Hector had to yield to it.</p> - -<p>He consoled himself by taunting his father with the coin by thrusting it -up under his nose; absorbed in his figuring the parent merely smiled at -the pretty freak.</p> - -<p>Soon they heard his timid step, though quickened by gluttony, descending -the stairs.</p> - -<p>“Now then, Captain Beausire,” snapped the woman after a pause, “your -wits must lift us out of this miserable position, or else I must have -recourse to mine.”</p> - -<p>She spoke with a toss of the head as much as to say: “A lady of my -lovely face never dies of starvation, never fear!”</p> - -<p>“Just what I am busy about, my little Nicole,” responded Beausire.</p> - -<p>“By shuffling the cards?”</p> - -<p>“Did I not tell you that I have found the infallible coup?”</p> - -<p>“At it again, eh? Captain Beausire, I warn you that I am going to hunt -up my old acquaintances and see if one of<a name="page_156" id="page_156"></a> them cannot have you shut up -in the madhouse. Dear, dear, if Lord Richelieu were not dead, if -Cardinal Rohan were not ruined, if Lady Lamotte Valois were not in -London dodging the sheriff’s officers——“</p> - -<p>“What are you talking about?”</p> - -<p>“I should find means and not be obliged to share the misery of an old -swashbuckler like this one.”</p> - -<p>With a queenly flirt of the hand Oliva <i>alias</i> Nicole Legay, -disdainfully indicated the gambler.</p> - -<p>“But I keep telling you that I shall be rich to-morrow,” he repeated, -himself at any rate convinced.</p> - -<p>“Show me the first gold piece of your million and I shall believe the -rest.”</p> - -<p>“You will see ten gold pieces this evening—the very sum promised me. -You can have five to buy a silk dress and a velvet suit for the -youngster: with the balance I will bring you the million I promised.”</p> - -<p>“You unhappy fellow, you mean to gamble again?”</p> - -<p>“But I tell you again that I have lit on an infallible sequence.”</p> - -<p>“Own brother to the one with which you threw away the sixty thousand -livres from the amount you stole at the Portuguese Ambassador’s?”</p> - -<p>“Money got over the devil’s back goes under his belly,” replied Beausire -sententiously. “I always did think that the way I got that cash brought -bad luck.”</p> - -<p>“Is this fresh lot coming from an inheritance? have you an uncle who has -died in the Indies or America and left you the ten louis?”</p> - -<p>“Nicole Legay,” rejoined Beausire with a lofty air, “these ten will be -earned not only honestly but honorably, for a cause which interests me -as well as the rest of the nobility of France.”</p> - -<p>“So you are a nobleman, Friend Beausire?” jeered the lady.</p> - -<p>“You may say so: we have it stated so in the birth entry on the register -of St. Paul’s, and signed by your servitor, Jean Baptiste Toussaint de -Beausire, on the day when I gave my name to our boy—-<a name="page_157" id="page_157"></a>-“</p> - -<p>“A handsome present that was,” gibed Nicole.</p> - -<p>“And my estate,” added the so-called captain emphatically.</p> - -<p>“If kind heaven does not send him something more solid,” interposed -Nicole, shaking her head, “the poor little dear is sure to live on air -and die in the poorhouse.”</p> - -<p>“Really, Nicole, this is too much to endure—you are never contented.”</p> - -<p>“Endure? good gracious, who wants you to endure?” exclaimed the reduced -gentlewoman, breaking down the dam to her long-restrained ire: “Thank -God, I am not worried about myself or my little pet, and this very night -I shall go forth and seek my fortune.”</p> - -<p>She rose and took three steps towards the door, but he strode in between -them and opened his arms to bar the way.</p> - -<p>“You naughty creature, did I not tell you that my fortune——“</p> - -<p>“Go on,” said Nicole.</p> - -<p>“Is coming home to-night: though the coup were a mistake—which is -impossible, it would only be five louis lost.”</p> - -<p>“There are times when a few pieces of money are a fortune, sir. But you -would not know that, who have squandered a pile of gold as high as this -house.”</p> - -<p>“That proves my merit: I made it at the cards, and if I made some once I -shall make more another time: besides, there is a special providence -for—smart rogues.”</p> - -<p>“That is a fine thing to rely on!”</p> - -<p>“Do you not believe in Providence? are you an atheist, Nicole? of the -school of Voltaire who denies all that sort of thing?”</p> - -<p>“Beausire, no matter what I am, you are a fool.”</p> - -<p>“Springing from the lower class, as you do, it is not surprising that -you nourish such notions. I warn you that they do not appertain to my -caste and political opinions.”</p> - -<p>“You are a saucebox,” returned the beauty of the past.</p> - -<p>“But I have faith. If anyone were to say, ‘Beausire, your son who has -gone out to buy a sugar stick, will return with a lump of gold,’ I -should answer: ‘Very likely, if it be the will of Allah!’ as a Turkish -gentleman of my acquaintance says.<a name="page_158" id="page_158"></a>”</p> - -<p>“Beausire, you are an idiot,” said Nicole, but she had hardly spoken the -words before young Toussaint’s voice was heard on the stairs calling:</p> - -<p>“Oh, papa—mamma!”</p> - -<p>“What is the matter?” cried Nicole, opening the door with true maternal -solicitude. “Come, my darling, come.”</p> - -<p>The voice drew near like the ventriloquist doing the trick of the man in -the cellar.</p> - -<p>“I should not be astonished if he had lit on the streak of good luck I -feel promised,” said the gambler.</p> - -<p>The boy rushed into the room, holding a sugarstick in his mouth, hugging -under his left arm a bag of sugarplums, and showing in his right hand a -gold coin which shone in the candle glimmer like the North Star.</p> - -<p>“Goodness of heaven, what has occurred?” cried Nicole, slamming the door -to.</p> - -<p>She covered his gluey face with kisses—mothers never being disgusted, -from their caresses seeming to purify everything.</p> - -<p>“The matter is a genuine louis of gold, worth full value of twenty-four -livres,” said Beausire, skillfully obtaining the piece.</p> - -<p>“Where did you pick that up that I may go for the others, my duck?” he -inquired.</p> - -<p>“I never found it, papa: it was give to me,” replied the boy. “A kind -gentleman give it me.”</p> - -<p>Ready as Beausire to ask who this donor was, Nicole was prudent from -experience on account of Captain Beausire’s jealousy. She confined -herself to repeating:</p> - -<p>“A gentleman?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, mamma dear,” rejoined the child, crunching the barley-sugar -between his teeth: “a gentleman who came into the grocer’s store where I -was, and he says: ‘God bless me, but, master, do I not behold a young -gentleman whose name is De Beausire, whom you have the honor of -attending to at the present time?'”</p> - -<p>Beausire perked up and Nicole shrugged her shoulders.</p> - -<p>“What did the grocer say to that, eh?” demanded the card-sharper.<a name="page_159" id="page_159"></a></p> - -<p>“Master Grocer says: ‘I don’t know whether he is a gentleman or not, but -his name is Beausire,’ ‘Does he live by here?’ went on the gentleman. -‘Top-floor, next house on the left.’ ‘Give anything the young master -wants to him—I will foot the bill,’ said the gentleman. Then he gave me -the money saying: ‘There a louis for you, young sir: when you have eaten -your candy, that will buy you more. He put the money in my hand; the -grocer stuck this bag under my arm and I came away awfully glad. Oh, -where is my money-piece?”</p> - -<p>Not having seen Beausire’s disappearing trick, he began to look all -round for the louis.</p> - -<p>“You clumsy little blockhead, you have lost it,” said the captain.</p> - -<p>“No, I never!” yelled the child.</p> - -<p>The dispute would have become warm but for the interruption which came -to put an end to it.</p> - -<p>The door opened slowly and a bland voice made these words audible:</p> - -<p>“How do you do, Mistress Nicole? good evening, Captain Beausire! How are -you, little Toussaint?”</p> - -<p>All turned: on the threshold was an elegantly attired man, smiling on -the family group.</p> - -<p>“Oh, here’s the gentleman who gave me the candy,” cried young Toussaint.</p> - -<p>“Count Cagliostro,” exclaimed Beausire and the lady at the same time.</p> - -<p>“That is a winning little boy, and I think you ought to be happy at -being a parent, Captain Beausire,” said the intruder.</p> - -<p>He advanced and with one scrutinizing glance saw that the couple were -reduced to the last penny.</p> - -<p>The child was the first to break the silence because he had nothing on -his conscience.</p> - -<p>“Oh, kind sir, I have lost the shining piece,” said he.</p> - -<p>Nicole opened her mouth to state the case but she reflected that silence -might lead to a repetition of the godsend and she would inherit it; her -expectation was not erroneous.</p> - -<p>“Lost your louis, have you, my poor boy?” said Cagliostro, “well, here -are two; try not to lose them.<a name="page_160" id="page_160"></a>”</p> - -<p>Pulling out a purse of which the plumpness kindled Beausire’s greedy -glances, he dropped two coins into Toussaint’s little sticky paw.</p> - -<p>“Look, mamma,” said he, running to Nicole; “here’s one for you and one -for me.”</p> - -<p>While the child shared his windfall with his mother, the new-comer -remarked the tenacity with which the former-soldier watched his purse -and tried to estimate the contents before it was pocketted again. On -seeing it disappear, he sighed.</p> - -<p>“Still glum, captain?” said the visitor.</p> - -<p>“And you, count, always rich?”</p> - -<p>“Pooh! you are one of the finest philosophers I have ever known, as well -at the present as in antiquity, and you are bound to know the axiom to -which man does honor in all ages. ‘Riches are not contentment.’ I have -known you to be rich, relatively.”</p> - -<p>“That’s so: I have owned as much as a hundred thousand francs.”</p> - -<p>“It is possible; only when I met you again, you had spent nearly forty -thousand of it so as to have but sixty, but that is a round sum for a -corporal in the army.”</p> - -<p>“What is that to the sums you dispose of?” he sighed.</p> - -<p>“I am only the banker, the trustee, Captain Beausire, and if I were -obliged to settle up I daresay you could play St. Martin and I the -beggar who would be glad to have half your cloak. But, my dear Beausire, -do you not remember the circumstances of our last meeting? As I said, -just now, you had sixty thousand left of the hundred thousand: were you -happier than now?”</p> - -<p>The ex-corporal heaved a retrospective sigh which might pass for a moan.</p> - -<p>“Would you exchange your present position though you possessed nothing -but one poor louis you ‘nicked’ from young Toussaint?”</p> - -<p>“My lord!”</p> - -<p>“Do not let us get warm, sir: we quarrelled once and you were obliged to -go out and pick up your sword which I threw out of the window. You will -remember?” went on the count, seeing that the man made no reply: “it is -a good thing to have<a name="page_161" id="page_161"></a> a memory. I ask you again would you change your -actual position, though down to the solitary louis you ‘extracted’ from -young Toussaint”—this time the allegation passed without protest—“for -the precarious scrape from which I relieved you?”</p> - -<p>“No, my lord, you are right—I should not change. At that epoch, alas! I -was parted from my darling Nicole.”</p> - -<p>“To say nothing of being hunted by the police, on account of your -robbing the Portuguese Embassy. What the mischief has become of that -case, a villainous one, as I remember it, Captain B.?”</p> - -<p>“It has been dropped, my lord,” was the reply.</p> - -<p>“So much the better: though I would not reckon on its not being picked -up again. The police are awful for raking up past grievances, and the -ruling powers might want to be on good terms with Portugal. However, -that apart, in spite of the hard lines to which you are reduced, you are -happy. If you had a thousand louis, your felicity would be complete, -eh?”</p> - -<p>Nicole’s eyes glittered and her partner’s flashed flames.</p> - -<p>“Lord be good to us,” cried the latter: “with half I would buy a lot in -the country and live a rural life on the rest like a country squire!”</p> - -<p>“Like Cincinnatus!”</p> - -<p>“While Nicole would educate the boy.”</p> - -<p>“Like Cornelia! Death of my life, Captain Beausire! not only would this -be exemplary but touching: do you hope to earn as much as that in the -piece of business you have in hand?”</p> - -<p>“What business?” queried the other, starting.</p> - -<p>“That you are carrying on as sergeant of the Guards; for which you are -to meet a man, this evening, under the Palais Royal arcades.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, my lord,” moaned Beausire, turning pale as a corpse and wringing -his hands. “Do not destroy me!”</p> - -<p>“Why, you are going distracted now? Am I the Chief of Police to ruin -you?”</p> - -<p>“There, I told you, you are getting into a pretty pickle,” exclaimed -Nicole. “I know nothing about it, my lord, but whenever<a name="page_162" id="page_162"></a> he hides any -game from me, I know it is a bad one.”</p> - -<p>“But you are wrong, my dear lady, for this is an excellent speculation.”</p> - -<p>“Is it not?” cried the gambler. “The count, as a nobleman, understands -that all the nobility are in this scheme——“</p> - -<p>“For it to succeed. It must be allowed though, that the people are -interested in its failure. If you will believe me, captain—you -understand that a friend is giving advice—you will take no part in it -for the peers or the people. Better act for yourself.”</p> - -<p>“Certainly, for yourself,” said Nicole. “Blest if you have not toiled -long enough for others: so that it is high time you looked after Number -One.”</p> - -<p>“You hear the lady, who speaks like a born orator. Bear this in mind, -Friend Beausire, all spec’s have a good and a bad side, one for the -winners, one for the losers: no affair however good, can benefit -everybody; the whole trouble is to hit on the right side.”</p> - -<p>“And you do not think I am there, eh?”</p> - -<p>“Not at all; I would even add, if you are willful—for you know I dabble -in telling fortunes—that you will not only risk your honor, and the -fortune you seek—but your life. You will most likely be hanged!”</p> - -<p>“They do not hang noblemen,” objected Beausire, wiping the perspiration -streaming from his brow.</p> - -<p>“That is so: but to avoid the gallows-tree and have your head cut off, -you would have to prove your family-tree; it would take so long that the -court would lose patience, and string you up for the time being—leaving -your widow to demand compensation if you turned out to have deserved -decapitation. Still you may say that it does not matter, as it is the -crime that casts shame and not the scaffold, to quote a poet. Still -again, I dare say you are not so attached to your opinions that you -would lay down your life for them; I understand this. Deuse take us, but -we have only one life, as another poet says, not so great as the other, -but as truthful.”</p> - -<p>“My lord,” faltered the ex-guardsman, “I have remarked in my too brief -acquaintance with your lordship, that you have<a name="page_163" id="page_163"></a> a way of speaking of -some things which would make the hair of a more timid man than me -bristle on his head.”</p> - -<p>“Hang me if that is my intention,” responded Cagliostro; “Besides you -are not a timid man.”</p> - -<p>“No: yet there are circumstances,” began Beausire.</p> - -<p>“I understand; such as when one has the jail for theft behind one and -the gallows for high treason before one—for I suppose they give that -name to the crime of kidnapping the King.”</p> - -<p>“My lord,” cried Beausire, terrified.</p> - -<p>“Wretch, is it on kidnapping that you build your fortune?” demanded -Oliva.</p> - -<p>“Oh, he was not wrong to dwell in golden dreams, my dear lady; only, as -I have already said, each affair has a dark side and a bright one and -Beausire has the misfortune to take the dark one; all he has to do is to -shift.”</p> - -<p>“If there is time, what must I do?” asked the bully.</p> - -<p>“Suppose one thing,” said the gentleman; “that your conspiracy fails. -Suppose that the accomplices of the masked man and the one in the brown -cloak are arrested; we may suppose anything in these times—suppose they -are doomed to death! Suppose—for Augeard and Bezenval have been -acquitted, so that anything unlikely may come round nowadays—suppose -that you are one of these accomplices; you have the halter round your -neck, when—say what they like—a man always shows a little of the white -feather about then——“</p> - -<p>“Do have done, my lord! I entreat you, for I seem to feel the rope -throttling me!”</p> - -<p>“That is not astonishing as I am supposing it is round your neck! -Suppose, then, that they say to you: ‘Poor old Beausire, this is your -own fault. Not only might you have dodged this Old Bony who clutches you -in his claws, but gain a thousand louis to buy the pretty cottage under -the green trees where you long to live with ever-lovely Oliva and merry -little Toussaint, with the balance of what was partly spent for the -purchase of your homestead. You might live, as you said, like a squire, -in high boots in the winter and easy shoes the rest of the year; while, -instead of this delicious lookout, you<a name="page_164" id="page_164"></a> have the Execution-place, -planted with two or three one or two-armed trees, of which the highest -holds out its ugly branch unto you. Faugh! my poor Captain Beausire, -what a hideous prospect!'”</p> - -<p>“But how am I to elude it—how make the thousand to ensure my peace and -that of dear Nicole and little Toussaint?”</p> - -<p>“Your good angel would say: ‘Why not apply to the Count of Cagliostro, a -rich nobleman who is in town for his pleasure and who is weary of -nothing to do. Go to him and tell him——“</p> - -<p>“But I do not know where he lives! I did not even know he is in town; I -did not know he was still alive!” protested Beausire.</p> - -<p>“He lives ever. It is because you would not know these facts that he -comes to you, my dear Beausire, so that you will have no excuse. You -have merely to say to him: ‘Count, I know how fond you are of hearing -the news. I have some fresh for you. The King’s brother is conspiring -with Marquis Favras. I speak from full knowledge as I am the right-hand -man of the marquis. The aim of the plot is to take the King away to -Peronne. If your lordship likes to be amused, I will tell him step by -step how the moves are played.’ Thereupon the count, who is a generous -lord, would reply: ‘If you will really do this, Captain Beausire, as all -laborers are worthy of their hire, I put aside twenty-four thousand -livres for a charitable act; but I will balk myself in this whim, and -you shall have them on the day when you come and tell me either that the -King shall be taken off or Marquis Favras captured—in the same way as -you are given these ten louis—not as hand-money or as an advance, or a -loan, but as a pure gift.”</p> - -<p>Like an actor rehearsing with the “properties,” Cagliostro pulled out -the weighty purse, stuck in finger and thumb and with a dexterity -bearing witness to his experience in such actions, whipped out just ten -pieces, neither more nor less, which Beausire—we must do him -justice—thrust out his hand with alacrity to receive.</p> - -<p>“Excuse me, captain,” said the other, gently fencing off the hand, “we -are only playing at Supposes.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, but through suppositions one arrives at the fact,<a name="page_165" id="page_165"></a>” responded the -cardplayer, whose eyes glowed like burning coals.</p> - -<p>“Have we reached this point?”</p> - -<p>Beausire hesitated; let us hasten to say that it was not honor, fidelity -to plighted word, or a pricked conscience which caused the wavering. Did -our readers know Beausire, they would not want this denial. It was the -simple fear that the count would not keep his word.</p> - -<p>“I see what you are passing through,” said the tempter.</p> - -<p>“Ay, my lord, I shrink from betraying the trust a gentleman puts in me,” -replied the adventurer. “It is very hard,” he seemed to say as he raised -his eyes heavenward.</p> - -<p>“Nay, it is not that, and this is another proof of the old saw that ‘No -man knows himself',” said the count. “You are afraid that I will not pay -you the sum stated. The objection is quite natural; but I shall give -security.”</p> - -<p>“My lord certainly need not.”</p> - -<p>“Personal security, Madam Legay.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, if the count promises, it is as good as done,” said the lady.</p> - -<p>“You see, sir, what one gains by scrupulously keeping one’s promises. -One day when the lady was in the same quandary as yourself, I mean the -police were hunting after her, I offered her an asylum in my residence. -The lady hesitated, fearing that I was no Joseph—unless so christened. -I gave her my word to respect her, and this is true, eh?”</p> - -<p>“I swear it, on my little Toussaint,” said Oliva-Nicole.</p> - -<p>“So you believe that I will pay the sum mentioned on the day when the -King shall have been abducted or Marquis Favras arrested, to say nothing -of my serving the running knot strangling him a while ago. For this -affair, at all events, there shall be no halter or gibbet, for I cannot -bind myself any farther. You understand: The man who is born to -be—ahem!”</p> - -<p>“My lord, it is as if the courts had awarded us the money,” said the -woman.</p> - -<p>“Well, my beauty,” said Cagliostro, putting the ten gold pieces on the -table in a row, “just imbue the captain with this belief of yours.<a name="page_166" id="page_166"></a>”</p> - -<p>He waved his hand for the gambler to confer with his partner. Their -parley lasted only five minutes, but it was most lively. Meanwhile -Cagliostro looked at the cards and the one by which tally was kept.</p> - -<p>“I know the run,” he observed, “it is that invented by John Law who -floated the Mississippi Bubble. I lost a million on it.”</p> - -<p>This remark seemed to give fresh activity to the dialogue of Beausire -and his light-o-love. At last Beausire was decided; he came forward to -offer his hand to Cagliostro like a horse-dealer about to strike a -bargain. But the other frowned.</p> - -<p>“Captain, between gentlemen the parole suffices. Give me yours.”</p> - -<p>“On the faith of Beausire, it shall be done.”</p> - -<p>“That is enough for me,” said the other, drawing out a diamond-studded -watch on which was a portrait of Frederick the Great. “It is now a -quarter to nine. At nine precisely you are expected under the Royale -Place arcades, near Sully House. Take these ten pieces, pocket them, put -on your coat and buckle on your sword—and do not keep them waiting.”</p> - -<p>“Where am I to see your lordship next?” inquired Beausire, obeying the -instructions, without asking reiteration.</p> - -<p>“In St. Jean’s Cemetery, if you please. When we have such deadly matters -to discuss the company of the dead is better than the living. Come when -you are free; the first to arrive waits for the other. I have now to -chat with the lady.”</p> - -<p>The captain stood on one foot.</p> - -<p>“Be easy; I did not make bold when she was a single woman; I have the -more reason to respect her since she is a mother of a family. Be off, -captain.”</p> - -<p>Beausire threw a glance at his wife, by courtesy, at all events, -tenderly hugged little Toussaint, saluted the patron with respect mixed -with disquiet, and left the house just as Notre Dame clock bell was -striking the three-quarters after eight.<a name="page_167" id="page_167"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXV" id="CHAPTER_XXV"></a>CHAPTER XXV.<br /><br /> -DOWN AMONG THE DEAD</h2> - -<p>I<small>T</small> was nearly midnight when a man hesitatingly walked up to the iron -gateway of St. Jean’s burying-ground, in Croix Blanche Street.</p> - -<p>As midnight boomed, he saw a spectre cross the grounds under the yews -and cypresses, and, approaching the grating, turn a key harshly in the -gatelock to show that, if he were a ghost and had the leave to quit his -grave, he also had that to go beyond the cemetery altogether.</p> - -<p>“Do you not recognize me, Captain B.?” queried the jesting voice of -Cagliostro, “or did you forget our appointment?”</p> - -<p>“I am glad it is you,” said the man in the French Guards sergeant dress, -breathing as if his heart were relieved of great weight. “These devilish -streets are so dark and deserted that I do not know but it is better to -run up against any body than not to meet a soul.”</p> - -<p>“Pshaw,” returned the magician, “the idea of your fearing any thing at -any hour of the day or night! You will never make me believe that of a -man like you who would go anywhere with a sword by his side. However, -step on this side of the railings, and you will be tranquil, my dear -Captain Beausire, for you will meet no one but me.”</p> - -<p>Beausire acted on the invitation, and the key grated again in the lock, -to fasten the gate behind him.</p> - -<p>“Keep to this little path,” continued Cagliostro, “and at twenty paces -you will come upon a little broken altar, on the steps of which we can -nicely manage our little business.”</p> - -<p>“Where the mischief do you see any path?” he grumbled, after starting -with a good will. “I meet nothing but nettles tearing my ankles and -grass up to my knees.”</p> - -<p>“I own that this cemetery is as badly kept as any I know of; but it is -not astonishing, for here are buried only the condemned<a name="page_168" id="page_168"></a> prisoners -executed in the City, and no one plants flowers for such poor fellows. -Still we have some undeniable celebrities here, my dear Beausire. If it -were daylight I would show you where lies Bouteville Montmorency, -decapitated for having fought a duel; the Knight of Rohan who suffered -the same fate for conspiring against the Government; Count Horn broken -on the wheel for murdering a Jew; Damiens who tried to kill Louis XVI., -and lots more. Oh, you are wrong to defame St. Jean’s; it is badly kept -but it well keeps its famous ones.”</p> - -<p>Beausire followed the guide so closely that he locked steps with him -like a soldier in the second rank with the predecessor so that when the -latter stopped suddenly he ran up against him.</p> - -<p>“Ah! this is a fresh one; the grave of your comrade Fleurdepine, one of -the murderers of François the Assemblymen’s baker, who was hanged a week -ago by sentence at the Chatelet; this ought to interest you, as he was, -like you, a corporal, a sergeant by his own promotion, and a crimp—I -mean a recruiter.”</p> - -<p>The hearer’s teeth chattered; the thistles he walked among seemed so -many skeleton fingers stretched up to trip him, and make him understand -that this is the place where he would have his everlasting sleep.</p> - -<p>“Well, we have arrived,” said the cicerone, stopping at a mound of -ruins.</p> - -<p>Sitting down on a stone he pointed out another to his companion, as if -placed for a conversation. It was time, for the ex-soldier’s knees were -knocking together so that he fell rather than sat on the elevation.</p> - -<p>“Now that we are comfortable for a chat,” went on the magician, “let us -know what went on under the Royale Place arches. The meeting must have -been interesting?”</p> - -<p>“To tell the truth, count, I am so upset that I really believe you will -get a clearer account by questioning me.”</p> - -<p>“Be it so, I am easy going, and the shape of news little matters -provided I get it. How many of you met at the arches?”</p> - -<p>“Six, including myself.<a name="page_169" id="page_169"></a>”</p> - -<p>“I wonder if they were the persons I conjecture to be there? <i>Primo</i>, -you, no doubt.”</p> - -<p>Beausire groaned as though he wished there could be doubt on that head.</p> - -<p>“You do me much honor in commencing by me, for there were very great -grandees compared with me.”</p> - -<p>“My dear boy, I follow the Gospel: ‘The first shall be last.’ If the -first are to be last, why, the last will naturally lead. So I begin with -you, according to Scripture. Then there would be your comrade Tourcaty, -an old recruiting officer who is charged to raise the Brabant Legion?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, we had Tourcaty.”</p> - -<p>“Then, there would be that sound royalist Marquie, once sergeant in the -French Guards, now sub-lieutenant in a regiment of the centre line. -Favras, of course? the Masked Man? Any particulars to furnish about the -Masked Man?”</p> - -<p>The traitor looked at the inquirer so fixedly that his eyes seemed to -kindle in the dark.</p> - -<p>“Why, is it not—“ but he stopped as if fearing to commit a sacrilege if -he went farther.</p> - -<p>“What’s this? have you a knot in your tongue? Take care of being -tongue-tied. Knots in the tongue lead to knots round the neck, and as -they are slip ones, they are the worst kind.”</p> - -<p>“Well, is it not the King’s b-b-brother?” stammered the other.</p> - -<p>“Nonsense, my dear Beausire, it is conceivable that Favras, who wants it -believed that he clasps hands with a royal prince in the plot, should -give out that the Mask hides the King’s brother, Provence, but you and -your mate, Tourcaty, recruiting-sergeants, are men used to measure men -by their height in inches and lines, and it is not likely you would be -cheated that way.”</p> - -<p>“No, it is not likely,” agreed the soldier.</p> - -<p>“The King’s brother is five feet three and seven lines,” pursued the -magician, “while the Masked Man is nearly five feet six.”</p> - -<p>“To a T.,” said the traitor, “that occurred to me; but who can it be if -not the King’s brother?”</p> - -<p>“Excuse me, I should be proud and happy to teach you<a name="page_170" id="page_170"></a> something,” -retorted Cagliostro: “but I came here to be taught by you.”</p> - -<p>“But if your lordship knows who this man is,” said the ex-corporal, -becoming more at home, “might I ask his name?”</p> - -<p>“A name is a serious thing to divulge,” responded the strange man: “and -really I prefer you should guess. Do you know the story of Œdipus and -the Sphinx?”</p> - -<p>“I went to see a tragedy of that title and fell asleep, unfortunately, -in the fourth act.”</p> - -<p>“Plague take me, but you ought not to call that a misfortune!”</p> - -<p>“But I lose by it now.”</p> - -<p>“Not to go into details, suffice it that Œdipus, whom I knew as a boy -at one royal court and as a man at another, was predicted to be the -murderer of his father and the husband of his mother. Believing King -Polybius this father, he departed from his realm, but would not take a -hint from me about the road. The result was that he met his own sire on -the road where, as neither would turn out, a fight ensued in which he -slew his father. Some time after he met the Sphinx. It was a monster -with a woman’s head on a lion’s body which I regret never to have seen, -as it was a thousand years after her death that I travelled that road. -She had the habit of putting riddles to the wayfarers and eating those -who could not read them aright. To my friend Œdipus she put the -following:</p> - -<p>“'What animal goes upon four legs at morning, two at noon and three at -night?'”</p> - -<p>“Œdipus answered off-hand: ‘Man, who in the morning of life as a -child crawls on all fours; as an adult walks upright; as an old man -hobbles with a stick.'”</p> - -<p>“That is so,” exclaimed Beausire: “it crossed the sphinx!”</p> - -<p>“She threw herself down a precipice and the winner went on to where he -married his father’s widow to accomplish the prophecy.”</p> - -<p>“But what analogy between the Sphinx and the Masked Man?”</p> - -<p>“A close one. I propose an enigma; only I am not cruel like the Sphinx -and will not devour you if you fail to guess. Listen: Which lord at the -court is grandson of his father, brother of his mother and uncle of his -sisters?<a name="page_171" id="page_171"></a>”</p> - -<p>“The devil!” burst forth Beausire, falling into a reverie. “Can you not -also help me out here, my lord?”</p> - -<p>“Let us turn from pagan story to sacred history, then. Do you know the -tale of Lot?”</p> - -<p>“Lot and the Pillar of Salt, and his daughters?”</p> - -<p>“The same.”</p> - -<p>“Of course, I do. Wait a bit, do they not say that old King Louis XIV, -and his daughter the Lady Adeliade——“</p> - -<p>“You are getting warm, captain——“</p> - -<p>“In that case the Masked Man would be Count Louis Narbonne!”</p> - -<p>“Now that we are no longer in doubt about this conspirator, let us -finish with the aim of the plot. The object is to carry off the King? -And take him to Peronne? what means have you?”</p> - -<p>“For money we have two millions cash——“</p> - -<p>“Lent by a Genoese banker? I know him. Any other funds?”</p> - -<p>“I know of none.”</p> - -<p>“So much for the money: now for the men.”</p> - -<p>“General Lafayette has authorized the raising of a legion to fly to the -help of Brabant revolting against the Empire.”</p> - -<p>“Under cover of which you form a royalist legion? I see the hand of -Lafayette in this,” muttered Cagliostro. “But you will want more than a -legion to carry out this plan—an army.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, we have the army. Two hundred horsemen are gathered at Versailles -ready to start at the appointed hour: they can arrive in three columns -at Paris by two in the morning. The first gets in to kill General -Lafayette: the second to settle old Necker; the third will do for Mayor -Baily.”</p> - -<p>“Good!” exclaimed the listener.</p> - -<p>“This done, the cannons are spiked, and all rally on the Champs Elysées, -and march on the Tuileries where our friends will be masters.”</p> - -<p>“What about the National Guards there?”</p> - -<p>“The Brabant Column attends to them: it joins with it part of the Guards -which has been bought over: four hundred Swiss, three hundred country -friends, and so on. These will have<a name="page_172" id="page_172"></a> taken possession of all the gates -by help within. We rush in on the King, saying: ‘Sire, the St. Antoine -ward is in insurrection; a carriage is ready—you must be off!’ if he -consents, all right: if he resists, we hustle him out and drive him to -St. Denis.”</p> - -<p>“Capital!”</p> - -<p>“There we find twenty thousand infantry, with all the country royalists, -well armed, in great force, who conduct the King to Peronne.”</p> - -<p>“Better and better. What do you do there?’</p> - -<p>“The gathering there brings our whole array up to one hundred and fifty -thousand men.”</p> - -<p>“A very pretty figure,” commented the Chief of the Invisibles.</p> - -<p>“With the mass we march on Paris, cutting off supplies above and below -on the river. Famished Paris capitulates; the Assembly is kicked to -pieces, and the King enjoys his own again on the throne of his fathers.”</p> - -<p>“Amen!” sang Cagliostro. “My dear Beausire,” he went on, rising, “your -conversation is most agreeable; but as they say of the greatest orators, -when they have spoken all that is in them, nothing more is to be got. -You are done?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, my lord, for the moment.”</p> - -<p>“Then, good-night: when you want another ten louis call for them at my -home, at Bellevue.”</p> - -<p>“At the Count of Cagliostro’s?”</p> - -<p>“No; they would not know who you meant. Ask for Baron Zannone.”</p> - -<p>“But that is the banker who cashed up the two millions on the King’s -brother’s notes!” ejaculated Beausire.</p> - -<p>“That is not unlikely; only I do such a large business that I have -confounded it with the others. That is why it was not clear in my mind -but now you remind me, I believe I did something of the kind.”</p> - -<p>Beausire went his way, stupefied that a banker could forget a matter of -two millions, and beginning to believe that he was quite right in siding -with the lender rather than with the borrower. He bowed lowly while the -count favored him with a slight nod at the cemetery gateway.<a name="page_173" id="page_173"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXVI" id="CHAPTER_XXVI"></a>CHAPTER XXVI.<br /><br /> -GAMAIN PROVES HE IS THE MASTER.</h2> - -<p>T<small>HE</small> reader will not be much surprised, after the permission Lafayette -gave for the King to have his locksmith call to relieve him of a trouble -in lockmaking, that Gamain should present himself at the palace with his -apprentice who gave the name of Louis Lecomte.</p> - -<p>Though there was nothing in the pair aristocratic, King Louis ran to the -forge door on hearing the announcement and bade them enter.</p> - -<p>“Here I am,” returned Gamain, with the familiarity of a crony.</p> - -<p>Whether he was less used to royal company, or endowed by more respect -for crowned heads under whatever attire they appeared, the boy kept on -the sill, at a space from his master, with his cap in his hand near the -door closed by the valet behind both.</p> - -<p>He may have been better placed there to catch the gleam of glee in the -King’s dull eye, and to give unseen a respectful nod.</p> - -<p>“Glad to see you, my old Gamain,” said Louis; “I really did not look for -you—I thought you had forgotten old times.”</p> - -<p>“And that is why you have taken on a ’prentice,” said Gamain. “You did -right enough to have help when I was not on hand, but unfortunately an -apprentice is not a master.”</p> - -<p>“How could I help it? I was assured that you did not care to come near -me from fear of injuring yourself.”</p> - -<p>“Faith, it was not hard to learn at Versailles that it was not healthy -to be friend of yours—as witness that brace of your Lifeguardsman whom -they cut off the heads of! ay, and by the same token had the Queen’s -barber Leonard dress them in the latest fashion, which I saw in a saloon -at Secres.<a name="page_174" id="page_174"></a>”</p> - -<p>A cloud passed over the royal brow and the apprentice hung his head.</p> - -<p>“But folks say that you are getting on nicely since you came back to -town, and that you can make the Parisians do anything you like; not that -it is astonishing, for the Parisians are ninnies and the Queen is such a -weedler when she likes to be.”</p> - -<p>Louis made no remark, but his cheeks were colored. The young man seemed -pained by the locksmith’s familiarity. After wiping his forehead with a -handkerchief, rather fine for a locksmith’s help, he approached the King -to whom he said:</p> - -<p>“Does your Majesty allow me to tell how we have Master Gamain here and -how I am in your employment?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, my dear Louis,” said the King.</p> - -<p>“That is the style! ‘My dear Louis!’ as long as your arm. To a -fortnight’s acquaintance, a workman, a ’prentice! why, what are you -going to call me, who has known you these five and twenty years? who put -the file in your fist? who am the master? this is the advantage of -having white hands and a glib tongue.”</p> - -<p>“I will call you ‘My good Gamain’ if you like. I speak to the lad -affectionately because I owe to him the joy of seeing my old master -again: not because he speaks prettily or keeps his hands smooth, for you -know I think nothing of these fine ways—but I like him for proving it -was false what they said about my never seeing you any more.”</p> - -<p>“Well, it was not me that held back, but that wife of mine. She was -always saying: ‘Gamain, you have bad acquaintances, those who fly too -high for you. It is not good to hobnob with aristocrats nowadays. We -have a little property—look after it. Let us rear our young ones: and -let the Dauphin learn locksmithing from others than you, if he wants to, -like his father before him. There are plenty of smiths in France.'”</p> - -<p>Louis glanced at the apprentice, and stifling a sigh, partly sad and -partly rallying, said:</p> - -<p>“No doubt, but there are few like you.”</p> - -<p>“Just what I said to the master when I called on him,” said<a name="page_175" id="page_175"></a> the young -man, “I told him the King was making a hidden-bolt lock; and that he had -got along very well till he came to the sliding bolt itself——“</p> - -<p>“I should think so,” interrupted Gamain: “bless you, the bolt is the -backbone of a lock. It is not given to everybody to get over that -difficulty.”</p> - -<p>“No, nor mine in passing the examination you put me through to be -convinced I came from the King,” replied the young man, laughing. “You -said it was a trap laid by your enemies; but the twenty-five yellow boys -sent by his Majesty convinced you. So off we started, and here we are.”</p> - -<p>“And welcome,” said the royal smith, thanking the speaker with a glance; -“and now, Master Gamain, as you appear in a hurry, let us tackle the -job.”</p> - -<p>“You have hit it. I promised the mistress that I should be home by -evening. Let us see this puzzler of a lock.”</p> - -<p>The King put in his hands a lock three-parts finished.</p> - -<p>“Lord help us,” said the man, grinning: “this is not a secret bolt but a -trunk lock. You have three wards on it and the second ought to catch -while the first is released by the key.”</p> - -<p>He was using the key as he spoke and the others contemplated his -demonstration with awe for his learning.</p> - -<p>“But the second ward catches, like the Assembly when you want it to do -something your way and says: ‘I won’t budge.'”</p> - -<p>“But there must be some way of getting over the fix,” said the King.</p> - -<p>“Of course; it would be a day’s work to an ordinary workman but I will -knock it off in a couple of hours. Only,” said he, with the suspicious -air of an artisan jealous of the secrets of the craft; “I want no -fussing round me.”</p> - -<p>What Gamain desired was the yearning of the King. His loneliness would -allow him a dialogue apart with the Apprentice.</p> - -<p>“But you may need something?”</p> - -<p>“I will set the footman trotting.”</p> - -<p>The King went himself to the door to acquaint François with the -arrangement, and then led away the apprentice,<a name="page_176" id="page_176"></a> Louis Lecomte, in whom -the reader will have recognized Louis Bouille.</p> - -<p>They went by a secret stairway into the royal study, where a table was -covered by a large map of France, showing the King had been studying the -route of the flight.</p> - -<p>“Now that we are alone, count,” said he, “let me compliment you on your -skill and thank you for your dedication of services to me.”</p> - -<p>“And I ask to be excused for my apparel and the language I have had to -use before you.”</p> - -<p>“You speak like a brave gentleman and your apparel covers a loyal heart -in any case. But we have no time to lose. Even the Queen is ignorant of -your presence here; nobody is listening; so to the point.”</p> - -<p>“Did not your Majesty send us a naval officer, the count of Charny, who -brought a letter——“</p> - -<p>“Insignificant,” interrupted the monarch, “a mere introduction to a -verbal communication.”</p> - -<p>“He fulfilled it and it was to make its performance certain that my -father sent me to town to try to have an interview alone with your -Majesty. The King can have the certainty of leaving France. My father is -proud and happy of the honor done him.”</p> - -<p>“Now for the principal point; what says he of the project?”</p> - -<p>“That it is hazardous and requires great precautions but is not -impossible.”</p> - -<p>“Firstly, will not your father want the command over the adjoining -districts?”</p> - -<p>“It is his advice, but he would not like it to be thought personal -ambition——“</p> - -<p>“Pooh, do I not know his disinterestedness? did he explain about the -best road to take?”</p> - -<p>“In the first place he fears one thing: that many projects of flight -have been proposed and that all these getting entangled, this one will -meet some block which will be ascribed to fatality, when it will be the -spite or the rashness of the other parties.”</p> - -<p>“I promise, my dear Louis, to let the parties intrigue around me; it is -their want and a necessity of my position.<a name="page_177" id="page_177"></a> While they are following -these threads which will end in nothing but leading them astray we will -follow our own route with no other confidants, with more security from -our greater secresy. But I do not want to leave the kingdom altogether. -It is hard for a sovereign to get back if he does so. I have decided on -Montmedy as the place of retirement, which is in the centre of your -father’s command and at a suitable distance.”</p> - -<p>“Has your Majesty planned out the flight or is this but a sketch?” -queried the count.</p> - -<p>“Nothing is settled,” replied Louis, “and all depends on circumstances. -If I see the Queen and the Family running fresh dangers from the -ruffians I will take an irrevocable decision.”</p> - -<p>“My father thinks the dangers of the journey will be diminished by -dividing the passengers.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, but it is useless to discuss this point. In a solemn hour the -Queen and I resolved to go together or not at all.”</p> - -<p>The envoy bowed.</p> - -<p>“At the meet moment the King has but to issue the orders to have them -executed,” he said. “Now, for the route. There are three ways to -Montmedy.”</p> - -<p>“I have marked them on the map. The best is through Reims, but I was -consecrated there and would be recognized by many. I choose the Chalons -Road <i>via</i> Vacennes and going round Verdun. Let the regiments be posted -in the petty towns between Chalons and Montmedy: I see no inconvenience -in the first detachment awaiting me in the former place.”</p> - -<p>“Sire, the location of the regiments will have to be settled. By the -way, the King should know that there is no posting-house at Varennes.”</p> - -<p>“I am glad you are so well informed,” observed the King, merrily; “it -shows you have deeply studied the plans. But do not worry about such -matters. Charny is my engineer, who has drawn up the maps and he will -see to the supply of horses.”</p> - -<p>“And now, Sire, that all is arranged on the main lines,” said the young -conspirator, “will your Majesty allow me to quote some lines from an -Italian author, which my father thought appropriate to the situation? -They are:<a name="page_178" id="page_178"></a></p> - -<p>“Delay is always prejudicial, and there is no wholly favorable time in -any business; hence if one were to wait for a perfect chance, nothing -would ever be done, or if done be bungled.”</p> - -<p>“That is Machiavelli,” said the King. “I will remember the advice of -that secretary to the Magnificent Republic of Venice. But hush! I hear -steps—it is Gamain; let us go to meet him so that he may not think we -were busy about something else than the cupboard the lock is for.”</p> - -<p>He opened the secret door, in time, for the master locksmith was there, -with the lock in his hand and a grin on his face.</p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXVII" id="CHAPTER_XXVII"></a>CHAPTER XXVII.<br /><br /> -THE FRIEND OF THE FALLEN.</h2> - -<p>A<small>T</small> eight that same evening, a workingman, holding his hand to his -waistcoat pocket as though it contained money in larger quantity than -usual, staggered out of the Tuileries Palace and meandered along the -road to the Soapworks Wharfside. It was there a strolling ground with -drinking resorts along the line. On Sundays and holidays, it was -thronged; on other days lonesome.</p> - -<p>This man passed the wine-stores with much difficulty but for a period -temperance triumphed; but when it came to the twentieth saloon on the -route, it was too much, and he entered the next one for—only one glass.</p> - -<p>The demon of drink, against whom he had valiantly struggled, seemed -embodied in a stranger who followed him closely and even went into the -saloon with him, sitting opposite and apparently watching him succumb -with glee.</p> - -<p>Five seconds after the workman had resumed his road, this watcher was on -his track.</p> - -<p>But how can the drinkingman stop going downhill when he has taken a -whet, and perceives with the amazement of the toper that nothing makes -one so thirsty as taking a drink?<a name="page_179" id="page_179"></a> Scarcely had he tottered a hundred -paces before his thirst was so sharp that he had to slack it once more.</p> - -<p>The result of these lapses from the path he had previously trod was that -he reached deviously the highway beyond the Passy bars, where he -felicitated himself on the road being tolerably free from temples of the -God of Wine.</p> - -<p>In his gladness he set up singing. Unfortunately the delight was -ephemeral and the song of short duration.</p> - -<p>He fell to muttering and then talking to himself, and the soliloquy was -in the form of imprecations on unknown persecutors of whom the unsteady -sot complained.</p> - -<p>“Oh, the scoundrel! to give an old friend, a master, doctored wine—ugh! -So, just let him send again for me to fix his locks, let him send his -traitor of a workmate who gives me the go-by and I will tell him: ‘It -won’t work this trip! let your Majesty fix up your own locks.’ We shall -see then if a lock is to be turned out as sleek as a decree. Oh, I’ll -give you all you want of locks, with three wards, confound the villain! -the wine was salted, peppered—by heaven, it was poisoned! Hope I may be -saved, but the wine was poisoned!”</p> - -<p>So howling, overcome by the force of the poison, of course, the -unfortunate victim laid himself at full length, not for the first time, -on the road, mercifully carpetted thickly with mud.</p> - -<p>On other occasions the drunkard had scrambled up alone; difficult to do -but he had got through the difficulty with honor; but this third time, -after desperate efforts, he had to confess that the task was beyond him. -With a sigh, much resembling a groan, he seemed decided to sleep for -this night on the bosom of our common Mother Earth.</p> - -<p>No doubt the follower had waited for this period of doubt, -disheartenment and weakness, for he approached him warily, went all -round fallen greatness, and calling a hack, said to the driver:</p> - -<p>“Old man, here’s my friend who has shipped too heavy a cargo. Take this -piece for yourself, help me to put the poor fellow in the straw of your -coach where he will not soil the elegant cushions, and take him to your -wine saloon at Sevres Bridge. I will get up beside you.<a name="page_180" id="page_180"></a>”</p> - -<p>There was nothing surprising that the customer should sit up with the -driver, as he appeared to be one of his sort. So, with the touching -confidence men of the lower classes have for one another, the jarvey -said:</p> - -<p>“All right, but let us have a look at the silver, see!”</p> - -<p>“Here you are, old brother,” ventured the man without being in the least -offended and handing over a six-livre crownpiece.</p> - -<p>“But will there be a little bit beyond the fare for myself, my master?” -inquired the coachman, mollified by the money.</p> - -<p>“That depends how we get along. Let us get the poor chap in; shut the -blinds, try to keep your pair of skeletons on their hoofs, and we will -see when we get to Sevres, how you <i>conducted</i> us!”</p> - -<p>“Now, I call this speaking to the purpose,” returned the knight of the -whip. “Take it easy, master! A nod is as good as a wink. Get upon the -box and keep my Arabian steeds from bolting up the road; no jokes, they -feel the want of a supper and are chafing to race home to the stables. I -will manage the rest.”</p> - -<p>The generous stranger did as he was bid; the driver, with all the -delicacy of which he was susceptible, dragged the sot up by the arms, -jabbed him down between the seats, slammed the door, drew down the -blinds, mounted the box again, and whipped up the barbs. With the -funeral gait of night hack-horses they stumbled through the village of -Point-du-Jour and reached the Sevres Saloon in an hour.</p> - -<p>The house was shut up for the night, but the new-comer jumped down and -applied such blows of the fist to the door that the inhabitants, however -fond of slumber, could not enjoy it long under so much racket. The host, -who was alone, finally got up in his night dress, to see the rioter and -promised to pack him off smartly if the game were not worth the candle.</p> - -<p>Apparently though the value of the game was clear, for, at the first -whisper by the irreverent arouser to the landlord, he plucked off his -cotton nightcap and made bows which his scanty costume rendered -singularly grotesque. He hastened<a name="page_181" id="page_181"></a> to pilot the coachman, lugging -Gamain, into the little taproom where he had once filled himself with -his favorite burgundy.</p> - -<p>As the driver and his steeds had done their best, the stranger gave the -former a piece of money as extra.</p> - -<p>Then seeing that Master Gamain was stuck up in a chair, with his head on -the table before him, he hastened to have the host bring him two bottles -of wine and a decanter of water, and opened the windows and blinds to -change the mephitic air which the common people like to breathe in such -resorts.</p> - -<p>After bringing the wine, with alacrity, and the water, with reluctance, -the host respectfully retired and left the stranger with the drunkard.</p> - -<p>Having renewed the air, as stated, the former clapped smelling salts to -Gamain’s nose which ceased to snore and gave a sneeze. This awakened him -a little from that disgusting sleep of drunkards the sight of which -would cure them—if by a miracle, they could see what they look like at -such periods.</p> - -<p>Gamain opened his eyes widely, and muttered some words, unintelligible -for anybody but the philologist who distinguished by his profound -attention these words:</p> - -<p>“The scoundrel—he—poisoned—poisoned wine——“</p> - -<p>The good Samaritan seemed to see with satisfaction that his ward was -under the same impression: he gave him another sniff of the hartstorn -which permitted the son of Noah to complete the sense of his phrase in -an accusation pointing to an abuse of trust and wanton heartlessness.</p> - -<p>“To poison a friend—an old friend!”</p> - -<p>“That’s so—it is horrible,” observed the other.</p> - -<p>“Infamous,” faltered Gamain.</p> - -<p>“What a good thing I was handy to give you an antidote,” suggested the -hearer.</p> - -<p>“It was lucky,” said the locksmith.</p> - -<p>“But as one dose is not enough, have another,” said the stranger, -putting a few drops from the smelling bottle in a glass of water; it was -ammonia and the man had hardly swallowed the compound than he opened his -eyes immeasurably and gurgled between two sneezes:<a name="page_182" id="page_182"></a></p> - -<p>“Ah, monster, what are you giving us there? augh, augh!”</p> - -<p>“My dear fellow, I am giving you stuff that will save your life,” -returned the kind friend.</p> - -<p>“If it is physic, that is all right,” said Gamain: “but it is a beastly -failure if you call it a drink.”</p> - -<p>The stranger profited by his sneezing again and twitching his features, -shut the blinds though not the windows.</p> - -<p>Looking round him the master locksmith recognized with the profound -gratitude of drinking men for old haunts, the saloon where he had -feasted before. In his frequent trip to town from Versailles, he had not -seldom halted here. It might be thought necessary, as the house was -halfway.</p> - -<p>This gratitude produced its effect: it gave him a great confidence to -find himself on friendly ground.</p> - -<p>“Hurrah, it looks as though I were halfway home anyway,” he exclaimed.</p> - -<p>“Yes, thanks to me,” said the stranger.</p> - -<p>“Thanks to you? why, who are you?” stammered Gamain, looking from still -life to animated things.</p> - -<p>“My dear Gamain, your question shows that you have a poor memory.”</p> - -<p>“Hold on,” said the smith, giving him more attention: “it strikes me -that I have seen you before.”</p> - -<p>“You don’t say so? that is a blessed thing.”</p> - -<p>“Ay, but where—that is the rub.”</p> - -<p>“Look around you, then; something may remind you; or had you better have -some more of the counterbane to refresh you?”</p> - -<p>“No, thank ’ee, I have had enough of that remedy,” said Gamain, -stretching his arms out. “I am so nearly brought round that I will do -without it. Where did I see you? why, in this very spot, of course. And -when? the day I was coming back from doing a special job at Paris—I -seem to be in for this sort of thing,” added he, chuckling.</p> - -<p>“Very well: but who am I?”</p> - -<p>“A jolly honest mate who paid for the liquor. Shake hands!”</p> - -<p>“Good, good, you remember now.<a name="page_183" id="page_183"></a>”</p> - -<p>“With all the more pleasure as it is but a step from Master locksmith to -master gunsmith,” said the other.</p> - -<p>“Ah, good, good, I remember now. Yes, it was the sixth of October, when -the King went to Paris: we talked about him.”</p> - -<p>“And I found your conversation interesting, Master Gamain; so that, as -your memory comes home and I want to enjoy it again, I should like to -know, if I am not too inquisitive, what the deuse you were doing across -the road where a vehicle might have cut you in two? Have you sorrows, -old blade, and had you screwed up your mind to suicide?”</p> - -<p>“Faith, no! What was I doing flat across the road, eh? Was I in the -road?”</p> - -<p>“Look at your clothes.”</p> - -<p>“Whew!” whistled Gamain after the inspection. “Mother Gamain will kick -up a hullabaloo for she said yesterday: ‘Don’t put on your new coat; any -old thing will do for the Tuileries.'”</p> - -<p>“Hello? been to the Tuileries? were you coming from the Tuileries when I -picked you up?” asked the kind soul.</p> - -<p>“Why, yes, that’s about the size of it,” responded Gamain, scratching -his head and trying to collect his entangled ideas; “certainly I was -coming home from the Tuileries. Why not? It is no mystery that I am -master locksmith to Master Veto.”</p> - -<p>“Who is he?”</p> - -<p>“Why, have you come from China? not to know old Veto?”</p> - -<p>“What do you want? I am obliged to stick to my trade, and that is not -politics.”</p> - -<p>“You are blamed lucky! I have to mix up with these high folk—more’s the -pity! or rather, they force me to mix with them. It will be my ruin.” He -sighed as he looked up to heaven.</p> - -<p>“Pshaw! were you called to Paris again to do another piece of work in -the style of that other one?” asked the friend.</p> - -<p>“But this time I was not blindfolded but taken with my eyes open.”</p> - -<p>“So that you knew it was the Tuileries this time?”</p> - -<p>“The Tuileries? who said anything about the Tuileries?”</p> - -<p>“Why, you, of course, just now. How would I know where you had been -carousing had you not told me?<a name="page_184" id="page_184"></a>”</p> - -<p>“That is true,” muttered Gamain to himself; “how should he, unless I -told him? Perhaps,” he said aloud, “I was wrong to let you know; but you -are not like the rest. Besides I am not going to deny that I was at the -Tuileries.”</p> - -<p>“And you did some work for the King, for which he gave you twenty five -louis,” went on the other.</p> - -<p>“Indeed, I had twenty-five shiners in my pouch,” said Gamain.</p> - -<p>“Then, you have got them now, my friend.”</p> - -<p>The smith quickly plunged his hand into his pocket and pulled it out -full of gold mixed with small change in silver and bronze.</p> - -<p>“To think that I had forgot it! twenty-five is a good bit, too—and it -is right to the ‘broken’ louis—one does not pick up such a lot under -the horse’s foot. Thank God the account is correct.” And he breathed -more freely.</p> - -<p>“My dear Master Gamain, I told you I found you on the King’s highway, -not twenty paces from a heavy wagon which would have cut you in twain. I -shouted for the carrier to pull up; I called a passing cab; I unhooked -one of the lamps and as I looked at you by its light, I caught sight of -a gold piece on the ground; as they were near your pocket, I judged that -you had dropped them. I put my finger in the pocket and as there were a -score of their brothers in bed there I guessed that these were of the -same brood. Thereupon the hack driver shook his head. ‘I ain’t going to -take this fare,’ said he: ‘he is too rich for his dress. Twenty louis in -gold in a cotton waistcoat suggests that the gallows will be his end.’ -‘What,’ says I, ‘do you take him for a thief?’ The word struck you, for -you says. ‘Thief? you are another!’ says you. ‘So you must be a prig,’ -returned the coachman, ‘or how would the likes of you have a pocket -gold-lined, say?’</p> - -<p>“'I have money because my pupil the King of France gave it me,’ said -you. By these words I thought I recognized you, and clasping the lamp to -your nose, I cried: ‘Bless us and save us: all is clear; this is Master -Gamain, master locksmith at Versailles. He has been working in the royal -forge and the King has given him twenty-five mint-drops for his trouble. -All right: I will answer for him.’ From the moment that I<a name="page_185" id="page_185"></a> answered for -you, the driver raised no objections. I replaced the coins in your -pocket; we laid you snugly in the hack; and we set you down in this -retreat so that you have nothing to complain of except that your -‘prentice left you in the lurch.”</p> - -<p>“Did I speak of my ’prentice? that he left me in the lurch?” questioned -Gamain, more and more astonished.</p> - -<p>“Why, hang it all, are you going back on what you said? Did you not -growl that it was all the fault of—of—dash me if I can remember the -name you used.”</p> - -<p>“Louis Lecomte?”</p> - -<p>“I guess that was it. Did you not say: ‘Louis Lecomte is in fault! for -he promised to see me safe home and at the last moment he dropped me -like a hot roll?'”</p> - -<p>“I daresay I did so, for it is the blessed truth.”</p> - -<p>“Then, why do you deny the truth? let me tell you, that with another -than me, such chatter would be dangerous?”</p> - -<p>“But with you, one is safe, eh? with a regular friend,” said the smith, -coaxingly.</p> - -<p>“Lord, you have lots of trust in your friend. You say yes and you say -no; you wiggle and waver so that none knows how to have you. It is like -your fable t’other day about the secret door that a nobleman had you fit -on the strict quiet.”</p> - -<p>“Then you will not believe this tale either, for it also hangs upon a -door.”</p> - -<p>“In the palace?”</p> - -<p>“In the King’s palace. Only instead of its being a clothes-press door, -or rather that of a safe in the wall, it is a cupboard door this time.”</p> - -<p>“Are you gaming me that the King, while he certainly dabbles in -locksmithery, sent for you to do up a door?”</p> - -<p>“He did, though. Poor fellow, he thought he was smart enough to get on -without me, and began to make a lock. ‘What good is Gamain anyhow?’ but -he got mixed up with the works in the lock and had to fall back on -Gamain after all.”</p> - -<p>“So you were hunted up by one of his trusty flunkeys, Hue, or Durey or -Weber, eh?”</p> - -<p>“That is just where you make a mistake. He has taken a green hand on to -help him, who is as much of an amateur as<a name="page_186" id="page_186"></a> himself; a young sprig who -popped in upon me one morning at Versailles, and says he: ‘Look here, -Daddy Gamain, the King and me tried to make a lock, and by Jove we have -made a muddle of it. The old thing won’t work! ‘What have I to do with -it?’ I wanted to know. ‘You are wanted to set it right,’ says he, and as -I said that it was a plant and he did not come from the King, he slaps -some gold on the bench and says: ‘Is not this earnest enough? here are -twenty-five louis which the King sends you to remove any doubts.’ He -gave me them, too.”</p> - -<p>“So these are what you are sporting round with you?”</p> - -<p>“No: these are another lot. These were for traveling expenses and a sort -of a payment on account!”</p> - -<p>“Fifty louis for filing up an old lock? there is a snake in the grass, -Friend Gamain.”</p> - -<p>“Just what I said to myself: particularly as the ’prentice does not seem -a regular craftsman but dodged my question about work and where you stop -when you are on tramp in France, as well as who is Mother Marianne.”</p> - -<p>“But you are not the man to be taken in when you see a boy at work.”</p> - -<p>“I do not say so much as that. The lad plied the file and the chisel -handily. I have seen him cut a rod of iron through velean at a blow, and -put a hole in a band with a rattail file as if using a gimlet on a lath. -But there is more theory than practice about his style: he no sooner -finishes the job than he washed his hands, and what hands? so white that -never did a locksmith boast the like. You don’t see me scrubbing my -hands till they are white!”</p> - -<p>With pride he showed his grubby, black and callous hands which indeed -seemed to defy all the cosmetics and skin-bleaches in the world.</p> - -<p>“But in short what did you do when you got to the King’s?” asked the -other, bringing the man to the point most interesting to him.</p> - -<p>“It looked as though we were expected: in the forge the King showed me a -lock commenced not badly, but he had got in a corner. It was one with -three wards, d’ye see, which few locksmiths can grapple with and royal -ones least<a name="page_187" id="page_187"></a> of all. I looked at it and saw where the key caught. ‘All -right,’ I says; ‘let me alone with it for an hour and it will work as if -greased,’ ‘Go ahead,’ said the King, ‘consider yourself at home; call -for anything you like while we get the cupboard ready on which the lock -goes.’ On which he went out with the imp of a ’prentice.”</p> - -<p>“By the main stairs?” queried the gunsmith carelessly.</p> - -<p>“No: by a secret one leading to his study. When I got through, I had -done something, too; I said to myself: ‘It is all bosh about this here -cupboard; they are laying their heads together for some mischief.’ So I -crept down softly and opening the study door, I got a glimpse of what -they were up to.”</p> - -<p>“And what were they up to?” inquired the gunsmith.</p> - -<p>“Well, I did not catch them in the act, for they must have heard me -coming, for I have not the light step of a dancer. They pretended to be -up and coming to me, and the King said, ‘Oh this is you, and you have -finished? Come along for I have something else for you to do.’ So he -hurried me through the study, but not so fast that I did not spy spread -out on a table a big map which I believe to be France on account of a -lily-flower printed in one corner. From the midst three rows of pins ran -out to the edges like files of soldiers, for they were stuck in at -regular spaces.”</p> - -<p>“Really, you are wonderfully sharp,” said the stranger in affected -admiration: “So you believe that instead of bothering about their -cupboard, they were busy with this map?”</p> - -<p>“I am sure of it: the pins had wax heads of different colors, black, -blue and red; and the King was using a red one to pick his teeth with, -without thinking what he was about.”</p> - -<p>“Gamain, if I discovered some new kind of gun, hang me if I would let -you come into my workshop, even to pass through it, or I would bandage -your eyes as on the day you were taken to the great nobleman’s house -though you did perceive that the house had ten steps to the stoop and -that it fronted on the main avenue.”</p> - -<p>“Wait a bit,” said the smith, enchanted at the eulogies; “you have not -heard all—there is really a safe in the wall.”</p> - -<p>“What wall?<a name="page_188" id="page_188"></a>”</p> - -<p>“Of the inner corridor running from the royal alcove to the young -prince’s room.”</p> - -<p>“What you say is very queer. And was this safe open?”</p> - -<p>“Is it likely? I squinted round in all ways but it was no use my asking -myself: ‘Where on earth is this secret press?’ Then the King gave me a -look and says he: ‘Gamain, I have always had trust in you. So I would -not let anybody but you know the secret.’ While speaking, the King -lifted a panel, while the boy held a light, for the corridor has no -windows, and showed me a two foot round hole. Seeing my astonishment, he -winked to our companion and said: ‘Do you see that hole, my friend; I -made it to keep money in; this young fellow helped me during the four or -five days he has been staying in the palace. Now we want the lock put on -the panel so that it will be hidden and not interfere with its sliding. -Do you want an aid, in which case this young man will help you? or can -you do without? if so I will set him to work elsewhere. ‘Tut,’ I said, -‘you know that I like to go alone when I am the job. It is four hour’s -work for a good hand but I am a master and will be through in three. Go -and attend to your work, young fellow; and your Majesty may stick to -his. And in three hours fetch along anything you want kept in this -meat-safe.’</p> - -<p>“We may believe the young chap had other fish to fry, for I saw nothing -more of him: but when the time was up, the King came back. ‘U. P., it is -all UP!’ said I, and I made him see that the door slid without the lock -being in the way as neat as the Automatons of Vaucanson. ‘Good,’ said -he; ‘just help me count the cash I am going to bestow here.’ A valet -brought four fine bags of coin and we reckoned a million a-piece; there -were twenty-and-five over. ‘There you are, Gamain,’ said the King, ‘Take -them for your trouble!’ as though it was not disgraceful to give an old -mate a beggarly twenty-five—a man with five children, and he has been -handling two millions! What do you think of that?”</p> - -<p>“The truth is that this is mean,” said the other, shrugging his -shoulders.</p> - -<p>“Wait, this is not all. I put the coin in my pocket and said. ‘I thank -your Majesty: but Lord love you, I have not<a name="page_189" id="page_189"></a> had sup or bite since -morning and I am ready to burst!’ I had barely finished before the Queen -walked in by a secret door, so that she was on the top of us without -saying Lookout! She had a platter in her hand with a cake and a glass on -it.</p> - -<p>“'My dear Gamain, as you are hungry and thirsty, try our wine and cake!’ -‘Sorry to trouble you, Royal Madam,’ I said, but just think of a drop -like that and a mouthful of wine like that fancy cake for a man. What do -you expect sensible in that line from a Queen, though? it is plain that -such folks are never really hungry and athirst. A glass of wine—oh, -dear!”</p> - -<p>“So you refused it?”</p> - -<p>“It would have been better if I had; but I drank. As for the cake I -rolled it up in my handkerchief, saying ‘What is no good for the father -will do for the children.’ Then I thanked his Majesty, as though it were -worth thanks, and I started off, saying that they will not catch me in -their old palace in a hurry again.”</p> - -<p>“And why do you say you had better have refused the drink?”</p> - -<p>“Because they had put poison in it! Hardly had I got over the bridge -before I was seized by thirst, such a raging thirst that between the -liquor saloons and the river, I balanced myself. I could tell it was -queer stuff they gave me for the more I took the thirstier I was. This -kept on with my trying to correct that dose till I lost my senses. They -may be easy on this score: if ever they come to me for a good character, -I will say they gave me twenty-five louis for four hours’ work and -counting a million, and for fear I should tell where they keep their -treasure, they poisoned me like a dog!”</p> - -<p>“And I, my dear Gamain,” said the hearer, rising as though he had all -the information he wanted: “I will support your evidence by swearing -that I saved you with the antidote.”</p> - -<p>“That is why we are sworn comrades till death do us part,” exclaimed the -smith, grasping the speaker’s hands.</p> - -<p>Refusing with Spartan sobriety the wine which his friend offered him for -the third or fourth time—for the amoniacal dose had sobered him as well -as disgusted him with drink for a time, Gamain took the road for -Versailles where he arrived<a name="page_190" id="page_190"></a> safely at two in the morning with the -King’s coin in his pocket and the Queen’s cake in another.</p> - -<p>Left behind in the saloon, the pretended gunsmith drew out a set of -tablets mounted in diamonds and gold, and wrote with fluid-ink pencil -these two notes:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>“An iron safe behind the King’s alcove, in the unlighted passage -leading to the prince’s rooms. Make sure whether Louis Lecomte, -locksmith’s boy, is not really Count Louis, son of Marquis Bouille, -arrived eleven days ago from Metz.”</p></div> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXVIII" id="CHAPTER_XXVIII"></a>CHAPTER XXVIII.<br /><br /> -THE FIRST GUILLOTINE.</h2> - -<p>O<small>N</small> Christmas Eve, a party was given at the Princess Lamballe’s, which -the Queen’s presiding over made it really her own reception.</p> - -<p>Isidore Charny had returned from Italy that morning and he had found -King and Queen very kind to him. Two reasons influenced the latter: one -his being the brother of Count Charny, which was a charm in his absence, -and his bringing back news from the fugitive princes which suited her -wishes.</p> - -<p>They backed the Favras scheme and urged her to flee for Turin.</p> - -<p>He left her only to go and acquaint Favras with the encouragement. The -Queen had said nothing positive about the flight: but he took enough to -the conspirator to fill him with joy. For the rest, the cash was in -hand, the men notified to stand ready, and the King would only have to -nod to have the whole plot set in motion.</p> - -<p>The silence of the royal couple was the only thing which worried him. -The Queen broke this by sending Isidore, and vague as were the words he -repeated, they acquired weight from coming out of a royal mouth.</p> - -<p>At nine the young viscount went to Lady Lamballe’s.</p> - -<p>Count Provence was uneasy; Count Louis Narbonne walked<a name="page_191" id="page_191"></a> about with the -ease of a man quite at home among princes. Isidore was not known to any -of the circle of the princes’ bosom friends, but his well-known name and -the partiality accorded him by the princess led to all hands being held -out to him.</p> - -<p>Besides, he brought news from the foreign refuge where so many had -relatives.</p> - -<p>When he had delivered his budget, the conversation returned to its -former channel; the young men were laughing about a machine for -executing criminals which Dr. Guillotin had shown in a full size working -model and had proposed to the National Assembly.</p> - -<p>When an usher announced the King, and another the Queen, of course all -the merriment and chatter ceased.</p> - -<p>The more the revolutionary spirit stripped majesty of its eternals the -more the true royalists vied with each other to pour evidences of -respect upon the august chiefs. 1789 saw great ingratitude, but 1793 -great devotion.</p> - -<p>To talk over the Favras scheme in secret a whist party was made up of -the two rulers, Provence and Charny for the fourth hand. Respect -isolated the table.</p> - -<p>“Brother,” said the Queen, “Lord Charny, who comes from Turin, says that -our kinsfolk there are begging us to join them.”</p> - -<p>The King gave a stamp with impatience.</p> - -<p>“I entreat you to listen,” whispered Lady Elizabeth, who sat on a stool.</p> - -<p>“Listen to what?”</p> - -<p>“That Lord Charny has also seen the Marquis Favras since he came home, a -gentleman whose lealty we know, and he says that the King has but to say -a word,” went on the Queen, “or make a sign, and this very night, you -will be at Peronne.”</p> - -<p>The King kept still. His brother twisted a jack of hearts all to rags.</p> - -<p>“Repeat this as the marquis put it,” said he to Isidore.</p> - -<p>“Your Majesty, thanks to measures taken by Marquis Favras, he declares -that the King has but the cue to give to be in safety in Peronne this -blessed night.<a name="page_192" id="page_192"></a>”</p> - -<p>Turning sharply on his brother, the King said as he fixed his eyes on -him:</p> - -<p>“Are you coming if I go?”</p> - -<p>“I” said the other, turning pale and trembling. “I have not been -notified, and I have made no preparations.”</p> - -<p>“You know nothing about it, and yet you found the money for Favras?” -exclaimed the monarch. “You not notified, and the moves in the game have -been reported to you hour by hour?”</p> - -<p>“The game?” faltered the prince.</p> - -<p>“The plot; for it is one of those plots for which, if discovered, Favras -will be tried and doomed to death—unless by money and other means we -save him as we did Bezenval.”</p> - -<p>“Then you will save Favras.”</p> - -<p>“No; for I might not be able to do as much for him. Besides, Bezenval -was my liege as Favras is yours. Let each save his own man, and both of -us shall have done our duty.”</p> - -<p>He rose, but the Queen retained him by the skirt of the coat.</p> - -<p>“Sire, whether you accept or refuse, you owe the marquis an answer. What -is Viscount Charny to answer for the King?”</p> - -<p>“That the King does not allow himself to be spirited away like a slave -for the Louisiana plantations.” He disengaged his coat.</p> - -<p>“This means,” said Provence, “that the King will not allow of the -abduction but if it be executed in spite of his permission, it will be -welcome. In politics success condones the crime and blunderers deserve -double punishment.”</p> - -<p>“Viscount,” said the Queen, “tell the marquis what you heard and let him -act as he thinks it points. Go.”</p> - -<p>The King had gone over to where the younger men were so hilariously -chatting; but the deepest silence fell at his approach.</p> - -<p>“Is the King so unhappy that he casts melancholy around him?” he -demanded.</p> - -<p>“Sire!” muttered the gentlemen.</p> - -<p>“You were very merry when the Queen and I came in. It is a bad thing for -kings when no one dares laugh before them.<a name="page_193" id="page_193"></a> I may say the converse: -‘Happy are the kings before whom laughter resounds.'”</p> - -<p>“Sire,” returned one, “the subject is not one for a comic opera.”</p> - -<p>“Of what were you talking?”</p> - -<p>“Sire, I yield the guilty one to your Majesty,” said another, stepping -forward.</p> - -<p>“Oh, it is you, Editor Suleau,” said the King. “I have read the last -number of your journal the Acts of the Apostles. Take care that you do -not offend Master Populus.”</p> - -<p>“I only said that our Revolution is going so slowly that it has to help -on that in Brabant. We are lamenting the dulness of the session of the -Assembly where they had to take up the motion of Dr. Guillotin upon—of -all things—a new machine for public executions.”</p> - -<p>“Are you making fun of Dr. Guillotin—a philanthropist? remember that I -am one myself.”</p> - -<p>“There are various kinds; the sort I approve of has a representative at -the head of the French Nation—the one who abolished torture before -trial: we venerate, nay, we love him.”</p> - -<p>The hearers bowed with the same impulse.</p> - -<p>“But,” proceeded Suleau, “there are others who try to find means to kill -the hale while they had a thousand to send the ailing out of this life. -I beg your Majesty to let me deal with them?”</p> - -<p>“What would you do? decapitate them painlessly, or at least merely give -a slight coolness round the neck?” inquired the King, quoting Dr. -Guillotin’s recommendation of his invention.</p> - -<p>“Sire, I should like all of these inventors to have the first experiment -tried on themselves. I do not complain that Marigny was hanged on the -Gibbet of Montfaucon which he built. I am not asking, I am not even a -judge; the probability is that I shall have to take my revenge on Dr. -Guillotin in the columns of my paper. I will give him a whole number and -propose that the machine shall bear his name for eternity, the -Guillotine!”</p> - -<p>“Ha, ha, the Guillotine!” exclaimed the men, without waiting for express -permission to laugh.<a name="page_194" id="page_194"></a></p> - -<p>“I shall assert, also, that life is divided not extinguished by this -process,” continued Suleau; “why may not the sufferer feel pain in the -head and the trunk after being cut in two?”</p> - -<p>“This is a question for medical men. Did none of us here witness the -experiment this very morning at Bicetre madhouse?” asked the King.</p> - -<p>“No, no, no!” cried many voices.</p> - -<p>“Sire, I was there,” said one grave voice.</p> - -<p>“Oh; it is you? Dr. Gilbert,” said the sovereign, turning.</p> - -<p>“Yes, Sire.”</p> - -<p>“And how did the experiment succeed?”</p> - -<p>“Perfectly in two instances; but at the third the instrument, though it -severed the spine, did not detach the head. They had to finish with a -knife.”</p> - -<p>The young gentlemen listened with frightened eyes and parted lips.</p> - -<p>“Three executions this morning?” exclaimed Charles Lameth, who with his -brother had not yet turned against the Queen.</p> - -<p>“Yes, gentlemen,” said the King; “but they were three corpses furnished -by the hospitals. What is your opinion of the instrument?”</p> - -<p>“An improvement on such machines; but the accident at the third -experiment proves that it stands in need of improvement still.”</p> - -<p>“What is it like?” asked the royal locksmith who had a bias for -machines.</p> - -<p>Gilbert helped his explanation out by drawing a sketch on a sheet of -paper at a table. The King saw how curious the bystanders were and -allowed them to come near.</p> - -<p>“Who knows,” said Suleau obeying, “but that one of us may make the -acquaintance of Lady Guillotine?”</p> - -<p>Laughing, they pressed round the board where the King, taking the pen -from Dr. Gilbert, said:</p> - -<p>“No wonder the experience failed, particularly after awhile. The cutting -blade is crescent-shaped whereas it ought to be triangular to sever a -resisting substance. See here: shape your knife thus, and I wager that -you would cut me off<a name="page_195" id="page_195"></a> twenty-four heads one after another without the -edge turning up.”</p> - -<p>He had scarcely finished the words before a heart-rending scream was -heard. The Queen had been attracted to the group of which the King and -his corrected sketch were the centre. She beheld the same instrument -which had been presented her in its likeness in a glass of water by -Balsamo the Magician twenty years before!</p> - -<p>At the view she had no strength to do more than scream, and life -abandoning her as though she were under the blade, she swooned in the -arms of Dr. Gilbert.</p> - -<p>It is easily understood that this incident broke up the party.</p> - -<p>Gilbert attended to the royal patient who was given the bed of the -princess. When the crisis was over, which he rightly attributed to a -mental cause, he was going out but she bade him stay.</p> - -<p>“Therese,” she added to Lady Lamballe, “tell the King that I have come -to: and do not let us be interrupted: I must speak with the doctor. -Doctor,” she pursued when they were alone, “are you not astonished that -chance seems to place us face to face in all the crises moral or -physical of my life?”</p> - -<p>“As I do not know whether to be sorry or to be glad for it, since I read -in your mind that the contact is not through your wish or your will.”</p> - -<p>“That is why I said chance. I like to be frank. But the last time we -were in contiguity, you showed true devotion and I thank you and shall -never forget it.”</p> - -<p>He bowed.</p> - -<p>“I am also a physiognomist. Do you know that you have said without -speaking: ‘That is over; let us change the subject.'”</p> - -<p>“At least I felt the desire to be put to the test.”</p> - -<p>“Doctor, what do you think of the recent event?” inquired Marie -Antoinette as though this was interlinked with what she had spoken.</p> - -<p>“Madam, the daughter of Maria Theresa is not one of the women who faint -at trifles.”</p> - -<p>“Do you believe in forewarnings?<a name="page_196" id="page_196"></a>”</p> - -<p>“Science repels all phenomena tending to upset the prevailing order of -things; still, facts offtimes give the lie to science.”</p> - -<p>“I ought to have said; do you believe in predictions?”</p> - -<p>“I believe that the Supreme Being has benevolently covered the future -with an impenetrable veil. Still,” he went on as if making an effort -over himself to meet questions which he wished relegated into doubt, “I -know a man who sometimes confounds all the arguments of my intelligence -by irrefutable facts. I dare not name him before your Majesty.”</p> - -<p>“It is your master, the immortal, the all-powerful, the divine -Cagliostro, is it not, Dr. Gilbert?”</p> - -<p>“Madam, my only master is Nature. Cagliostro is but my saver. Pierced by -a bullet in the chest, losing all my blood by a wound which I, a -physician, after twenty years study, must pronounce incurable, he cured -me in a few days by a salve of which I know not the composition: hence -my gratitude to him, I will almost say my admiration.”</p> - -<p>“And this man makes predictions which are accomplished?”</p> - -<p>“Strange and incredible ones; he moves in the present with a certainty -which makes one believe in his knowledge of the future.”</p> - -<p>“So that you would believe if he forecast to you?”</p> - -<p>“I should at least act as though it might happen.”</p> - -<p>“Would you prepare to meet a shameful, terrible and untimely death if he -foreshowed it?”</p> - -<p>“After having tried to escape it by all manner of means,” rejoined -Gilbert, looking steadily at her.</p> - -<p>“Escape? No, doctor, no! I see that I am doomed,” said the Queen. “This -revolution is a gulf in which will be swallowed up the throne: this -people is a lion to devour me.”</p> - -<p>“Yet it depends on you to have it couch at your feet like a lamb.”</p> - -<p>“Doctor, all is broken between the people and me; I am hated and -scorned.”</p> - -<p>“Because you do not really know each other. Cease to be a queen and -become a mother to them; forget you are daughter of Maria Theresa, our -ancient enemy, the sister of Joseph<a name="page_197" id="page_197"></a> our false friend. Be French, and -you will hear the voices rise to bless you, and see arms held out to -fondle you.”</p> - -<p>“I know all this,” she replied contemptuously; “fawning one day, they -tear the next.”</p> - -<p>“Because aware of resistance to their will, and hatred opposed to their -love.”</p> - -<p>“Does this destructive element know whether it loves or hates? it -destroys like the wind, the sea and fire, and has womanly caprices.”</p> - -<p>“Because you see it from on high, like the man in the lighthouse views -the ocean. Did you go down in the depths you would see how steady it is. -What more obedient than the vast mass to the movement of the tides. You -are Queen over the French, madam, and yet you know not what passes in -France. Raise your veil instead of keeping it down, and you will admire -instead of dreading.”</p> - -<p>“What would I see so very splendid?”</p> - -<p>“The New World blooming over the wreck of the Old; the cradle of Free -France floating on a sea wider than the Mediterranean—than the ocean. O -God protect you, little bark—O God shield you, babe of promise, -France!”</p> - -<p>Little of an enthusiast as Gilbert was he raised his eyes and hands -heavenward.</p> - -<p>The Queen eyed him with astonishment for she did not understand.</p> - -<p>“Fine words,” she sneered. “I thought you philosophers had run them down -to dust.”</p> - -<p>“No, great deeds have killed them,” returned Gilbert. “Whither tends old -France? to the unity of the country. There are no longer provinces, but -all French.”</p> - -<p>“What are you driving at? that your united thirty millions of rebels -should form a universal federation against their King and Queen?”</p> - -<p>“Do not deceive yourself: it is not the people who are rebels but the -rulers who have rebelled against them. If you go to one of the feasts -which the people hold, you will see that they hail a little child on an -altar—emblem of the new birth of liberty. Italy, Spain, Ireland, -Poland, all the down-trodden look towards this child and hold out their -enchained<a name="page_198" id="page_198"></a> hands, saying: ‘France, we shall be free because of you.’ -Madam, if it be still time, take this child and make yourself its -mother.”</p> - -<p>“You forget that I am the mother of others, and I ought not do as you -suggest—disinherit them in favor of a stranger.”</p> - -<p>“If thus it be,” replied Gilbert with profound sorrow, “wrap your -children up in your royal robe, in the war-cloak of Maria Theresa, and -carry them with you far from France; for you spoke the truth in saying -that the people will devour you and your offspring with you. But there -is no time to lose—make haste!”</p> - -<p>“You will not oppose?”</p> - -<p>“I will further you in the departure.”</p> - -<p>“Nothing could fall more timely,” said the Queen, “for we have a -nobleman ready to act in this escape——“</p> - -<p>“Do you mean Marquis Favras?” demanded Gilbert, with apprehension.</p> - -<p>“Who breathed you his name—who communicated to you his project?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, have a care, for a bloody prediction pursued him also.”</p> - -<p>“Of the same Prophet? what fate awaits him?”</p> - -<p>“Untimely, terrible and infamous like that you mentioned.”</p> - -<p>“Then you speak truly—no time must be lost in giving the lie to this -prophet of evil.”</p> - -<p>“You were going to tell Favras that you accepted his aid?”</p> - -<p>“He was advised and I am awaiting his reply.”</p> - -<p>She had not long to wait, for Isidore Charny was ushered in by the -Princess Lamballe.</p> - -<p>“I am told that I may speak before Dr. Gilbert,” said he. “Then, know -that Marquis Favras was arrested an hour ago and imprisoned in the -Chatelet.”</p> - -<p>Bright but despairing and full of ire, the Queen’s glance crossed that -of the doctor. All her wrath seemed spent in that flash.</p> - -<p>“Madam,” said Gilbert with deep pity, “if I can be useful in any way, -make use of me. I lay at your feet my mind, my life, my devotion.”</p> - -<p>“Dr. Gilbert,” she said in a slow and resigned voice, “is it<a name="page_199" id="page_199"></a> your -opinion that the death given by this dread engine is as sweet as the -inventor asserts?”</p> - -<p>He sighed and hid his face in his hands.</p> - -<p>As the news of Favras’ arrest had circulated over the palace in a few -seconds, Count Provence went to his brother. His advice was that Favras -should be repudiated and the King take the oath to the Constitution.</p> - -<p>“But how can I swear fidelity to an incomplete Constitution?”</p> - -<p>“The more easily,” replied the schemer, with his false squint which came -from the darkest sinuosities of his soul.</p> - -<p>“I will,” said the King: “this does not prevent my writing to Marquis -Bouille that our plan is postponed. This will give Charny time to -regulate the route.”</p> - -<p>For his part, Provence acted on part of his own suggestion: he -repudiated Favras and received the thanks of the Assembly.</p> - -<p>Favras was left alone save for Cagliostro who perhaps felt a little -remorse that he had let the bravest in the conspiracy go so far in a -mission which he had foredoomed to failure. But Favras would not accept -rescue and met his death by hanging with unblemished courage and honor.</p> - -<p>The King took the oath, as he had promised his brother, to the -Constitution, yet in embryo. If he loved it so dearly already, what -would he do when it was in shape?</p> - -<p>The ten days following were days of rejoicing; joy in the Assembly; calm -in Paris; altars built all over the town for passers to take oath after -the royal precedent.</p> - -<p>The Assembly commanded a Te Deum to be chanted in the Cathedral, where -all gathered to renew the oath in solemnity.</p> - -<p>“Why did you not go to the church?” sneered the Queen to her husband.</p> - -<p>“Because I do not object to lying for a purpose, but I do not mean to -perjure myself,” said Louis XVI.</p> - -<p>The Queen breathed again for until then she had believed in the -monarch’s honesty. She felt empowered by this perfidy to take the same -path and it was after giving her hand for Mirabeau to kiss that this new -leader for the court party vowed that the monarchy was saved.<a name="page_200" id="page_200"></a></p> - -<p>Her forehead was swathed in a wet bandage, her eyes were wandering and -her face flushed with fever. Amongst the incoherent words, the farmer -thought he could distinguish the name of Isidore.</p> - -<p>“I see that it is good time that I came home,” he muttered.</p> - -<p>He went forth, and was followed by Pitou, but Dr. Raynal detained the -latter.</p> - -<p>“I want you my lad,” he said, “to help Mother Clement hold the patient -while I bleed her for the third time.”</p> - -<p>“The third time?” cried Mrs. Billet, awaking from her dulness. “Do you -hear that, my man, they bleed her for the third time.”</p> - -<p>“Woman, this would not have happened had you looked after your daughter -closer,” said the farmer in a stern voice.</p> - -<p>He went to his room, from which he had been absent three months while -Pitou entered the sick room.</p> - -<p>Pitou was astonished but he would have felt more so if he had guessed -that the doctor called him in as a moral remedy.</p> - -<p>The doctor had noticed two names as used by the girl in her frenzy, Ange -Pitou and Isidore Charny, and he soon distinguished that one was a -friend’s and the other a dearer one. He concluded that Pitou was the -lovers’ confidant and that there would be no inconvenience in the -gallant’s friend being there to speak with the patient on the mutual -acquaintance.</p> - -<p>Everybody knew down here that Valence Charny had been killed at -Versailles and that his eldest brother had called away Isidore on the -next evening.</p> - -<p>That night Pitou found Catherine fainted on the high road. When she -revived on the farm, it was to be in a fever, and she raved of some one -riding away whom the doctor judged to be Isidore Charny.</p> - -<p>The greatest need to a brain-stricken invalid is calm. To learn about -her lover would best calm Catherine, and she would ask the news of their -friend, Pitou.</p> - -<p>On seeing the good effect of the bleeding, the doctor stationed Mother -Clement by her side, with the strange recommendation for her to get some -sleep, and beckoned Pitou to follow him into the kitchen.<a name="page_201" id="page_201"></a></p> - -<p>Her forehead was swathed in a wet bandage, her eyes were wandering and -her face flushed with fever. Amongst the incoherent words, the farmer -thought he could distinguish the name of Isidore.</p> - -<p>“I see that it is good time that I came home,” he muttered.</p> - -<p>He went forth, and was followed by Pitou, but Dr. Raynal detained the -latter.</p> - -<p>“I want you my lad,” he said, “to help Mother Clement hold the patient -while I bleed her for the third time.”</p> - -<p>“The third time?” cried Mrs. Billet, awaking from her dulness. “Do you -hear that, my man, they bleed her for the third time.”</p> - -<p>“Woman, this would not have happened had you looked after your daughter -closer,” said the farmer in a stern voice.</p> - -<p>He went to his room, from which he had been absent three months while -Pitou entered the sick room.</p> - -<p>Pitou was astonished but he would have felt more so if he had guessed -that the doctor called him in as a moral remedy.</p> - -<p>The doctor had noticed two names as used by the girl in her frenzy, Ange -Pitou and Isidore Charny, and he soon distinguished that one was a -friend’s and the other a dearer one. He concluded that Pitou was the -lovers’ confidant and that there would be no inconvenience in the -gallant’s friend being there to speak with the patient on the mutual -acquaintance.</p> - -<p>Everybody knew down here that Valence Charny had been killed at -Versailles and that his eldest brother had called away Isidore on the -next evening.</p> - -<p>That night Pitou found Catherine fainted on the high road. When she -revived on the farm, it was to be in a fever, and she raved of some one -riding away whom the doctor judged to be Isidore Charny.</p> - -<p>The greatest need to a brain-stricken invalid is calm. To learn about -her lover would best calm Catherine, and she would ask the news of their -friend, Pitou.</p> - -<p>On seeing the good effect of the bleeding, the doctor stationed Mother -Clement by her side, with the strange recommendation for her to get some -sleep, and beckoned Pitou to follow him into the kitchen.<a name="page_202" id="page_202"></a></p> - -<p>“Cheer up, mother,” said he to Mrs. Billet who was mooning in the -chimney corner, “she is going on as well as possible.”</p> - -<p>“It is very hard that a mother cannot care for her child,” said the -farmer’s wife.</p> - -<p>“You are too fragile—we should only have you ill. She will get along -finely with Mother Clement and Ange to look after her.”</p> - -<p>“Ange?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, he has a leaning toward medicine and I shall make him my -assistant. He is coming over to my place now to get a soothing potion -made up. He will bring it back and direct the administration of it. He -will remain on duty here, to run over to me with the news of any -change.”</p> - -<p>“You know best, doctor; but give the poor father a word of your hope.”</p> - -<p>“Where is he?”</p> - -<p>“In the next room.”</p> - -<p>“Useless,” said a voice on the threshold, “I have heard all.”</p> - -<p>As though this was all he wanted, the pale-faced farmer withdrew and -offered no opposition to this ruling of the house by the medical -adviser.</p> - -<p>The latter was not a light of science but he was a keen observer.</p> - -<p>He had seen that Pitou would be the best confidant to place before his -patient’s eyes as soon as they opened to life and reason.</p> - -<p>He was able with the first words to reassure her upon Isidore’s health. -There was no rioting in Paris and the young noble had gone off to Italy -as a messenger.</p> - -<p>He was sure to write to Catherine, she said, and she authorized him to -go to the post for the letter.</p> - -<p>As Pitou on the farm ate and drank with his accustomed appetite Billet -did not suspect the treacherous part he was playing.</p> - -<p>Consoled by the progress the girl made after the receipt of the beloved -letter, Pitou was enabled to proceed with his public work.</p> - -<p>With the money Gilbert gave him, he equipped the Haramont<a name="page_203" id="page_203"></a> National -Guards with new suits; this was for the ceremony of the Federation of -Villers Cotterets and other villages of the canton, to be held on a -following Sunday.</p> - -<p>At this prospect of uniforms, the Guards assembled with their two -minstrels and gave their liberal leader a serenade, interspersed with -fire-crackers and cheers, among which was to be heard a voice or two, -slightly tipsy, shouting:</p> - -<p>“Long live Pitou, the Hero of the People!”</p> - -<p>Remembering the impression the Haramont National Guard had created when -they had hats alike, you can appreciate the justice in the roar of -admiration when they appeared in uniforms, and what a dashing air the -captain must have worn, with his little cap cocked over one ear, his -gorget shining on his breast, his catspaws, as the epaules were -irreverently called, and his sword.</p> - -<p>Aunt Angelique could hardly identify her nephew who almost rode her down -on his white horse.</p> - -<p>But he saluted her with a wave of the sword and left her crushed by the -honor.</p> - -<p>Recalling that the tailor had boasted of the order which Pitou had paid, -she thought he had come home a millionaire.</p> - -<p>“I must not quarrel with him,” she mumbled: “aunts inherit from -nephews.”</p> - -<p>Alas! he had forgotten her by this time. Among the girls wearing -tricolored sashes and carrying green palm boughs, he recognized -Catherine. She was pale, her beauty more delicate, but Raynal had -fulfilled his word.</p> - -<p>She was happy, for Pitou had managed to find a hollow tree where he -deposited letters for her to take them out in a stroll, and that morning -one was there.</p> - -<p>Pitou came up and saluted her with his sword. He would have only touched -his hat for General Lafayette.</p> - -<p>“How grand you look in your uniform,” she said loudly. “I thank you, my -dear Pitou,” she added in a voice for him alone; “how good you are. I -love you!”</p> - -<p>She took his hand and pressed it in hers. Giddiness passed into poor -Pitou’s head; he dropped his hat from the free hand, and would have -fallen at her feet like the hat only<a name="page_204" id="page_204"></a> for a great tumult with menacing -sounds being heard towards Soissons.</p> - -<p>Whatever the cause, he profited by it to get out of the awkward -situation.</p> - -<p>He disengaged his hand from Catherine’s, picked up his hat and put it on -as he ran to the head of his thirty-three men, shouting:</p> - -<p>“To arms!”</p> - -<p>It was an old enemy of his who was causing a block to the festivities.</p> - -<p>Father Fortier had been designated to perform the office of celebrating -the Federation Mass on the Altar of the Country, for which the holy -vessels were to be carried from the church. The mayor, Longpre, was to -superintend the transfer. Like everybody he knew the schoolmaster’s -temper and thought he would not bear him good will for the part he took -in the turning over the muskets.</p> - -<p>So, rather than face him, he had sent him an order in writing to be -present for the mass at ten.</p> - -<p>At half past nine he sent his secretary to see how things looked. The -gentleman brought bad news. The church was locked up. The church -officials were all laid up with various complaints. It had the air of a -conspiracy.</p> - -<p>At ten the crowd gathered and talked of beating in the church doors and -taking out the church plate.</p> - -<p>As a conciliator, Longpre quieted them as well as he could and went to -knock at Fortier’s housedoor.</p> - -<p>In the meantime he sent for the armed forces. The gendarmes officers -came up. They were attended by additions to the mob.</p> - -<p>As they had no catapult to force the door, they summoned the locksmith. -But when he was going to insert a picklock, the door opened and Abbé -Fortier appeared, with fiery eye and hair bristling.</p> - -<p>“Back,” he cried with a threatening gesture, “back, heretics, impious -relapsers! avaunt ye from the sill of the man of God!”</p> - -<p>The murmur receiving his outburst was not flattering to him.<a name="page_205" id="page_205"></a></p> - -<p>“Excuse me,” said the unctuous mayor, “but we only wanted to know -whether you would serve the mass on the altar of the country, or not?”</p> - -<p>“Sanction revolt, rebellion and ingratitude,” yelled the holy man in one -of the fits of passion habitual to him: “curse virtue and bless sin? you -cannot have hoped it, mayor. I will not say your sacrilegous mass!”</p> - -<p>“Very well; this is a free country now—you need not unless you like.”</p> - -<p>“Free? ha, ha, ha!” and with a most exasperating laugh he was going to -slam the door in their faces when a man burst through the throng, pushed -the door nearly open again and all but overturned Fortier though he was -a stout man.</p> - -<p>It was Billet.</p> - -<p>There was profound silence as all divined that not two mere men, but two -forces were opposing each other.</p> - -<p>Though Billet had displayed so much strength to open the door, he spoke -in a calm voice:</p> - -<p>“Pardon me, mayor, but I think I heard you say that the father might say -the mass or not, at his pleasure? this is an error and it is no longer -the time when errors are allowed to flourish. Every man who is paid to -do work is bound to do it. You are paid by the country to say mass and -you shall say it.”</p> - -<p>“Blasphemer, Manichean,” roared the priest.</p> - -<p>“You ought to set the example of obedience and here you are doing the -other thing. If you are a citizen and a Frenchman, obey the nation.”</p> - -<p>“Bravo, Billet!” cried the multitude. “To the altar, with the priest.”</p> - -<p>Encouraged by the acclamations, Billet lugged out from his hall the -first priest who had given the signal for counter-revolution.</p> - -<p>“I am a martyr,” groaned the priest, comprehending that resistance was -impossible in the farmer’s vigorous hands, “I call for martyrdom!” And -as he was hurried along he sang “Good Lord, deliver us!”</p> - -<p>This crowd conducting him was the cause of the turbulence towards which -Pitou was marching his cohort. But on seeing<a name="page_206" id="page_206"></a> the reason, he and -Catherine appealed to the farmer with the same voice.</p> - -<p>Untouched, the latter carried the prize up to the altar where he let him -fall.</p> - -<p>“I proclaim you unworthy to serve at this altar which you disdained,” -said Billet: “no man should go up these steps unless his head is filled -with these feelings, the desire of liberty, devotion to the country and -love of mankind. Priest, have you these sentiments? if so, go up boldly -and invoke our Maker. But if you do not feel you are the foremost of us -all as a citizen, give place to the more worthy, and be off!”</p> - -<p>“Madman, you do not know what you are declaring war upon,” hissed the -priest, retiring with uplifted finger.</p> - -<p>“I do know, if they are like you, vipers, foxes, wolves,” returned -Billet: “all that sneak and poison and tear in the shade. Come at me, -then—I can face ye, in the open!” he concluded, smiting his broad -chest.</p> - -<p>During a silent moment the throng parted to let the priest skulk -through, and, closing, remained mute and admiring the vigorous man who -offered himself as target to the terrible power to which half the world -was enslaved at that era.</p> - -<p>There was no longer mayor, town councilmen or gendarmes, only the Hero -of the People, Billet.</p> - -<p>“But we have no priest now,” said Mayor Longpre.</p> - -<p>“We do not want him,” replied Billet who had never been in church but -twice, for his wedding and his child’s baptism. “We will read the -Declaration of the Rights of Man from the altar. That is the Creed of -Liberty and the Gospel of the Future.”</p> - -<p>Billet could not read but he had his manifesto by heart. When he had -finished and with a noble movement embraced the Law and the Sword by -taking the mayor’s and Pitou’s hands, the multitude appreciated the -grandeur of what they were doing in shouting:</p> - -<p>“Long live the Nation!”</p> - -<p>It was one of the scenes of which Gilbert had spoken to the Queen -without her understanding him.</p> - -<p>From that time forward, France became one great family, with one heart -and one language.<a name="page_207" id="page_207"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXX" id="CHAPTER_XXX"></a>CHAPTER XXX.<br /><br /> -UNDER THE WINDOW.</h2> - -<p>O<small>N</small> the surface all was calm and almost smiling on the Billet Farm.</p> - -<p>As before, Billet, on his strong horse, trotted all over the land -keeping his hands up to the mark. But a sharp observer would have -noticed that on whatever part he was he tried to get a look at his -daughter’s room window.</p> - -<p>Though his face had a little softened toward her, Catherine felt that -paternal distrust hovered over her.</p> - -<p>Mother Billet was vegetating as formerly; she did not know that her -husband harbored suspicion in his bosom, and her daughter anguish in -hers.</p> - -<p>Pitou, after his glory as captain of the uniformed National Guards, had -fallen back into his habitual state of sweet and kindly melancholy. By -the postmark on Isidore’s letters he noticed that he had returned to -Paris.</p> - -<p>He concluded that he would not be long before returning to his estate. -Pitou’s heart shrank at this prospect.</p> - -<p>Under pretence of snaring rabbits to give his friend more succulent food -than farm fare, he haunted the wood until he saw Catherine. She was -seeking him, too, for she had a word for him.</p> - -<p>He need not trouble about her letters as she would not be receiving any -for some days.</p> - -<p>He guessed that the writer was coming in person to repeat his vows.</p> - -<p>“Have you noticed,” he said, “how gloomy the master has become of late?”</p> - -<p>Catherine turned pale.</p> - -<p>“I tell you as a sure thing that whoever is the cause of this change in -such a hearty good fellow, will have an unpleasant time with him when he -meets him.”</p> - -<p>“You say, ‘him,'” said Catherine; “why may he not have<a name="page_208" id="page_208"></a> quarrelled with -a woman, against whom he nurses this sullen rage?”</p> - -<p>“You have seen something? have you any reason to fear?”</p> - -<p>“I have to fear all that a girl may fear when she loves above her -station and has an irritated father.”</p> - -<p>“It seems to me that in your place,” Pitou ventured to give advice, “I -should—no, it nearly killed you to part with him, and to give him up -altogether would be your death. Oh, all this is very unfortunate!”</p> - -<p>“Hush, speak of something else—here comes father.”</p> - -<p>Indeed, seeing his daughter with a man, the farmer rode up at speed: but -recognizing Pitou, he asked him in to dinner with less gloom on his -face.</p> - -<p>“Gracious,” muttered Catherine at the door, “can he know?”</p> - -<p>“What?” whispered Pitou.</p> - -<p>“Nothing,” replied the girl, going up to her room and closing the -shutters.</p> - -<p>When she came down, dinner was ready, but she ate little.</p> - -<p>“You might tell us what brought you our way to-day,” asked the morose -farmer of Pitou.</p> - -<p>The latter showed some brass wire loops.</p> - -<p>“The rabbits over our way are getting shy of me. I am going to lay some -snares on your farm, if you do not mind. Yours are so tender from the -grain they get.”</p> - -<p>“I did not know you had so sweet a tooth.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, not for me but for Miss Catherine.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, she has no appetite, lately, that is a fact.”</p> - -<p>At this moment, Pitou felt a touch to his foot. It was Catherine -directing his attention to the window past which a man was making for -the door where he entered with the farmer’s gun on his shoulder.</p> - -<p>“Father Clovis,” he was hailed by the master.</p> - -<p>Clovis was the old soldier who had taught Pitou to drill.</p> - -<p>“Yes, Papa Billet, a bargain is a bargain. You paid me to pick out a -dozen bullets to suit your rifle and here they are.”</p> - -<p>He handed the farmer his gun and a bag of bullets. Calm as the veteran -was, he inspired terror in Catherine as he sat at table.<a name="page_209" id="page_209"></a></p> - -<p>“By the way I cast thirteen bullets instead of a dozen so I squandered -one on the hare you see. Your gun carries fine.”</p> - -<p>“Is there a prize for shooting offered anywhere?” asked Pitou simply. -“You will win it, I guess like you did that silver cup and the bowl you -are drinking of, Miss Catherine. Why, what is the matter?”</p> - -<p>“Nothing,” replied the girl opening her eyes which she had half closed -and leaning back in her chair.</p> - -<p>“All I know is,” said Billet, “that I am going to lay in wait. It is a -wolf, I think.”</p> - -<p>Clovis turned the bullets out on a plate. Had Pitou looked from them to -Catherine he would have seen that she nearly swooned.</p> - -<p>“Wolf?” repeated he. “I am astonished that before the snowfalls we -should see them here.”</p> - -<p>“The shepherd says one is prowling round, out Boursonne way.”</p> - -<p>Pitou looked from the speaker to Catherine.</p> - -<p>“Yes, he was spied last year, I was told; but he went off, and it was -thought forever; but he has turned up again. I mean to turn him down!”</p> - -<p>This was all the girl could endure; she uttered a cry and staggered out -of the door. Pitou followed her to offer his arm and found her in the -kitchen.</p> - -<p>“What ails you?”</p> - -<p>“Can you not guess? he knows that Isidore has arrived at Boursonne this -morning, and he is going to shoot him.”</p> - -<p>“I will put him on his guard——“</p> - -<p>The voice of Billet interrupted the pair.</p> - -<p>“If you are going to lay snares, Master Pitou, it seems to me it is time -you were jogging. Father Clovis is going your way.”</p> - -<p>“I am off,” and he went out by the kitchen door, while Catherine went up -to her room, where she bolted the door.</p> - -<p>The forest was Pitou’s kingdom and when he had left Clovis to go home, -he felt easy about what he had undertaken to do.</p> - -<p>He thought of running to Boursonne and warning Viscount<a name="page_210" id="page_210"></a> Isidore; but he -might not be believed and the warning might not be heeded.</p> - -<p>He considered he had better wait.</p> - -<p>He had not a doubt that at the windows of Billet’s room and of his -daughter’s, they two were on the alert. All the tragedy or its failure -depended on him. If he let the viscount pass within rifle range, he -would let him march to his death.</p> - -<p>In fact, Billet, sure that the nobleman would not marry a farmer’s -daughter, had resolved to wipe out the insult done him in blood.</p> - -<p>Suddenly Pitou, lying on the ground in a clump of willow, heard the -gallop of a horse.</p> - -<p>Billet must have heard it also for he came out of the house; and Ange -had not a doubt that the willow copse which he had chosen to spy -Catherine’s window had for the same reason recommended itself to the -farmer.</p> - -<p>As the latter advanced, he slipped back and slid down into the ditch.</p> - -<p>The horse crossed the road at sixty paces, and as a shadow was soon -detached from it, the rider must have leaped off, and turned the steed -loose. It went on without stopping.</p> - -<p>There was ten minutes of dreadful silence.</p> - -<p>The night was so black that Pitou, reckoning his eyes better than -Billet’s, hoped that he alone saw the shadow stealing towards the house.</p> - -<p>But at the same moment, as the shadow went up under Catherine’s window, -Pitou heard the click of a hammer going on full cock on the gun.</p> - -<p>The shadow did not notice but rapped three times on the shutter.</p> - -<p>Pitou quivered—Catherine would surely blame him for not having passed -the warning as he had promised.</p> - -<p>But what could he do?</p> - -<p>Pitou heard the hammer fall and saw the priming flash; the powder in the -touchhole did not catch and the living target received no bullet.</p> - -<p>At the same moment Catherine opened her window. She saw all and cried: -“Up, it is my father!” she almost dragged Charny in at the casement.<a name="page_211" id="page_211"></a></p> - -<p>The farmer had his second barrel to fire and he thought:</p> - -<p>“He must come out and this time I will not miss him.”</p> - -<p>Presently the dogs began barking.</p> - -<p>“Oh, the jade,” he growled, “she has let him out at the back, through -the orchard.”</p> - -<p>He ran round the house to overtake the escaping prey.</p> - -<p>“There is hope,” thought Pitou: “aim cannot be taken in the night as in -the day and the hand is not so steady in firing on a man as at a wolf in -the den.”</p> - -<p>Indeed, Billet had fired on a man whom he saw scaling the orchard wall -but he had got away on a horse which came up at his whistle. While -Billet was following the pair in vague hope that he had hurt the rider -so that he must fall out of the saddle, Ange reached the orchard where -he saw Catherine leaning up against a tree with her hand on her heart.</p> - -<p>“Let me take you into the house,” he said.</p> - -<p>“No, I will not live under the roof of the man who shot at my -sweetheart.”</p> - -<p>“But then——“</p> - -<p>“Do you refuse to accompany me?”</p> - -<p>“No, but——“</p> - -<p>“Come.”</p> - -<p>No one saw them leave the farm and both disappeared in the valley.</p> - -<p>God only knew the refuge of Catherine Billet!</p> - -<p>All night a dreadful storm raged in the heart of the injured father. -Something vital seemed to snap in the mighty frame of the man when he -returned emptyhanded to see that his daughter had taken to flight.</p> - -<p>When he came home at nine as usual to breakfast, his wife said. “Where -is our Catherine?”</p> - -<p>“Catherine?” he said with an effort. “The air is bad on the farm and I -sent her over to her aunt’s in Sologne.”</p> - -<p>“Good, she wanted a change. Will she make a long stay?”</p> - -<p>“Till she gets better.”</p> - -<p>Drying her tears the good woman went to sit in the chimney corner while -her husband rode off into the fields.</p> - -<p>Dr. Raynal had passed a restless night also. He was roused by Viscount -Charny’s lackey pulling at his nightbell and, riding<a name="page_212" id="page_212"></a> over to Boursonne, -found that he had a couple of bullets in his side. Neither wound was -dangerous, though one was serious. In three calls he set him up again; -but he had to wear a bandage for a time, which did not prevent him -riding out. Nobody had an idea of his accident.</p> - -<p>It was time for him to be healed—time to return to Paris!</p> - -<p>Mirabeau had promised the Queen to save her, and she wrote to her -brother on the Austrian throne:</p> - -<p>“I follow your counsel. I am making use of Mirabeau but there is nothing -of weight in my relations with him.”</p> - -<p>On the following day, he saw groups on the way to the Assembly and went -up to learn the nature of the outcries.</p> - -<p>Little newsheets were passing from hand to hand and newsdealers were -calling out:</p> - -<p>“Buy the Great Treason of Mirabeau!”</p> - -<p>“It seems this concerns me,” he said, taking a piece of money out. “My -friend,” he said to one of the venders who had a donkey carrying -panniers full of the sheets, “how much is this Great Treason of -Mirabeau?”</p> - -<p>“Nothing to you, my lord,” replied the man, looking him in the eye, “and -it is struck off in an edition of one hundred thousand.”</p> - -<p>The orator went away thoughtful. A lampoon in such an edition and given -away by a newsman who knew him!</p> - -<p>Still the sheet might be one of those catchpennys which abounded at that -epoch, stupid or spiteful. No, it was the list of his debts, accurate, -and the note that their 200,000 francs had been paid by the Queen’s -almoner on a certain date; also the statement that the court paid him -six thousand francs per month. Lastly the account of his reception by -the Queen.</p> - -<p>What mysterious enemy pursued him, or rather pursued the monarchy like a -hellhound?</p> - -<p>This is what we shall learn, with many another secret which none but -Cagliostro the superhuman might divine, in the sequel to this volume -entitled “<span class="smcap">The Royal Lifeguard</span>.”</p> - -<p> </p> -<p> </p> - -<p class="c">THE END<a name="page_213" id="page_213"></a></p> - -<hr /> - -<p class="cun"><i>A BOOK FOR EVERY FAMILY.</i></p> - -<p class="cb"><big><big>How to Live Well<br /> - On 25 Cents a Day.</big></big></p> - -<p class="c">———</p> - -<p class="c">By MRS. GESINE LEMCKE,<br /> -One of the Most Noted Cooks and Housekeepers of -the Day.</p> - -<p class="c">———</p> - -<p>It contains a complete bill of fare for every day for six weeks, also -valuable hints and helps for housekeepers.</p> - -<p><i>The Philadelphia Call</i> says of it:</p> - -<p>“Utopia discovered! Everybody happy and want absolutely abolished. Hats -off to Mrs. Lemcke! Whether this volume accomplishes its purpose or not -is immaterial. It is stuffed full of just the sort of information that -is good for young housekeepers and should be widely read, and is worth -$1.00 to any family.”</p> - -<p>This book is for sale by all dealers, or it will be sent by mail, -post-paid, on receipt of 25 cents, by J. S. Ogilvie Publishing Company, -57 Rose Street, New York.</p> - -<p class="c">———</p> - -<p class="cb"><big>TERMS TO AGENTS.</big></p> - -<p class="c"><i>Sample Copy by mail, postpaid, 15 Cents.</i></p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> -<tr><td align="left"><b><i>Less than 100 Copies,</i></b></td><td align="left"><b><i>12 Cents per Copy.</i></b></td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"><b><i>One Hundred or more Copies,</i></b> </td><td align="left"><b><i>10 Cents per Copy.</i></b></td></tr> -</table> - -<p>The above prices do not include freight or express charges.<br /> -<b><i>Terms cash -with order.</i></b> Address:</p> - -<p class="c"> -<b>J. S. OGILVIE PUBLISHING CO.,<br /> -57 Rose Street, New York.</b><br /> -</p> - -<p><a name="page_214" id="page_214"></a></p> - -<hr /> - -<p class="cb"><big><big>ARE YOU A WOMAN?</big></big></p> - -<p class="cb">And Do You Want to Get Married?</p> - -<p class="c">If so, you ought to buy our new book.</p> - -<p class="c">“How to Get married<br /> - Although a Woman,”</p> - -<p class="c">By <span class="smcap">A Young Widow</span>.</p> - -<p>Read what <i>The Christian Advocate</i> says about it:</p> - -<p>“How to Get Married Although a Woman,” by a young widow, comes from the -J. S. Ogilvie Publishing Co., 57 Rose Street, New York. The woman -anxious to get married, but unable to do so, will find an immense amount -of advice and assistance in this little volume, and will learn what -manner of woman is liked and what disliked by men, the reasons of -success and failure in the race matrimonial, some unfailing methods of -catching a husband, why it is that a plain widow can come into a -community and take her pick among the most eligible men, and finally, -how to retain the love of a husband when he has been captured and how to -get another one when he has been gathered to his fathers. Any woman who -cannot catch a husband by the rules laid down in this book does not -deserve one, and it costs only 25 cents for all this valuable advice and -information.</p> - -<p>This book will be sent by mail, postpaid, to any address on receipt of -25 cents. Address</p> - -<p class="c"> -<i>J. S. OGILVIE PUBLISHING COMPANY</i>,<br /> -<i>Lock Box 2767.</i> <i>57 Rose St., New York.</i><br /> -</p> - -<p><a name="page_215" id="page_215"></a></p> - -<hr /> - -<p class="cb">CATALOGUE of USEFUL and POPULAR BOOKS.</p> - -<p class="c">Any of the Books on this List will be mailed postpaid to<br /> -any address on -receipt of price by J. S. Ogilvie Publishing<br /> -Company, 57 Rose Street, New York.</p> - -<p class="c">———</p> - -<p class="c"><i>Write your name and address very plainly so as to avoid mistakes.</i></p> - -<p class="c">———</p> - -<p><b>ALBUM WRITER’S FRIEND (THE).</b>—Compiled by J. S. Ogilvie, 16mo, 128 -pages. Paper cover, 15 cents; cloth 30 cents.</p> - -<p>This is a new and choice selection of gems of Prose and Poetry, -comprising over seven hundred selections, suitable for writing in -Autograph Albums, Valentines, and for Birthday and Wedding celebrations. -It also contains a new and choice collection of verses suitable for -Christmas and New-Year Cards. It contains 128 pages, with paper cover, -price 15 cents: bound in cloth, 30 cents.</p> - -<p><b>AMATEUR’S GUIDE TO MAGIC AND MYSTERY.</b>—An entirely new work, containing -full and ample instructions on the mysteries of magic, sleight-of-hand -tricks, card tricks, etc. The best work on conjuring for amateurs -published. Illustrated. 15 cents.</p> - -<p><b>ART OF VENTRILOQUISM.</b>—Contains simple and full directions by which any -one may acquire the amusing art, with numerous examples for practice. -Also instructions for making the magic whistle, for imitating birds, -animals, and peculiar sounds of various kinds. Any boy who wishes to -obtain an art by which he can develop a Wonderful amount of -astonishment, mystery, and fun, should learn Ventriloquism, as he easily -can follow the simple secret given in this book. Mailed for 15 cents.</p> - -<p><b>BAD BOY’S DIARY (A).</b>—This is one of the most successful humorous books -of the present day, filled with fun and good humor, and “will drive the -blues out of a bag of indigo.” It is printed from new, large type, and -on fine, heavy white paper of a superior finish, and contains 280 pages. -New, full-page illustrations from unique designs have been prepared -expressly for this edition. Handsome paper cover, 25 cents.</p> - -<p><b>BATTLE FOR BREAD (THE).</b>—This book contains a series of Sermons by Rev. -T. DeWitt Talmage, the greatest of living preachers. Every workingman -and those who employ them should read this book, and thus be informed of -the real solution of the question of the relations of Labor and Capital, -12mo, 135 pages. Paper cover, 25 cents; cloth, 75 cents.<a name="page_216" id="page_216"></a></p> - -<p><b>BLACK ART EXPOSED (THE).</b>—This book contains some of the most marvelous -things in ancient and modern magic, jugglery, etc., ever printed, and -has to be seen to be fully appreciated. Suffice it to say that any boy -knowing the secrets it contains will be able to do things that will -astonish all. 15 cts.</p> - -<p><b>BLUNDERS OF A BASHFUL MAN (THE).</b>—By the popular author of “A Bad Boy’s -Diary.” This is one of the most humorous books ever issued, and has been -pronounced <i>better</i> than “A Bad Boy’s Diary.” 12mo, 160 pages. -Handsomely illustrated from original designs, including also the -portrait and autograph of “The Bashful Man.” Price, paper cover, 25 -cents.</p> - -<p><b>BOILER-MAKER’S ASSISTANT (THE),</b> and the Theoretical and Practical -Boiler-Maker and Engineer’s Reference Book. 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Price, 25 cents.</p> - -<p><b>“DON’T MARRY”</b>—At least until you have read our new book entitled “Don’t -Marry.” Some marry too soon, others wait too long. This book will tell -you how, when, and whom to marry; besides giving you valuable hints and -helps not found in any other book. It contains 112 pages, paper cover, -and is worth $10 to any one. Price, 25 cents.</p> - -<p><b>DIARY OF A MINISTER’S WIFE.</b>—By Almedia M. Brown. Complete edition, -12mo, 544 pages. Handsomely bound in cloth, with fine full-page -illustrations, including portraits of Mrs. Minnie Hardscrabble, the -minister’s wife, from the facts and incidents in whose life the story -was written; also Rev. John Hardscrabble, with three other -characteristic engravings, which will amuse and interest every reader. -Price, $1.50.</p> - -<p>This popular book is also issued complete in two volumes in paper -covers. Price, per volume, 25 cents.</p> - -<p><b>DIARY OF A VILLAGE GOSSIP.</b>—By Almedia M. Brown, author of “Diary of a -Minister’s Wife,” etc., etc. 12mo, 293 pages. Paper cover, 25 cents; -handsomely bound in cloth, $1.00.</p> - -<p><b>MAGIC DIAL (THE).</b>—By the use of which secret correspondence may be -carried on without fear of detection. No one (even if provided with one -of these dials) can decipher it. It is entirely new, and nothing like it -has ever appeared. It is simple and reliable and can be used by any -person. It will be mailed for 25 cents.<a name="page_218" id="page_218"></a></p> - -<p><b>EDUCATING THE HORSE.</b>—A new and improved system of Educating the Horse. -Also a Treatise on Shoeing, with new and valuable Receipts for Diseases -of Horses. <span class="smcap">Contents</span>: The great secret of Horse-Taming; How to throw a -horse; the wild colts to halter; break a colt; hitching colt in stall; -how to handle a colt’s feet; breaking and driving colts to harness; -objects of fear; to train a horse to stand when getting into a carriage; -balking horses; pulling at halter; to break horses from jumping; pawing -in stall and kicking in harness; the runaway horse; shoeing; corns; to -teach a horse to appear intelligent; to teach a horse how to dance, -waltz, kiss you, shake hands, etc., etc.; cure of sore breasts, big -head, big leg, fullness of blood, catarrh, loose bowels, corns, cough, -inflammation of eye, brittle feet, sand crack in foot, founder (a sure -cure), galled back, grease, inflammation of kidneys, worms, itch, nasal, -gleet, over-reaching, staggers, botts, etc., etc.; concluding with rules -and regulations for the government of trotting and racing. =>No man who -owns a horse can afford to do without this book. It is very thorough, -complete and reliable, and well worth a dozen times the price asked for -it. It contains matter not to be found in any other horse book. Price, -15 cents.</p> - -<p><b>GRAND WONDER COLLECTION.</b>—A wonderful offer. $3.00 worth of goods for -only 50 cents! Everything is now very cheap, and people get a good deal -more for their money than they used to, but we have no hesitation in -saying that never before was so much offered for the money as is offered -in this GRAND WONDER COLLECTION. It could not be done, only that we -expect to sell thousands of them and are fully satisfied that each one -sold will sell a dozen more.</p> - -<p>The contents of the GRAND WONDER COLLECTION—comprising seven complete -books in one—1. Old Secrets and New Discoveries. 2. Secrets for -Farmers. 3. Laughing Gas. 4. The Swindlers of America. 5. Preserving and -Manufacturing Secrets. 6. The Housewife’s Treasure. 7. Fourteen Popular -Songs, Words and Music.</p> - -<p>=>Any person ordering this collection and not fully satisfied, the money -will be cheerfully refunded. Price, 50 cents.</p> - -<p><b>MAGIC TRICK CARDS.</b>—The Magician’s Own Cards, for performing wonderful -tricks. Every boy a magician! Every man a conjurer! Every girl a witch! -Every one astonished! They are the most superior trick cards ever -offered for sale, and with them you can perform some of the most -remarkable illusions ever discovered.</p> - -<p>Complete illustrated directions accompany each pack. They will be -mailed, postpaid, sealed as a letter, for 15 cents a pack.<a name="page_219" id="page_219"></a></p> - -<p><b>HEALTH HINTS.</b>—A new book showing how to Acquire and Retain Bodily -Symmetry, Health, Vigor, and Beauty. Its contents are as follows: Laws -of Beauty—Air, Sunshine, Water, and Food—Work and Rest—Dress and -Ornament—The Hair and its Management—Skin and Complexion—The -Mouth—The Eyes, Ears, and Nose—The Neck, Hands and Feet—Growth and -Marks that are Enemies of Beauty—Cosmetics and Perfumery.</p> - -<p><b>Fat People.</b>—It gives ample rules how Corpulency may be cured—the Fat -made Lean, Comely and Active.</p> - -<p><b>Lean People.</b>—It also gives directions, the following of which will -enable Lean, Angular, Bony or Sharp Visaged People, to be Plump and Rosy -Skinned.</p> - -<p><b>Gray Hair.</b>—It tells how Gray Hair may be Restored to its natural color -without the aid of Dyes, Restorers or Pomades.</p> - -<p><b>Baldness.</b>—It gives ample directions for Restoring Hair on Bald Heads, -as well as how to stop Falling of the Hair, how to Curl the Hair, etc.</p> - -<p><b>Beard and Mustache.</b>—It tells what Young Men should do to acquire a -Fine, Silky and Handsome Beard and Mustache.</p> - -<p><b>Freckles and Pimples.</b>—It gives full directions for the Cure of Sunburn, -Freckles, Pimples, Wrinkles, Warts, etc., so that they can be entirely -removed.</p> - -<p><b>Cosmetics.</b>—This chapter, among other things, gives an Analysis of -Perry’s Moth and Freckle Lotion, Balm of White Lilies, Hagan’s Magnolia -Balm, Laird’s Bloom of Youth, Phalon’s Enamel, Clark’s Restorative for -the Hair, Chevalier’s Life for the Hair, Ayer’s Hair Vigor, Professor -Wood’s Hair Restorative, Hair Restorer America, Gray’s Hair Restorative, -Phalon’s Vitalia, Ring’s Vegetable Ambrosia, Mrs. Allen’s World’s Hair -Restorer, Hall’s Vegetable Sicilian Hair Renewer, Martha Washington Hair -Restorative, etc., etc. (no room for more), showing how the lead, etc., -in these mixtures causes disease and oftentimes premature death. Price, -25 cents.</p> - -<p><b>LOVE AND COURTSHIP CARDS.</b>—Sparking, courting, and lovemaking all made -easy by the use of these cards. They are arranged with such apt -conversation that you will be able to ask the momentous question in such -a delicate manner that the girl will not suspect what you are at. They -may be used by two persons only, or they will make lots of fun for an -evening party of young people. There are sixty cards in all, and each -answer will respond differently to every one of the questions. Price, 30 -cents.</p> - -<p><b>MISS SLIMMENS’ BOARDING-HOUSE.</b>—By the author of “A Bad Boy’s Diary.” -16mo, 188 pages, with nine illustrations. Complete edition. Paper cover, -25 cents.<a name="page_220" id="page_220"></a></p> - -<p><b>HOUSEWIFE’S TREASURE (THE).</b>—A manual of information of everything that -relates to household economies. It gives the method of making Jackson’s -Universal Washing Compound, which can clean the dirtiest cotton, linen -or woolen clothes in twenty minutes without rubbing or harming the -material. This recipe is being constantly peddled through the country at -$5.00 each, and is certainly worth it. It also tells all about -soap-making at home, so as to make it cost about one-quarter of what bar -soap costs; it tells how to make candles by molding or dipping; it gives -seven methods for destroying rats and mice; how to make healthy bread -without flour (something entirely new); to preserve clothes and furs -from moths; a sure plan for destroying houseflies, cockroaches, beetles, -ants, bedbugs and fleas; all about house cleaning, papering, etc., and -hundreds of other valuable hints just such as housekeepers are wanting -to know. 25 cents.</p> - -<p><b>HOW TO ENTERTAIN A SOCIAL PARTY.</b>—A complete selection of Home -Recreations. Profusely illustrated with fine wood-cuts, containing: -Round Games and Forfeit Games; Parlor Magic and Curious Puzzles; Comic -Diversions and Parlor Tricks; Scientific Recreations and Evening -Amusements; The Blue Beard tableaux; Tableaux-vivant for acting; The -play-room; Blind-man’s buff; One old ox opening oysters; How do you like -it? when do you like it? and where do you like it? Cross questions and -crooked answers; Cupid’s coming; Proverbs; Earth, air and water; Yes and -no; Copenhagen; Hunt the hare, and a thousand other games.</p> - -<p>Here is family amusement for the million. Here is parlor or drawing-room -entertainment, night after night, for a whole winter. A young man with -this volume may render himself the <i>beau ideal</i> of a delightful -companion to every party. Price, 25 cents.</p> - -<p><b>HOW TO WOO AND HOW TO WIN.-</b>-This interesting work contains full and -interesting rules for the etiquette of courtship, with directions -showing how to win the favor of the ladies; how to begin and end a -courtship; and how love-letters should be written. It not only tells how -to win the favor of the ladies, but how to address a lady; Conduct a -courtship; “Pop the Question;” Write love-letters; All about the -marriage ceremony; Bridal chamber; After marriage, etc. Price, 15 cents.</p> - -<p><b>ODELL’S SYSTEM OF SHORTHAND.</b>—By which the taking down of sermons, -lectures, trials, speeches, etc., may be easily acquired, without the -aid of a master. By this plan the difficulties of mastering this useful -art are very much lessened, and the time required to attain proficiency -reduced to the least possible limits. Price, 15 cents.<a name="page_221" id="page_221"></a></p> - -<p><b>HOW TO TALK AND DEBATE.</b>—<span class="smcap">Contents</span>: Introduction; Laws of Conversation; -Listening; Self-possession; Appreciativeness; Conversation, when -confidential; The matter and the manner; Proper subjects; Trifles; -Objectionable subjects; Politics; Rights of women; Wit and humor; -Questions and negatives; Our own hobbies; The voice, how to improve; -Speaking one’s mind; Public speaking; How to make a speech; Opening a -debate; Division of the subject; The affirmative; The reply, etc., etc. -A really valuable book, and one that every man and woman, boy and girl -should possess. 15 cents.</p> - -<p><b>LIFE IN THE BACKWOODS.</b>—A Guide to the successful without the wool or -hair; to skin and stuff birds; baits and hooks for fishing; how to fish -successfully without nets, lines, spears, snares, “bobs,” or bait (a -great secret), how to choose and clean guns; how to breed minks for -their skins (hundreds of dollars can be made by any boy or young man who -knows how to breed minks), etc.</p> - -<p>This book is by an old trapper, for many years engaged in trapping in -the Northwest, who has finally consented to publish and disclose these -secrets. Persons living where wild animals exist, with some traps and -the information contained in this book, can make money faster through -the trapping season by giving their time and energies to the business -than they can by seeking their fortunes in the gold regions or in oil -speculations. This is at once the most complete and practical book now -in the market. Price, 15 cents.</p> - -<p><b>MODEL LETTER-WRITER (THE).</b>—A comprehensive and complete guide and -assistant for those who desire to carry on epistolary -correspondence—containing instructions for writing letters of -introduction; Letters of business; Letters of recommendation; -Applications for employment; Letters of congratulation; Letters of -condolence; Letters of friendship and relationship; Love-letters; Notes -of invitation; Letters of favor, of advice, and of excuse, etc., etc., -together with appropriate answers to each. This is an invaluable book -for those persons who have not had sufficient practice to enable them to -write letters without great effort. 15 cents.<a name="page_222" id="page_222"></a></p> - -<p><b>NAPOLEON’S COMPLETE BOOK</b> of Fate and Complete Fortune Teller.—This is -the celebrated Oracle of Human Destiny consulted by Napoleon the First -previous to any of his undertakings, and by which he was so successful -in war, business, and love. It is the only authentic and complete copy -extant, being translated into English from a German translation of an -ancient Egyptian manuscript found in the year 1801 by M. Sonini, in one -of the royal tombs near Mount Libycus, in Upper Egypt. This Oraculum is -so arranged that any question on business, love, wealth, losses, hidden -treasures, no matter what its nature, the Oraculum has an answer for it. -It also shows how to learn of one’s fate by consulting the planets. -Price 15 cents.</p> - -<p><b>OGILVIE’S HOUSE PLANS; OR HOW TO BUILD A HOUSE.</b>—A neat new book, -containing over thirty finely executed engravings of dwellings of all -sizes, from two rooms up; also churches, barns, and out-houses in great -variety.</p> - -<p>This handy, compact, and very useful volume contains, in addition to the -foregoing, plans for each floor in each and every dwelling of which an -engraving is given. It has, also, valuable information relative to -building, such as number of shingles required in a roof, quantity of -plaster for a house, quantity of materials required for building a -house, etc., etc., and much other information of permanent and practical -value.</p> - -<p>Any one of the plans is alone worth very much more than the price asked -for the book. It is invaluable to every architect, builder, mason, or -carpenter, and particularly do we urge all who anticipate erecting a new -or remodeling an old dwelling to send for a copy, as its fortunate -possessor may save hundred of dollars by following the suggestions it -contains. 25 cents.</p> - -<p><b>HOW TO BEHAVE.</b>—Hand-book of Etiquette and Guide to True Politeness. -<span class="smcap">Contents</span>: Etiquette and its uses; Introductions; Cutting acquaintances; -Letters of introduction; Street etiquette; Domestic etiquette and -duties; Visiting; Receiving company; Evening parties; The lady’s toilet; -The gentleman’s toilet; Invitations; Etiquette of the ball-room; General -rules of conversation; Bashfulness and how to overcome it; Dinner -parties; Table etiquette; Carving; Servants; Traveling; Visiting cards; -Letter writing; Conclusion. This is the best book of the kind yet -published, and every person wishing to be considered well-bred, who -wishes to understand the customs of good society, and to avoid incorrect -and vulgar habits, should send for a copy. 15 cents.</p> - -<p><b>MISS SLIMMENS’ WINDOW.</b>—Complete edition in one volume now ready. 16mo, -150 pages. Bound in heavy paper covers, with 13 illustrations. 25 -cents.<a name="page_223" id="page_223"></a></p> - -<p><b>OGILVIE’S HANDY MONITOR AND UNIVERSAL ASSISTANT,</b> containing Statistical -Tables of Practical Value for Mechanics, Merchants, Editors, Lawyers, -Printers, Doctors, Farmers, Lumbermen, Bankers, Bookkeepers, Politicians -and all classes of workers in every department of human effort, and -containing a compilation of facts for reference on various subjects, -being an epitome of matters Historical, Statistical, Biographical, -Political, Geographical and general interest. 192 pages bound in paper, -25 cents.</p> - -<p>No more valuable book has ever been offered containing so much -information of practical value in everyday life.</p> - -<p><b>OLD SECRETS AND NEW DISCOVERIES.</b>—Containing Information of Rare Value -for all Classes, in all Conditions of Society.</p> - -<p><b>It Tells</b> all about <i>Electrical Psychology</i>, showing how you can -biologize any person, and, while under the influence, he will do -anything you may wish him, no matter how ridiculous it may be, and he -cannot help doing it.</p> - -<p><b>It Tells</b> how to <i>Mesmerize</i>. Knowing this, you can place any person in a -mesmeric sleep, and then be able to do with him as you will. This secret -has been sold over and over again for $10.</p> - -<p><b>It Tells</b> how to make persons at a distance think of you—something all -lovers should know.</p> - -<p><b>It Tells</b> how you can charm those you meet and make them love you, -whether they will or not.</p> - -<p><b>It Tells</b> how Spiritualists and others can make writing appear on the arm -in blood characters, as performed by Foster and all noted magicians.</p> - -<p><b>It Tells</b> how to make a cheap Galvanic Battery; how to plate and gild -without a battery; how to make a candle burn all night; how to make a -clock for 25 cents; how to detect counterfeit money; how to banish and -prevent mosquitoes from biting; how to make yellow butter in winter; -Circassian curling fluid; Sympathetic or Secret Writing Ink; Cologne -Water; Artificial honey; Stammering; how to make large noses small; to -cure drunkenness; to copy letters without a press; to obtain fresh-blown -flowers in winter; to make good burning candles from lard.</p> - -<p><b>It Tells</b> how to make a horse appear as though he was badly foundered; to -make a horse temporarily lame; how to make him stand by his food and not -eat it; how to cure a horse from the crib or sucking wind; how to put a -young countenance on the horse; how to cover up the heaves; how to make -him appear as if he had the glanders; how to make a true-pulling horse -balk; how to nerve a horse that is lame, etc., etc.—These horse secrets -are being continually sold at one dollar each.<a name="page_224" id="page_224"></a></p> - -<p><b>It Tells</b> how to make the Eggs of Pharo’s Serpents, which when lighted, -though but the size of a pea, there issues from it a coiling, hissing -serpent, wonderful in length and similarity to a genuine serpent.</p> - -<p><b>It Tells</b> how to make gold and silver from block tin (the least said -about which the better). Also how to take impressions from coins. Also -how to imitate gold and silver.</p> - -<p><b>It Tells</b> of a simple and ingenious method of copying any kind of drawing -or picture. Also, more wonderful still, how to print pictures from the -print itself.</p> - -<p><b>It Tells</b> how to perform the Davenport Brothers “Spirit Mysteries.” So -that any person can astonish an audience, as they have done. Also scores -of other wonderful things which there is no room to mention.</p> - -<p><b>Old Secrets and New Discoveries</b> is worth $5 to any person; but it will -be mailed to any address on receipt of only 25 cents.</p> - -<p><b>OUT IN THE STREETS.</b>—By S. N. Cook. Price, 15 cents.</p> - -<p>We take pleasure in offering the strictly moral and very amusing -temperance drama entitled, “Out in the Streets,” to all entertainment -committees as one that will give entire satisfaction. The parts are -taken by six male and six female characters.</p> - -<p><b>PHUNNY PHELLOW’S GRAB BAG;</b> or, Jolly Tid-Bits for Mirthful -Mortals.—Josh Billings, Danbury News Man and Bret Harte rolled into -one. It is not too much to say that the book contains the choicest humor -in the English language. Its size is mammoth, containing more than one -thousand of the raciest jests, comical hits, exhilarating stories, -flowers of wit, excruciating jokes, uproarious poems, laughable -sketches, darky comicalities, clowns’ efforts, button-bursting -conundrums, endmen’s jokes, plantation humors, funny caricatures, -hifalutin dialogues, curious scenes, cute sayings, ludicrous drolleries, -peculiar repartees, and nearly 500 illustrations. 25 cents.</p> - -<p><b>SCIENCE OF A NEW LIFE (THE).</b>—By John Cowan, M.D. A handsome 8vo, -containing over 400 pages, with more than 100 illustrations, and sold at -the following prices: English cloth, beveled boards, gilt side and back, -$3.00; leather, sprinkled edges, $3.50; half turkey morocco, marbled -edges, gilt back, $4.00.</p> - -<p><b>SOME FUNNY THINGS</b> said by Clever Children. Who is not interested in -children? We are satisfied that this book will give genuine satisfaction -to all who are interested in listening to the happy voices of children. -This will show that humor is not confined to adult minds by any means. -64 pages, 10 cents.<a name="page_225" id="page_225"></a></p> - -<hr /> - -<p class="cb"><big>THE EVERY-DAY EDUCATOR<br /> -OR,<br /> -How To Do Business.</big></p> - -<p class="c"> -Prepared for Ambitious Americans by<br /> -Prof. SEYMOUR EATON.<br /> -</p> - -<p class="c">———</p> - -<p class="c">The Brightest and Best Help Manual ever issued in this Country.</p> - -<p class="c">Each of the numerous departments forms a unique feature. Here are the -titles of a few:</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illus227a_sml.png" width="252" height="79" alt="HOW to APPLY" title="" /> -<br /> -<a href="images/illus227a_lg.png"> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -</p> - -<p class="c"> -BOOK-KEEPING, BANKING, CORRESPONDENCE,<br /> -ARITHMETIC, FRENCH, GERMAN,<br /> -LESSONS IN ELECTRICITY, ASTRONOMY,<br /> -PENMANSHIP, PHYSICAL CULTURE,<br /> -HOW TO WRITE FOR THE PRESS,<br /> -FIGURE SHORTHAND, LESSONS IN DRAWING,<br /> -TELEGRAPHY, FACTS and FIGURES,<br /> -THESE BODIES OF OURS, GAMES AND PUZZLES,<br /> -CHARACTER IN HANDS,<br /> -GOOD OPENINGS IN NEW TRADES, U. S. HISTORY,<br /> -PUBLIC SPEAKING, HOW TO GET A START,<br /> -LITERATURE, AUTHORS and BOOKS.<br /> -</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illus227b_sml.png" width="248" height="66" alt="For a Situation" title="" /> -<br /> -<a href="images/illus227b_lg.png"> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -</p> - -<p>But why go further? Get the book and we guarantee you will say it is -away ahead of anything you have seen before.</p> - -<p><b>The Every-Day Educator</b> contains 240 pages. Handsomely printed on fine -paper. Fully illustrated. Substantially bound in cloth, and in every -respect a perfect specimen of advanced book-making, price, 75 cents; -bound in paper cover, 25 cents. Sent by mail, postpaid, to any address -on receipt of price. Agents wanted. Address all orders and applications -for an agency to</p> - -<p class="c"> -<i>J. S. OGILVIE PUBLISHING COMPANY</i>,<br /> -<i>Lock Box 2767.</i> <i>57 Rose Street, New York.</i><br /> -</p> - -<p><a name="page_226" id="page_226"></a></p> - -<hr /> - -<div class="bbox"> -<p class="cb"><big><big>AYER’S</big></big><br /> - <big><big>Hair Vigor</big></big></p> - -<p class="nind">cures scalp humors, prevents dandruff, restores color and vitality to -faded and gray hair, stimulates growth, makes the hair soft, glossy, and -beautiful. As a tonic and dressing for the hair and scalp it has no -equal, being used by both ladies and gentlemen</p> - -<p class="r"><b><big><big>FOR<br /> -THE<br /> -TOILET</big></big></b></p> - -<div class="figleft"> -<img src="images/illus228_sml.png" width="196" height="193" alt="" title="" /> -<br /> -<a href="images/illus228_lg.png"> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -</div> - -<p>“I have used Ayer’s Hair Vigor for years. It prevents the hair from -falling out, thickens the growth of the hair and gives it a fine, rich, -glossy appearance, such as no other dressing will impart. It is an -elegant toilet article, and I can cordially recommend it.”—Miss <span class="smcap">Dyda -Yates,</span> Utica, Mississippi.</p> - -<p class="cb"><big><big> -NO MORE<br /> - <span style="margin-left: 2em;"> <big>GRAY HAIR</big></span></big></big><br /> -</p> - -<p class="c">AYER’S PILLS cure Stomach Troubles.</p> -</div> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="" -style="padding:2%;border:3px dotted gray;"> -<tr><th align="center">Typographical errors corrected by the etext <a name="transcriber" id="transcriber"></a>transcriber:</th></tr> -<tr><td align="center">costly fireram come into the hands=> costly firearm come into the hands {pg 4}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">I did make a mistep at=> I did make a mis step at {pg 8}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">his eyebrows were so baldy shape=> his eyebrows were so badly shape {pg 13}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">gifted with this elasticty=> gifted with this elasticity {pg 13}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">That is why weh aveoc me to=> That is why we have [illegible]oc me to {pg 57}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">what has happend me=> what has happened me {pg 129}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">story of Oledipus=> story of Œdipus {pg 170}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">gold earings and chain=> gold earrings and chain {pg 14}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">the royal couch tramped men and women=> the royal coach tramped men and women {pg 18}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">had complaisant treasures=> had complaisant treasurers {pg 20}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">Queen and their son is in the midst=> Queen and their son are in the midst {pg 21}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">I always come with pelasure and confidence=> I always come with pleasure and confidence {pg 34}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">probably intented to=> probably intended to {pg 49}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">But Piton did not participate=> But Pitou did not participate {pg 64}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">with the competeitors=> with the competitors {pg 67}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">started through the words=> started through the woods {pg 72}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">has anything bad happened him=> has anything bad happened to him {pg 72}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">Her recoiled on the lounge=> She recoiled on the lounge {pg 83}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">he demaded=> he demanded {pg 83}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">Rosseau was dead=> Rousseau was dead {pg 95}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">He laid peculiar streets on this name=> He laid peculiar stress on this name {pg 100}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">villian=> villain {pg 103}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">so distinguised a man=> so distinguished a man {pg 104}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">wanting fine thousand=> wanting five thousand {pg 104}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">I have no pretention=> I have no pretension {pg 116}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">your are a friend=> you are a friend {pg 118}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">Ravaillac’s or Damiens'=> Ravaillac’s or Damien’s {pg 119}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">Provence’s owns Guards=> Provence’s own Guards {pg 119}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">Govenror of Metz=> Governor of Metz {pg 120}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">neasure of greatness=> measure of greatness {pg 130}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">meetings in the craypt=> meetings in the crypt {pg 141}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">The Jacobin is a young minotaurs=> The Jacobin is a young minotaur {pg 143}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">you are funeral, count=> you are funereal, count {pg 143}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">or we shall Surgeon=> or we shall have Surgeon {pg 150}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">I could notifiy him=> I could notify him {pg 151}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">he was wearing on old uniform=> he was wearing an old uniform {pg 153}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">nails properly trimed=> nails properly trimmed {pg 153}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">A kind gentelman=> A kind gentleman {pg 158}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">While Nocole would educate the boy=> While Nicole would educate the boy {pg 161}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">Do you not rocognize me=> Do you not recognize me {pg 167}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">what anology between=> what analogy between {pg 170}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">amoniacal dose=> ammoniacal dose {pg 189}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">this very mornng=> this very morning {pg 194}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">three corpes furnished=> three corpses furnished {pg 194}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">that this indicent broke=> that this incident broke {pg 195}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">loking steadily at her=> looking steadily at her {pg 196}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">instead of kepping it down=> instead of keeping it down {pg 197}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">yet in embyro=> yet in embryo {pg 199}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">road her down=> rode her down {pg 203}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">the vetran was=> the veteran was {pg 208}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">while her husaband rode off=> while her husband rode off {pg 211}</td></tr> -</table> - -<hr class="full" /> - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's The Hero of the People, by Alexandre Dumas - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HERO OF THE PEOPLE *** - -***** This file should be named 42681-h.htm or 42681-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/2/6/8/42681/ - -Produced by Juliet Sutherland. 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You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: The Hero of the People - A Historical Romance of Love, Liberty and Loyalty - -Author: Alexandre Dumas - -Translator: Henry Llewellyn Williams - -Release Date: May 10, 2013 [EBook #42681] -[Last updated: October 4, 2014] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HERO OF THE PEOPLE *** - - - - -Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Chuck Greif and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - -Many spelling and punctuation errors have been corrected. A list of the -etext transcriber's spelling corrections follows the text. Consistent -archaic spellings have not been changed. (Note of etext transcriber.) - - - - -PRICE, 25 CENTS. No. 80. - -THE SUNSET SERIES. -By Subscription, per Year, Nine Dollars. February 22, 1894. -Entered at the New York Post-Office as second-class matter. - -Copyright 1891, by J. S. OGILVIE. - -The Hero Of -The People. - -BY -Alex. Dumas. - -NEW YORK: -J. S. OGILVIE PUBLISHING COMPANY, -57 ROSE STREET. - -A WONDERFUL OFFER! - -70 House Plans for $1.00. - -[Illustration] - -If you are thinking about building a house don't fail to get the new -book - -PALLISER'S - -AMERICAN - -ARCHITECTURE, - -containing 104 pages, 11x14 inches in size, consisting of large 9x12 -plate pages giving plans, elevations, perspective views, descriptions, -owners' names, actual cost of construction (=_no guess work_=), and -instructions =_How to Build_= 70 Cottages, Villas, Double Houses, Brick -Block Houses, suitable for city suburbs, town and country, houses for -the farm, and workingmen's homes for all sections of the country, and -costing from $300 to $6,500, together with specifications, form of -contract, and a large amount of information on the erection of buildings -and employment of architects, prepared by Palliser, Palliser & Co., the -well-known architects. - -This book will save you hundreds of dollars. - -There is not a Builder, nor anyone intending to build or otherwise -interested, that can afford to be without it. It is a practical work, -and the best, cheapest and most popular book ever issued on Building. -Nearly four hundred drawings. - -It is worth $5.00 to anyone, but we will send it bound in paper cover, -by mail, post-paid for only $1.00; bound in handsome cloth, $2.00. -Address all orders to - -_J. S. OGILVIE PUBLISHING CO., -Lock Box 2767. 57 Rose Street, New York._ - - - - -THE HERO OF THE PEOPLE. - -A HISTORICAL ROMANCE -OF -LOVE, LIBERTY AND LOYALTY. - -BY ALEX. DUMAS. -Author of "The Queen's Necklace," "The Three Musketeers," -"Balsamo the Magician," "Monte Cristo," "Taking the Bastile," -"Chicot the Jester," etc. - -TRANSLATED FROM THE AUTHOR'S REVISED -LATEST EDITION. - -BY -HENRY LLEWELLYN WILLIAMS - -NEW YORK: -J. S. OGILVIE PUBLISHING COMPANY, -57 ROSE STREET. - -_Entered according to act of Congress in the year 1892, by A. E. Smith & -Co., in the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington._ - - - - -THE HERO OF THE PEOPLE. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -LOCKSMITH AND GUNSMITH. - - -The French Revolution had begun by the Taking of the Bastile by the -people of Paris on the Fourteenth of July, 1789, but it seemed to have -reached the high tide by King Louis XVI, with his Queen Marie Antoinette -and others of the Royal Family, leaving Versailles, after some -sanguinary rioting, for the Capital, Paris. - -But those who think, in such lulls of popular tempests, that all the -mischief has blown over, make a mistake. - -Behind the men who make the first onset, are those who planned it and -who wait for the rush to be made and, then, while others are tried or -satisfied, glide into the crowds to stir them up. - -Mysterious agents of secret, fatal passions, they push on the movement -from where it paused, and having urged it to its farthest limit, those -who opened the way are horrified, at awakening to see that others -attained the end. - -At the doorway of a wine saloon at Sevres by the bridge, over the Seine, -a man was standing who had played the main part, though unseen, in the -riots which compelled the Royal Family to renounce an attempt to escape -out of the kingdom like many of their sycophants, and go from Versailles -Palace to the Tuileries. - -This man was in the prime of life: he was dressed like a workingman, -wearing velveteen breeches shielded by a leather apron with pockets such -as shinglers wear to carry nailes in, or blacksmith-farriers or -locksmiths. His stockings were grey, and his shoes had brass buckles; on -his head was a fur cap like a grenadier's cut in half or what is called -nowadays an artillerist's busby. Grey locks came straggling from under -its hair and mingled with shaggy eyebrows; they shaded large bulging -eyes, keen and sharp, quick, with such rapid changes that it was hard to -tell their true color. His nose was rather thick than medium, the lips -full, the teeth white, and his complexion sunburnt. - -Without being largely built, this man was well formed: his joints were -not course and his hands were small and might have seemed delicate but -for their being swart like those of workers in metal. - -Despite the vigor of the biceps muscle shown from his having rolled up -his shirt sleeves, the skin was remarkable for its whiteness, and almost -aristocratically fine. - -Within his reach was a richly gold-inlaid double-barrelled fowling -piece, branded with the name of Leclere, the fashionable gunsmith of -Paris. You may ask how could such a costly firearm come into the hands -of a common artisan? In times of riot it is not always the whitest hands -which grasp the finest weapons. - -This man had only arrived from Versailles since an hour, and perfectly -well knew what had happened there: for to the landlord's questions as he -supplied him with a bottle of wine which he did not touch, he had -answered as follows: - -"The Queen is coming along with the King and the Dauphin. They had -started at half afternoon, having at last decided to live at the -Tuileries; in consequence of which for the future Paris would no longer -want for bread, as it would have in her midst, the Baker, the Baker's -Wife and the Baker's Boy, as the popular slang dubbed the three -'Royals'." - -As for himself, he was going to hang round to see the procession go by. - -This last assertion might be true, although it was easy to tell that his -glance was more often bent on the side towards Paris than Versailles, -which led one to surmise that he did not feel obliged to tell Boniface -exactly what his intentions were. - -In a few seconds his attraction seemed gratified, for he spied a man, -garbed much like himself, and appearing of the same trade, outlined on -the ridge of the road. He walked heavily like one who had journeyed from -afar. - -His age appeared to be like his awaiter's, that is, what is called the -wrong side of forty. His features were those of a common fellow with low -inclinations and vulgar instincts. - -The stranger's eye was fastened on him with an odd expression as if he -wished with a single scrutiny to measure the gold, if any, and the alloy -in his composition. - -When the wayfarer from the town was within twenty steps of this man -lounging in the doorway, the latter stepped inside, poured the wine from -the bottle into two glasses and returning to the doorstep with one -tumbler held up, he hailed him: - -"Hello, mate! it is pretty cold weather, and the road is a long one. -What do you say to our having a drop of the red to cheer us up and warm -us?" - -The workman from town looked round to make sure that he was alone and -that the greeting was addressed to him. - -"Speaking to me, are you?" - -"Who else, as you are alone?" - -"And offering me a go of wine?" - -"Why not, as we are brothers of the file and bossing-hammer alike? or -some at nigh." - -"Anybody can belong to a trade," said the other looking hard at the -speaker; "but the point is, are you a greenhand or a master of the -craft?" - -"I reckon we shall tell how far we have learnt the trade while drinking -and chatting together." - -"All right then!" said the other, walking up to the door, while the -inviter showed the table set out with the wine. The man took the -tumbler, eyed the contents as if he had doubts, but they disappeared -when the stranger poured himself out a second brimmer. - -"Why, hang it all, are you getting so proud that you will not drink with -a shopmate?" - -"No, dash me if I am--here is Good Luck to the Nation!" - -The workman's grey eyes were fixed on the toast-giver's. - -He tossed off the glass at a draft, and wiped his lips on his sleeve. - -"Deuse take it, but it is Burgundy wine," he remarked. - -"And good liquor, too, eh? the vintage was recommended to me; and -happening along I dropped in, and I am not repenting it. But why not sit -down and be at home? there is some more in the bottle and more in the -cellar when that is gone." - -"I say, what are you working at here?" - -"I have knocked off for the day. I finished a job at Versailles and I am -going on to Paris with the royal procession as soon as it comes along." - -"What procession?" - -"Why, the King and the Queen and the little Prince, who are returning to -the city with the Fishmarket women and two hundred Assemblymen, all -under protection of Gen. Lafayette and the National Guard." - -"So the fat old gentleman has decided to come to town?" - -"They made him do it." - -"I suspected so when I started for Paris at three this morning." - -"Hello! did you leave Versailles at three without any curiosity about -what was going off?" - -"No, no, I itched to know what the gent was up to, being an -acquaintance, a chum of mine, by the way, though I am not bragging; but -you know, old man, one must get on with the work. I have a wife and -children to provide for, and it is no joke now. I am not working at the -royal forge." - -The listener let what he heard pass without putting any questions. - -"So, it was on a pressing job that you went back to Paris?" he only -inquired. - -"Just that, as it appears, and handsomely paid too," said the workman, -jingling some coin in his pocket, "though it was paid for by a kind of -servant, which was not polite, and by a German, too, which blocked me -from having any pleasant chatter during the work. I am not one for gab, -but it amuses one if no harm is spoken of others." - -"And it is no harm when harm is spoken of the neighbors, eh?" - -Both men laughed, the stranger showing sound teeth against the other's -snaggy ones. - -"So, then, you have knocked off a good job, wanted doing in a hurry, and -well paid?" said the former, like one who advances only a step at a -time, but still does advance. "Hard work, no doubt?" - -"You bet it was hard. Worse than a secret lock--an invisible door. What -do you think of one house inside of another? some one who wants to hide -away, be sure. What a game he could have--in or out, as he pleased. -'Your master in?' 'No, sir: just stepped out.' 'You are a liar--he came -in just now.' 'You had better look, since you are so cocksure.' So they -look round, but I defy them to find the gentleman. An iron door, you -will understand, which closes on a beading-framed panel, while it runs -on balls in a groove as on wheels. On the metal is a veneer of old oak, -so that you can rap with your knuckles on it and the sound is identical -with that of a solid plank. I tell you when the job was done, it would -take me in myself." - -"Where the mischief would you do a job like that? but I suppose you -would not tell even a pal?" - -"I cannot tell because I do not know." - -"What hoodwinked you?" - -"Guess again and you will be wrong. A hack was waiting for me at the -city turnpike bars. A chap came up and asked: 'Are you so and-so?' I -said 'I am.' 'Good, we are waiting for you: jump in.' So I got inside -the coach, where they bandaged my eyes, and after the wheels had gone -round for about half an hour, a big carriage-door was opened. They took -me out and up ten steps of a flight of stairs into a vestibule, where I -found a German servant who said to the others: 'Goot! make scarce of -yourseluffs; no longer want we you.' They slung their hook out of it, -while the blinders were taken me off, and I was shown what I had to do. -I had pitched into the work like a good hand, and was done in an hour. -They paid me in bran-new gold, tied up my eyes, put me back in the -carriage, dropped me on the same spot where I was taken up, wished me -safe home--and here I am." - -"Without your having seen anything, even out of the tail of the eye? -Deuse take me if ever I heard of a bandage which would stop a man -catching a glimpse on one side or t'other. Better own up that you had a -peep at something?" pursued the stranger. - -"Well, I did make a misstep at the first stone of the stairs so that, in -throwing up my hands to keep from falling, I got a peep from its -disarranging the handkerchief. I saw a regular row of trees on my left -hand which made me think that I was in some avenue. That is all, on my -honor." - -"I can't say it is much. For the main avenue is long and more than one -house has a carriage-doorway betwixt the St. Honore Coffeehouse and the -Bastile." - -"The fact is," said the locksmith, scratching his head, "I don't think I -am up to telling the house." - -The questioner appeared satisfied, although his countenance did not -usually betray his feelings. - -"But," exclaimed he, as if skipping to another topic, "are there no good -locksmiths at Paris that they have to send to Versailles for one?" - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -THE THREE ODDITIES. - - -The locksmith lifted his tumbler to his eye's level, admired the liquor -with pleasure, and said after sipping it with gratification: - -"Bless you, yes, plenty of locksmiths at Paris." - -He drank a few drops more. - -"Ay, and masters of the craft." He drank again. "Yes, but there is a -difference between them." - -"Hang me," said the other, "but I believe you are like St. Eloi, our -patron saint, master among the master-workmen." - -"Are you one of us?" - -"Akin, my boy: I am a gunsmith. All smiths are brothers. This is a -sample of my work." - -The locksmith took the gun from the speaker's hands, examined it with -attention, clicked the hammers and approved with a nod of the sharp -action of the lock: but spying the name on the plate, he said: - -"Leclere? this won't do, friend, for Leclere is scanty thirty, and we -are both a good forty, without meaning to hurt your feelings." - -"Quite true, I am not Leclere, but it is the same thing, only a little -more so. For I am his master." - -"Oh, capital!" chuckled the locksmith; "it is the same as my saying 'I -am not the King but I am the same thing, only more so, as I am his -master.'" - -"Oho," said the other rising and burlesquing the military salute, "have -I the honor of addressing Master Gamain, the King of Locksmiths?" - -"Himself in person, and delighted if he can do anything for you," -replied Gamain, enchanted at the effect his name had produced. - -"The devil! I had no idea I was talking to one of the high flyers in our -line," said the other. "A man so well considered." - -"Of such consequence, do you mean?" - -"Well, maybe I have not used the right word, but then I am only a poor -smith, and you are the master smith for the master of France. I say," he -went on in another tone, "it can't be always funny to have a king for a -'prentice, eh?" - -"Why not?" - -"Plain enough. You cannot eternally be wearing gloves to say to the mate -on your bench: 'Chuck us the hammer or pass the retail file along.'" - -"Certainly not." - -"I suppose you have to say: 'Please your gracious Majesty, don't hold -the drill askew.'" - -"Why, that is just the charm with him, d'ye see, for he is a -plain-dealer at heart. Once in the forge, when he has the anvil to the -fore, and the leathern apron tied on, none would ever take him for the -Son of St. Louis, as he is called." - -"Indeed you are right, it is astonishing how much he is like the next -man." - -"And yet these perking courtiers are a long time seeing that." - -"It would be nothing if those close around him found that out," said the -stranger, "but those who are at a distance are beginning to get an idea -of it." - -His queer laugh made Gamain look at him with marked astonishment. But he -saw that he had blundered in his pretended character by making a -witticism, and gave the man no time to study his sentence, for he -hastened to recur to the topic by saying: - -"A good thing, too; for I think it lowers a man to have to slaver him -with Your Majesty here and My Noble Sire there." - -"But you do not have to call him high names. Once in the workshop we -drop all that stuff. I call him Citizen, and he calls me Gamain, but I -ain't what you would call chummy with him, while he _is_ familiar with -me." - -"That is all very well; but when the dinner hour comes round I expect he -sends you off to the kitchen to have your bread and cheese with the -flunkeys." - -"Oh, Lor', No! he has never done that; quite the other way about, for he -gets me to bring in a table all set into the workshop and he will often -put his legs under the mahogany with me, particularly at breakfast, -saying: 'I shall not bother about having breakfast with the Queen, as I -should have to wash my hands.'" - -"I can't make this out." - -"You can't understand that when the King works like us, he has his hands -smeared with oil and rust and filings, which does not prevent us being -honest folks, and the Queen would say to him, with her hoity-toity -prudish air: 'Dirty beggar, your hands are foul.' How can a man have a -fop's hands if he works at the forge?" - -"Don't talk to me about that--I might have married high if I could have -kept my fingers nice," sighed the stranger. - -"Let me tell you that the old chap does not have a lively time in his -geographical study or his library; but I believe he likes my company the -best." - -"That is all very amusing for you, except having to endure so poor a -pupil." - -"Poor," repeated Gamain. "Oh, no, you must not say that. He is to be -pitied, to tell the truth, in his coming into the world as a king, for -he is but a man--and having to waste himself on a pack of nonsense -instead of sticking to our art, in which he makes good way. He will -never be but a third-rate king for he is too honest, but he would have -made an excellent locksmith. There is one man I execrate for stealing -away his time--that Necker fellow, who made him lose such a lot of -time!" - -"You mean with his accounts and financing." - -"Ay, his fine-Nancy-ing, indeed." - -"But you must make a fat thing out of such a lad to bring on." - -"No, that is just where you are in error: that is why I bear a grudge to -him, Louis the Father of the Kingdom, the Restorer of the French Nation! -People believe that I am rich as _Creases_, while I am as poor as Job." - -"You, poor? why, what does he do with all his money?" - -"He gives half to the poor and the other half is got away by his -parasites, so that he never has any brass. The Coigny, Polignac and -Vaudreuil families eat him up, poor dear old boy! One day he wanted to -cut down Lord Coigny's appointments, and the gentleman waylaid him at -our forge door: after going out for five minutes, the King came back, -pale as a ghost, muttering: 'Faith, I believe he would have caned me.' -'Did he get the appointments reduced, Sire?' I inquired. 'I let them -stand,' he said: 'what else could I do?' Another time he wanted to scold -the Queen for giving Duchess Polignac three hundred thousand francs for -the linen for her baby, and what do you think?" - -"It is a pretty sum for a baby!" - -"Right you are: but it was not enough: the Queen made him give her five -hundred thousand. You have only to look how these Polignacs have got on, -who had not a penny when they started in, but are running away from -France with millions. I should not have minded if they had any talent, -but just give those neerdowells a hammer or cold chisel; they could not -forge a horseshoe: give them file and screw-driver and see how they -would get on at a common lock! However, they can wag the tongue to some -purpose, since they hounded the King on so that they leave him in a -quagmire. He may flounder out as best he can, with the help of General -Lafayette and Mayor Bailly, and Lord Mirabeau. I gave him good advice, -but he would not listen to me, and he leaves me with fifteen hundred -livres a-year, though I am his trainer, who first showed him to hold a -file properly." - -"But I suppose that when you worked with him, there were some pickings?" - -"But am I working with him now? Since the Taking of the Bastile, I have -not set foot inside his palace. Once or twice I met him: the first time, -as there was a crowd about in the street, he just bobbed his head; the -next, on the Satory Road, he stopped the coach for the coast was clear. -'Good morning, my poor Gamain, how goes it?' he sighed. 'How goes it -with you, Sire? but I know it is rough--but that will be a lesson to -you.' 'Are your wife and children well?' he said to shift the talk. 'All -fine but with appetites like ogres.' 'You must make them a little -present from me.' He searched his pockets, but he could rake up only -nine louis. 'That is all I carry with me, my poor Gamain,' he said with -a kind of groan, 'and I am ashamed to do so little.' Of course, it was -small cash for a monarch to give, short of ten gold pieces, so paltry a -sum to a work-fellow--So----" - -"You refused them?" - -"Catch me? No, I said: 'I had better grab, for he will meet somebody -else not so delicate as me, who would take them.' Still, he need not -fret himself, I shall never walk into Versailles unless I am sent for, -and I do not know as I shall then." - -"What a grateful heart this rogue has," muttered the stranger, but all -he said aloud was: "It is very affecting, Master Gamain, to see devotion -like yours survive misfortune. A last glass to the health of your -'prentice." - -"Faith, he does not deserve it, but never mind! here's to his health, -all the same!" He drank. "Only to think that he had thousands of bottles -in his cellar which would beat this, and he never said to a footman: -Take a basket of this lush to my friend Gamain!' Not he--he would sooner -have it swilled by his Lifeguardsmen, the Swiss, or his Flanders -Regiment. They did him a lot of good, I do not think!" - -"What did you expect?" questioned the other, sipping his wine, "kings -are ungrateful like this one. But hush! we are no longer alone." - -In fact, three persons were entering the drinking saloon, two men of the -common sort and a fishfag, and they took seats at the table matching -that at which Gamain and his "treater" were sitting. - -The locksmith raised his eyes to them and stared with an attention -making the other smile. They were truly worthy of some remark. - -One of the two men was all body: the other all legs: it was hard to say -anything about the woman. - -All-Body resembled a dwarf: he was under five feet in hight: he may have -lost an inch or so from his knees knocking although when he stood up, -his feet kept apart. Instead of his countenance redeeming the deformity, -it seemed to highten it;--for his oily and dirty hair was flattened down -on his bald forehead; his eyebrows were so badly shaped as to seem -traced at random; his eyes were usually dull but when lighted up sheeny -and glassy as the toad's. In moments of irritation, they threw out -sparks like a viper's, from concentrated pupils. His nose was flat, and -deviated from the straight line so that his prominent cheek bones stood -out all the more. Lastly, to complete the hideous aspect, his yellow -lips only partly covered the few, black and loose teeth in his twisted -mouth. - -At first glance you would say that gall, not blood, flowed in his veins. - -The other was so opposed to the short-legged one that he seemed a heron -on its stilts. The likeness to the bird was the closer from his head -being lost between his humped shoulders so as to be distinguished solely -by the eyes, like blood-spots, and a long, pointed, beak-like nose. Like -the heron, too, he seemed to have the ability to stretch his neck, and -put out the eyes of one at a distance. His arms also were gifted with -this elasticity, and while seated, he might pick up a handkerchief -dropped at his feet without moving his body. - -The third person was ambiguous; it being difficult to divine the sex. If -a man, he was upwards of thirty-four, wearing a stylish costume of the -fishmarket stallkeepers, with lace kerchief and tucker, and gold -earrings and chain. His features, as well as could be made out through -layers of rouge and flake white, together with beauty-patches of -sticking plaster of all fancy shapes, were slightly softened as in -degenerated races. As soon as one caught sight of him one wanted to hear -him speak in the hope that the voice's sound would give his dubious -appearance a stamp by which he could be classed. But it was nothing to -the purpose: his soprano voice left the curious observer still deeper -plunged into doubt. - -The shoes and stockings of the trio were daubed in mud to show that they -had been tramping in the road for some time. - -"Lord save us, I seem to know that woman, from having met her before," -said Gamain. - -"Very likely at court," sneered the pretended workman "their manners -have been there quite a while and they have been visitors, the -fishmarket dames, of late. But," he went on, pulling his cap down on his -brow and taking up his gun, "they are here on business: consequently, we -had better leave them alone." - -"Do you know them?" - -"By sight. Do you?" - -"I say that I have met the woman before: tell me who the men are and I -may put my finger on her name." - -"Of the two men, the knock-kneed one is the surgeon, Jean Paul Marat; -while the humpback is Prosper Verrieres." - -"Aha!" - -"Does not that put you on the right track?" - -"My tongue to the dogs if it does!" - -"The fishwoman is----" - -"Wait, it is--but, no--impossible----" - -"I see that you will not name _him_--the fish_woman_ is the Duke of -Aiguillon." - -At this utterance of the title, the disguised nobleman started and -turned, as well as his companions. They made a movement to rise as men -do when in presence of a leader: but the pretended gunsmith laid a -finger on his lips and passed them by. - -Gamain followed him, believing he was in a dream. - -At the doorway he was jostled by a running man, who seemed to be pursued -by a mob, shouting: - -"Stop him--that is the Queen's hairdresser! stop the hairdresser!" - -Among the howling and racing men were two who carried each a human head -on a pikestaff. They were those of two Lifeguards, killed at Versailles -in defending the Queen from the mob. - -"Halloa, it is Leonard," said the strange workman, to the fugitive. - -"Silence, do not name me," yelled the barber, dashing into the saloon. - -"What do they chase him for?" inquired Gamain. - -"The Lord knows," was the response: "maybe they want him to curl the -hair of the poor soldiers. In Revolutionary times, fellows have such -quaint fancies!" - -He mixed in with the throng, leaving Gamain, from whom he had probably -extracted all he wanted, to make his way alone to his workshop at -Versailles. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -THE UNDYING MAN. - - -It was the more easy for the pretended gunsmith to blend with the crowd -as it was numerous. - -It was the advance guard of the procession around the King, Queen and -the Prince Royal, leaving the court suburb at half past one. - -In the royal coach were the Queen, her son, her daughter, called Madam -Royale though a child, Count Provence, the King's brother. Lady -Elizabeth his sister, and the Queen's favorite lady of the household, -Andrea Taverney Countess of Charny. - -In a hundred carriages came the National Assemblymen who had declared -they would henceforth be inseparable from the monarch. - -This mob was about a quarter of an hour ahead of the royal party, and -rallied round the two royal guardsmen's heads as their colors. All -stopped at the Sevres wine saloon. The collection was of tattered and -half-drunken wretches, the scum that comes to the surface whether the -inundation is water or lava. - -Suddenly, great stir in the concourse, for they had seen the National -Guards' bayonets and General Lafayette's white horse, immediately -preceding the royal coach. - -Lafayette was fond of popular gatherings: he really reigned among the -Paris people whose idol he was. But he did not like the lowest orders. -Paris, like Rome, had a grade under the mere mob. - -In particular, he did not approve of Lynch Law, and he had done his -utmost to try to save those aristocrats whom the crowd had executed. It -was to hide their trophies and preserve the bloody tokens of victory -that the multitude kept on ahead. But on being encouraged by the trio of -captains waiting at the Sevres saloon, they decided to keep the heads up -and wait for the King, so that he should not be parted from his faithful -guards. - -The mob was increased by the country folks flocking to the road from all -quarters to see the cortege go by. A few cheered, adding their uproar to -the howls, hoots and groans of the marching column, but the majority, -stood dull and quiet on both sides of the road. - -Did this mean that they were for the Royal Family? No: or at least -unless they belonged to the court party, everybody, even the upper -middle class, suffered more or less from the dreadful famine spreading -over the kingdom. If they did not insult the King and Queen, they -remained hushed, and the silence of an assemblage is often worse than an -insult. - -On the other hand the myriads roared with all their lung power: "Hurrah -for Lafayette!" who took off his hat now and then or waved the sword in -his right hand: and "Long live Mirabeau!" who thrust his head out of the -carriage window, where he was one of six, to get a whiff of the air -necessary for his broad chest. - -Hence, amid the silence for himself, the unfortunate Louis XVI. heard -applauded that Popularity which he had lost and that Genius which he had -never possessed. - -By the King's right side carriage-window walked a man in a black suit -whose dress pointed him out as one of the Philosophers, as they were -termed, or Revolutionists who worked intellectually for the amelioration -of the monarchy. This was the royal honorary physician, Dr. Honore -Gilbert. The crowd cheered him at times, for he was a hero of their own. -Born a Frenchman, of humble degree, a boy on the estate of the -ultra-royalist Baron Taverney, he had educated himself in democratic -learning. Falling in love with his master's lovely daughter, Andrea, -since Countess of Charny, he had followed her to court. At Paris he -became favorite pupil of Rousseau, the revolutionist, and this farther -confirmed him in his subversive principles. - -But having taken advantage of Andrea while she was powerless under the -influence of a mesmeric sleep, he fled the country. He had deposited in -sure hands the living evidence of his crime, a boy named Emile (In honor -of Rousseau, who wrote a book so called) Sebastian Gilbert, and fled the -country. But at the Azores Islands he came in contact with the young -lady's brother Philip, who shot him down and believed he left him dead. - -But, restored to life by his friend, the Baron Balsamo, otherwise -Cagliostro the Magician he accompanied him to America. - -The two formed part of the legion of Frenchmen who helped the revolted -Thirteen Colonies to throw off the British yoke. - -Returning to his country he was arrested at Havre and thown into the -Bastile. When that hated prison was stormed by the Parisians led by the -Farmer Billet, he was rescued. He had gone to court to learn who had -caused this arrest, and to his amazement discovered that its author was -the woman whom he had unutterably wronged. Yes, the baron's daughter had -married the Queen's favorite, thought by some to be her paramour, Count -George Charny, very rich, very brave and altogether fit to create her a -power in the realm. - -Gilbert had a sincere pity for royalty under a cloud. He was known to -the King as the author of certain articles on the way to steer the Ship -of State, and his offer to serve him was gladly accepted. - -The mob cheered at the remarkable shaking up of the sands in Time's box -by which the revolutionary advocate, fresh from the Bastile dungeons, -should walk at the side of the King's coach to shield his life from the -assassin. No mere touch of rhetoric, for on the royal visit to Paris -lately a bullet had cut a button off the doctor's coat and slain a woman -in the throng: this graceful gentlemen in black was then a better -safeguard than the soldiers whose heads were now garnishing the pikes -there in advance. - -Queen Marie Antoinette looked with wonder at this doctor, whose stoicism -she could not understand, while to it the American manner of forced -quiet added more sternness. Without love or devotion for his sovereigns, -he carried out what he considered duty towards them, as ready to die for -them as those who had the qualities of the loyalist he lacked. - -On both sides of the royal coach tramped men and women, in mud six -inches deep, while amid the ribbons and rags, the Fishmarket women and -porters of the Paris Markets swarmed round waves more compact than the -rest of the human sea. These clumps were cannon or ammunition wagons, on -which sat women singing at the top of their voices. An old song which -had been applied to King Louis XV.'s mistress Jeanne Dubarry, and was -now altered to suit Marie Antoinette and the situation of affairs, was -their choice. They roared: - - "The Baker's wife has got the cash, which costs her very little." - -They also kept reiterating: "We shall not want for bread any more, as we -have got the Baker, the Baker's Wife and the Baker's Little Boy along." - -The Queen seemed to listen to it all without understanding. Between her -knees she held her son, who looked at the multitude as frightened -princes stare when appalled. - -The King watched with a dull and heavy eye. He had little sleep in the -night; he had not made a good breakfast though usually a hearty eater; -he had no time to have his hair dressed and his beard had grown long. -His linen was limp and roughened, too--all things to his disadvantage. -Alas, Louis was not the man for emergencies, and this was a period of -emergencies. He bent his head when they came: save once when he held his -chin up--it was when he walked upon the scaffold. - -Lady Elizabeth was the angel of sweetness and resignation placed by -heaven beside those doomed creatures to console the King during the -Queen's absence; and the Queen after the King's death. - -Count Provence, here as everywhere, had the squinting glance of a false -man; he knew that he ran no present danger; he was the popular member of -the family--no one knew why--perhaps because he remained in France when his -brother Artois fled. - -Could the King have read his heart, he might not have felt any gratitude -to him for what he pledged in the way of devotion. - -Countess Andrea seemed of marble. She had recognized the man she most -hated in the King's new confidential adviser, and one whom the Queen -seemed bound to win to her side. Like a statue, the stir round her -seemed not to affect her, and she looked in attire as trim as if fresh -from a band-box. One thought was alive within her, fierce and -luminous--love for some unknown--perchance her husband, or hate for -Gilbert--at whom she darted lightnings involuntarily whenever their -glances crossed. But she felt that she might not defy his with impunity, -for he was a pupil of Balsamo Cagliostro, the arch-mesmerist, and might -sway her with the same art. - -A hundred paces on the other side of the little drinking saloon, the -royal train stopped. All along the line the clamor doubled. - -The Queen bent out of the window and as the movement looked like a bow -to the crowd, there was a long murmur. She called Dr. Gilbert. - -He went up to the window: as he had kept his hat off all the way, he -had no need to bare his head in respect. His attitude showed he was -entirely under her orders. - -"What are your people shouting and singing?" she requested to know. - -The Queen's form of putting the question showed that she had been -ruminating it for some time. He sighed as much as to say, it is the same -old story. - -"Alas, my lady," he proceeded with profound melancholy, "those you call -my people, were yours in former times, and it is less than twenty years -ago when Lord Brissac, a delightful courtier whom I look in vain for -here, showed you the same people shouting for the Dauphin under the City -Hall windows and said: 'You behold twenty thousand admirers there.'" - -The Queen bit her lips from the impossibility of catching this man in -want of a repartee or of respect. - -"That is true--it only proves that the many-headed change," she said. - -Gilbert bowed this time, without retort. - -"I asked you a question, doctor," persisted the lady, with the obstinacy -she had for even disagreeable matters. - -"Yes, and I answer since your Majesty insists. They are singing that the -Baker's Wife has plenty of money which it gave her no trouble to get. -You are aware that they style your Majesty the Baker's Wife?" - -"Just as they called me Lady Deficit before. Is there any connection -between the nicknames?" - -"So much also as the finances are concerned. They mean by your money -being easily come by that you had complaisant treasurers such as Calonne -in particular, who gave you whatever you asked; the people therefore -assume that you got your money readily for the asking." - -The Queen's hand was clenched on the red velvet carriage-window ledge. - -"So much for what they are singing. Now, for what they bellow out?" - -"They say that they shall no longer want for bread since they have the -Baker, the Baker's Wife and the Baker's Son among them." - -"I expect you to make this second piece of insolence clear." - -"You would see that they are not so much to blame as you fancy if you -were to look to the intention and not weigh the words of the people. -Wrongly or rightfully, the masses believe that a great Grain Trust is -carried on at Versailles. This prevents flour from coming freely into -the capital. Who feeds the Paris poor? the Baker. Towards whom does the -working man and his wife hold out their supplicating hands when their -children cry for food? the baker and the baker's wife. Who do they pray -to after the Sender of the harvest? the lady of the estate--that is, the -loaf-giver, as the name is derived. Are not you three the loaf-givers -for the country, the King, yourself and this august child? Do not be -astonished at the mighty, blessed name the people give you, but thank -them for cherishing the hope that as soon as the King, the Queen and -their son are in the midst of the famished thousands, they will no -longer be in want." - -For an instant the royal lady closed her eyes, and she made the movement -of swallowing as though to keep down her hatred as well as bitter saliva -which scorched her throat. - -"So we ought to thank these howlers for their songs and nick-names upon -us?" - -"Yes, and most sincerely: the song is but an expression of their good -humor as the shouts are of their expectations. The whole explains their -desire." - -"So they want Lafayette and Mirabeau to live long?" - -"Yes," returned Gilbert, seeing that the Queen had clearly heard the -cries, "for those two leaders, separated by the gulf over which you -hang, may, united, save the monarchy." - -"Do you mean that the monarchy has sunk so low that it can be picked up -by those two?" queried the lady. - -He was going to make some kind of reply when a burst of voices, in -dread, with atrocious peals of laughter and a great swaying of the -gathering, driving Gilbert closer to the vehicle, announced that he -would be needed in defense of the Queen by speech or action. It was the -two head-carriers, who, after having made Leonard barb and curl the -hair, wanted to have the fun of presenting them to Marie Antoinette--as -other roughs, or perhaps the same--had presented the dead heads of sons -to their fathers. - -The crowd yelled with horror and fell away as these ghastly things came -up. - -"In heaven's name, do not look to the right," cried Gilbert. - -The Queen was no woman to obey such an injunction without a peep to see -the reason. So her first movement was to turn her gaze in the forbidden -direction and she uttered a scream of fright. But, all of a sudden, as -she tore her sight from this horrible spectacle as if they were Gorgon -heads, they became fixed as though they met another view even more -awful, from which she could not detach it. - -This Medusa's head was the stranger's who had been drinking and chatting -with Locksmith Gamain in the wine-store: with folded arms, he was -leaning against a tree. - -The Queen's hand left the window cushion, and resting on Gilbert's -shoulder, he felt her clench her nails into its flesh. He turned to see -her pale, with fixed eyes and quivering, blanched lips. - -He would have ascribed the emotion to the two death's heads but for her -not looking at either. The gaze was in another direction, traveling -visually in which he descried the object and he emitted a cry of amaze. - -"Cagliostro!" both uttered at the same time. - -The man at the tree clearly saw the Queen, but all he did was beckon for -Gilbert to come to him. - -At this point of time the carriages started on once more. By a natural -and mechanical impulse the Queen gave Gilbert an outward push to prevent -his being run over by the wheel. It looked as though she urged him -towards the summoner. Anyhow, he was not sufficiently master of himself -not to obey the mandate. Motionless, he let the party proceed; then, -following the mock gunsmith who merely looked back to be sure he was -followed, he entered behind him a little lane going uphill to Bellevue, -where they disappeared behind a wall at the same time as the procession -went out of sight in a declivity of the hills, as though plunging into -an abyss. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -FATALITY. - - -Gilbert followed his guide half-way up the slope where stood a handsome -house. The foregoer pulled out a key and opened a side door intended for -the master to go in or come out without the servants knowing when he did -so. He left the door ajar to signify that the companion of the journey -was to use it. Gilbert entered and shut the door gently but it silently -closed itself tightly with a pneumatic arrangement at the hinges which -seemed the work of magic. Such an appliance would have been the delight -of Master Gamain. - -Through luxuriously fitted passages Gilbert finally came into a drawing -room, hung with Indian satin tapestry; a fantastic Oriental bird held -the lustre in its beak and it emitted a light which Gilbert knew was -electricity, though its application thus would have been a puzzle to -others than this specialist in advanced science. The lights represented -lily-blooms, which again was an anticipation of modern illuminators. - -One picture alone adorned this room but it was Raphael's Madonna. - -Gilbert was admiring this masterpiece when the host entered by a secret -door behind him from a dressing room. - -An instant had sufficed for him to wash off the stain and the -pencillings and to give his black hair, without any grey, a stylish -turn. He had also changed his clothes. Instead of the workman was an -elegant nobleman. His embroidered coat and his hands glittering with -rings in the Italian style, strongly contrasted with Gilbert's American -black coat and his plain gold ring, a keepsake from General Washington. - -Count Cagliostro advanced with a smiling open face and held out his hand -to Gilbert. - -"Dear Master," cried the latter rushing to him. - -"Stop a bit," interrupted the other, laughing: "since we have parted, -my dear Gilbert, you have made such progress in revolutionary methods at -all events, that you are the master at present and I not fit to undo -your shoestrings." - -"I thank you for the compliment," responded the doctor, "but how do you -know I have made such progress, granting I have progressed?" - -"Do you believe you are one of those men whose movement is not marked -although not seen? Since eight years I have not set eyes on you but I -have had a daily report of what you did. Do you doubt I have -double-sight?" - -"You know I am a mathematician." - -"You mean, incredulous? Let me show you, then. In the first place you -returned to France on family matters; they do not concern me, and -consequently----" - -"Nay, dear master, go on," interposed the other. - -"Well, you came to have your son Sebastian educated in a boarding school -not far from Paris in quiet, and to settle business affairs with your -farmer, an honest fellow whom you are now retaining in town against his -wishes. For a thousand reasons he wants to be home beside his wife." - -"Really, master, you are prodigious!" - -"Wait for something stronger. The second time you returned to France -because political questions drew you, like many others; besides you had -published several political treatises which you sent to King Louis XVI., -and as there is much of the Old Man in you--you are prouder for the -approval of the King than perhaps you would be of that of my predecessor -in your training, Rousseau--who would be higher than a king this day, -had he lived--you yearn to learn what is thought of Dr. Gilbert by the -descendant of St. Louis, Henry Fourth and Louis XIV. Unfortunately a -little matter has kept alive which you did not bear in mind, as a sequel -to which I picked you up in a cave in the Azores, where my yacht put in. -I restored you from the effects of a bullet in your breast. This little -affair concerned Mdlle. Andrea Taverney, become Countess Charny, which -she deserves, to save the Queen's reputation, compromised by the King -coming upon her and Count Charny by surprise. - -"As the Queen could refuse nothing to this saver, she got a blank -warrant and committal to prison for you, so that you were arrested on -the road out of Havre and taken to the Bastile. There you would be to -this day, dear doctor, if the people, prepared for a rising by a person -whom you may divine, had not in a day knocked the old building lower -than the gutter. I was not sorry, for I had a taste of the fare myself -before I was banished the Kingdom. This morning early, you contributed -to the rescue of the Royal Family, by running to arouse Lafayette, who -was sleeping the sleep of the virtuous; and just now, when you saw me, -you were about to make a breastwork of your body for the Queen who -seemed threatened--though, between ourselves, she detests you. Is this -right? Have I forgotten anything of note, such as a hypnotic seance -before the King when Countess Charny was made to disclose how she had -led to your imprisonment and how she obtained a certain casket of your -papers by one Wolfstep, a police agent? Tell me and if I have omitted -any point, I am ready to do penance for it." - -Gilbert stood stupefied before this extraordinary man, who knew so well -to prepare his march that his hearer was inclined to attribute to him -the faculty of comprising heavenly as well as mundane things, and to -read in the heart of man. - -"Yes, it is thus and you are still the magician, the fortune-teller, the -thaumaturgist, Cagliostro!" - -The wonder-worker smiled with satisfaction, for it was evident that he -was proud of having worked on Gilbert such an impression as the latter's -visage revealed. - -"And now," continued Gilbert, "as I love you as much as you do me, dear -master, and my desire to learn what you have been doing is equal to -yours and how I have fared, will you kindly tell me, if I am not -intruding too far, in what part of the globe you have exhibited your -genius and practiced your power?" - -"Oh, I?" said Cagliostro, smiling, "like yourself I have been rubbing -shoulders with kings, but with another aim. You go up to them to uphold -them; I to knock them over. You try to manufacture a constitutional -monarch and will not succeed; I, to make emperors, kings and princes -democratic, and I am coming on." - -"Are you really?" queried Gilbert with an air of doubt. - -"Decidedly. It must be allowed that they were prepared for me by -Voltaire, Alembert and Diderot, admirable Mecaenases, sublime contemners -of the gods, and also by the example of Frederick the Great, whom we -have the misfortune to lose. But you know we are all mortal, except the -Count of St. Germain and myself. - -"So long as the Queen is fair, my dear Gilbert, and she can recruit -soldiers to fight among themselves, kings who fret to push over thrones -have never thought of hurling over the altar. But we have her brother, -Kaiser Joseph II. who suppresses three-fourths of the monasteries, -seizes ecclesiastical property, drives even the Camelite nuns out of -their cells, and sends his sister prince of nuns trying on the latest -fashions in hats and monks having their hair curled. We have the King of -Denmark, who began by killing his doctor Struensee, and who, at -seventeen, the precocious philosopher, said: 'Voltaire made a man of me -for he taught me to think.' We have the Empress Catherine, who made such -giant strides in philosophy that--while she dismembered Poland, Voltaire -wrote to her: 'Diderot, Alembert and myself are raising altars to you. -We have the Queen of Sweden and many princes in the Empire and -throughout Germany.'" - -"You have nothing left you but to convert the Pope, my dear master, and -I hope you will, as nothing is beyond you." - -"That will be a hard task. I have just slipped out of his claws. I was -locked up in Castle Sanangelo as you were in the Bastile." - -"You don't say so? did the Romans upset the castle as the people of St. -Antoine Ward overthrew the Bastile?" - -"No, my dear doctor, the Romans are a century behind that point. But, be -easy: it will come in its day: the Papacy will have its revolutionary -days, and Versailles and the Vatican can shake hands in equality at that -era." - -"I thought that nobody came alive out of Castle Sanangelo?" - -"Pooh! what about Benvenuto Cellini, the sculptor?" - -"You had not wings such as he made, had you, and did you flit over the -Tiber like a new Icarus?" - -"It would be the more difficult as I was lodged for the farther security -in the blackest dungeon of the keep. But I did get out, as you see." - -"Bribed the jailor with gold?" - -"I was out of luck, for my turnkey was incorruptible. But, fortunately, -he was not immortal. Chance--the believers say, Providence--well, the -Architect of the Universe granted that he should die on the morrow of -his refusing to open the prison doors. He died very suddenly! and he had -to be replaced." - -"The new hand was not unbribable?" - -"The day of his taking up his office, as he brought me the soup, he -said: 'Eat heartily and get your strength, for we have to do some stiff -traveling this night.' By George, the good fellow told no lie. That same -night we rode three horses out dead, and covered a hundred miles." - -"What did the government say when your disappearance was known?" - -"Nothing. The dead and still-warm other jailer was clad in the clothes I -left behind; and a pistol was fired in his face; it was laid by his side -and the statement was given out that in despair at having no escape and -with the useless weapon which I had procured none could tell how, I had -blown out my brains. It follows that I am officially pronounced dead and -buried; the jailer being interred in my name. It will be useless, my -dear Gilbert, my saying that I am alive, for the certificate of my death -and burial will be produced to prove that I am no more. But they will -not have to do anything of the sort as it suits me to be thought passed -away at this date. I have made a dive into the sombre river, as the -poets say, but I have come up under another name. I am now Baron Zanone, -a Genoese banker. I discount the paper of princes--good paper in the -sort of Cardinal Prince Rohan's, you know. But I am not lending money -merely for the interest. By the way, if you need cash, my dear Gilbert, -say so? You know that my purse, like my heart, is always at your call." - -"I thank you." - -"Ah, you think to incommode me, because you met me in my dress as a -workman? do not trouble about that; it is merely one of my disguises; -you know my ideas about life being one long masquerade where all are -more or less masked. In any case, my dear boy, if ever you want money, -out of my private cash box here--for the grand cash box of the -Invisibles is in St. Claude Street--come to me at any hour, whether I am -at home or not--I showed you the little, side door; push this spring -so--" he showed him the trick--"and you will find about a million -ready." - -The round top of the desk opened of itself on the spring being pressed, -and displayed a heap of gold coin and bundles of banknotes. - -"You are in truth a wonderful man!" exclaimed Gilbert; "but you ought to -know that with twenty thousand a-year, I am richer than the King. But do -you not fear being disquieted in Paris?" - -"On account of the matter of the Queen's Necklace for which I was forbid -the realm? Go to! they dare not. In the present ferment of minds I have -only to speak one word to evoke a riot: you forget that I am friendly -with all the popular leaders--Lafayette, Necker, Mirabeau and yourself." - -"What have you come to do at Paris?" - -"Who knows? perhaps what you went over to the United States to do--found -a republic." - -"France has not a republican turn of mind," said the other, shaking his -head. - -"We shall teach her that way, that is all. It has taken fifteen hundred -years to rule with a monarchy; in one hundred the Republic will be -founded to endure--why not as long?" - -"The King will resist; the nobility fly to arms; and then what will you -do?" - -"We will make a revolution before we have the Republic." - -"It will be awful to do that, Joseph," said Gilbert, hanging his head. - -"Awful indeed, if we meet many such as you on the road." - -"I am not strong, but honest," said the doctor. - -"That is worse: so I want to bring you over." - -"I am convinced--not that I shall prevent you in your work, but will -stay you." - -"You are mad, Gilbert; you do not understand the mission of France in -Europe. It is the brain of the Old World, and must think freely so that -the world will be the happier for its thought. Do you know what -overthrew the Bastile?" - -"The people." - -"No: public opinion. You are taking the effect for the cause." - -"For five hundred years they have been imprisoning nobles in the Bastile -and it stood. But the mad idea struck an insane monarch one day to lock -up thought--the spirit which must be free, and requires space unto -immensity, and crack! it burst the walls and the mob surged in at the -breach." - -"True enough," mused the younger man. - -"Twenty-six years ago, Voltaire wrote to Chauvelin: 'All that I see is -sowing Revolution round us, and it will inevitably come though I shall -not have the bliss to see the harvest. The French are sometimes slow to -come into the battle but they get there before the fight is over. Light -is so spread from one to another, that it will burst forth in a mass -soon, and then there will be a fine explosion. The young men are happy -for they will behold splendors. What do you say about the flare-ups of -yesterday and what is going on to-day?'" - -"Terrible!" - -"And what you have beheld in the way of events?" - -"Dreadful!" - -"We are only at the beginning." - -"Prophet of evil!" - -"For instance, I was at the house of a man of merit, a doctor of -medicine and a philanthropist: what do you think he was busy over?" - -"Seeking the remedy for some great disease." - -"You have it. He is trying to cure, not death, but life." - -"What do you mean?" - -"Leaving epigrams aside, I mean that there not being means enough for -quitting life, he is inventing a very ingenious machine which he reckons -to present to his fellow countrymen, to put fifty or eighty persons to -death in an hour. Well, my dear Gilbert, do you believe that so human a -philanthropist, so distinguished a physician as Dr. Louis Guillotin, -would busy himself about such an instrument unless he felt the want of -it? - -"I know that this is not so much a novelty as a machine forgotten, as a -proof of which I showed it as an image in a glass of water to Marie -Antoinette. She was then espoused to the Dauphin of France, now its -sovereign, and it was down at Taverney where you were a dependent. The -old baron was alive then, and the lady of the manor was Mdlle. Andrea." - -"Ah," sighed Gilbert at this reminder of his boyhood. - -"But at the first you had eyes only for the servant-maid, Nicole, -afterwards Olive Legay, as the Dauphiness, to whom she bore an amazing -resemblance by the bye, is the Queen of France. Well I repeat that the -future Queen was shown by me this instrument to which I shall suggest no -name, though the olden ones are the Maiden, the Widow and the _Mannaya_ -in my country. The thing so alarmed her that she swooned dead away. It -was in limbo at the era, but you shall see it at work presently if it be -successful; and then you must be blind if you do not spy the hand of -heaven in it all, it being foreseen that the time would come when the -headsman would have his hands too full and that a new method must be -devised." - -"Count, your remarks were more consoling when we were in America." - -"I should rather think they were! I was in the midst of a people who -rose and here in society which falls. In our Old World, all march -towards the grave, nobility and royalty, and this grave is a bottomless -pit." - -"Oh, I abandon the nobility to you, count, or rather it threw itself -away in the night of the fourth of August; but the royalty must be saved -as the national palladium." - -"Big words, my dear Gilbert: but did the palladium save Troy? Do you -believe it will be easy to save the realm with such a king?" - -"But in short he is the descendant of a grand race." - -"Eagles that have degenerated into parrots. They have been marrying in -and out till they are rundown." - -"My dear sorcerer," said Gilbert, rising and taking up his hat, "you -frighten me so that I must haste and take my place by the King." - -Cagliostro stopped him in making some steps towards the door. - -"Mark me, Gilbert," he said, "you know whether I love you or not and if -I am not the man to expose myself to a hundred sorrows to aid you to -avoid one--well, take this piece of advice: let the King depart, quit -France, while it is yet time. In a year, in six months, in three, it -will be too late." - -"Count, do you counsel a soldier to leave his post because there is -danger in his staying?" - -"If the soldier were so surrounded, engirt, and disarmed that he could -not defend himself: if, above all, his life exposed meant that of half a -million of men--yes, I should bid him flee. And you yourself, Gilbert, -you shall tell him so. The King will listen to you unless it is all too -late. Do not wait till the morrow but tell him to-day. Do not wait till -the afternoon but tell him in an hour." - -"Count, you know that I am of the fatalist school. Come what come may! -so long as I shall have any hold on the King it will be to retain him in -France, and I shall stay by him. Farewell, count: we shall meet in the -action: perhaps we shall sleep side by side on the battlefield." - -"Come, come, it is written that man shall not elude his doom however -keen-witted he may be," muttered the magician: "I sought you out to tell -you what I said, and you have heard it. Like Cassandra's prediction it -is useless, but remember that Cassandra was correct. Fare thee well!" - -"Speak frankly, count," said Gilbert, stopping on the threshold to gaze -fixedly at the speaker, "do you here, as in America, pretend to make -folk believe that you can read the future?" - -"As surely, Gilbert," returned the self-asserted undying one, "as you -can read the pathway of the stars, though the mass of mankind believe -they are fixed or wandering at hazard." - -"Well, then--someone knocks at your door." - -"Yes." - -"Tell me his fate: when he shall die and how?" - -"Be it so," rejoined the sorcerer, "let us go and open the door to him." - -Gilbert proceed towards the corridor end, with a beating of the heart -which he could not repress, albeit he whispered to himself that it was -absurd to take this quackering as serious. - -The door opened. A man of lofty carriage, tall in stature, and with -strong-will impressed on his lineaments, appeared on the sill and cast a -swift glance on Dr. Gilbert not exempt from uneasiness. - -"Good day, marquis," said Cagliostro. - -"How do you do, baron?" responded the other. - -"Marquis," went on the host as he saw the caller's gaze still settled on -the doctor, "this is one of my friends, Dr. Gilbert. Gilbert, you see -Marquis Favras, one of my clients. Marquis, will you kindly step into my -sitting-room," continued he as the two saluted each other, "and wait for -a few seconds when I shall be with you." - -"Well?" queried Gilbert as the marquis bowed again and went into the -parlor. - -"You wished to know in what way this gentleman would die?" said -Cagliostro with an odd smile; "have you ever seen a nobleman hanged?" - -"Noblemen are privileged not to die by hanging." - -"Then it will be the more curious sight; be on the Strand when the -Marquis of Favras is executed." He conducted his visitor to the street -door, and said: "When you wish to call on me without being seen and to -see none but me, push this knob up and to the left, so--now, -farewell--excuse me--I must not make those wait who have not long to -live." - -He left Gilbert astounded by his assurance, which staggered him but -could not vanquish his incredulity. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -THE CANDLE OMEN. - - -In the meantime the Royal Family had continued their road to Paris. The -pace was so slow and delayed that it was six o'clock before the carriage -containing so much sorrow, hatred, passions and innocence, arrived at -the city bars. - -During the journey the Dauphin had complained of being hungry. There was -no want of bread as many of the pikes and bayonets were holding up -loaves and the Queen would have asked Gilbert to get one, if he had been -by. She could not ask the mob, whom she held in horror. - -"Wait till we are in the Tuileries Palace this evening," she said, -hugging the boy to her. - -"But these men have plenty," he protested. - -"But that is theirs, not ours. And they went all the way to Versailles -for it as there was none in Paris, these three days." - -"Have they not eaten for three days?" said the Prince. "Then they must -be awful hungry, mamma." - -Etiquet ordered him to address his mother as Madam, but he was hungry as -a poor boy and he called her mamma as a poor boy would his mother. - -Ceasing to grieve, he tried to sleep. Poor royal babe, who would cry -many times yet for bread before he died. - -At the bars a halt was made, not to repose but to rejoice over the -arrival. It was hailed with song and dance. A strange scene almost as -terrifying in this joy as the others had been for ghastliness. - -The fishmarket-women got off their horses, captured from the slain -Lifeguardsmen, hanging their swords and carbines to the horns. Other -women and the market-girls jumped off their cannon, which appeared in -their alarming smoothness. - -They all joined hands and danced around the royal carriage. Separating -it from the deputies and the National Guard, an omen of what was to -follow. This round dance had the good intention to set the enforced -guests at ease: the men and women capered, kissed, hugged and sang -together. The men lifted up their partners as in Teniers' pictures. - -This went on as night was falling, on a dark and rainy day, so that the -dancing by the light of torches and the gun-stocks and fireworks, took -fantastic effects of light and shade almost infernal. - -After half an hour all shouted a general hurrah; all the firearms were -shot off at risk of shooting somebody; and the bullets came down in the -puddles with a sinister plash. - -The prince and his sister wept; they were too frightened to feel -hungered. - -At the City Hall a line of troops prevented the crowd from entering the -place. Here the Queen perceived her foster-brother, and confidential -servant, Weber, an Austrian who had followed her fortunes from home, and -was trying to pass the cordon and go in with her. To be more useful to -the Queen he had put on a National Guard uniform and added the insignia -of a staff-officer. The Royal Groom had lent him a horse. Not to excite -suspicion he kept at a distance during the journey. Now he ran up at her -call. - -"What have you come for?" she demanded; "you will be useless here while -at the Tuileries you will be needed. If you do not go on before, nothing -will be ready for our accommodation." - -"Capital idea that," said the King. - -The Queen had spoken in German and the King had replied in English as he -did not speak the other tongue though understanding it. - -The bystanders held foreign tongues in horror, and they murmured and -this swelled to a roar when the square opened and let the coach roll -through. - -The welcoming speech was made by Billy, Mayor of Paris, who played the -King a scurvy trick by repeating his answer: "I always come with -pleasure and confidence among my good people of Paris," without the word -"confidence" which spoilt matters, and he was taken to task by the Queen -for it. - -It was not till ten o'clock that the royal carriage got back to the -Tuileries where Weber had done the best he could for them. - -Count Provence had gone to Luxembourg Palace. - -Weber had located the Royal Family in Countess Lamarck's rooms, but the -comforts were limited. For instance there was no room for Countess -Charny at supper and she talked of spending the night in a chair for -want of a bed. But knowing the great favor in which the Queen held the -countess, they placed a couch for her in the next room to the Queen's. - -The latter shuddered at this for she thought of the count being with his -wife, and Andrea saw the emotion. - -"There must be some corner for me elsewhere," said she; "I will go find -it." - -"You are right, countess," said the King while Marie Antoinette mumbled -something unintelligible. "We will do something better to-morrow." - -The King watched the stately countess go out, while he held the plate to -his mouth. - -"That lady is a delightful creature," he said, "and Charny ought to be -happy to find such a phoenix at court." - -The Queen leant back in her chair to hide her sensation, not from the -speaker, but from his sister Elizabeth, who was frightened lest she had -fallen ill. - -The Queen did not breathe at ease till alone in her room. - -She had heard her daughter say her prayers, speaking a little longer -than usual as she was pleading for her brother who had gone to rest -forgetting to say his. - -Sitting alone at a table, somehow she had the panorama of her life pass -before her. - -She recalled that she was born on the second of November, 1755, the day -of the Lisbon earthquake, which swallowed up fifty thousand souls and -extended five thousand miles. - -She recalled that the room she slept in, in France, at Strasburg, -represented the Massacre of the Innocents and so frightened her in the -flickering lamplight that she had always retained a terrible memory of -her first night on French soil. - -She recalled how, stopping at Taverney House, she had been shown in the -gardens by Baron Balsamo the image of an unknown instrument for -decapitation: this was the man who, under the name of Cagliostro, had -exercised a fatal influence on her destiny, as witness his hand in the -Queen's Necklace trial; though she was advised that he had perished in -the papal dungeons as a magician and atheist, had she not seen him this -day in the mob during the halt at Sevres? - -She recalled that in Madam Lebrun's portrait she had unwittingly made -her pose as the unfortunate Henrietta Maria of England, in her portrait, -as Wife of Charles I. the Beheaded. - -She recalled how, when she got out of her coach for the first time at -Versailles, in that Marble Court where so much blood lately flowed on -her behalf, a lightning stroke had flashed so extraordinarily that -Marshal Richelieu had said: "An evil omen!" albeit he was a cynic not -easily startled by superstition. - -She was recalling all this when a reddish cloud, from her eyes being -strained, thickened around her, and one of the four candles in the -candelabrum went out without evident cause. - -While she was looking at it, still smoking, it seemed to her that the -next taper to it paled sensibly, and turning red and then blue in the -flame, faded away and lengthened upward, as if to quit the wick, from -which it leaped altogether. It was extinguished, as though by an unseen -breath from below. - -She had watched the death of this with haggard eyes and panting bosom, -and her hands went out towards the candlestick proportionable to the -eclipse. When gone out, she closed her eyes, drew back in her armchair, -and ran her hand over her forehead, streaming with perspiration. - -When she opened them anew, after ten minutes, she perceived that the -flame of the third candle was affected like the rest. - -She believed it was a dream or that she was under some hallucination. -She tried to rise but seemed nailed to her chair. She wanted to call her -daughter, whom she would not have aroused a few minutes before for a -second crown, but her voice died away in her throat. She tried to turn -her head but it was rigid as if the third light expiring attracted her -eyes and breath. Like the other pair, it changed hue and swaying to one -side and the other, finally shot itself out. - -Then fear had such mastery that speech returned to her and that made her -feel restored in courage. - -"I am not going to distress myself because three candles happened to go -out," she said; "but if the fourth suffers the same fate, then woe is -me!" - -Suddenly, without going through the transitions of the others, without -lengthening or fluttering to left or right as if the death-angel wing -had wafted it, the fourth flame went out. - -She screamed with terror, rose, reeled and fell to the floor. - -At this appeal the door opened and Andrea, white and silent in her -night-wrapper appeared like a ghost on the sill. When she had revived -her mistress with the mechanical action of one impelled by sheer duty, -the Queen remembered all the presage, and aware that it was a woman -beside her, flung her arms round her neck, and cried: - -"Save me, defend me!" - -"Your Majesty needs no defense among her friends," said Andrea, "and you -appear free of the swoon in which you fell." - -"Countess Charny," gasped the other, letting go of her whom she had -embraced, and almost repelling her in the first impulse. - -Neither the feeling nor the expression had escaped the lady. But she -remained motionless to impassibility. - -"I shall undress alone," faltered the Queen. "Return to your room, as -you must require sleep." - -"I shall go back, not to sleep but to watch over your Majesty's -slumber," returned Andrea, respectfully curtseying to the other and -stalking away with the solemn step of a vitalized statue. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -THE REVOLUTION IN THE COUNTRY. - - -Our intention being to temporarily abandon the fortunes of our high and -mighty characters to follow those of more humble but perhaps no less -engaging heroes, we take up with Sebastian Gilbert whom his father, -immediately after his release from the Bastile, confided to a young -peasant named Ange Pitou, foster-brother of the youth, and despatched -them to the latter's birthplace, Villers Cotterets. - -It was eighteen leagues from the city, and Gilbert might have sent them -down by stage-coach or his own carriage; but he feared isolation for the -son of the mesmerists' victim, and nothing so isolates a traveler as a -closed carriage. - -Ange Pitou had accepted the trust with pride at the choice of the King's -honorary physician. He travelled tranquilly, passing through villages -trembling with the thrill from the shock of the events at Paris as it -was the commencement of August when the pair left town. - -Besides Pitou had kept a helmet and a sabre picked up on the battlefield -where he had shown himself more brave than he had expected. One does not -help in the taking of a Bastile without preserving some heroic touch in -his bearing subsequently. - -Moreover he had become something of an orator; he had studied the -Classics and he had heard the many speeches of the period, scattered out -of the City Hall, in the mobs, during lulls in the street fights. - -Furnished with these powerful forces, added to by a pair of ponderous -fists, plenty of broad grins, and a most interesting appetite for -loiters-on who did not have to pay the bill, Pitou journeyed most -pleasantly. For those inquisitive in political matters, he told the -news, inventing what he had not heard, Paris having a knack that way -which he had picked up. - -As Sebastian ate little and spoke hardly at all, everybody admired -Pitou's vigorous paternal care. - -They went through Haramont, the little village where the mother of one -and the nurse of the other had died and was laid in earth. - -Her living home, sold by Pitou's Aunt Angelique, her sister-in-law, had -been razed by the new owner, and a black cat snarled at the young men -from the wall built round the garden. - -But nothing was changed at the burying-ground; the grass had so grown -that the chances were that the young peasant could not find his mother's -grave. Luckily he knew it by a slip of weeping willow, which he had -planted; while the grass was growing it had grown also and had become in -a few years a tolerable tree. - -Ange walked directly to it, and the pair said their prayers under the -lithe branches which Pitou took in his arms as they were his mother's -tresses. - -Nobody noticed them as all the country folk were in the field and none -seeing Pitou would have recognized him in his dragoon's helmet and with -the sword and belt. - -At five in the afternoon they reached their destination. - -While Pitou had been away from Haramont three years, it was only as many -weeks since he quitted Villers Cotterets, so that it was simple enough -that he should be recognized at the latter place. - -The two visitors were reported to have gone to the back door of Father -Fortier's academy for young gentlemen where Pitou had been educated with -Sebastian, and where the latter was to resume his studies. - -A crowd collected at the front door where they thought Pitou would come -forth, as they wanted to see him in the soldier's appurtenances. - -After giving the doctor's letter and money for the schooling to Abbe -Fortier's sister, the priest being out for a walk with the pupils, Pitou -left the house, cocking his helmet quite dashingly on the side of his -head. - -Sebastian's chagrin at parting was softened by Ange Pitou's promise to -see him often. Pitou was like those big, lubberly Newfoundland dogs who -sometimes weary you with their fawning, but usually disarm you by their -jolly good humor. - -The score of people outside the door thought that as Pitou was in battle -array he had seen the fights in Paris and they wanted to have news. - -He gave it with majesty; telling how he and Farmer Billet, their -neighbor, had taken the Bastile and set Dr. Gilbert free. They had -learnt something in the Gazettes but no newspaper can equal an -eye-witness who can be questioned and will reply. And the obliging -fellow did reply and explain and at such length that in an hour, one of -the listeners suddenly remarked that he was flagging and said: - -"But our dear Pitou is tired, and here we are keeping him on his legs, -when he ought to go home, to his Aunt Angelique's. The poor old girl -will be delighted to see him again." - -"I am not tired but hungry," returned the other. "I am never tired but I -am always sharpset." - -Before this plain way of putting it, the throng broke up to let Pitou -go through. Followed by some more curious than the rest, he proceeded to -his father's sister's house. - -It was a cottage where he would have been starved to death by the pious -old humbug of an old maid, but for his poaching in the woods for -something that they could eat while the superfluity was sold by her to -have the cash in augmentation of a very pretty hoard the miser kept in a -chair cushion. - -As the door was fastened, from the old lady being out gossiping, and -Pitou declared that an aunt should never shut out a loving nephew, he -drew his great sabre and opened the lock with it as it were an oyster, -to the admiration of the boys. - -Pitou entered the familiar cottage with a bland smile, and went straight -up to the cupboard where the food was kept. He used in his boyish days -to ogle the crust and the hunk of cheese with the wish to have magical -powers to conjure them out into his mouth. - -Now he was a man: he went up to the safe, opened it, opened also his -pocket-knife, and taking out a loaf, cut off a slice which might weigh a -fair two pounds. - -He seemed to hear Aunt Angelique snarl at him, but it was only the creak -of the door hinges. - -In former times, the old fraud used to whine about poverty and palm him -off with cheap cheese and few flavors. But since he had left she got up -little delicacies of value which lasted her a week, such as stewed beef -smothered in carrots and onions; baked mutton with potatoes as large as -melons; or calves-foot, decked with pickled shallots; or a giant omelet -sprinkled with parsley or dotted with slices of fat pork of which one -sufficed for a meal even when she had an appetite. - -Pitou was in luck. He lighted on a day when Aunt Angelique had cooked an -old rooster in rice, so long that the bones had quitted the flesh and -the latter was almost tender. It was basking in a deep dish, black -outside but glossy and attractive within. The coxcomb stuck up in the -midst like Ceuta in Gibraltar Straits. - -Pitou had been so spoilt by the good living at Paris that he never even -reflected that he had never seen such magnificence in his relative's -house. - -He had his hunk of bread in his right hand: he seized the baking dish -in his left and held it by the grip of his thumb in the grease. But at -this moment it seemed to him that a shadow clouded the doorway. - -He turned round, grinning, for he had one of those characters which let -their happiness be painted on their faces. - -The shadow was cast by Angelique Pitou, drier, sourer, bonier, not -bonnier, and more mean than ever. - -Formerly, at this sight, Pitou would have dropped the bread and dish and -fled. - -But he was altered. His helmet and sword had not more changed his aspect -than his mind was changed by frequenting the society of the -revolutionary lights of the capital. - -Far from fleeing, he went up to her and opening his arms he embraced her -so that his hands, holding the knife, the bread and the dish, crossed -behind her skeleton back. - -"It is poor Pitou," he said in accomplishing this act of nepotism. - -She feared that he was trying to stifle her because she had caught him -red-handed in plundering her store. Literally, she did not breathe -freely until she was released from this perillous clasp. - -She was horrified that he did not express any emotion over his prize and -at his sitting in the best chair: previously he would have perched -himself on the edge of a stool or the broken chair. Thus easily lodged -he set to demolishing the baked fowl. In a few minutes the pattern of -the dish began to appear clean at the bottom as the rocks and sand on -the seashore when the tide goes out. - -In her frightful perplexity she endeavored to scream but the ogre smiled -so bewitchingly that the scream died away on her prim lips. - -She smiled, without any effect on him, and then turned to weeping. This -annoyed the devourer a little but did not hinder his eating. - -"How good you are to weep with joy at my return," he said. "I thank you, -my kind aunt." - -Evidently the Revolution had transmogrified this lad. - -Having tucked away three fourths of the bird he left a little of the -Indian grain at the end of the dish, saying: - -"You are fond of rice, my dear auntie: and, besides, it is good for your -poor teeth." - -At this attention, taken for a bitter jest, Angelique nearly suffocated. -She sprang upon Pitou and snatched the lightened platter from his hand, -with an oath which would not have been out of place in the mouth of an -old soldier. - -"Bewailing the rooster, aunt?" he sighed. - -"The rogue--I believe he is chaffing me," cried the old prude. - -"Aunt," returned the other, rising majestically, "my intention was to -pay you. I have money. I will come and board with you, if you please, -only I reserve the right to make up the bill of fare. As for this snack, -suppose we put the lot at six cents, four of the fowl and two of bread." - -"Six? when the meat is worth eight alone and the bread four," cried the -woman. - -"But you did not buy the bird--I know the old acquaintance by his nine -years comb. I stole him for you from under his mother and by the same -token, you flogged me because I did not steal enough corn to feed him. -But I begged the grain from Miss Catherine Billet; as I procured the -bird and the food, I had a lien on him, as the lawyers say. I have only -been eating my own property." - -"Out of this house," she gasped, almost losing her voice while she tried -to pulverize him with her gaze. - -Pitou remarked with satisfaction that he could not have swallowed one -grain more of rice. - -"Aunt, you are a bad relative," he said loftily. "I wanted you to show -yourself as of old, spiteful and avaricious. But I am not going to have -it said that I eat my way without paying." - -He stood on the threshold and called out with a voice which was not only -heard by the starers without but by anybody within five hundred paces: - -"I call these honest folk for witnesses, that I have come from Paris -afoot, after having taken the Bastile. I was hungered and tired, and I -have sat down under my only relation's roof, and eaten, but my keep is -thrown up at me, and I am driven away pitilessly!" - -He infused so much pathos in this exordium that the hearers began to -murmur against the old maid. - -"I want you to bear witness that she is turning from her door a poor -wayfarer who has tramped nineteen leagues afoot; an honest lad, honored -with the trust of Farmer Billet and Dr. Gilbert; who has brought Master -Sebastian Gilbert here to Father Fortier's; a conqueror of the Bastile, -a friend of Mayor Bailly and General Lafayette." - -The murmuring increased. - -"And I am not a beggar," he pursued, "for when I am accused of having a -bite of bread, I am ready to meet the score, as proof of which I plank -down this silver bit--in payment of what I have eaten at my own folk's." - -He drew a silver crown from his pocket with a flourish, and tossed it on -the table under the eyes of all, whence it bounced into the dish and -buried itself in the rice. This last act finished the mercenary aunt; -she hung her head under the universal reprobation displayed in a -prolonged groan. Twenty arms were opened towards Pitou, who went forth, -shaking the dust off his brogans, and disappeared, escorted by a mob -eager to offer hospitality to a captor of the Bastile, and -boon-companion of General Lafayette. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -THE ABDICATION IN A FARMHOUSE. - - -After having appeased the duties of obedience, Pitou wished to satisfy -the cravings of his heart. It is sweet to obey when the order chimes in -with one's secret sympathies. - -Ange Pitou was in love with Catherine, daughter of farmer Billet who had -succored him when he fled from his aunt's and with whom he had taken the -trip to Paris which returned him a full-fledged hero to his -fellow-villagers. - -When he perceived the long ridge of the farmhouse roofs, measured the -aged elms which twisted to stand the higher over the smoking chimneys, -when he heard the distant lowing of the cattle, the barking of the -watchdogs, and the rumbling of the farm carts, he shook his casque on -his head to tighten its hold, hung the calvary sabre more firmly by his -side, and tried to give himself the bold swagger of a lover and a -soldier. As nobody recognized him at the first it was a proof that he -had fairly succeeded. - -The farmhands responded to his hail by taking off their caps or pulling -their forelocks. - -Through the dininghall window pane Mother Billet saw the military -visitor. She was a comely, kind old soul who fed her employes like -fighting cocks. She was, like other housewives, on the alert, as there -was talk of armed robbers being about the country. They cut the woods -down and reaped the green corn. What did this warrior's appearance -signify? attack or assistance? - -She was perplexed by the clodhopper shoes beneath a helmet so shining -and her supposition fluctuated between suspicion and hope. - -She took a couple of steps towards the new-comer as he strode into the -kitchen, and he took off his headpiece not to be outdone in politeness. - -"Ange Pitou?" she ejaculated. "Whoever would have guessed that you would -enlist." - -"Enlist indeed?" sneered Pitou, smiling loftily. - -As he looked round him, seeking someone, Mistress Billet smiled, -divining who he was after. - -"Looking for Catherine?" she asked unaffectedly. - -"To present her with my duty," said Pitou. - -"She is ironing," responded Mrs. Billet; "but sit ye down and talk to -me." - -"Quite willing, mother." And he took a chair. - -In all the doorways and windows the servants and laboring men flocked to -see their old fellow. He had a kindly glance for them all, a caress in -his smile for the most part. - -"So you come from town, Ange?" began Mother Billet. "How did you leave -the master?" - -"He is all right, but Paris is all wrong." - -The circle of listeners drew in closer. - -"What about the King?" inquired the mistress. - -Pitou shook his head and clacked his tongue in a way humiliating to the -head of the monarchy. - -"And the Queen?" - -Pitou said never a word. - -"Oh," groaned the crowd. - -Pitou was aching for Catherine's coming. - -"Why are you wearing a helmet?" - -"It is a trophy of war," rejoined the young peasant. "A trophy is a -tangible testimonial that you have vanquished an enemy." - -"Have you vanquished an enemy, Pitou?" - -"An enemy--pooh!" said the valiant one, disdainfully. "Ah, good Mother -Billet, you do not know that Farmer Billet and yours truly took the -Bastile between us." - -This speech electrified the auditory. Pitou felt the breath on his hair -and the helmet mane, while their hands grasped the back of his chair. - -"Do tell us what our master has done," pleaded Mrs. Billet, proud and -tremulous at the same time. - -Pitou was hurt that Catherine did not leave her linen to come and hear -such a messenger as he was. He shook his head for he was growing -discontented. - -"It will take a time," he observed. - -"Are you hungry, or thirsty?" - -"I am not saying no." - -Instantly all the men and maids bustled about so that Pitou found under -his hand goblets, mugs, bread, meat, cheese, without realizing the -extent of his hint. He had a hot liver, as the rustics say: that is, he -digested quickly. But he had not shaken down the Angelican fowl in rice; -he tried to eat again but had to give up at the second mouthful. - -"If I begin now," he said, "I should have to do it all over again when -Miss Catherine comes." - -While they were all hunting after the young girl, Pitou happened to look -up and saw the girl in question leaning out of a window on the upper -landing. She was gazing towards Boursonne Woods. - -"Oh," he sighed, "she is looking towards the manor of the Charnys. She -is in love with Master Isidor Charny, that is what it is." - -He sighed again, much more lamentably than before. - -Taking the farmer's wife by the hand as the searchers returned fruitless -in their search, he took her up a couple of the stairs and showed her -the girl, mooning on the window sill among the morning glories and -vines. - -"Catherine!" she called: "Come, Catherine, here is Ange Pitou, with news -from town." - -"Ah," said Catherine coldly. - -So coldly that Pitou's heart failed him as he anxiously waited for her -reply. - -She came down the stairs with the phlegm of the Flemish girls in the old -Dutch paintings. - -"Yes, it is he," she said, when on the floor. - -Pitou bowed, red and trembling. - -"He's wearing a soldier's helmet," said a servant-woman in her young -mistress's ear. - -Pitou overheard and watched for the effect. But her somewhat pallid -though evercharming face showed no admiration for the brazen cap. - -"What is he wearing that thing for?" she inquired. - -This time indignation got the upperhand in the peasant. - -"I am wearing helmet and sabre," he retorted proudly, "because I have -been fighting and have killed Swiss and dragoons: and if you doubt me, -Miss Catherine, you can ask your father, and that is all." - -She was so absent-minded that she appeared to catch the latter part of -the speech alone. - -"How is my father?" asked she; "and why does he not return home with -you? Is the news from Paris bad?" - -"Very," replied the young man. - -"I thought that all was settled," the girl objected. - -"Quite true, but all is unsettled again." - -"Have not the King and the people agreed and is not the recall of -Minister Necker arranged?" - -"Necker is not of much consequence now," said Pitou jeeringly. - -"But that ought to satisfy the people." - -"It falls so short of that, that the people are doing justice on their -own account and killing their enemies." - -"Their enemies? who are their enemies?" cried the girl astonished. - -"The aristocrats, of course," answered the other. - -"Whom do you call aristocrat?" she asked, turning paler. - -"Why, naturally, they that have grand houses, and big properties, and -starve the nation--those that have everything while we have nothing; -that travel on fine horses or in bright coaches while we jog on foot." - -"Heavens," exclaimed the girl, so white as to be corpselike. - -"I can name some aristo's of our acquaintance," continued he, noticing -the emotion. "Lord Berthier Sauvigny, for instance, who gave you those -gold earrings you wore on the day you danced with Master Isidore. Well, -I have seen men eat the heart of him!" - -A terrible cry burst from all breasts and Catherine fell back in the -chair she had taken. - -"Did you see that?" faltered Mother Billet, quivering with horror. - -"And so did Farmer Billet. By this time they have killed or burnt all -the aristocrats of Paris and Versailles. What do you call it dreadful -for? you are not of the higher classes, Mother Billet." - -"Pitou, I did not think you were so bloodthirsty when you started for -Paris," said Catherine with sombre energy. - -"I do not know as I am so, now; but----" - -"But then do not boast of the crimes which the Parisians commit, since -you are not a Parisian and did not do them." - -"I had so little hand in them that Farmer Billet and me were nigh -slaughtered in taking the part of Lord Berthier--though he had famished -the people." - -"Oh, my good, brave father! that is just like him," said Catherine, -excitedly. - -"My worthy man," said Mrs. Billet with tearful eyes. "What has he been -about?" - -Pitou related that the mob had seized Foulon and Berthier for being the -active agents for higher personages in the great Grain Ring which held -the corn from the poor, and torn them to pieces, though Billet and he -had tried to defend them. - -"The farmer was sickened and wanted to come home, but Dr. Gilbert would -not let him." - -"Does he want my man to get killed there?" sobbed poor Mother Billet. - -"Oh, no," replied Pitou. "It is all fixed between master and the doctor. -He is going to stay a little longer in town to finish up the revolution. -Not alone, you understand, but with Mayor Bailly and General Lafayette." - -"Oh, I am not so much alarmed about him as long as in the gentlemen's -company," said the good old soul with admiration. - -"When does he think of returning?" inquired the daughter. - -"I don't know in the least." - -"Then, what have you come back for?" - -"To bring Sebastian Gilbert to Father Fortier's school, and you, Farmer -Billet's instructions." - -Pitou spoke like a herald, with so much dignity that the farmer's wife -dismissed all the gapers. - -"Mrs. Billet," began the messenger, "the master wants you to be worried -as little as possible, so he thinks that while he is away, the -management of the farm should be in other hands, younger and livelier." - -"Oh!" - -"Yes, and he has selected Miss Catherine." - -"My daughter to rule in my house," cried the woman, with distrust and -inexpressible jealousy. - -"Under your orders," the girl hastened to say, while reddening. - -"No, no," persisted Pitou, who went on well since he was in full swing: -"I bear the commission entire: Master Billet delegates and authorizes -Miss Catherine to see to all the work and govern the house and household -in his stead." - -As Billet was infallible in his wife's eyes, all her resistance ceased -instantly. - -"Billet is right," she declared after a glance at her daughter; "she is -young but she has a good head, and she can even be headstrong. She can -get along outdoors better than me; she knows how to make folks obey. But -to be running about over field and hills will make a tomboy of her----" - -"Fear nothing for her," interposed Pitou with a consequential air; "I am -here and I will go around with her." - -This gracious offer, by which Ange probably intended to make an effect, -drew such a strange glance from Catherine that he was dumbfounded. - -Pitou was not experienced in feminine ways but he guessed by her blush -that she was not giving complete acquiescence, for he said with an -agreeable smile which showed his strong teeth between the large lips: - -"Even the Queen has a Lifeguard. Besides, I may be useful in the woods." - -"Is this also in my husband's instructions?" queried Madam Billet who -showed some tendency towards cutting sayings. - -"Nay," said Catherine, "that would be an idle errand and father would -not have set it for Master Pitou while he would not have accepted it." - -Pitou rolled his frightened eyes from one to the other: all his castle -in the air came tumbling down. A true woman, the younger one understood -his painful disappointment. - -"Did you see the girls in Paris with the young men tagging at their -gown-tails?" - -"But you are not a girl, after you become mistress of the house," -remonstrated Pitou. - -"Enough chatter," interrupted Mother Billet; "the mistress of the house -has too much work to do. Come, Catherine, and let me turn over things to -you, as your father bids us." - -As soon as the house was placed under the new ruler the servants and -workmen were presented to her as the one from whom in the future orders -would flow. Each departed with the alacrity shown by the new officials -at the beginning of a fresh term. - -"What about me?" inquired Pitou, left alone and going up to the girl. - -"I have no orders for you. What do you think of doing?" - -"What I did before I went away." - -"Then you worked for my father and mother. I have nothing in your line, -for you are a scholar and a fine Paris gentleman now." - -"But look at the muscle in my arms," protested the poor fellow in -desperation. "Why do you force me to die of hunger under the pretence -that I am a learned man? Are you ignorant that Epictetus the philosopher -was a tavern waiter to earn his bread, and that AEsop the fabulist had to -work for a living? and yet they were more learned than ever I shall be. -But Master Billet sent me down here to help on the farm." - -"Be it so; but my father can force you to do things that I should shrink -from imposing upon you." - -"Don't shrink, and impose on me. You will see that I can stand anything. -Besides you have books to keep and accounts to make out; and my strong -point is figuring and ciphering." - -"I do not think it enough for a man," rejoined Catherine. - -"Am I good for nothing, then?" groaned Pitou. - -"Well, live here a bit," she said; "I will think it over and we shall -see what turns up." - -"You want to think it over, about my staying. What have I done to you, -Miss Catherine? you do not seem to be the same as before." - -Catherine shrugged her shoulders very slightly. She had no good reasons -to fear Pitou and yet his persistency worried her. - -"Enough of this," she said, "I am going over to Fertemilon." - -"I will saddle a horse and go with you." - -"No; stay where you are." - -She spoke so imperiously that the peasant remained riveted to the spot, -hanging his head. - -"She thinks I am changed, but," said he, "it is she who is another sort -altogether." - -When he was roused by hearing the horse's hoofs going away, he looked -out and saw Catherine riding by a side path towards the highway. - -It occurred to him that though she had forbid him to accompany her, she -had not said he must not follow her. - -He dashed out and took a short cut through the woods, where he was at -home, till he reached the main road. But though he waited a half-hour, -he saw nobody. - -He thought she might have forgotten something at the farm and started -back for it; and he returned by the highway. But on looking up a lane he -spied her white cap at a distance. - -Instead of going to Fertemilon, as she distinctly stated, she was -proceeding to Boursonne. - -He darted on in the same direction but by a parallel line. - -It was no longer to follow her but to spy her. - -She had spoken a falsehood. In what end? - -He was answered by seeing her thrash her horse into the trot in order to -rejoin a horseman who rode to meet her with as much eagerness as she -showed on her part. - -On coming nearer, as the pair halted at meeting, Pitou recognized by his -elegant form and stylish dress the neighboring lord, Isidore Charny. He -was brother of the Count of Charny, lieutenant of the Royal Lifeguards, -and accredited as favorite of the Queen. - -Pitou knew him well and lately from having seen him at the village -dances where Catherine chose him for partner. - -Dropping to the ground in the brush and creeping up like a viper, he -heard the couple. - -"You are late to-day, Master Isidore," began Catherine. - -"To-day?" thought the eavesdropper; "it appears that he has been -punctual on other meetings." - -"It is not my fault, my darling Kate," replied the young noble. "A -letter from my brother delayed me, to which I had to reply by the -bearer. But fear nothing, I shall be more exact another time." - -Catherine smiled and Isidore pressed her hand so tenderly that Pitou -felt upon thorns. - -"Fresh news from Paris?" she asked. "So have I. Did you not say that -when something alike happens to two persons, it is called sympathy?" - -"Just so. Who brings you news?" - -"Pitou." - -"And pray who is Pitou?" asked the young noble with a free and easy air -which changed the red of the listener's cheek to crimson. - -"You know well enough," was her reply: "Pitou is the farmboy that my -father took on out of charity: the one who played propriety for me when -I went to the dance." - -"Lord, yes--the chap with knees that look like knots tied in a rope." - -Catherine set to laughing. Pitou felt lowered; he looked at his knees, -so useful lately while he was keeping pace with a horse, and he sighed. - -"Come, come, do not tear my poor Pitou to pieces," said Catherine; "Let -me tell you that he wanted to come with me just now--to Fertemilon, -where I pretended I was going." - -"Why did you not accept the squire--he would have amused you." - -"Not always," laughed the girl. - -"You are right, my pet," said Isidore, fixing his eyes, brilliant with -love, on the pretty girl. - -She hid her blushing face in his arms closing round it. - -Pitou closed his eyes not to see, but he did not close his ears, and the -sound of a kiss reached them. He tore his hair in despair. - -When he came to his senses the loving couple were slowly riding away. - -The last words he caught were: - -"You are right, Master Isidore; let us ride about for an hour which I -will gain by making my nag go faster--he is a good beast who will tell -no tales," she added, merrily. - -This was all: the vision vanished. Darkness fell on Pitou's spirit and -he said: - -"No more of the farm for me, where I am trodden on and made fun of. I am -not going to eat the bread of a woman who is in love with another man, -handsomer, richer and more graceful than me, I allow. No, my place is -not in the town but in my village of Haramont, where I may find those -who will think well of me whether my knees are like knots in a rope or -not." - -He marched towards his native place, where his reputation and that of -his sword and helmet had preceded him, and where glory awaited him, if -not happiness. But we know that perfect bliss is not a human attribute. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -ANOTHER BLOW. - - -As everybody in his village would be abed by ten o'clock, Pitou was glad -to find accommodation at the inn, where he slept till seven in the -morning. At that hour everybody had risen. - -On leaving the Dolphin Tavern, he noticed that his sword and casque won -universal attention. A crowd was round him in a few steps. - -Undoubtedly he had attained popularity. - -Few prophets have this good fortune in their own country. But few -prophets have mean and acrimonious aunts who bake fowls in rice for them -to eat up the whole at a sitting. Besides, the brazen helmet and the -heavy dragoon's sabre recommended Pitou to his fellow-villager's -attention. - -Hence, some of the Villers Cotterets folk, who had escorted him about -their town, were constrained to accompany him to his village of -Haramont. This caused the inhabitants of the latter to appreciate their -fellow-villager at his true worth. - -The fact is, the ground was prepared for the seed. He had flitted -through their midst before so rapidly that it was a wonder he left any -trace of memory: but they were impressed and they were glad of his -second appearance. They overwhelmed him with tokens of consideration, -begged him to lay aside his armor, and pitch his tent under the four -lime trees shading the village green. - -Pitou yielded all the more readily as it was his intention to take up -residence here and he accepted the offer of a room which a bellicose -villager let him have furnished. Settling the terms, the rent _per -annum_ being but six livres, the price of two fowls baked in rice, Ange -took possession, treated those who had accompanied him to mugs of cider -all round, and made a speech on the doorsill. - -His speech was a great event, with all Haramont encircling the doorstep. -Pitou had studied a little; he had heard Paris speechifying -inexhaustibly; there was a space between him and General Lafayette as -there is between Paris and Haramont, mentally speaking. - -He began by saying that he came back to the hamlet as into the bosom of -his only family. This was a touching allusion to his orphanage for the -women to hear. - -Then he related that he and Farmer Billet had gone to Paris on hearing -that Dr. Gilbert had been arrested and because a casket Gilbert had -entrusted to his farmer had been stolen from him by the myrmidons of the -King under false pretences. Billet and he had rescued the doctor from -the Bastile by attacking it, with a few Parisians at their back. At the -end of his story his helmet was as grand as the cupola of an -observatory. - -He ascribed the outbreak to the privileges of the nobility and clergy -and called on his brothers to unite against the common enemy. - -At this point he drew his sabre and brandished it. - -This gave him the cue to call the Haramontese to arms after the example -of revolted Paris. - -The Revolution was proclaimed in the village. - -All echoed the cry of "To arms!" but the only arms in the place were -those old Spanish muskets kept at Father Fortier's. - -A bold youth, who had not, like Pitou, been educated under his knout, -proposed going thither to demand them. Ange wavered, but had to yield to -the impulse of the mob. - -"Heavens," he muttered: "if they thus lead me before I am their leader, -what will it be when I am at their head?" - -He was compelled to promise to summon his old master to deliver the -firearms. Next day, therefore, he armed himself and departed for Father -Fortier's academy. - -He knocked at the garden door loud enough to be heard there, and yet -modestly enough not to be heard in the house. - -He did it to tranquilize his conscience, and was surprised to see the -door open; but it was Sebastian who stood on the sill. - -He was musing in the grounds, with an open book in his hand. - -He uttered a cry of gladness on seeing Pitou, for whom he had a line in -his father's letter to impart. - -"Billet wishes you to remind him to Pitou and tell him not to upset the -men, and things on the farm." - -"Me? a lot I have to do with the farm," muttered the young man: "the -advice had better be sent on to Master Isidore." - -But all he said aloud was: "Where is the father?" - -Sebastian pointed and walked away. Priest Fortier was coming down into -the garden. Pitou composed his face for the encounter with his former -master. - -Fortier had been almoner of the old hunting-box in the woods and as such -was keeper of the lumber-room. Among the effects of the hunting -establishment of the Duke of Orleans were old weapons and particularly -some fifty musketoons, brought home from the Ouessant battle by Prince -Joseph Philip, which he had given to the township. Not knowing what to -do with them, the section selectmen left them under charge of the -schoolmaster. - -The old gentleman was clad in clerical black, with his cat-o'-nine tails -thrust into his girdle like a sword. On seeing Pitou, who saluted him, -he folded up the newspaper he was reading and tucked it into his band on -the opposite side to the scourge. - -"Pitou?" he exclaimed. - -"At your service as far as he is capable," said the other. - -"But the trouble is that you are not capable, you Revolutionist." - -This was a declaration of war, for it was clear that Pitou had put the -abbe out of temper. - -"Hello! why do you call me a Revolutionist? do you think I have turned -the state over all by myself?" - -"You are hand and glove with those who did it." - -"Father, every man is free in his mind," returned Pitou. "I do not say -it in Latin for I have improved in that tongue since I quitted your -school. Those whom I frequent and at whom you sneer, talk it like their -own and they would think the way you taught it to be faulty." - -"My Latin faulty?" repeated the pedagogue, visibly wounded by the -ex-pupil's manner. "How comes it that you never spoke up in this style -when you were under my--whip--that is, roof?" - -"Because you brutalized me then," responded Pitou: "your despotism -trampled on my wits, and liberty could not lay hold of my speech. You -treated me like a fool, whereas all men are equal." - -"I will never suffer anybody to utter such rank blasphemy before me," -cried the irritated schoolmaster. "You the equal of one whom nature and -heaven have taken sixty years to form? never!" - -"Ask General Lafayette, who has proclaimed the Rights of Man." - -"What, do you quote as an authority that traitor, that firebrand of all -discord, that bad subject of the King?" - -"It is you who blaspheme," retaliated the peasant: "you must have been -buried for the last three months. This bad subject is the very one who -most serves the King. This torch of discord is the pledge of public -peace. This traitor is the best of Frenchmen." - -"Oh," thundered the priest, "that ever I should believe that the royal -authority should sink so low that a goodfornothing of this sort invokes -Lafayette as once they called on Aristides." - -"Lucky for you the people do not hear you," said Pitou. - -"Oho, you reveal yourself now in your true colors," said the priest -triumphantly: "you bully me. The people, those who cut the throats of -the royal bodyguard; who trample on the fallen, the people of your -Baillys, Lafayettes and Pitous. Why do you not denounce me to the people -of Villers Cotterets? Why do you not tuck up your sleeves to drag me out -to hang me up to the lamppost? where is your rope--you can be the -hangman." - -"You are saying odious things--you insult me," said Pitou. "Have a care -that I do not show you up to the National Assembly!" - -"Show me up? I will show you up, sirrah! as a failure as a scholar, as a -Latinist full of barbarisms, and as a beggar who comes preaching -subversive doctrines in order to prey upon your clients." - -"I do not prey upon anybody--it is not by _preying_ I live but by work: -and as for lowering me in the eyes of my fellow-citizens, know that I -have been elected by them commander of the National Guards of Haramont." - -"National Guards at Haramont? and you, Pitou, the captain? Abomination -of desolation! Such gangs as you would be chief of must be robbers, -footpads, bandits, and highwaymen." - -"On the contrary, they are organized to defend the home and the fields -as well as the life and liberties of all good citizens. That is why we -have [illegible]oc me to--for the arms." - -"Arms? oh, my museum?" shrieked the schoolmaster. "You come to pillage -my arsenal. The armor of the paladins on your ignoble backs. You are mad -to want to arm the ragamuffins of Pitou with the swords of the Spaniards -and the pikes of the Swiss." - -The priest laughed with such disdainful menace that Pitou shuddered in -every vein. - -"No, father, we do not want the old curiosities, but the thirty marines' -guns which you have." - -"Avaunt!" said the abbe, taking a step towards the envoy. - -"And you shall have the glory of contributing to deliver the country of -the oppressors," said Pitou, who took a backward step. - -"Furnish weapons against myself and friends," said the other, "give you -guns to be fired against myself?" He plucked his scourge from his belt. -"Never, never!" - -He waved the whip over his head. - -"But your refusal will have a bad effect," pleaded Pitou, retreating, -"you will be accused of national treason, and of being no citizen. Do -not expose yourself to this, good Father Fortier!" - -"Mark me a martyr, eh, Nero? is that what you intend?" roared the -priest, with flaring eye and much more resembling the executioner than -the victim. - -"No, father, I come as a peaceful envoy to----" - -"Pillage my house for arms as your friends gutted the Soldiers' Home at -Paris." - -"We received plenty of praise for that up there," said Ange. - -"And you would get plenty of strokes of the whip down here." - -"Look out," said Pitou, who had backed to the door, and who recognized -the scourge as an old acquaintance, "you must not violate the rights of -man!" - -"You shall see about that, rascal." - -"I am protected by my sacred character as an ambassador----" - -"Are you?" - -And just as Pitou had to turn after getting the street door open, for he -had backed through the hall, the infuriated schoolmaster let him have a -terrible lash where his backplate would have to be unusually long to -defend him. Whatever the courage of the conqueror of the Bastile, he -could not help emitting a shriek of pain as he bounded out among the -crowd expecting him. - -At the yell, neighbors ran forth from their dwellings and to the -profound general astonishment all beheld the young man flying with all -swiftness under his helmet and with his sabre, while Father Fortier -stood on the doorstep, brandishing his whip like the Exterminating Angel -waves his sword. - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -PITOU BECOMES A TACTICIAN. - - -Our hero's fall was deep. How could he go back to his friends without -the arms? How, after having had so much confidence shown in him, tell -them that their leader was a braggart who, in spite of his sword and -helmet, had let a priest whack him in the rear? - -To vaunt of carrying all before him with Father Fortier and fail so -shamefully--what a fault! - -To obtain the muskets, force or cunning was the means. He might steal -into the school and steal out the arms. But the word "steal," sounded -badly in the rustic's ears. There were still left some people in France -who would call this the high-handed outrage of brigands. - -So he recoiled before force and treachery. - -His vanity was committed to the task, and prompted a fresh direction for -his searches. - -General Lafayette was Commander-in-chief of the National Guards of -France; Haramont was in France and had a National Guards company. -Consequently, General Lafayette commanded the latter force. He could not -tolerate that his soldiers at Haramont should go unarmed when all his -others were armed. To appeal to Lafayette, he could apply to Billet who -would address Gilbert, and he the general. - -Pitou wrote to Billet but as he could not read, it must be Gilbert who -would have the letter placed before him. - -This settled, he waited for nightfall, returned to his lodgings -mysteriously and let his friends there see that he was writing at night. -This was the large square note which they also saw him post next day: - - "DEAR AND HONORED FRIEND BILLET: - - "The Revolutionary cause gains daily hereabouts and while the - aristocrats lose, the patriots advance. The Village of Haramont - enrolls itself in the active service of the National Guard; but it - has no arms. The means to procure them lies in those who harbor - arms in quantity should be made to surrender the overplus, so that - the country would be saved expense. If it pleases General Lafayette - to authorize that such illegal magazines of arms should be placed - at the call of the townships, proportionately to the number of men - to be armed, I undertake for my part to supply the Haramont Arsenal - with at least thirty guns. This is the only means to oppose a dam - to the contra-Revolutionary movements of the aristocrats and - enemies of the Nation. - -"Your fellow-Citizen and most humble Servant, - -"ANGE PITOU." - - -When this was written the author perceived that he had omitted to speak -to his correspondent of his wife and daughter. He treated him too much -in the Brutus style; on the other hand, to give Billet particulars -about Catherine's love affair was to rend the father's heart; it was -also to re-open Pitou's bleeding wounds. He stifled a sigh and appended -this P. S. - -"Mistress Billet and Miss Catherine and all the household are well, and -beg to be remembered to Master Billet." - -Thus he entangled neither himself nor others. - -The reply to this was not slow in coming. Two days subsequently, a -mounted express messenger dashed into Haramont and asked for Captain -Ange Pitou. His horse was white with foam. He wore the uniform of a -staff-officer of the Parisian National Guards. - -Judge of the effect he produced and the trouble and throbs of Pitou! He -went up to the officer who smiled, and pale and trembling he took the -paper he bore for him. It was a response from Billet, by the hand of -Gilbert. - -Billet advised Pitou to move moderately in his patriotism. - -He enclosed General Lafayette's order, countersigned by the War -Minister, to arm the Haramont National Guards. - -The bearer was an officer charged to see to the arming of cities on the -road. - -Thus ran the Order: - -"All who possess more than one gun or sword are hereby bound to place -the excess at the disposal of the chief officials in their cantons. The -Present Measure is to be executed throughout the entire country." - -Red with joy, Pitou thanked the officer, who smiled again, and started -off for the next post for changing horses. - -Thus was our friend at the high tide of honor: he had received a -communication from General Lafayette, and the War Minister. - -This message served his schemes and plans most timely. - -To see the animated faces of his fellows, their brightened eyes and -eager manner; the profound respect all at once entertained for Ange -Pitou, the most credulous observer must have owned that he had become an -important character. - -One after another the electors begged to touch the seal of the War -Department. - -When the crowd had tapered down to the chosen friends, Pitou said: - -"Citizens, my plans have succeeded as I anticipated. I wrote to the -Commander-in-chief your desire to be constituted National Guards, and -your choice of me as leader. Read the address on the order brought me." - -The envelope was superscribed: "CAPTAIN ANGE PITOU, Commander of the -National Guards. Haramont." - -"Therefore," continued the martial peasant, "I am known and accepted as -commander by the Chief of the Army. You are recognized and approved as -Soldiers of the Nation by General Lafayette and the Minister of War." - -A long cheer shook the walls of the little house which sheltered Pitou. - -"I know where to get the arms," he went on. "Select two of your number -to accompany me. Let them be lusty lads, for we may have a difficulty." - -The embryo regiment chose one Claude Tellier sergeant and one Desire -Maniquet lieutenant. Pitou approved. - -Accompanied by the two, Captain Pitou proceeded once more to Villers -Cotterets where he went straight to the mayor to be still farther -supported in his demand. - -On the way he was puzzled why the letter from Billet, written by -Gilbert, asked no news of Sebastian. - -On the way he fretted over a paragraph in the letter from Billet, -written as it was by Dr. Gilbert, which read: - -"Why has Pitou forgot to send news about Sebastian and why does not the -boy himself write news?" - -Meanwhile, Father Fortier was little aware of the storm he had aroused; -and nobody was more astounded when a thunderclap came to his door. When -it was opened he saw on the sill the mayor, his vice, and his secretary. -Behind them appeared the cocked hats of two gendarmes, and half-a-dozen -curious people behind them. - -"Father Fortier," said the mayor, "are you aware of the new decree of -the Minister of War?" - -"No, mayor," said he. - -"Read it, then." - -The secretary read the warrant to take extra arms from the domiciles. -The schoolmaster turned pale. - -"The Haramont National Guard have come for the guns." - -Fortier jumped as if he meant to fly at the guardsmen. - -Judging that this was the nick for his appearance, Pitou approached, -backed by his lieutenant and sergeant. - -"These rogues," cried the abbe, passing from white to red, "these -scums!" - -The mayor was a neutral who wanted things to go on quietly; he had no -wish to quarrel with the altar or the guard-house; the invectives only -called forth his hearty laugh. - -"You hear how the reverend gentleman treats the Haramont National -Guards," he said to Pitou and his officers. - -"Because he knew us when boys and does not think we have grown up," said -Ange, with melancholy mildness. - -"But we have become men," roughly said Maniquet, holding out towards the -priest his hand, maimed by a gun going off prematurely while he was -poaching on a nobleman's warren. Needless to say he was determined the -nobility should pay for this accident. - -"Serpents," said the schoolmaster in irritation. - -"Who will sting if trodden on," retorted Sergeant Claude, joining in. - -In these threats the mayor saw the extent of the Revolution and the -priest martyrdom. - -"We want some of the arms here," said the former, to conciliate -everybody. - -"They are not mine but belong to the Duke of Orleans," was the reply. - -"Granted," said Pitou, "but that does not prevent us asking for them all -the same." - -"I will write to the prince," said the pedagogue loftily. - -"You forget that the delay will avail nothing," interposed the mayor; -"the duke is for the people and would reply that they ought to be given -not only the muskets but the old cannon." - -This probability painfully struck the priest who groaned in Latin: "I am -surrounded by foes." - -"Quite true, but these are merely political enemies," observed Pitou; -"we hate in you only the bad patriot." - -"Absurd and dangerous fool," returned the priest, in excitement which -gave him eloquence of a kind, "which is of us the better lover of his -country, I who wish to keep cruel weapons in the shade, or you demanding -them for civil strife and discord? which is the true son, I who seek -palms to decorate our common mother, or you who hunt for the steel to -rend her bosom?" - -The mayor turned aside his head to hide his emotion, making a slight nod -as much as to say: "That is very neatly put." The deputy mayor, like -another Tarquin, was cropping the flowers with his cane. Ange was set -back, which caused his two companions to frown. - -Sebastian, a Spartan child, was impassible. Going up to Pitou he asked -him what was the to-do. - -"An order signed by General Lafayette, and written by my father?" he -repeated when briefly informed. "Why is there any hesitation in obeying -it?" - -He revealed the indomitable spirit of the two races creating him in his -dilated pupils, and the rigidity of his brow. - -The priest shuddered to hear the words and lowered his crest. - -"This is rebellion," continued Sebastian; "beware, sir!" - -"Thou, also?" cried the schoolmaster, draping himself in his gown after -the manner of Caesar. - -"And I," said Pitou, comprehending that his post was at stake. "Do you -style me a traitor, because I came to you with the olive branch in my -hand to ask the arms, and am forced this day to wrench them from you -under support of the authorities? Well, I would rather appear as a -traitor to my duties than give a favoring hand to the Anti-Revolution. -The Country forever and above all! hand over the arms, or we will use -ours!" - -The mayor nodded on the sly to Pitou as he had to the priest to signify: -"You have said that finely." - -The speech had thunderstricken the priest and electrified the hearers. -The mayor slipped away, and the deputy would have liked to follow his -example, but the absence of the two principal functionaries would look -bad. He therefore followed the secretary, who led the gendarmes along to -the museum, guided by Pitou who, instructed in the place was also -instructed on the place of deposit. - -Like a lion cub, Sebastian bounded with the patriots. The schoolmaster -fell half dead on a chair. - -The invaders wanted to pillage everything, but Pitou only selected -thirty-three muskets, with an extra one, a rifle, for himself, together -with a straight sword, which he girded on. - -The others, made up into two bundles, were carried by the joyous pair of -officers in spite of the weight, past the disconsolate priest. - -They were distributed to the Haramontese that evening, and in presenting -a gun to each, Pitou said, like the Spartan mother giving out the -buckler: "Come home with it, or go to sleep on it!" - -Thus was the little place set in a ferment by Pitou's act. The delight -was great to own a gun where firearms had been forbidden lest the lords' -game should be injured and where the long oppression of the gamekeepers -had infused a mania for hunting. - -But Pitou did not participate in the glee. The soldiers had weapons but -not only was their captain ignorant how to drill them but to handle them -in file or squad. - -During the night his taxed brain suggested the remedy. - -He remembered an old friend, also an old soldier, who had lost a leg at -the Battle of Fontenoy; the Duke of Orleans gave him the privilege to -live in the woods, and kill either a hare or a rabbit a-day. He was a -dead shot and on the proceeds of his shooting under this license he -fared very well. - -His manual of arms might be musty but then Pitou could procure from -Paris the new Drill-book of the National Guards, and correct what was -obsolete by the newest tactics. - -He called on old Clovis at a lucky moment as the old hunter was saddened -by his gun having burst. He welcomed the present of the rifle which Ange -brought him and eagerly embraced the opportunity of paying him in -kindness by teaching him the drill. - -Each day Pitou repeated to his soldiery what he had learnt overnight -from the hunter, and he became more popular, the admired of men, -children and the aged. Even women were quieted when his lusty voice -thundered: "Heads up--eyes right! bear yourselves nobly! look at me!" -for Pitou looked noble. - -As soon as the manoeuvres became complicated, Pitou went over to a large -town where he studied the troops on the parade grounds, and picked up -more in a day from practice than from the books in three months. - -Thus two months passed by, in fatigue, toil and feverish excitement. - -Pitou was still unhappy in love, but he was satiated with glory. He had -run about so much, so moved his limbs, and whetted his mind, that you -may be astonished that he should long to appease or comfort his heart. -But he was thinking of that. - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -THE LOVER'S PARTING. - - -Many times after drill, and that followed nights spent in learning the -tactics, Pitou would wander in the skirts of Boursonne Wood to see how -faithful Catherine was to her love-trysts. - -Stealing an hour or two from her farm and house duties, the girl would -go to a little hunting-box, in a rabbit warren belonging to Boursonne -Manor, to meet the happy Isidore, the mortal more than ever proud and -handsome, when all the country was in suffering around him. - -What anguish devoured poor Pitou, what sad reflections he was driven to -make on the inequality of men as regards happiness. - -He whom the pretty maids were ogling, preferred to come and mope like a -dog whipped for following the master too far from home, at the door of -the summerhouse where the amorous pair were billing and cooing. - -All because he adored Catherine and the more as he deemed her vastly -superior to him. He did not regard her as loving another, for Isidore -Charny had ceased to be an object of jealousy. He was a lord, handsome -and worthy of being loved: but Catherine as a daughter of the lower -orders ought not for that reason disgrace her family or drive Pitou to -despair. - -Meditation on this cut him with sharp edges and keen points. - -"She showed no proper feeling in letting me go from the farm," he mused, -"and since I went off, she has not inquired whether I starved to death -or not. What would Father Billet say if he knew how his friends are thus -cast off, and his business neglected? What would he say if he heard -that, instead of looking after the working people, his daughter goes to -keep appointments with the aristocrat, Lord Charny? He would not say -much, but he would kill her. It is something to have the means of -revenge in one's hand," thought Pitou. - -But it is grander not to use them. - -Still, Pitou had learnt that there is no benefit in doing good unless -the actions are known to the person befriended. - -Would it be possible to let Catherine know that he was helping her? - -He knew that she came through the woods to go to the hunting-box, and it -was very easy for him to plant himself under the trees, a book in hand -as if he were studying, where she would be sure to come along. - -Indeed, as he was pretending to pore over the "Perfect National -Guardsman," after having watched her to her rendezvous, he heard the -soft shutting of a door. The rustle of a dress in the brush came next. -Catherine's head appeared above the bushes, looking with an apprehensive -air all round for fear somebody would see her. - -She was ten paces from her rustic worshipper, who kept still with the -book on his knee. But he no longer looked on it but at the girl so that -she should mark that he saw her. - -She uttered a slight faint, stifled scream, recognized him, became pale -as though death had flitted by and grazed her, and, after a short -indecision betrayed in her trembling and the shrug of her shoulders, she -flew wildly into the underwood and found her hitched-up horse in the -forest. She mounted and fled. - -Pitou's plot was well laid and she had fallen into it. - -He went home, half-frightened, half delighted. - -He perceived a number of details most alarming in the accomplished -trick. - -The following Sunday was appointed for a grand military parade at -Haramont. Sufficiently drilled, the Haramontese meant to give warlike -exercises. Several rival villages also making military studies, were to -contest with them in the career of arms. - -The announcement drew a great crowd, and the people in holiday attire -gathered on the green, where they feasted frugally on homemade cake and -fruit, washed down with spring water. - -Some of the spectators were the gentry and squires, come to laugh at the -clowns playing at soldiers. - -Haramont had become a centre, for four corps of other Guards came -hither, headed by fife and drum. - -Among the farmers, came Catherine and Mother Billet on horseback. - -This was at the same time as the Haramont National Guard marched up, -with fife and drum, with Commander Pitou on a borrowed white horse, in -order that the likeness should be complete to General Lafayette -reviewing the National Guards at Paris. - -Without joking, if he did not look stylish and aristocratic, he was -noble and valiant and pleasant to behold. - -This company of Guards had shining muskets, the national cockades, and -marched with most satisfactory time in two files. It had won the tribute -before reaching the parade ground. - -Out of the corner of his eye, Pitou saw that Catherine changed color. -From that moment the review had more interest to him than anything in -the world. - -He passed his men through the simple manual of arms, and they did it so -smartly and neatly that it elicited applause. - -Not so with the competitors, who were irregularly armed and had not been -trained steadily. Others exaggerated from their conceit what they could -have done properly. - -On the whole imperfect results. - -For the grand array, Pitou was outranked in seniority by an army -sergeant who took the general command; but unhappily he had grasped more -than he could hold: he bunched his men, lost grip of some files, let a -company meander under the surrounding trees, and finally lost his head -so that his own soldiers began to grumble. - -From the Haramont side rose a shout: - -"Let Pitou try!" - -"Yes, yes Pitou!" caught up the other villagers, furious at their -inferiority being manifested through their own instructors. - -Pitou jumped on his white charger, and replacing himself at the head of -his troop, become the rallying point of the little army, uttered a word -of command so superbly that the oaks shivered. On the instant, and as by -miracle, order was re-established: the movements fitted in with one -another with such uniformity that the enthusiasm did not disturb the -regularity. Pitou so well applied the theory of the instruction books -and the practice of old Clovis that he obtained immense success. - -Formed into a hollow square, the whole army raised but one voice and -proclaimed him Colonel on the spot. - -Bathed in perspiration and drunk with glory, Pitou got down off his -horse and received the people's felicitations when he alighted. - -But at the same time he glanced round for Catherine. He heard her voice -by his side; he had no need to hunt for her, as she had come to him. -Great was this triumph. - -"Have you not a word for us, Captain Pitou?" she demanded, with a -laughing air belied by her pale face; "I suppose you have grown proud -since you are a great general?" - -"Oh, no," responded he, saluting, "I am not that, but just a poor fellow -who loves his country and desires to serve her." - -This reply was carried away on the waves of the multitude and was -proclaimed sublime by the acclamation in unison. - -"Ange, I want to speak with you," whispered Catherine. "Do come back to -the farm with mother and me." - -"All right." - -Catherine had already arranged that they should be alone together on the -road. She had switched her mother into the train of several neighbors -and gossips who held her in talk so that the girl could walk through -the woods with the National Guardsman. - -"Why have you kept aloof from the farm so long?" began Catherine when -they were beneath the hoary oaks. "It is bad behavior on your part." - -Pitou was silent, for it hurt him to hear Catherine tell lies. - -"But, I have something else to speak about," she continued, seeing that -he was avoiding her with his usually straight and loyal glance. "The -other day I saw you in the copse. Did you know me?" - -"Not at first, but I did know you." - -"What were you doing there in hiding?" - -"Why should I be in hiding? I was studying a military book." - -"I only thought that curiosity----" - -"I am not a Peeping Tom." - -She stamped testily with her small foot. - -"You are always stuck there and it is not a regular place for students." - -"It is very secluded--nothing disturbs one there." - -"Nothing? do you stay there any length of time?" - -"Sometimes whole days." - -"And have you been in the habit of making that your resort?" she -inquired quickly. - -"Since a good while back." - -"It is astonishing that I should not have seen you before," she said, -lying so boldly that Pitou was almost convinced. - -But he was ashamed for her sake; he was timid from being in love and -this led him to be guarded. - -"I may have dozed off," he replied; "it has happened when I have taxed -my brain too much." - -"Then in your sleep you would not have noticed where I strayed for -shade--I would go as far as the walls of the old shooting-lodge." - -"What lodge?" questioned Pitou. - -"The Charny Hunting-lodge," replied she, blushing from his innocence -being too thickly laid on not to be suspicious. "It is there grow the -finest houseleeks in the section. I burnt myself while ironing and -wanted to make a poultice of them." - -As if willing to believe her, he looked at her hands. - -"No, not my hand, my foot," she said quickly. "I--I dropped the iron: -but it has done me good; you see, that I do not limp." - -"She did not limp either when she scampered through the wood like a -fawn," thought Ange. - -She imagined she had succeeded and that Pitou had seen and heard -nothing. Giving way to delight, mean in so fine a spirit, she said: - -"So Captain Pitou is riding his high horse; proud of his new rank, he -scorns us rustics from being a military officer." - -Pitou felt wounded. Even a dissimulated sacrifice almost requires some -reward, and as Catherine only mystified Pitou or jested at him, no doubt -contrasting him with the intelligent Charny, all his good intentions -vanished. Self-esteem is a charmed serpent, on which it is perillous to -step unless you crush it once for all. - -"It seems to me that you are the haughty one," he returned, "for you -drove me off the farm on the grounds that there was no work for me. I -haven't told Master Billet so far I have arms for earning my bread, -thank God! However, you are the mistress under your own roof. In short, -you sent me away. Hence, as you saw me at the Charny Lodge, and we were -not enemies, it was your place to speak to me instead of running away -like a boy stealing apples." - -The viper had bitten; Catherine dropped out of her calm. - -"I, run away?" she exclaimed. - -"As though fire had broken out on the farm. I had not time to shut up my -book before you were on the back of Younker, where he was concealed in -the foliage, after barking an ashtree, and ruining it." - -"What do you mean by ruining?" - -"That is right enough," continued Pitou: "while you were gathering -houseleeks, Younker was browsing, and in an hour a horse eats a heap of -stuff. It must have taken quite an hour for him to strip that sized tree -of bark. You must have collected enough plants to cure all the wounds -inflicted in taking the Bastile--it is a great thing for poultices!" - -Pale and in despair, Catherine could not find a word to speak. Pitou was -silent also, as he had said quite enough. - -Mother Billet, stopping at the road forks, was bidding adieu to her -cronies. - -"What does the officer say?" queried the woman. - -"He says goodnight to you, Mother Billet." - -"Not yet," cried Catherine with a desperate tone. "Tell me the -truth--are we no longer friends?" - -Pitou felt his secret well up to his lips: but it was all over with him -if he spoke; so he bowed mutely with respect which touched her heart; -gave Mother Billet a pleasant smile, and disappeared in the dense wood. - -"Is that what is called love?" Pitou monologued to himself; "it is sweet -at times and then again bitter." - -He returned to Haramont, singing the most doleful of rural ballads to -the mournfullest tunes. - -Luckily he did not find his warriors in any such mood. On the contrary, -they were preparing for a feast and they had set aside the chair of -honor for their Caesar who had overcome the other villages' Pompeys. - -Dragged by his officers into the banquet room, he saluted in silence in -return for the greetings, and with the calmness we know as his, attacked -the roast veal and potatoes. His action lasted so long that his -"digester" was filled while his heart was freed of gall. At the end of a -couple of hours he perceived that his grief was no worse. - -He stood up when his brother revellers could not stand, while the ladies -had fled before the dessert. He made a speech on the sobriety of the -Spartans--when all were dead drunk. He said that it was healthier to -take a stroll than sleep under the table. - -Alone he set the example; he asked of the shadows beneath the glades, -why he should be so stern towards a young woman, made for love, grace -and sweetness; one who might also cherish a fancy at the outset of life? -Alas, why had she not fancied him? - -Why should an ugly, uncouth bear like him inspire amorous sentiments in -a pretty girl, when a handsome young nobleman--a very peacock beside -him--was there to glitter and enchant? - -He reasoned that, dazzled by Charny's brilliancy, she would not see -Pitou's real value if he acted harshly towards her. Consequently, he -ought to behave nicely to her. - -The good soul, heated white hot by wine and love, vowed to make -Catherine ashamed of having scorned the affection of such a sterling -lover as he was. - -He could not admit that the fair, chaste and proud Catherine was -anything like a plaything to the dashing gallant, or a bright flirt, -smiling on the lace ruffles and spurred boots. - -Some day Master Isidore would go to the city to marry a countess, and -the romance would end by his never looking at Catherine again. - -To prove to the maid that he was not ugly, he resolved to take back any -harsh words he had used; to do which it was necessary for him to see -her. - -He started through the woods for the Billet Farm, slashing the bushes -with his stick--which blows the shrubs returned with usury. - -During this time Catherine was pensively following her mother. - -A few steps from the farm was a swamp. The road narrows there so that -two horses can hardly go abreast. Mother Billet had gone through and the -girl was about to follow when she heard a whistle. - -In the shadow she spied the laced cap of Isidore's groom. She let her -mother ride on and waited for the messenger. - -"Master wants to see you very particular this evening at eleven, -wherever you like," said the man. - -"Good gracious, has anything bad happened to him?" she said. - -"I do not know; but he had a letter from town sealed with black wax. I -have been waiting an hour for you." - -Ten o'clock struck on the village church bell. Catherine looked round -her. - -"This place is dark and out of the way," she said; "I will await your -Master here." - -At the fixed time she ran out to the spot, warned by the sound of a -galloping horse. It was Isidore, attended by the groom, who stood at a -space while the noble advanced, without getting off his horse. - -He held out his arms to her, lifted her on the stirrup, kissed her and -said: - -"My brother Valence was killed yesterday at Versailles and my brother -the count calls me. I am off, Catherine!" - -"Oh," she moaned painfully, as she furiously embraced him, "if they have -killed him, they will kill you as well." - -"Catherine, whatever betides, my eldest brother awaits me; Catherine, -you know that I love you." - -"Oh, stay, stay," she cried, only knowing one thing--that her beloved -talked of leaving her. - -"But, honor, Catherine--my murdered brother! vengeance!" - -"Oh, what an unhappy girl I am," moaned she, collapsing, palpitating but -rigid in the horseman's arms. - -Resigned, for she at last comprehended that the brother's summons was an -order, she glided to the ground after a farewell kiss. - -He turned his eyes, sighed and wavered for a time; but, attracted by the -imperative order received, he set his horse to the gallop, and flung -Catherine a final farewell. - -The lackey followed him across the country. - -Catherine remained on the ground, where she had dropped, barring the way -with her body. - -Almost immediately a man appeared on the hill, striding towards the -farm. In his rapid course he could not fail to stumble on the body. He -staggered and rolled in the fall, and his groping hands touched the -inert form. - -"Catherine--dead!" he yelled so that the farm dogs' took up the howling. -"Who has killed Catherine?" - -He knelt down, pale and ice-cold, beside the inanimate body with its -head across his knee. - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - -THE ROAD TO PARIS. - - -On this same evening, a no less grave event set the college of Father -Fortier in an uproar. Sebastian Gilbert had disappeared about six -o'clock and had not been found up to midnight by the most active search. - -Nobody had seen him save Aunt Angelique, who, coming from the church, -where she let out the chairs, had thought to see him going up a lane. -This report added to the schoolmaster's disquiet. He knew that the youth -had strange delusions, during which he believed he was following a -beautiful lady; more than once when on a walk he had seen him stare at -vacancy and if he plunged too deeply into the copse, he would start the -best pedestrians of the class after him. - -But he had never gone off in the night. - -This time, he had taken the road to Haramont, and Angelique had really -seen him. He was going to find Pitou. But the latter left the village by -one end, to go and see Catherine, at the same time as the doctor's son -quitted it by the other. - -Pitou's door was open, for the captain was still simple in his habits. -He lit the candle and waited: but he was too fretful. He found a sheet -of paper, half of that on which Pitou had inscribed the name of his -company of soldiers, and wrote as follows: - - "MY DEAR PITOU: I have come to tell you of a conversation I - overheard between Father Fortier and the Villers Cotterets Vicar. - Fortier is in connivance with the aristocratic party of Paris and - says that a counter-revolutionary movement is hatching at - Versailles. The cue was given when the Queen wore the black cockade - and trampled the tricolor under-foot. This threat already made me - uneasy about my father, who is the aristocrats' enemy, as you know: - but this time it is worse. - - "The vicar has returned the priest's visit, and as I feared for my - father, I listened to their talk to hear the sequel to what I - overheard by accident last time. It appears, my dear Pitou, that - the people stormed Versailles and killed a great many royalists, - among them Lord Valence Charny. - - "Father Fortier said: 'Speak low, not to startle little Gilbert, - whose father has gone to Versailles and may be killed in the lot!' - - "You understand, Pitou, that I did not wait for more, but I have - stolen away and I come to have you take me back to Paris. I will - not wait any longer, as you may have gone to lay snares in the - woods and would not be home till to-morrow. So I proceed on my road - to Paris. Have no anxiety as I know the way and besides I have two - gold pieces left out of the money my father gave me, so that I can - take a seat in the first conveyance I catch up with. - - "P. S.--I make this rather long in order to explain my departure, - and to delay me that you may return before I finish. But no, I have - finished, and you have not come, so that I am off. Farewell, until - we meet again! if nothing has happened to my father and he runs no - danger, I will return. If not, I shall ask his leave to stay beside - him. Calm Father Fortier about my absence; but do not do so until - it is too late for him to overtake me. Good-bye, again!" - -Knowing his friend's economy, he put out the candle, and set off. - -He went by the starlight at first till he struck through byways the main -road at Vauciennes. At the branch of the Paris and Crespy roads, he had -to stop as he did not know which to take. They were both alike. He sat -down discouraged, partly to rest, partly to reflect, when he heard the -galloping of horses from Villers Cotterets way. - -He waited to ask the riders the information he wanted. Soon he saw two -shadows in the gloom, one riding at a space behind the other so that he -judged the foremost to be the master and the other his groom. - -He walked out three steps from the roadside to accost him when the -horseman clapped his hand to his holster for a pistol. - -"I am not a thief, sir," cried Sebastian, interpreting the action -correctly, "but a boy whom recent events at Versailles calls thither to -seek his father. I do not know which of these roads I ought to take to -get to Paris--point it out, please, and you will do me a great service." - -The speaker's stylish language and his juvenile tone did not seem -unknown to the rider, who reined in his steed, albeit he seemed in -haste. - -"Who are you, my boy, and how comes it you are out on the highway at -such an hour?" he inquired. - -"I am not asking you who you are--only my road--the way for a poor boy -to reach his father in distress." - -In the almost childish voice was firmness which struck the cavalier. - -"My friend, we are on the road to Paris," he replied: "I have only been -there twice and do not know it very well, but I am sure this is the -right one." - -Sebastian drew back a step offering his thanks. The horses had need of -getting their wind and started off again not very rapidly. - -"My Lord Viscount," said the lackey to his master, "do you not recognize -that youth?" - -"No: though I fancied----" - -"It is young Sebastian Gilbert, who is at boarding school, at Abbe -Fortier's; and who comes over to Billet's Farm with Ange Pitou." - -"You are right, by Jove!" Turning his horse and stopping, he called out: -"Is this you, Sebastian?" - -"Yes, my lord," returned the boy, who had known the horseman all the -time. - -"Then, come, and tell me how I find you here?" - -"I did tell you--I want to learn that my father in Paris is not killed -or hurt." - -"Alas, my poor boy," said Isidore with profound sadness, "I am going to -town on the like errand: only I have no doubt; one of my brothers, -Valence, was slain at Versailles yesterday." - -"Oh, I am so sorry," said the youth, holding out his hand to the -speaker, which the latter took and squeezed. - -"Well, my dear boy, since our fate is akin," said the cavalier, "we must -not separate; you must like me be eager to get to Paris." - -"Oh, dear, yes!" - -"You can never reach it on foot." - -"I could do it but it would take too long; so I reckon on taking a place -in a stage going my way, and get what lift I can do the journey." - -"Better than that, my boy; get up behind my man." - -Sebastian plucked his hands out of the other's grasp. - -"I thank you, my lord," said he in such a tone that the noble understood -that he had hurt the youth's feelings by offering to mount him behind -his inferior. - -"Or, better still, now I think of it," he went on, "take his place. He -can come on afterwards. He can learn where I am by asking at the -Tuileries Palace." - -"I thank you again, my lord," replied the adolescent, in a milder voice, -for he had comprehended the delicacy of the offer: "I do not wish to -deprive you of his services." - -It was hard to come to an arrangement now that the terms of peace were -laid down. - -"Better again, my dear Sebastian. Get up behind me. Dawn is peeping: at -ten we shall be at Dammartin, half way; there we will leave the two -horses, which would not carry us much farther, under charge of -Baptistin, and we will take the post-chaise to Paris. I intended to do -this so that you do not lead to any change in my arrangements." - -"If this be true, then, I accept," said the young man, hesitating but -dying to go. - -"Down with you, Baptistin, and help Master Sebastian to mount." - -"Thanks, but it is useless," said the youth leaping up behind the -gentleman as light as a schoolboy. - -The three on the two horses started off at the gallop, and disappeared -over the ridge. - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - -THE SPIRIT MATERIALIZED. - - -At five next afternoon, Viscount Charny and Sebastian reached the -Tuileries Palace gates. The name of his brother passed Isidore and his -companion into the middle courtyard. - -Young Gilbert had wanted to go to the house in Honore Street where his -father dwelt, but the other had pointed out that as he was honorary -physician to the Royal Household, he might be at the palace, where the -latest news of him could be had. - -While an usher made inquiries, Sebastian sat on a sofa and Isidore -walked up and down the sitting-room. - -In ten minutes the man returned: Count Charny was with the Queen; Dr. -Gilbert had had nothing happen to him; he was supposed to be with the -King, as a doctor was with his Majesty. If it were so, he would be -informed on coming out that a person was waiting to see him. - -Isidore was much affected in parting with him as his joy at recovering -his father made the loss of his brother more painful. - -At this the door opened for a servant to call: "The Viscount of Charny -is asked for in the Queen's apartments." - -"You will wait for me," said Isidore; "unless your father comes, promise -me, Gilbert, for I am answerable for you to the doctor." - -"Yes, and receive my thanks in the meantime," rejoined Sebastian, -resuming his place on the sofa as the Viscount left the room with the -domestic. - -Easy about his father's fate, and himself, certain that the good intent -would earn his forgiveness for the journey, he went back in memory to -Father Fortier, and on Pitou, and reflected on the trouble which his -flight and his note would cause them severally. - -And naturally, by the mechanism of ideas, he thought of the woods around -Pitou's home, where he had so often pursued the ghost in his reverie. -The White Lady seen so oft in visions, and once only in reality, he -believed in Satory Wood, appearing and flitting away in a magnificent -carriage drawn by a galloping pair. - -He recalled the profound emotion this sight had given him and half -plunged in dreams anew, he murmured: - -"My mother?" - -At this juncture, a door in the wall over against him opened. A woman -appeared. This appearance was so much in harmony with what happened in -his fancy, that he started to see his ghost take substance. In this -woman was the vision and the reality--the lady seen at Satory. - -He sprang up as though a spring had acted under his feet. - -His lips tightened on one another, his eyes expanded, and the pupils -dilated. His heaving breast in vain endeavored to form a sound. - -Majestic, haughty and disdainful, the lady passed him without any heed. -Calm as she was externally, yet her pale countenance, frowning brow and -whistling respiration, betrayed that she was in great nervous -irritation. - -She crossed the room diagonally, opened another door, and walked into a -corridor. - -Sebastian comprehended that she was escaping him, if he did not hasten. -He still looked as if apprehensive that it was a ghost, but then darted -after her, before the skirt of her silken robe had disappeared round the -turning of the lobby. - -Hearing steps behind her, she walked more briskly as if fearing pursuit. - -He quickened his gait as much as he could, fearing as the corridor was -dark that he might miss her. This caused her to accelerate her pace -also, but she looked round. - -He uttered a cry of joy for it was clearly the vision. - -Seeing but a boy with extended arms and understanding nothing why she -should be chased, the lady hurried down a flight of stairs. But she had -barely descended to one landing than Sebastian arrived at the end of the -passage where he called out: - -"Lady, oh, lady!" - -This voice produced a strange sensation throughout the hearer; she -seemed struck in the heart by a pain which was half delight, and from -the heart a shudder sent by the blood through all her veins. - -Nevertheless, as all was a puzzle to her; she doubled her speed, and the -course resembled a flight. - -They reached the foot of the stairs at the same time. - -It was the courtyard into which the lady sped. A carriage was waiting -for her, for a servant was holding the door open. She stepped in swiftly -and took her seat. - -Before the door could be closed, Sebastian glided in between it and the -footman, and seizing the hem of her dress, kissed with frenzy and cried: - -"Oh, lady!" - -Looking at the pretty boy who had frightened her at first, she said in a -sweeter voice than she usually spoke, though it was yet shaken with fear -and emotion: - -"Well, my little friend, why are you running after me? why do you call -me? what do you want?" - -"I want to see you, and kiss you," replied the child. "I want to call -you 'Mother,'" he added in so low a voice that only she could hear him. - -She uttered a scream, embraced him, and approaching him as by a sudden -revelation, fastened her ardent lips on his brow. Then, as though she -dreaded someone coming to snatch away this child whom she had found, she -drew him entirely into the vehicle, pushed him to its other side, shut -the door with her own hand, and lowering the glass to order: "Drive to -No. 9 Coq-Heron Street, the first carriage-doorway from Plastriere -Street," she shut the window instantly. - -Turning to the boy she asked his name. - -"Sebastian? come, Sebastian, come here, on my heart." - -She threw herself back as if going to swoon, muttering: "What new -sensation is this? can it be what is called happiness?" - -The journey was one long kiss of mother and son. - -She had found this son by a miracle, whom the father had torn from her -in a terrible night of anguish and dishonor; he had disappeared with no -trace but the abductor's tracks in the snow; this child had been -detested until she heard its first wail, whereupon she had loved him; -this child had been prayed for, called for, begged for. Her brother had -uselessly hunted for him over land and ocean. For fifteen years she had -yearned for him, and despaired to behold him again; she had begun to -think no more of him but as a cherished spirit. Here he was, running and -crying after her, seeking her, in his turn, calling her "Mother!" - -He was pillowed on her heart, pressing on her bosom, loving her filially -although he had never seen her, as she loved him with maternal -affection. Her pure lips recovered all the joys of a lost life in this -first kiss given her son. - -Above the head of mankind is Something else than the void in which the -spheres revolve: in life there is Another Thing than chance and -fatality. - - -After fourteen years she was taken back to the house where he was born, -this offspring of the union of the mesmerist Gilbert and the daughter of -the House of Taverney, his victim. There he had drawn the first breath -of life and thence his father had stolen him. - -This little residence, bought by the late Baron Taverney, served as -lodging for his son when he came to town, which was rarely, and for -Andrea, when she slept in town. - -After her conflict with the Queen, unable to bear meeting the woman who -loved her husband, Andrea had made up her mind to go away from the -rival, who visited on her retaliation for all her griefs, and whom the -woes of the Queen, great though they were, always remained beneath the -sufferings of the loving woman. - -All concurred then in making this evening a happy one for the ex-Queen's -maid of honor. Nothing should trouble her. Instead of a room in a palace -where the walls are all ears and eyes, she was harboring her child in -her own little, secluded house. - -As soon as she was closeted with Sebastian in her boudoir, she drew him -to a lounge, on which were concentrated the lights from both candles and -fire. - -"Oh, my boy, is it really you?" she exclaimed with a joy which still -quivered with lingering doubt. - -"Mother!" ejaculated Sebastian with an outburst of the heart, flowing -like refreshing dews on Andrea's burning heart and enfevered veins. - -"And the meeting to be here," said she, looking round with terror -towards the room whence he had been stolen. - -"What do you mean by 'Here?'" - -"Fifteen years ago, my boy, you were born in this room, and I bless the -mercy of the Almighty that you are miraculously restored to me." - -"Yes, miraculously indeed," said the youth, "for if I had not feared for -my father----" - -Andrea closed her eyes and leaned back, so sharp was the pang shooting -through her. - -"If I had not set out alone in the night, I should not have been -perplexed about the road: and then I should not have been recognized by -Lord Isidore Charny, who offered his help and conducted me to the -Tuileries----" - -Her eyes re-opened, her heart expanded and her glance thanked heaven: -for it increased the miracle that Sebastian should be led to her by her -husband's brother. - -"I should not have seen you passing through the palace and not following -you might never have called you 'Mother!' the word so sweet and tender -to utter." - -Recalled to her bliss, she hugged him again and said: - -"Yes, you are right, my boy; it is most sweet: but there is perchance -another one more sweet and tender; 'My son!' which I say to you as I -press you to my heart. But in short," she suddenly said, "it is -impossible that all should remain mysterious around us. You have -explained how you come here, but not how you recognized me and ran after -me, calling me your mother." - -"How can I tell? I do not myself know," replied Sebastian, looking at -her with love unspeakable. "You speak of mysteries? all is mysterious -about you and me. List to me, and I will tell you what seems a prodigy." - -Andrea bent nearer. - -"It is ten years since I knew you. You do not understand. I have dreams -which my father calls hallucinations." - -At the reminder of Gilbert, passing like a steel point from the boyish -lips, Andrea started. - -"I have seen you twenty times, mother. In the village, while playing -with the other schoolboys, I have followed you as you flitted through -the woods and pursued you with useless calls till you faded away. -Crushed by fatigue I would drop on the spot, as if your presence alone -had sustained me." - -This kind of second existence, this living dream, too much resembled -what the medium herself experienced for her not to understand him. - -"Poor darling," she said as she pressed him more closely, "it was vainly -that hate strove to part us. Heaven was bringing us together without my -suspecting it. Less happy than you, I saw my dear child neither in dream -nor reality. Still, when I passed through that Green Saloon I felt a -shiver; when I heard your footsteps behind mine, giddiness thrilled my -heart and brain; when you called me 'Lady' I all but stopped; when you -called me 'Mother!' I nearly swooned; when I embraced you, I believed." - -"My mother," repeated Sebastian, as if to console her for not having -heard the welcome title for so long. - -"Yes, your mother," said the countess, with a transport of love -impossible to describe. - -"Now that we have found each other," said the youth, "and as you are -contented and happy at our union, we are not going to part any more, -tell me?" - -She shuddered: she was enjoying the present to the exclusion of the past -and totally closing her eyes on the future. - -"How I should bless you, my poor boy, if you could accomplish this -miracle!" she sighingly murmured. - -"Let me manage it; I will do it. I do not know the causes separating you -from my father,"--Andrea turned pale--"but they will be effaced by my -tears and entreaties, however serious they may be." - -"Never," returned the countess, shaking her head. - -"I tell you that my father adores you," said Sebastian, who believed -that the woman was in the wrong from the way his father had forbidden -him ever to mention her name. - -Her hands holding the speaker's relaxed but he did not notice this, as -he continued: - -"I will prepare him to greet you; I will tell him all the happiness you -give me; one of these days, I will take you by the hand and lead you to -him, saying: 'Here she is, father--look, how handsome she is!'" - -Repulsing Sebastian, she sprang up. - -"Never," repeated she, while he stared with astounded eyes for she was -so white as to alarm him. This time her accent expressed a threat rather -than fright. - -She recoiled on the lounge; in that face he had seen the hard lines -which Raphael gives to irritated angels. - -"Why do you refuse to receive my father?" he demanded, in a sullen -voice. - -At these words, the lightning burst as at the contact of two clouds. - -"Why? do you ask me why? well, never shall you know." - -"Still, I ask why," said Sebastian, with firmness. - -"Because, then," said Andrea, incapable of self-restraint under the -sting of the serpent gnawing at her heart, "because your father is an -infamous villain!" - -He bounded up from the divan and stood before her. - -"Do you say that of my father," he cried, "of Dr. Gilbert, who brought -me up and educated me, the only friend I ever knew? I am making a -mistake--you are no mother of mine!" - -She stopped him darting towards the door. - -"Stay," she said, "you cannot know, ought not understand, may not -judge." - -"No; but I can feel, and I feel that I love you no more." - -She screamed with pain. - -Simultaneously, a diversion was given to the emotion overwhelming her by -the sound of a carriage coming up to the street doorway. Such a shudder -ran over her that he thrilled in sympathy. - -"Wait, and be silent," she said so that he was subjugated. - -"Who am I to announce?" she heard the old footman demand in the -ante-room. - -"The Count of Charny; and inquire if my lady will do me the honor to -receive me?" - -"Into this room, child," said Andrea, "he must not see you--he must not -know that you exist!" - -She pushed the frightened youth into the adjoining apartment. - -"Remain here till he shall have gone, when I will relate to--No, nothing -of that can be said? I will so love you that you will not doubt that I -am your own loving mother." - -His only reply was a moan. - -At this moment the door opened and the servant, cap in hand, acquitted -himself of the errand entrusted to him. - -"Show in the Count of Charny," she said in the firmest voice she could -find. - -As the old man retired, the nobleman appeared on the sill. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - -HUSBAND AND WIFE. - - -Count Charny was clad in black, mourning for his brother slain two days -before. - -This mourning was not solely in his habit, but in the recesses of his -heart, and his pallid cheeks attested what grief he had undergone. Never -are handsome faces finer than after sorrow, and the rapid glance of his -wife perceived that he had never looked more superb. - -She closed her eyes an instant, slightly held back her head to draw a -full breath and laid her hand on her heart which seemed about to break. - -When she opened them, after a second, Charny was in the same place. - -"Is the carriage to wait?" inquired the servant, urged by the footman at -the door. - -An unspeakable look shot from the yearning eyes of the visitor upon his -wife, who was dazed into closing her own again, while she stood -breathless as though she had not noticed the glance or heard the -question. Both had penetrated to her heart. - -Charny sought in this lovely living statue for some token to indicate -what answer he should make. As her shiver might be read both ways, he -said: "Bid the coachman wait." - -The door closed and perhaps for the first time since their wedding the -lord and his lady were alone together. - -"Pardon me," said the count, breaking the silence, "but is my unexpected -call intrusion? I have not seated myself and the carriage waits so that -I can depart as I came." - -"No, my lord, quite the contrary," quickly said Andrea. "I knew you were -well and safe, but I am not the less happy to see you after recent -events." - -"You have been good enough then to ask after me?" - -"Of course; yesterday, and this morning, when I was answered that you -were at Versailles; and this evening, when I learnt that you were in -attendance on the Queen." - -Were those last words spoken simply or did they contain a reproach? Not -knowing what to make of them, the count was evidently set thinking by -them. But probably leaving to the outcome of the dialogue the lifting of -the veil lowered on his mind for the time, he replied almost instantly: - -"My lady, a pious duty retained me at Versailles yesterday and this day; -one as sacred in my eyes brought me instantly on my arrival in town -beside her Majesty." - -Andrea tried in her turn to discover the true intent of the words. -Thinking that she ought to respond, she said: - -"Yes, I know of the terrible loss which--_you_ have experienced." She -had been on the point of saying "we," but she dared not, and continued: -"You have had the misfortune to lose your brother Valence de Charny." - -The count seemed to be waiting for the clue, for he had started on -hearing the pronoun "Your." - -"Yes, my lady. As you say, a terrible loss for me, but you cannot -appreciate the young man, as you little knew poor Valence, happily." - -In the last word was a mild and melancholy reproach, which his auditor -comprehended, though no outward sign was manifested that she gave it -heed. - -"Still, one thing consoles me, if anything can console me; poor Valence -died doing his duty, as probably his brother Isidore will die, and I -myself." - -This deeply affected Andrea. - -"Alas, my lord," she asked, "do you believe matters so desperate that -fresh sacrifices of blood are necessary to appease the wrath of heaven?" - -"I believe that the hour comes when the knell of kings is to peal; that -an evil genius pushes monarchy unto the abysm. In short I think, if it -is to fall, it will be accompanied, and should be so, by all those who -took part in its splendor." - -"True, but when comes that day, believe that it will find me ready like -yourself for the utmost devotion," said Andrea. - -"Your ladyship has given too many proofs of that devotion in the past, -for any one to doubt it for the future--I least of all--the less as I -have for the first time flinched about an order from the Queen. On -arriving from Versailles, I found the order to present myself to her -Majesty instantly." - -"Oh," said Andrea, sadly smiling; "it is plain," she added, after a -pause, "like you, the Queen sees the future is sombre and mysterious and -wishes to gather round her all those she can depend on." - -"You are wrong, my lady," returned Charny, "for the Queen summoned me, -not to bid me stand by her, but to send me afar." - -"Send you away?" quickly exclaimed the countess, taking a step towards -the speaker. "But I am keeping you standing," she said, pointing to a -chair. - -So saying, she herself sank, as though unable to remain on foot any -longer, on the sofa where she had been sitting with Sebastian shortly -before. - -"Send you away? in what end?" she said with emotion not devoid of joy at -the thought that the suspected lovers were parting. - -"To have me go to Turin to confer with Count Artois and the Duke of -Bourbon, who have quitted the country." - -"And you accepted?" - -"No, my lady," responded Charny, watching her fixedly. - -She lost color so badly that he moved as if to assist her, but this -revived her strength and she recovered. - -"No? you have answered No to an order of the Queen's, my lord?" she -faltered, with an indescribable accent of doubt and astonishment. - -"I answered that I believed my presence here at present more necessary -than in Italy. Anybody could bear the message with which I was to be -honored; I had a second brother, just arrived from the country, to place -at the orders of the King, and he was ready to start in my stead." - -"Of course the Queen was happy to see the substitute," exclaimed Andrea, -with bitterness she could not contain, and not appearing to escape -Charny. - -"It was just the other way, for she seemed to be deeply wounded by the -refusal. I should have been forced to go had not the King chanced in and -I made him the arbiter." - -"The King held you to be right?" sneered the lady with an ironical -smile: "he like you advised your staying in the Tuileries? Oh, how good -his Majesty is!" - -"So he is," went on the count, without wincing: "he said that my brother -Isidore would be well fitted for the mission and the more so as it was -his first visit to court, so that his absence would not be remarked. He -added that it would be cruel for the Queen to require my being sent away -from you at present." - -"The King said, from me?" exclaimed Andrea. - -"I repeat his own words, my lady. Looking round and addressing me, he -wanted to know where the Countess of Charny was. 'I have not seen her -this evening,' said he. As this was specially directed to me, I made -bold to reply. 'Sire,' I said, 'I have so seldom the pleasure of seeing -the countess that I am in the state of impossibility to tell where she -is; but if your Majesty wishes to know, he might inquire of the Queen -who, knowing, will reply!' I insisted as I judged from the Queen looking -black, that some difference had arisen between you." - -Andrea was so enwrapt in the listening that she did not think of saying -anything. - -"The Queen made answer that the Countess of Charny had gone away from -the palace with no intention to return. 'Why, what motive can your best -friend have in quitting the palace at this juncture?' inquired the King. -'Because she is uncomfortable here,' replied the Queen who had started -at the title you were given. 'Well, that may be so; but we will find -accommodation for her and the count beside our own rooms,' went on the -King. 'You will not be very particular, eh, my lord?' I told him that I -should be satisfied with any post as long as I could serve him in it. 'I -know it well: so that we only want the lady called back from--' the -Queen did not know whither you had departed. 'Not know where your friend -has gone?' exclaimed the King. 'When my friends leave me I do not -inquire after them.' 'Good, some woman's quarrel,' said Louis; 'my Lord -Charny, I have to speak a while with the Queen. Kindly wait for me and -present your brother who shall start for Turin this evening. I am of -your opinion that I shall require you and I mean to keep you by me.' So -I sent for my brother who was awaiting me in the Green Saloon, I was -told." - -At the mention, Andrea, who had nearly forgotten Sebastian in her -interest in her husband's story, was made to think of all that had -passed between mother and son, and she threw her eyes with anguish on -the bedroom door where she had placed him. - -"But you must excuse me for talking of matters but slightly interesting -you while you are no doubt wishful to know why I have come here." - -"No, my lord, what you say does engage me," replied the countess; "your -presence can only be agreeable on account of the fears I have felt on -your account. I pray you to continue. The King asked you to wait for him -and to bring your brother." - -"We went to the royal apartments, where he joined us in ten minutes. As -the mission for the princes was urgent he began by that. Their -Highnesses were to be instructed about what had happened. A quarter of -an hour after the King came, my brother was on the road, and the King -and I were left alone. He stopped suddenly in pacing the room and said: -'My lord, do you know what has passed between the Queen and the -countess?' I was ignorant. 'Something must have happened,' he went on, -'for the Queen is in a temper fit to massacre everybody, and it appears -to me unjust to the countess--which is odd, as the Queen usually defends -her friends through thick and thin, even when they are wrong.' 'I repeat -I know nothing, but I venture to assert that the countess has done no -wrong--even if we cannot admit that a queen ever does so.'" - -"I thank your lordship for having so good an opinion of me," said -Andrea. - -"'I suppose as the countess has a house in town that she has retired -there,' I suggested. 'Of course! I will give you leave of absence till -to-morrow on condition that you bring back the countess,' said the -King." - -Charny looked at his wife so fixedly that she was unable to bear the -glance and had to close her eyes. - -"Then, seeing that I was in mourning, he stayed me to say that my loss -was one of those which monarchs could not repair; but that if my brother -left a widow or a child he would help them, and would like them -presented to him, at any rate; the Queen should take care of the widow -and he would of the children." - -Charny spoke with tears in his voice. - -"I daresay the King was only repeating what the Queen had said," -remarked the lady. - -"The Queen did not honor me with a word on the subject," returned -Charny, "and that is why the King's speech affected me most deeply. He -ended by bidding me 'Go to our dear Andrea; for though those we love -cannot console us they can mourn with us, and that is a relief!' Thus it -is that I come by the King's order, which may be my excuse, my lady," -concluded the count. - -"Did you doubt your welcome?" cried the lady, quickly rising and holding -out both hands to him. - -He grasped them and kissed them; she uttered a scream as though they -were redhot iron, and sank back on the divan. But her hands were -clinging to his and he was drawn down so as to be placed sitting beside -her. - -But it was then that she thought she heard a noise in the next room, and -she started from him so abruptly that he rose and stood off a little, -not knowing to what to attribute the outcry and the repulsion so -suddenly made. - -Leaning on the sofa back, he sighed. The sigh touched her deeply. - -At the very time when the bereaved mother found her child, something -like the dawn of love beamed on her previously dismal and sorrowful -horizon. But by a strange coincidence, proven that she was not born to -happiness, the two events were so combined that one annulled the other: -the return of the husband thrust aside the son's love as the latter's -presence destroyed the budding passion. - -Charny could not divine this in the exclamation and the starting aloof, -the silence full of sadness following, although the cry was of love and -the retreat from fear, not repulsion. - -He gazed upon her with an expression which she could not have mistaken -if she had been looking up. - -"What answer am I to carry to the King?" he inquired emitting a sigh. - -"My lord," she replied, starting at the sound and raising her clear and -limpid eyes to him, "I suffered so much while in the court that I -accepted the leave to go when accorded by the Queen, with thankfulness. -I am not fitted to live in society, and in solitude I have found repose -if not happiness. My happiest days were those spent as a girl at -Taverney and in the convent of St. Denis with the noble princess of the -House of France, the Lady Louise. But, with your lordship's permission, -I will dwell in this summerhouse, full of recollections which are not -without some sweetness spite of their sadness." - -Charny bowed at this suggestion of his permission being sought, like a -man who was obeying an order, far more than granting a request. - -"As this is a fixed resolve," he said, marking how steady she was with -all her meekness, "am I to be allowed to call on you here?" - -She fastened her eyes on him, usually clear but now full of astonishment -and blandness. - -"Of course, my lord," was her response, "and as I shall have no company, -you can come any time that your duties at the palace allow you to set -aside a little while to me." - -Never had Charny seen so much charm in her gaze, or such tenderness in -her voice. Something ran through his veins, like the shudder from a -lover's first kiss. He glanced at the place whence he had risen when -Andrea got up; he would have given a year of life to take his seat there -again if she would not once more repel him. But the soldier was timid, -and he dared not allow himself the liberty. - -On her part, Andrea would have given ten years, sooner than only one, to -have him in that place, but, unfortunately, each was ignorant of the -other's mood, and they stood still, in almost painful expectation. - -"You were saying that you had to endure a great deal at court. Was not -the Queen pleasant towards you?" - -"I have nothing to blame her Majesty for," replied the ex-lady of honor, -"and I should be unjust if I did not acknowledge her Majesty's kind -treatment." - -"I hinted at this, because I have lately noticed that the friendship -seemed to show a falling off," continued the count. - -"That is possible, and that is why I am leaving the court." - -"But you will live so lonely?" - -"Have I not always lived so, my lord?" sighed Andrea, "as maid--wife--" -she stopped, seeing that she was going too far. - -"Do you make me a reproach?" - -"What right have I in heaven's name to make reproaches to your -lordship?" retorted the countess: "do you believe I have forgot the -circumstances under which we were plighted? Just the opposite of those -who vow before the altar reciprocal love and mutual protection, we swore -eternal indifference and complete separation. The blame would be to the -one who forgot that oath." - -Charny caught the sigh which these words had not entirely suppressed, -from the speaker's heart. - -"But this is such a small dwelling," he said: "a countess in one sitting -room with only another to eat in, and this for repose----" - -She sprang in between him and the bedroom, seeing Sebastian behind the -door, in her mind's eye. - -"Oh, my lord, do not go that way, I entreat you," she exclaimed, barring -the passage with her extended arms. - -"Oh, my lady," said he, looking at her so pale and trembling, with -fright never more plain on a human face, "I knew that you did not like -me: but I had no idea you hated me to this degree." - -Incapable of remaining any longer beside his wife without an outburst, -he reeled for a space like an intoxicated man; recovering himself, he -rushed out of the room with an exclamation of pain which echoed in the -depths of the hearer's heart. - -She watched him till he was out of sight; she listened till she could no -longer hear his departing carriage, and then with a breaking heart, -dreading that she had not enough motherly love to combat with this other -passion, she darted into the bedroom, calling out: - -"Sebastian," but no voice replied. - -By the trembling of the night-lamp in a draft she perceived that the -window was open. It was the same by which the child was kidnapped -fifteen years before. - -"This is justice," she muttered; "did he not say that I was no more his -mother?" - -Comprehending that she had lost both husband and child at the period -when she had recovered them, Andrea threw herself on the couch, at the -end of her resignation and her prayers exhausted. - -Suddenly it seemed to her that something more dreadful than her -sorrowful plight glided in between grief and her tears. - -She looked up and beheld a man, after climbing in at the open window, -standing on the floor. - -She wished to shriek and ring for help; but he bent on her the -fascinating gaze which caused her the invincible lethargy she remembered -Cagliostro could impose upon her: but in this mesmerist and his -spell-binding look and bearing, she recognized Gilbert. - -How was it the execrated father stood in the stead of his beloved son? - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. - -IN SEARCH OF THEIR SON. - - -It was Dr. Gilbert who was closeted with the King when the usher -inquired after him on the order of Isidore and the entreaty of -Sebastian. - -The upright heart of Louis XVI. had appreciated the loyalty in the -doctor's. After half an hour, the latter came forth and went into the -Queen's ante-chamber, where he saw Isidore. - -"I asked for you, doctor, but I have another with me who wants still -more to see you. It will be cruel to detain you from him: so let us -hasten to the Green Saloon." - -But the room was empty and such was the confusion in the palace that no -servant was at hand to inform them what had become of the young man. - -"It was a person I met on the road, eager to get to Paris and coming -here on foot only for my giving him a ride." - -"Are you speaking of the peasant Pitou?" - -"No, doctor--of your son, Sebastian." - -At this, the usher who had taken Isidore away returned. - -He was ignorant of what had happened but, luckily, a second footman had -seen the singular disappearance of the boy in the carriage of a court -lady. - -They hastened to the gates where the janitor well recalled that the -direction to the coachman was "No. 9 Coq-Heron Street, first carriage -entrance from Plastriere Street." - -"My sister-in-law's," exclaimed Isidore, "the countess of Charny!" - -"Fatality," muttered Gilbert. "He must have recognized her," he said in -a lower tone. - -"Let us go there," suggested the young noble. - -Gilbert saw all the dangers of Andrea's son being discovered by her -husband. - -"My lord," he said, "my son is in safety in the hands of the Countess of -Charny, and as I have the honor to know her, I think I can call by -myself. Besides it is more proper that you should be on your road; for I -presume you are going to Turin, from what I heard in the King's -presence." - -"Yes, doctor." - -"Receive my thanks for your kindness to Sebastian, and be off! When a -father says he is not uneasy, you need feel no anxiety." - -Isidore held out his hand which the revolutionist shook with more -heartiness than he had for most of his class; while the nobleman -returned within the palace, he went along to the junction of the streets -Coq-Heron and Plastriere. - -Both were painful memories. - -In the latter he had lived, a poor boy, earning his bread by copying -music, by receiving instruction from the author Rousseau. From his -window he had contemplated Andrea at her own casement, under the hands -of her maid, Nicole, his first sweetheart, and to that window he had -made his way by a rope and by scaling the wall, to view more closely and -satisfy his passion for the high-born lady who had bewitched him. - -Rousseau was dead, but Andrea was rich and nobler still; he had also -attained wealth and consideration. - -But was he any happier than when he walked out of doors to dip his crust -in the waters of this public fountain? - -He could not help walking up to the door where Rousseau had lived. It -was open on the alley which ran under the building to the yard at the -back as well as up to the attic where he was lodged. - -He went up to the first floor back, where the window on the landing gave -a view of the rear house where Baron Taverney had dwelt. - -No one disturbed him in his contemplation; the house had come down in -the world; no janitor; the inhabitants were poor folk who did not fear -thieves. - -The garden at Taverney's house was the same as a dozen years before. The -vine still hung on the trellis which had served him as ladder in his -night clamberings within the enclosure. - -He was unaware whether Count Charny was with his wife, but he was so -bent on learning about Sebastian that he meant to risk all. - -He climbed the wall and descended on the other side. In the garden -nothing obstructed him, and thus he reached the window of Andrea's -Bedroom. - -In another instant, as related, the two enemies stood face to face. - -The lady's first feeling was invincible repugnance rather than profound -terror. - -For her the Americanized Gilbert, the friend of Washington and -Lafayette, aristocratic through study, science and genius, was still the -hangdog Gilbert of her father's manor house, and the gardener's boy of -Trianon Palace. - -Gilbert no longer bore her the ardent love which had driven him to crime -in his youth, but the deep and tender affection, spite of her insults -and persecutions, of a man ready to do a service at risk of his life. - -With the insight nature had given him and the justice education -implanted, Gilbert had weighed himself: he understood that Andrea's -misfortunes arose from him, and he would never be quits with her until -he had made her as happy as he had the reverse. - -But how could he blissfully affect her future. - -It was impossible for him yet to comprehend. - -On seeing this but to so much despair, again the prey to woe, all his -fibres of mercy were moved for so much misery. - -Instead of using his hypnotic power to subdue her, he spoke softly to -her, ready to master her if she became rebellious. - -The result was that the medium felt the ethereal fluid fade away like a -dissolving fog, by Gilbert's permission, and she was able to speak of -her own free will. - -"What do you want, sir? how came you here?" - -"By the way I used before," replied the doctor. "Hence you can be -easy--no one will know of it. Why? because I come to claim a treasure, -of no consequence to you, but precious to me, my son. I want you to tell -what has become of my son, taken away in your carriage and brought -here." - -"How do I know? taught by you to hate his mother, he has fled." - -"His mother? are you really a mother to him?" - -"Oh, you see my grief, you have heard my cries, and looking on my -despair, you ask me if I am his mother?" - -"How then are you ignorant what has become of him?" - -"But I tell you he has fled; that I came into this room for him and -found the window open and the room vacant." - -"Where could he have gone--good God!" exclaimed Gilbert. "It is past -midnight and he does not know the town." - -"Do you believe anything evil has befallen him?" asked she, approaching. - -"We shall hear, for it is you who shall tell me." - -And with a wave of the hand he began anew to plunge her into the -mesmeric sleep. - -She uttered a sigh and fell off into repose. - -"Am I to put forth all my will power or will you answer voluntarily?" -asked Gilbert when she was under control. - -"Will you tell the boy again that I am not his mother?" - -"That depends. Do you love him?" - -"Ardently, with all my soul." - -"Then you are his mother as I am his father, for it is thus I love him. -Loving him, you shall see him again. When did you part from the boy?" - -"About half an hour ago, when Count Charny called. I had pushed him into -this room." - -"What were his last words?" - -"That I was no more his mother: because I had told him that you were a -villain." - -"Look into the poor boy's heart and see what harm you wrought." - -"Oh, God forgive me," said Andrea: "forgive me, my son." - -"Did Count Charny suspect the boy was here?" - -"No, I am sure." - -"Why did he not stay?" - -"Because he never stays long with me. Oh, wretch that I am," she -interrupted herself, "he was returning to me after refusing that -mission--because he loves me--he loves me!" - -Gilbert began to see more clearly into this drama which his eye was -first to penetrate. - -"But do you love him?" he demanded. - -"I see your intention is good: you wish to make up to me for the grief -you have caused: but I refuse the boon coming from you. I hate you and -wish to continue in my hatred." - -"Poor mortality," muttered the philosopher, "have you had so much -happiness that you can dally with a certain amount offered you? so you -love him?" - -"Yes. Since first I saw him, as the Queen and I sat with him in a -hackney-carriage in which we returned from Paris to Versailles one -night." - -"You know what love is, Andrea," queried Gilbert, mournfully. - -"I know that love has been given as a standard by which we can measure -how much sadness we can endure," replied she. - -"It is well: you are a true woman and a true mother: a rough diamond, -you were shaped by the stern lapidary known as Grief. Return to -Sebastian." - -"Yes, I see him leaving the house with clenched hands and knit brow. He -wanders up the street--he goes up to a woman and asks her for St. Honore -Street----" - -"My street: he was seeking for my house. Poor child! he will be there -awaiting me." - -"Hold! he has gone astray--he is in New St. Roch Street. Oh, he does not -see that vehicle coming down Sourdiere Street, but I see the -horses--Ah!" - -She drew herself up with an awful scream, maternal anguish depicted on -her visage, down which rolled tears and perspiration. - -"Oh, if harm befalls him, remember that it will recoil on your head," -hissed Gilbert. - -"Ah," sighed Andrea in relief, without hearing or heeding him, "God in -heaven be praised! it is the horse's breast which struck him, and he is -thrown out of the rut of the wheel. There he lies, stunned, but he is -not killed. Only swooned. Hasten to help him. It is my son! They form a -crowd round him: is there not a doctor or surgeon among them all?" - -"Oh, I shall run," said Gilbert. - -"Wait," said Andrea, stopping him by the arm, "they are dividing to let -help come. It is the doct--oh, do not let that man approach him--I -loathe him--he is a vampire, he is hideous!" - -"Oh, for heaven's sake, do not lose sight of Sebastian," said Gilbert, -shuddering. - -"This ghoul carries him away--up the street--into the blind alley, -called St. Hyacinthe: where he goes down some steps. He places him on a -table where books and printed papers are heaped. He takes off his coat -and rolls up his sleeve. He ties the arm with bandages from a woman as -dirty and hideous as himself. He finds a lance in a case--he is going to -bleed him. Oh, I cannot bear to see my son's blood flow. Run, run, and -you will find him as I say." - -"Shall I awaken you at once with recollection: or would you sleep till -the morning and know nothing of what has happened?" - -"Awaken me at once with full memory." - -Gilbert described a double curve with his hands so that his thumbs came -upon the medium's eyelids; he breathed on her forehead and said merely: - -"Awake!" - -Instantly her eyes became animated; her limbs were supple; she looked at -Gilbert almost without terror, and continuing, though aroused, the -impulse in her vision, she cried: - -"Oh, run, run, and snatch the boy from the hands of that man who causes -me so much fright!" - - - - -CHAPTER XV. - -THE MAN WITH THE MODEL. - - -With no need to be spurred in his quest, Gilbert darted through the -rooms and as it would have taken too long to climb the walls, he made -for the front door, which he opened himself and bounded out on the -street. - -Knowing Paris intimately, he reached the spot indicated by Andrea in her -vision without delay and his first question to a storekeeper, who had -witnessed the accident to the boy, confirmed the statement. - -He proceeded straightway to the door in the alley, and knocked. - -"Who knocks?" challenged a woman's voice. - -"I, the father of the wounded child whom you succored," replied the -knocker. - -"Open, Albertine," said a man's voice: "it is Dr. Gilbert." - -He was let into a cellar, or rather cavern, down some moldering steps, -lighted by a lamp set on the table cumbered with printed papers, books -and manuscripts as Andrea had described. - -In the shadow, and on a mattress, young Gilbert lay, but held out his -arms to his father, calling him. However powerful the philosophical -command in Gilbert, paternal love overruled decorum, and he sprang to -the boy whom he pressed to his breast, with care not to hurt his bruised -chest or his cut arm. After a long, fond kiss, he turned to thank the -good Samaritan. He was standing with his feet far apart, one hand on the -table, the other on his hip, lit by the lamp of which he had removed the -shade the better to illumine the scene. - -"Look, Albertine," said he, "and with me thank the chance enabling me to -do a good turn for one of my brothers." - -The speaker was a green and sallow man, like one of those country clowns -whom Latona's wrath pursued and who was turning to a frog. Gilbert -shuddered, thinking that he had seen this abortion before as through a -sheet of blood. - -He drew nearer to Sebastian and hugged him once more. But triumphing -over his first impulse, he went back to the strange man who had so -appalled Andrea in the second-sight vision, and said: - -"Receive all the thanks of a father, sir, for having preserved his son: -they are sincere and come right from his heart." - -"I have merely done my duty as prescribed by nature and recommended by -science," replied the other. "I am a man, and as Terence says, nothing -human is foreign to me; besides, I have a tender heart, and cannot see -even an insect suffer; consequently still less my fellow man." - -"May I learn to what fervent philanthropist I have the honor to speak?" - -"Do you not know your brother-physician?" said the surgeon, laughing in -what he wanted to seem benevolence though it was ghastly. "I know you, -Dr. Gilbert, the friend of the American patriots, and of Lafayette!" He -laid peculiar stress on this name. "The republican of America and -France, the honorable Utopist who has written magnificent articles on -constitutional government, which you sent to Louis XVI. from the States, -and for which he lodged you in the Bastile, the moment you touched -French soil. You wanted to save him by clearing the road to the future, -and he opened that into jail--regular royal gratitude!" - -He laughed again, this time terribly and threateningly. - -"If you know me it is a farther reason for me to insist on learning to -whom I am indebted." - -"Oh, it is a long while since we made acquaintance," said the surgeon. -"Twenty years, sir, on the dreadful night of the thirtieth of May, 1770; -the night when the fireworks exploded by accident among the people in -the Paris square, and injured and killed many who came to rejoice over -the wedding of the Archduchess and our Prince Royal, but who had to -curse their names. You were but a boy whom Rousseau brought to me, -wounded and crushed almost to death, and I bled you on a board amid the -dead and the cut-off limbs. Yet that awful night is a pleasant memory to -me for I was able to save many existences by my steel knowing where to -dissever to preserve life and where to cut to spare pain." - -"You are Jean Paul Marat, then," cried Gilbert, falling back a step -despite himself. - -"Mark, Albertine, that my name makes some effect," said Marat with a -sinister laugh. - -"But I thought you were physician to Count Artois; why are you in this -cave, why lighted by this smoky lamp?" - -"I was the Prince's veterinary surgeon, you mean. But he emigrated? no -prince, no stables; no stables, no vet. Besides, I gave in my -resignation, for I would no longer serve the tyrants." - -The dwarf drew himself up to the full extent of his form. - -"But, in short, why are you in this hole?" - -"Because, Master Philosopher, I am a sound patriot writing to decry the -ambitious; Bailly fears me, Necker detests me, and Lafayette sets the -National Guard on to hunt me down and has put a price on my head--the -aspiring dictator! but I brave him! out of my hole, I pursue him, and -denounce the Caesar. Do you know what he has done? He has had fifteen -thousand snuffboxes made with his portrait on them, which hides some -trick. So I entreat all good citizens to smash them when found. It is -the rallying sign for the great Royalist Plot, for you cannot be -ignorant that Lafayette is conspiring with the Queen while poor Louis is -blubbering scalding tears over the blunders the Austrian is leading him -into. - -"The Queen," said Gilbert pensively. - -"Yes; don't tell me that she is not plotting: lately she gave away so -many white cockades that white ribbon went away up in the market. It is -a fact, for I had it from one of the workgirls of Bertin the dressmaker, -her Prime Minister in Fashions, who used to say: 'I have been discussing -matters this morning with her Majesty.'" - -"And how do you denounce such things?" inquired the doctor. - -"In my newspaper, the one I have just started, twenty numbers having -appeared. It is 'The Friend of the people or the Parisian Publicist,' an -impartial political organ. To pay for the paper and the printing--look -behind you--I have sold the sheets and blankets off my bed." - -Turning, Gilbert indeed saw that Sebastian lay on the mattress -absolutely bare, but he had fallen asleep, overcome with pain and -fatigue. He went up to him to see that it was not a swoon, but reassured -by the regular breathing he, returned to this journalist, who -irresistibly inspired him with the interest we feel for a hyena, tiger -or other wild beast. - -"Who help you in this gigantic work?" he inquired. - -"My staff?" sneered Marat. "Ha, ha, ha! the geese fly in files: the -eagle soars alone. My helpers are these," and he showed his head and -hands. "I write the whole paper single handed--I can show you the copy, -though it runs into sixteen pages octavo sometimes, and often I use -small type though I commenced with large. So, it is not merely a -newspaper--but a personality--it is Marat!" - -"Enormous labor--how do you manage it?" asked the other doctor. - -"It is the secret of nature--a compact I have made with death. I have -given ten years of my life, so that I need no rest by day and no sleep -by night. My existence is summed up in writing: I do it day and night. -Lafayette's police coop me up in this cell, where they chain me body and -soul to my work: they have doubled my activity. It was heavy on me at -first but I am inured to it. It delights me now to see poor humanity -through this airhole, by the narrow and slanting beam. From my gloomy -den I judge mankind living, and science and politics without appeal. -With one hand I demolish the savants, with the other the politicians. I -shall upset the whole state of things, like Samson destroying the -Temple, and under the ruins perhaps crushing me, I shall bury the -throne!" - -In spite of himself the hearer shuddered: in his rags and the -poverty-stricken vault this man repeated very nearly what Cagliostro had -said in his palace under his embroidered clothes. - -"But when you are so popular, why do you not try for a nomination in the -National Assembly?" he asked. - -"Because the day has not come for that," replied the demagogue; -expressing his regret, he continued, "Oh, were I a tribune of the -masses, sustained by only a few thousand of determined men, I answer for -the Constitution being perfectly safe in six weeks: the political -machine should move better: no villain would dare play ticks with it: -the Nation should be free and happy: in less than a year, it should be -flourishing and redoubtable: and thus would it remain while I was -erect." - -The vain creature was transformed under Gilbert's eyes: his eyes became -bloodshot; his yellow skin shone with sweat; the monster became great in -his hideousness as another is grand in his beauty. - -"Yes, but I am not a representative," he proceeded, resuming his train -of ideas from where he had interrupted himself: "I have not the -thousands of followers. No, but I am a journalist, and have my weapons -and ammunition, my subscribers and readers, for whom I am an oracle, a -prophet and a diviner. I have my following for whom I am a friend, and I -lead them on, trembling, from treachery to treachery, discovery to -discovery, from one dreadful thing to another. In the first number of -The Friend of the People, I denounced the upper classes saying that -there were six hundred guilty wretches in France and that number of -ropes-ends would do the job: but I made a mistake, ha, ha! The deeds of -the fifth and sixth of October opened my eyes and I see that we must -hang twenty thousand of the patricians." - -Gilbert smiled, for fury elevated to this point, seemed madness to him. - -"Why, there is not enough hemp in France to do this work, and rope would -go up in price," he said. - -"That is why I am looking round for some other means," returned Marat, -"more expeditious and novel. Do you know whom I expect this evening? one -of our brother medicos, a member of the National Assembly whom you must -know by name, Dr. Guillotin----" - -"The one who moved that the Assembly, expelled from the Session Hall at -Versailles, should meet in the Tennis Court a learned man?" - -"Do you know what this able citizen has discovered? a marvellous machine -which kills without pain, for death must be punishment not torture; he -has invented it and we shall try it one of these mornings." - -Gilbert started: this was the second time that this brother Invisible -reminded him of the Chief, Cagliostro; no doubt this death-machine was -the same he had spoken of. - -"But you are lucky--a knock! it is he. Run and open the door, -Albertine." - -The hag, who was the wife--rather the female mate of Marat--rose from -the stool on which she was squatting, and staggered half asleep towards -the door. - -Giddy with terror, Gilbert went instinctively towards Sebastian, ready -to take him in his arms and flee. - -"Just think of an automatic executioner," said Marat, enthusiastically, -"with no need of a man to set it going; which can, if the knife is -changed a couple of times, cut off three hundred heads a-day!" - -"And add," said a bland, melodious voice, behind Marat, "which can cut -off these heads without other sensation than a slight coolness around -the neck." - -"Oh, is this you, doctor?" exclaimed Marat, turning towards a dapper -little man of forty or so, whose gentle demeanor and spruce dress made a -marked contrast with his host: in his hand he carried a small box such -as children's toys are kept in. "What are you bringing us?" - -"A model of my machine, my dear Marat. But I see Dr. Gilbert here, -unless I mistake," said the little dandy, trying to pierce the -obscurity. - -"The same, sir," said the other visitor bowing. - -"Enchanted to meet you, sir; you are only too welcome, and I shall be -happy to have the opinion of so distinguished a man on my invention. I -must tell you, my dear Marat, that I have found a skillful carpenter, -named Guidon, to make my machine on the working scale. He is dear, -though, wanting five thousand five hundred francs; but no sacrifice is -too great for me to make for humanity. In two months it will be built, -and we can try it: I shall propose it to the Assembly. I hope you will -approve of it in your excellent new paper, though, in sober earnest, the -machine recommends itself, as you will see with your own eyes, Dr. -Gilbert. But a few lines in the People's Friend will do no harm." - -"Be easy on that score; it is not a few lines but a whole number that I -shall dedicate to it." - -"You are too good, Marat; but I am not going to let you puff a pig in a -poke." - -He took out of his pocket a much smaller box, in which a sound indicated -that some little live thing or several such were fidgeting in their -prison. This noise did not escape Marat's subtle hearing. - -"What have you got there?" he asked, putting out his hand towards the -box. - -"Mind," said the doctor, drawing it back, "do not let them escape as we -could not catch them again; they are mice whose heads we are going to -nick off with the machine. What, are you going to leave us, Dr. -Gilbert?" - -"Alas, yes, sir, to my great regret; but my son, wounded by being run -over by a horse just now, has been relieved by Friend Marat, to whom I -also owe my own life in an almost similar affair. I have to thank him -again. The boy needs a fresh bed, cares and repose: so that I cannot -witness your interesting experiment." - -"But you will come and see the one with the real machine, in two months, -you promise, doctor?" - -"I pledge my word." - -"Doctor," said Marat, "I need not say, keep my abode secret. If your -friend Lafayette were to discover it he would have me shot like a dog, -or hung like a thief." - -"Shooting, hanging," exclaimed Guillotin. "But we shall put an end to -these cannibal deaths. We shall have a death, soft, easy, instantaneous, -such as old people, disgusted with their life and wishful to pass away -like sages and philosophers, will prefer to a natural one. Come and see -how it works, Marat!" - -And without troubling any farther about Dr. Gilbert, the enthusiast -opened his larger box and began to set up on the table a model -apparatus which the surgeon regarded with curiosity equal to his -enthusiasm. - -Gilbert profited by their being so engaged, to carry away Sebastian, -guided by Albertine who fastened up the outer door after him. - -Once in the street, he felt the night wind chill the perspiration -gathered on his brow. - -"Heavens," he muttered, "what will happen to a city where the cellars -perhaps hide five hundred lovers of mankind who are occupied with such -work as we have a sample of there? one day they will perform in broad -daylight before the crowd." - -It was little distance to his house in St. Honore Street. - -The cold revived Sebastian but his father would not let him walk. When -he knocked at his door, a heavy step was heard approaching. - -"Is that you, Dr. Gilbert?" challenged one within. - -"That is Pitou's voice," said the boy. - -"Praise heaven, Sebastian is found," shouted Pitou on opening the door. -"Master Billet," he shouted still more loudly, "Sebastian is found, and -all right, I hope, doctor?" - -"Without any serious hurt, anyway," replied the other, "Come, -Sebastian." - -He carried his son up to his bed. - -Pitou followed with the light; by his mud-bespattered shoes and -stockings it was plain that he had come a long journey. - -Indeed, after taking the broken-hearted Catherine home and learning from -her lips that her deep sorrow came from Isidore Charny being called away -to Paris, he took leave of her and Mother Billet, weeping by her -bedside, and went home to Haramont. He walked so slowly that he did not -get there until daybreak. - -He fell off to sleep so that it was not till he awoke, that he found the -youth's letter. Immediately he started to overtake him. - -He girded up with a leather strap, took some bread and with a walking -stick in his fist, proceeded to town, where he arrived at eight that -night. - -He found neither the doctor nor his son at home--only Farmer Billet. - -This hearty, robust man, unnerved by the bloody scenes witnessed since -the Taking of the Bastile, of which enterprise he was the leader, had no -news for Pitou. - -Their sad waiting was rewarded by the double arrival. - -Though tranquil about Sebastian, Pitou, when sent to bed had his budget -to unfold to the farmer. Let no reader think that he revealed -Catherine's secrets and spoke of her amour with the young noble. The -honest soul of the Commander of the Haramont National Guard would not -stoop to that story. But he told Billet that the harvest was bad, the -barley a failure, part of the wheat wind-laid, and the barns but a third -full--and that he had found Catherine on the road. - -Billet was little vexed about the grain, but the illness of his daughter -distressed him. - -He ran to Dr. Gilbert with a sad face as the latter was finishing this -note to Andrea: "Be of good heart; the child is found, with no one -hurt." - -"Dr. Gilbert, you were right to retain me in town where I might be -useful; but everything has been going wrong in the country while the -good man is away." - -Gilbert agreed with his friend that a hearty buxom girl like Catherine -should not faint on the public road. Feeling with a parent, he -responded: - -"Go home, my dear Billet, since land and family call you. But do not -forget that I shall claim you in the name of the country." - -Thus Billet returned home after an absence of three months, although he -had intended to be away only a week. - -Pitou followed him, bearing twenty-five louis destined from Gilbert for -the equipment and maintenance of the Haramont National Guard. - -Sebastian stayed with his father. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI. - -THE PORTRAIT OF CHARLES FIRST. - - -A week has passed since the events related. Everybody was saying: The -Revolution is finished; the King is delivered from Versailles, and his -courtiers and evil counsellors. The King is placed in life and -actuality. He had heretofore the license to work wrong; now he has full -liberty to do good. - -The dread from the riots had brought the conservatives over to the -royalty. The Assembly had been frightened, too, and saw that it depended -on the King. A hundred and fifty of its members took to flight. - -The two most popular men, Lafayette and Mirabeau, became royalists. The -latter wanted the other to unite with him to save the crown, but while -honorable Lafayette had a limited brain, he did not see the orator's -genius. - -Mirabeau was all for the Duke of Orleans, whom Lafayette advised, nay, -ordered to quit the kingdom. - -"But suppose I come back without your permission?" said the prince. - -"Then, I hope you will do me the honor to cross swords with me at the -first battle," replied the marquis. - -He was the veritable ruler and the duke had to depart; he did not return -until called to be King of the French. - -Lafayette had saved the Queen and protected the King; he was perfectly a -royalist. - -But still, like Gilbert, he was not so much the friend of the King as of -the crown. - -The monarch had too just a mind not to see this clearly. - -Although he had not seen the doctor lately he remembered that this was -his day of duty and he called him. - -The King was pacing the bedroom, but stopping now and then to look at -the Vandyke picture of Charles First, now in the Louvre. - -The sovereign of England is painted as a Cavalier, with his horse, as -ready for flight as for battle. - -This picture seemed fatally the goal of the King's wanderings. - -At the step, Louis turned round. - -"Oh, is it you, doctor?" he said. "Come in, I am glad to see you." -Leading him up to the painting he said: "Do you know this? where did you -see it?" - -"In Lady Dubarry's house, when I was a boy, but it deeply struck me." - -"Yes, she pretended to be descended from the page who holds the horse. -Jeanne Dubarry was the woman chosen by Marshal Richelieu to be the sole -feminine ruler over the worn-out monarch Louis XV. and to induce him to -shut up the infamous Deerpark, which was the harem ruining the old man. -She was an adroit actress and played her part marvellously. She -entertained while making sport of him, and he became manly because she -persuaded him he was so." - -He stopped as if blaming himself for his imprudence in speaking of his -grandfather thus openly before a stranger; but one glance at Gilbert's -frank face encouraged him, for he saw that he could speak all to a man -who understood every thing. - -"This melancholy, lofty face," went on the King, referring to the -portrait, "was placed in the strange Egeria's boudoir, where it heard -her impudent laughs and saw her lascivious gambols. Merrily she would -take Louis by the arm and show him Charles, saying: 'Old gossip, this -King had his neck cut through because he was too weak towards his -Parliament. Take warning about your own!' Hence Louis broke up his -Parliament and died peacefully on his throne. Thereupon we exiled the -poor woman, for whom we ought to have been most indulgent. The picture -was packed away in the lumber room of Versailles and I never thought -about it. Now, how comes it here, in my bedroom? why does it haunt me?" -He shook his head. "There is some fate in this." - -"Fatality, if the portrait reads no lesson, Sire; Providence if it does. -What does it say to your Majesty?" - -"That Charles lost his throne from having made war on his subjects, and -James the Second for having tired his own." - -"Like me, then, it speaks the truth." - -"Well?" inquired the sovereign, questioning the doctor with his glance. - -"Well, I beg to ask for your answer to the portrait." - -"Friend Gilbert, I have resolved on nothing: I will take the cue from -circumstances." - -"The people fear that your Majesty purposes war upon them." - -"No, sir," he rejoined, "I cannot make war on them without foreign -support and I know the state of Europe too well to rely on that. The -King of Prussia offers to enter France at the head of a hundred thousand -men; but I too well know his ambitious and intriguing spirit--a petty -monarchy which wishes to become a great one, thriving on turmoil and -hoping to catch some fish like another Silesia. On her part, Austria -places a hundred thousand men at my call; but I do not like my -brother-in-law Leopold, a two-faced Janus, whose mother, Marie Theresa, -had my father poisoned. - -"My brother Artois proposes the support of Sardinia and Spain, but I do -not trust those powers, led by Artois. Beside him is Calonne, in other -words, the Queen's worst enemy, the one who annotated with his own hand -the pamphlet of the Countess Lamotte Valois anent the conspiracy of the -Queen's Necklace, for which she was branded. I know all that is going on -yonder. In their last council a debate ensued about deposing me and -appointing a regent who would be probably my dear, very dear brother -Count Provence. Prince Conde suggested marching with an enemy upon -Lyons, 'whatever happened me at Paris!' - -"It is another thing with the Great Empress Catherine; she confines -herself to advice, bless her! you can understand that when you reflect -that she is at table digesting Poland and cannot rise until she has -finished her feast. She gives me advice which aims to be sublime but is -only ridiculous, considering what has lately occurred. She says: -'Monarchs ought to proceed on their course like the moon in her orbit, -without being disturbed by the baying of curs!'--that is, the protests -of the common people. It appears that the Russian curs merely bark; -ours do some biting, as you may learn of my poor Lifeguardsmen, torn to -pieces by them." - -"The people thought that your Majesty was going to quit the country." - -"Doctor," said the King after hesitating, and he laid his hand on the -other's shoulder, "I have promised you the truth and you shall have it -thoroughly. Such a matter has been broached; it is the opinion of many -faithful servitors surrounding me that I ought to flee. But on the sixth -of October night, when weeping in my arms, the Queen besought me never -to flee without her, and that we should all depart together, to be saved -or die in company. I shall keep my word; and as I do not think that we -could flee in such a number without being stopped, a dozen times before -we got to the frontier, I conclude that we shall never get away." - -"Well, Sire, there is indeed no need of the foreigners. What would be -the use until you shall exhaust your own resources? My advice is that we -are only beginning the fight and that the Taking of the Bastile and the -attack on the Palace at Versailles are only the two first acts in the -tragedy to be played by France under the eyes of Europe." - -"I hope you are mistaken, sir," replied Louis, slightly turning pale: -"My police tell me nothing like this." - -"I have no police or information to check them; but in my position I am -the natural conductor between the heavens and what is still concealed in -the bowels of the earth. Sire, what we have experienced is merely the -rumble that runs before the earthquake; we have yet to meet the lava, -the fire and the smoke. I fear that the Revolutionary torrent will run -ahead of us. There are only two methods to save yourself. One is to -place yourself on the foremost breaker and be carried on with it." - -"I do not wish to go where it would carry me." - -"The second is to place a barrier across the tide. It is Genius and -Popularity in one dam: and it is named Mirabeau." - -"The King looked Gilbert in the face as though he had misunderstood him; -then turning to the portrait, he said: - -"What would you have replied, Charles Stuart, if when you felt the -ground quake beneath your feet, some one had suggested your leaning on -Cromwell?" - -"He would have refused, and rightly; for there is no likeness between -Cromwell and Mirabeau." Such was Gilbert's answer. - -"They were both traitors." - -"Sire," replied the other with profound respect but invincible firmness; -"neither were traitors: Cromwell was a rebellious subject, and Mirabeau -is a discontented nobleman." - -"What is he discontented with?" - -"With his father, who locked him up in prison; the courts which -condemned him to death; with the King who miscomprehended and still -miscomprehends his genius." - -"The spirit of a public man is honesty," said the King quickly. - -"The reply is fine, worthy of Titus, Trajan or Marcus Aurelius, -unluckily many examples arise to the contrary." - -"How can you ask me to confide in a man who has a price?" - -"Because he is a man of his price. If he will sell himself for a -million, it is a bargain. Do you think he is worth twice a Polignac?" - -"You are pleading for a friend." - -"I have not that honor: but he has a friend who is of the Queen's party, -too." - -"Count Lamarck? We cast it up to him every day." - -"On the contrary, your Majesty ought to dissuade him breaking the -friendship with him, under pain of death. Mirabeau is a noble, an -aristocrat, a King's-man above all. He was elected by the people because -the nobles scorned him and he had sublime disdain of the means to attain -an end which genius thirsted for. You may say that he will never quit -the party of his constituents to join the court party? Why is there not -union of the court and plebeians? Mirabeau could make them one. Take -him, my lord! To-morrow, rebuffed by your despisal, he may turn against -you, and then you will say, as the portrait of your Martyr King will -say: All is lost!" - -"I will talk this over with the Queen, sir," said the monarch, having -turned pale and hesitatingly glanced at the royal portrait. "She may -decide on speaking with Mirabeau: but I will not. I like to be able to -shake hands with those I confer with, and I could never take the hand of -a Mirabeau, though my life, my liberty, and my throne were at -stake--After she shall have seen him, we will see----" - -"I pray God that it will not be too late." - -"Do you believe the peril so imminent?" - -"Sire, do not let the portrait of Charles First be removed from your -room," said Gilbert; "it is a good adviser." - -Bowing, he went forth as another visitor appeared on the sill. He could -not restrain from a cry of surprise. This gentleman was Marquis Favras, -whom he had met at Cagliostro's a week or so before and to whom the -magician had predicted a near and shameful death. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII. - -THE KING ATTENDS TO PRIVATE MATTERS. - - -Louis the King displayed the usual irresolution in dealing with Favras' -proposition, approved by the Queen, to make a rush out of the kingdom. -He reflected all the night and at breakfast called for Count Charny. - -He was still at table when the officer walked in. - -"Won't you take breakfast with me, count?" - -Charny was obliged to excuse himself from the honor as he had broken his -fast. - -"I must ask you to wait a while as I never care to speak of important -matters while at meals and I have something to talk over with your -lordship. Let us speak of other matters for the moment. Of yourself, for -instance. I hear that you are badly lodged here; somewhere in the -garret, my lord, while the countess is lodging in Paris." - -"Sire, I am in a room of my own choice: the countess is dwelling in her -own house in Coq-Heron Street." - -"I must confess my ignorance; is it near the palace?" - -"Tolerably, Sire." - -"What does this mean that after only three years of married life, you -have separate establishments?" - -"Sire, I have no answer to make than that my lady wishes to live alone. -I have not had the pleasure of seeing her since your Majesty sent me for -news. That is, better than a week ago." - -The King understood grief more readily than melancholy and noticed the -difference in the tone. - -"Count, there is some of your fault in this estrangement," said the -monarch, with the familiarity of the family man, as he called himself. - -"The man must be to blame when so charming a woman keeps aloof from him. -Do not tell me that this is none of my business: for a king can do a -great deal by speaking a word. You must treat the lady ungratefully, for -she loves you dearly--or did when Lady Taverney." - -"Sire, you know that one must not dispute with a king." - -"I do not know that the signs were visible to me alone; but this I know -very well that on that dreadful October night, when she came to join us, -she did not lose sight of you throughout, and her eyes expressed all her -soul's anguish, so much so that I saw her make a movement to fling -herself between you and danger when the Bullseye Saloon door was beaten -down." - -Count Charny was not softened; he believed he had seen something of this -sort: but the details of his recent interview with his wife were too -distinct for him to have his opinion shaken. - -"I was paying all the more attention to her," went on Louis, "from the -Queen having said when you were sent to the City Hall while I was on my -journey to Paris, that she almost died of distress in your absence and -of joy at your return." - -"Sire," replied Charny with a sad smile, "God had allowed those who are -born above us to receive in birth as a privilege of their rank, the gift -of seeing deeper into one's heart than oneself can do; the King and the -Queen have perceived secrets unrevealed to me: but my limited vision -prevents me seeing the same. Therefore I beg to be employed on any -dangerous errand or one that would take me to a distance without -considering the great love of the Countess of Charny. Absence or danger -will be equally welcome, coming at least for my part." - -"Nevertheless, a week ago, you appeared wishful to stay in town when the -Queen desired to despatch you to Italy." - -"I deemed my brother adequate for the position and reserved myself for a -mission more difficult or dangerous." - -"Then count, this is the very time when I have a difficult task to -entrust to you, that with danger to you in the future, that I spoke of -the countess's isolation and wished her to have a lady friend's company -while I took away her husband." - -"I will write to the countess, yes, write: for from the way she last -received me, I ought in that manner acquaint her with my movements." - -"Say no more on this head; I will talk it over with the Queen during -your absence," said Louis, rising. "Faith, the medical lights are right -to say that things look differently as you handle them before or after a -hearty meal. Come into my study, count; I feel in a mood to talk -straight out to you." - -Charny followed, thinking how much Majesty lost by this material side, -for which the proud Marie Antoinette was always carping at him. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII. - -THE KING ATTENDS TO PUBLIC MATTERS. - - -Though the King had been only a fortnight in the Tuileries he had two -places fitted out completely for him. The forge was one, the study the -other. - -Charny walked up to the desk at which his royal master seated himself -without looking round at the papers with which he was familiar. - -"Count Charny," began the King at last, yet seeming to halt, "I noticed -one thing, on the night of the attack by the rioters, you stood by me -while you set your brother on guard over the Queen." - -"Sire, it was my right as head of my family, as you are chief of the -realm, to die for you." - -"That made me think, that if ever I had a secret errand, difficult and -dangerous, I could rely on your loyalty as a Frenchman, and on your -heart as a friend's." - -"Oh, Sire, however the King may raise me, I have no pretension to -believe that I shall be more than a faithful and thankful subject." - -"My lord, you are a grave man though but thirty-six; you have not passed -through recent events without drawing some conclusion from them. What do -you think of the situation and what would be your means to relieve me, -if you were my Premier?" - -"Sire, I am a soldier and a seaman," returned Charny, with more -hesitation than embarrassment, "these high social questions fly over my -head." - -"Nay, you are a man," said the sovereign with a dignity in holding out -his hand which sprang from the quandary; "another man, who believes you -to be his friend, asks you, purely and simply, what you, with your -upright heart and healthy mind, would do in his place." - -"Sire, in a no less serious position, the Queen asked my opinion: the -day after the Taking of the Bastile, when she wanted to fling the -foreign legions upon the mobs. My reply would have embroiled me with her -Majesty had I been less known to her and my respect and devotion less -plain. I said that your Majesty must not enter these walls as a -conqueror if he could not as a father of his people." - -"Well, my lord, is not that the counsel I followed? The question is was -I right? am I here as a King or a captive?" - -"Speaking in full frankness, I disapproved of the banquet at Versailles, -supplicating the Queen not to go there; I was in despair when she threw -down the tricolor and set up the black cockade of Austria." - -"Do you believe that led really to the attack on the palace?" - -"No, Sire; but it was the cover for it. You are not unjust for the lower -orders; they are kindly and love you--they are royalist. But they are in -pain from cold and hunger; beneath and around them are evil advisers, -who urge them on, and they know not their own strength. Once started -they become flood or fire, for they overwhelm or they consume." - -"Well, what am I to do? supposing, as is natural enough, I do not want -to be drowned or burned." - -"We must not open the sluices to the flood or windows to the flame. But -pardon me forgetting that I should not speak thus, even on a royal -order----" - -"But you will on a royal entreaty. Count Charny, the King entreats -you--to continue." - -"Well, Sire, there are two strata of the lower orders, the soil and the -mud; the one which may be reposed upon and the other which will yield -and smother one. Distrust one and rest on the other." - -"Count, you are repeating at two hours' interval, what Dr. Gilbert told -me." - -"Sire, how is it that after taking the advice of a learned man, you ask -that of a poor naval officer like me?" - -"Because there is a wide difference between you, I believe. Dr. Gilbert -is devoted to royalty and you to the King. If the principle remains -safe, he would let the King go." - -"Then there is a difference between us, for the King and the principle -are inseparable for me," responded the nobleman; "under this head it is -that I beg your Majesty to deal with me." - -"First, I should like to hear to whom you would apply in this space of -calm between two storms perhaps, to efface the wreck made by one and -soothe the coming tempest." - -"If I had the honor and the misfortune to be the wearer of the crown, I -should remember the cheers I heard round my carriage, and I should hold -out my hands to General Lafayette and Member Mirabeau." - -"Can you advise this when you detest one and scorn the other?" - -"My sympathies are of no moment, the whole question is the safety of the -crown and the salvation of the monarchy." - -"Just what Dr. Gilbert says," muttered the hearer as though speaking to -himself. - -"Sire, I am happy to be in tune with such an eminent man." - -"But if I were to agree to such a union and there should be failure, -what think you I ought to do?" - -"Think of your safety and your family's." - -"Then you suggest that I should flee?" - -"I should propose that your Majesty should retire with such regiments as -are reliable and the true nobles to some fortified place." - -"Ah," said the King with a radiant face: "but among the commanders who -have given proof of devotion, you knowing them all, to which would you -confide this dangerous mission, of guarding and removing the King?" - -"Sire," replied Charny, after hesitation, "it is not because ties of -friendship--almost of family--attach me to a certain nobleman that I -name him, but because he is known for his steadfast devotion; as -Governor of the Leeward Islands, he not only protected our possessions -in the Antilles, but captured some islands from the British: he had been -charged with various commands, and at present he is General Governor, I -believe, at Metz--this is the Marquis of Bouille. Were I a father, I -should trust my son to him; a subject, I would confide the King!" - -At the name the hearer could not repress an outcry of joy. He held out a -letter, saying: - -"Read this address, my lord, and see if Providence itself did not -inspire me to apply to you." - -The address ran: "To Lord Francois Claude Amour, Marquis of Bouille, -General Commander at Metz." - -"After what has happened, I do not feel that I ought to keep anything -back from you. I have thought of this flight before, but in all the -propositions was the hand of Austria beckoning me into a trap, and I -have recoiled. I do not love Austria more than you do yourself." - -"Sire, you forget that I am the faithful subject of the King and the -Queen of France." He emphasized the second title. - -"I have already told you, count," went on the King, "that you are a -friend, and I can speak the more frankly as the prejudice I cherished -against the Queen is completely effaced from my mind. But it was against -my will that I received into my house the double enemy of my line, as an -Austrian and a Lorrainer. After ten years' struggle it was despite my -will that I had to charge Lord Breteuil with the management of my -household and the government of Paris; make the Premier of the -Archbishop of Toulouse, an atheist; lastly, pay to Austria the millions -she extorted from the Low Countries. At present speaking, who succeeds -the dead Maria Theresa, to counsel and direct the Queen? Her brother -Joseph II., who is luckily dying. He is advised by old women of -councillors who sway the Queen of France through her hairdresser Leonard -and her dressmaker Bertin. - -"They are pensioned by us while they are leading her to alliance with -Austria. Austria has always been fatal to France, either as foe or -friend, as when she put the dagger in Jacques Clement's or Ravaillac's -or Damien's to slay our kings. Formerly it was Catholic and devout -Austria, but she is abjuring now and is partly philosophical under -Joseph; rashly, she runs against her own sword, Hungary: without -foresight, she lets the Belgian priesthood rob her of the finest jewels -in her crown, the Low Countries; become the vassal of Russia, she wears -out her troops in fighting for it against the Turks, our allies. No, my -lord, I hate Austria and I will not trust to her. But I was saying that -her overtures of flight were not the only ones. I have had one proposed -by Marquis Favras. Do you know him?" - -"He was the captain in the Belgunze Regiment, and lieutenant in the -Count of Provence's own Guards." - -"You have hit it with the latter shot. What think you of him?" - -"He is a brave soldier and a loyal gentleman. Unfortunately he has no -means and this makes him restless and fit for mad projects and hazardous -attempts. But he is a man of honor who will die without retreating a -step, or uttering a complaint in order to keep his word. He may be -trusted to make a dash but not to manage an enterprise." - -"He is not the leader," said the King, with marked bitterness; "that is -Provence, who finds the means and manages all; devoted to the end, he -will remain while Favras bears me hence. This is not the plot of Austria -but of the fugitive princes and peers." - -"But why should not your Majesty's brother go with you? why would he -remain?" - -"Through devotion, and also to be at hand in case the people should be -tired of revolution and seek a regent. I tell you what all know, my dear -count, and what your brother wrote me yesterday from Turin. They debate -about deposing me and ruling by a regent. You see that unless in an -extremity I can no sooner accept the Favras plan than the Austrian. This -is what I have said to nobody, my dear count, but yourself, and I do it -in order that nobody, not even the Queen," he laid stress on the last -three words, "can make you more devoted to them than to me, since they -cannot show more confidence." - -"Sire, am I to keep the journey a secret from everybody?" inquired -Charny, bowing. - -"It little matters, count, that it should be known whither you go, as -long as the design is unknown. You know the situation, my fears and -hopes, better than my Minister Necker and my adviser Gilbert. Act -accordingly; I put the scissors and the thread in your hands--disentangle -or cut, as you see fit." - -He held the letter open for him to read: - -TUILERIES PALACE, Oct. 29th. - - "I hope, my lord, that you continue contented with your post as - Governor of Metz. Count Charny, Lieutenant of my Lifeguards, - passing through your city, will inquire if among your desires are - any I can gratify. In that event I will take the opportunity to be - agreeable to you as I do this one to renew the assurance of my - feelings of esteem for your lordship. - -"LOUIS." - -"Now, my Lord Charny," said the King, "you have full power to make -promises to Bouille if you think he needs any; only do not commit me -farther than I can perform." - -For the second time he held out his hand. - -Charny kissed it with emotion forefending any fresh pledges, and went -forth, leaving his master convinced that he had acquired by his trust, -the heart of the servitor, better than by offerings of wealth and -favors such as he had lavished in the days of his power. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX. - -A LOVING QUEEN. - - -Charny left the King with his heart full of opposing feelings. - -The primary one, mounting to the surface over the tumultuous waves of -turbulent thoughts, was deep gratitude for the boundless confidence -testified to him. - -This imposed duties the more holy from his conscience not being dumb. He -remembered his wrongs towards this worthy monarch who laid his hand on -his shoulder as on a true friend at the time of danger. - -The more Charny felt guilty towards his master, the more ready he was to -devote himself to him. - -The more this respectful allegiance grew the lesser became the less pure -emotion which he had cherished for the Queen during years. - -This is the reason why he--having lost the vague hope which led him -towards Andrea for the test, as if she was one of those flowering shrubs -on the precipice edge by which a falling man can save himself--grasped -with eagerness this mission diverging him from the court. Here he felt -the double torment of being still loved by the woman whom he was ceasing -to love and of not being loved by her whom he was beginning to adore. - -Profiting by the coldness lately introduced into his relations with the -Queen, he went to her rooms with the intention of leaving a note to tell -of his departure when he found Weber awaiting him. - -The Queen wished to see him forthwith, and there is no eluding the -wishes of crowned heads in their palace. - -Marie Antoinette was in the opposite mood to her visitor's, she was -recalling her harshness towards him and his devotion at Versailles; at -the sight of the count's brother laid dead across her threshold she had -felt a kind of remorse; she confessed to herself that had this been the -count she would have badly paid him for the sacrifice. - -But had she any right to expect aught else than devotion of Charny? - -She admitted that she was stern and unfair towards him, when the door -opened and the gentleman appeared in the irreproachable costume of the -military officer on duty. - -But there was in his deeply respectful bearing something chilly which -repelled the magnetic flow from the Queen's heart, to go and seek in his -the tender, sweet and sad memories collected during four years. - -The Queen looked round her as though to try to ascertain why he remained -on the sill, and when assured it was a matter of his will, she said: - -"Come, my lord: we are alone." - -"I see that, but I do not see what in that fact should alter the bearing -of a subject to his sovereign." - -"When I sent Weber for you I thought that fond friends were going to -speak with one another." - -Charny smiled bitterly. - -"I understand that smile and that you say, inwardly, the Queen was -unjust at Versailles and is capricious here." - -"Injustice or caprice, a woman is allowed anything," returned Charny: "a -queen more than all." - -"Whatever the caprice, my friend," said Marie with all the witchingness -she could put in a voice or smile, "the Queen cannot do without you as -adviser or the woman without you as loved friend." - -She held out her hand, a little thinned but still worthy of a lovely -statue. He kissed it respectfully and was about to let it fall when he -felt her retain his. - -"I ought to have wept with you over the loss of your brother, slain for -my sake: well, I have been weeping these ten days since I have not seen -you: they are falling yet." - -Ah, if Charny could have surmised what a quantity of tears would follow -those, no doubt the immense grief would have made him fall at her feet, -and ask pardon for any grievances she had against him. - -But the future is enveloped in mystery which no human hand can unveil -before the hour and the black garb which Marie Antoinette was to wear to -the scaffold, was too thickly embroidered with gold for one to spy the -gloom of it. - -"Believe, my lady," he said, "that I am truly grateful for your -remembrance of me and sorrow for my brother? unfortunately I must be -brief as the King has entrusted me with a mission so that I leave in an -hour." - -"What, do you abandon us like the others?" - -"I repeat it is a mission." - -"But you refused the like a week ago!" - -"In a week much happens in a man's existence to alter his -determination." - -"Do you depart alone?" she asked, making an effort. - -She breathed again when he answered: "Alone." - -"Where do you go?" she asked, recovering from her weakness. - -"It is the King's secret, but he has none from you." - -"My lord, the secret is ours alike," said Marie Antoinette haughtily. -"But is it abroad or in the kingdom?" - -"The King alone can give your Majesty the desired information." - -"So you go away," said she, with profound sorrow overcoming the -irritation from Charny's reserve, "to run into dangers afar, and I am -not to know what they are!" - -"Wheresoever I go, you will have a devoted heart daring all for you: and -the dangers will be light since I expose my life in the service of the -two sovereigns whom I most venerate on earth." - -The Queen uttered a sob which seemed to tear out her heart; and she said -with a hand on her throat as if to keep down her gorge. - -"It is well--go! for you love me no longer." - -Charny felt a thrill run through him; it was the first time this haughty -woman and ruler had bowed unto him. - -At any other time and under any other circumstances, he must have fallen -at her feet if only to crave pardon; but the remembrance of what had -happened between him and the King recalled all his strength. - -"My lady," he said, "I should be a scoundrel if, after all the tokens of -kindness and confidence the King has showered on me, I were to assure -your Majesty of anything but my respect and devotion." - -"It is very well," said she; "you are free to go." - -But when he departed without looking behind him, she waited till she -heard him, not returning, but continuing his departure, in the carriage -which rolled out of the courtyard. - -She rang for her foster-brother. - -"Weber," she ordered, "go to the Countess of Charny's residence and say -I must speak with her this evening. I had an appointment with Dr. -Gilbert, but I postpone that till the morning." - -She dismissed him with a wave of the hand. - -"Yes, politics to-morrow," she mused: "besides my conversation with -Andrea may influence me on the course I take." - - - - -CHAPTER XX. - -WITHOUT HUSBAND--WITHOUT LOVER. - - -The Queen was wrong for Charny did not go to his wife's house. He went -to the Royal Post to have horses put to his own carriage. But while -waiting, he wrote a farewell to Andrea which the servant who took his -horses home, carried to her. - -She was still dwelling over it, having kissed it with profound feeling, -when Weber arrived. Her answer to him was simply that she would conform -to her Majesty's orders. And she proceeded to the palace without dread -as without impatience. - -But it was not so with the Queen. Feverish, she had welcomed Count -Provence coming to see how Favras had been received, and she committed -the King more deeply than he had pledged himself. - -Provence went away delighted, thinking that the King would be removed, -thanks to the money he had borrowed from the Genoese banker Zannone, and -to Favras and his Hectors. Then he stood a chance of becoming Regent of -the realm, perhaps foreseeing that he would yet be King as Louis XVIII. - -If the forced departure of the King failed, he would take to flight with -what was left of the loan, and join his brothers in Italy. - -On his leaving, the Queen went to Princess Lamballe, on whom she made it -a habit to pour her woes or her joys in the absence of her other -favorites, Andrea or the Polignacs. - -Poor martyr! who dares grope in the darkness of alcoves to learn if this -friendship were pure or criminal, when inexorable History was coming -with feet red-shod in blood, to tell the price you paid for it? - -Then she went to dinner for an hour, where both chief guests were absent -in thought, the King thinking of Charny's quest, the Queen of the Favras -enterprise. - -While the former preferred anything to being helped by the foreigners, -the Queen set them first: for of course they were her people. The King -was connected with the Germans, but then the Austrians are not German to -the Germans. - -In the flight she was arranging she saw no such crimes as she was -afterwards taxed with: she felt justified in calling in the mailed hand -to avenge her for the slights and insults with which she was deluged. - -The King, as we have shown him, distrusted kings and princes. He relied -on the priests. He approved of all the decrees against nobles and -classes but not of the decree against the priests, which he vetoed. For -them he risked his greatest dangers. Hence the Pope, unable to make a -saint of him, made him a martyr. - -Contrary to her habit, the Queen gave little time to her children this -day; untrue to her husband in heart, she had no claim on their -endearments. Such odd contradictions are known only to woman's heart. - -The Queen retired early to her own rooms, where she shut herself up with -Weber as door-ward. She alleged that she had letters to write. - -The King little noticed her going, as some minor events engrossed him; -the Chief of Police was coming to confer with him. - -The Assembly had changed the old form in public documents of "King of -France and Navarre" to "King of the French": and it was debating on the -Rights of Man, when it had better be seeing to the Bread Question, more -pressing than ever. The arrival of the "Baker" and his family from -Versailles had not fed the famished people and the bakeries had strings -of customers at their doors. - -But the Assemblymen did not have to dance attendance for a loaf, and -they had a special baker, one Francois in Marchepalu Street, who set -aside rolls for them out of every baking. - -The head of the police was discussing the bread riots with the ruler -when Weber ushered Andrea into his mistress's presence. - -Though she expected her, Marie Antoinette started when her visitor was -announced. - -When they were girls together, at Taverney, they had made a kind of -agreement of love and duties exchanged in which the higher personage had -always had the advantage. - -Nothing annoys rulers so much as senses of obligation, particularly in -matters of affection. - -While thinking she had reproaches to cast on her friend, the Queen felt -under a debt to her. - -Andrea was always the same: pure and cool as the diamond but cutting and -invulnerable like it, too. - -"Be welcome, Andrea, as ever," said the Queen to this cold, walking -ghost. - -The countess shivered for she recognized some of the tone the Queen used -to speak with when the Dauphiness. - -"Needs must I tell your Majesty that she should not have had to send for -me without the royal residence, if I had always been spoken to, in that -tone?" said the countess. - -Nothing could better help the Queen than this opening: she greeted it as -facilitating her course. - -"Alas, you ought to know that all womankind have not your immutable -serenity," she said; "I, above all, who had to ask your aid so -generously accorded----" - -"The Queen speaks of a time forgotten by me and I believed gone from her -memory." - -"The reply is stern," said the other: "you might naturally hold me as -ungrateful: but what you took for ingratitude was but impotence." - -"I should have the right to accuse you, if ever I had asked you for -anything and my wish were opposed," said the countess, "but how can your -Majesty expect me to complain when I have sought nothing?" - -"Shall I tell you that it is just this indifference which shocks me; -yes, you seem a supernatural being brought from another sphere in some -whirlwind, and thrown among us like the crystal aerolites. One is -daunted by her weakness beside the never-weakening; but in the end -assurance returns, for supreme indulgence must be in perfection: it is -the purest source in which to lave the soul, and in profound grief, one -sends for the superhuman being for consolation, though her blame is -dreaded." - -"Alas, if your Majesty sends for me for this, I fear the expectation -will be disappointed." - -"Andrea, you forget in what awful plight you upheld me and comforted -me," said the Queen. - -Her hearer turned visibly paler. Seeing her totter and close her eyes -from losing strength, the Queen moved to support her but she resisted -and stood steady. - -"If your Majesty had pity on your faithful servant, you would spare her -memories which she had almost banished from her: she is a poor comforter -who seeks comfort from nobody, not even heaven, from doubt that even -heaven hath power to console certain sorrows." - -"Then you have others to tell of than what you have entrusted to me? the -time has come for you to explain, and that is why I sent for you. You -love Count Charny?" - -"I do," replied Andrea. - -"Oh!" groaned the Queen like a wounded lioness. "I thought as much. How -long since?" - -"Since I first laid eyes on him." - -Marie Antoinette recoiled from this statue which confessed it was -animated by a spirit. - -"And yet you said nothing?" - -"You perceived it, because you loved him." - -"No; but you mean that you loved him more than I, because you perceived -my love. If I see it now, it is because he loves me no longer say?" and -she clutched her arm. - -Andrea replied not by word, or sign. - -"This is enough to drive one mad," cried the royal lady. "Why not kill -me outright by telling me that he loves me not." - -"Count Charny's love or indifference to other women than his wife are -secrets of Count Charny. They are not for me to reveal," observed -Andrea. - -"His secrets? I dare say he has made you his bosom friend, indeed," -sneered the Queen with bitterness. - -"The count has never spoken to me of his love or indifference towards -your Majesty." - -"Not even this morning?" She fixed a soul penetrative glance upon her. - -"Not even this morning. He announced his departure to me by letter." - -"Ah, he wrote to you?" exclaimed the Queen in a burst which, like King -Richard's cry: "My kingdom for a horse!" implied that she would give her -crown for that letter. - -Andrea comprehended her absorbing desire but she wished to enjoy her -anxiety for a space, like a woman. At last, drawing the letter from her -corsage, warm and perfumed, she held it out to her royal mistress. The -temptation was too strong, and the latter opened it and read: - - "MY LADY: I am leaving town on a formal order from the King. I - cannot tell even you whither I go, wherefore, or how long I am to - stay away: these are matters probably little in import to you, but - I ought none the less to wish I were authorized to tell you. - - "I had the intention to take farewell of you: but I dared not - without your permission----" - -The Queen had learnt what she wanted to know, and was about to return -the writing, but Andrea bade her read to the end as if she had a claim -to command. - - "I refused the last mission offered me because, poor madman! I - believed that affection retained me in Paris: but I have - unfortunately acquired proof to the contrary, and I accept with joy - this opportunity to depart from hearts to which I am indifferent. - - "If, during this journey, that happens me which befel poor Valence, - all my measures are taken for you, my lady, to be _the first_ to - know of the misfortune visiting me and the liberty restored to you. - Then, only, will you learn what profound admiration was born in my - heart from your sublime devotion, so poorly recompensed by her to - whom you sacrificed youth, beauty and bliss. - - "All I beseech of heaven and you is your according me a remembrance - for having too late perceived the treasure he possessed. - - "With all the respect in my heart, - -"GEORGE OLIVER DE CHARNY." - -The reader returned the letter to Andrea, and let her hand fall inert by -her side, with a sigh. - -"Have I betrayed you," murmured the countess: "have I failed in the -faith you put me in, for I made no promises?" - -"Forgive me, for I have suffered so much," faltered Marie. - -"You, suffered," exclaimed the ex-lady of honor, "do you dare to talk to -me of suffering? what has happened me, then? Oh, I shall not say that I -suffered, for I would not use the word another did for painting the same -idea. I need a new one to sum up all griefs, pangs and pains,--you -suffer? but you have not seen the man you loved indifferent to that -love, and paying court on his bended knees to another woman! you have -not seen your brother, jealous of this other woman whom he adored in -silence as a pagan does his goddess, fight with the man you loved! you -have not heard this man, wounded it was thought mortally, call out in -his delirium for this other woman, whose confidential friend you were: -you have not seen this other prowling in the lobbies, where you were -wandering to hear the revelations of fever which prove that if a mad -passion does not outlive life it may follow one to the grave-brink! you -have not seen this beloved one, returning to life by a miracle of nature -and science, rising from his couch to fall at the rival's feet.---- I -say, rival, and one, from the standard of love being the measure of -greatness of ranks. In your despair you have not gone into the nunnery -at the age of twenty-five, trying to quiet at the cold crucifix your -scorching love: then, one day when you hoped to have damped with tears -if not extinguished the flame consuming you, you have not had this -rival, once your friend, come to you in the name of the former -friendship to ask you to be the wife of this very man whom you had -worshipped for three years--for the sake of her salvation as a wife, her -royal Majesty endangered----! - -"She was to be a wife without a husband, a mere veil thrown between the -crowd and another's happiness, like the shroud between the corpse and -the common eye: overruled by the compulsory duty, not by mercy, for -jealous love knows no pity--you sacrificed me--you accepted my immense -devotion. You did not have to hear the priest ask if you took for -helpmate the man who was not to be your husband: you did not feel him -pass the ring over your finger as the pledge of eternal love, while it -was a vain and meaningless symbol; you did not see your husband quit you -at the church door within an hour of the wedding, to be the gallant of -your rival! oh, madam, these three years has been of torture!" - -The Queen lifted her failing hand to seek the speaker's but it was -shunned. - -"I promised nothing, but see what I have done," said she. "But you -promised two things--not to see Count Charny, the more sacred as I had -not asked it; and, by writing, to treat me as a sister, also the more -sacred as I never solicited it. - -"Must I recall the terms of that pledge? I burnt the paper but I -remember the words; and thus you wrote: - - "'Andrea: You have saved me! my honor and my life are saved by you. - In the name of that reputation which costs you so dear, I vow that - you may call me sister; do it, and you will not see me blush. I - place this writing in your hands as pledge of my gratitude and the - dower I owe you. Your heart is the noblest of boons and it will - value aright the present I offer. - -'MARIE ANTOINETTE.'" - -"Forgive me, Andrea, I thought that he loved you." - -"Did you believe it the law of the affections that when one loves a -woman less he loves another woman more?" - -She had undergone so much that she became cruel in her turn. - -"So you too perceive his love falling off?" questioned the Queen -dolefully. - -Without replying Andrea watched the despairing sovereign and something -like a smile was defined on her lips. - -"Oh heaven, what must I do to retain this fleeting love? my life that -ebbs? Oh, if you know the way, Andrea, my friend and sister, tell me, I -supplicate you!" She held out both hands from which the other receded -one step. - -"How am I to know, who have never loved?" - -"Yes, but he may love you. Some day he will come to your arms for -forgiveness and to make amends for the past, asking your pardon for all -he has made you suffer: suffering is quickly forgotten, God be thanked! -in loving arms, pardon is soon granted to the beloved who gave pain." - -"This misfortune coming--and it would be that for both of us, madam, do -you forget the secret which I confided in you, how--before I became the -wife of Count Charny--I was mother of a son?" - -The Queen took breath. - -"You mean you will do nothing to bring Charny back to you?" she asked. - -"Nothing; no more in the future than in the past." - -"You will not tell him--will not let him suspect that you love him?" - -"No, unless he comes to tell me that he loves me." - -"But, if he should----" - -"Oh, madam," interrupted Andrea. - -"Yes, you are right, Andrea, my sister and friend; and I am unjust, -exacting and cruel. But when all falls away from me, friends, power and -fame, I may wish that at least this passion to which I have sacrificed -friendship, power and reputation, should be left to me." - -"And, now," went on the lady of honor, with the glacial coldness she had -laid aside only for a moment, when she spoke of the torments she had -undergone, "have you anything more to ask me--or fresh orders to -transmit?" - -"No, nothing, I thank you. I wished to restore you my friendship but you -will not accept it. Farewell; at least take my gratitude with you." - -Andrea waved away this second feeling as she had the former, and making -a cold and deep reverence, stole forth silently and slowly as a ghost. - -"Oh, body of ice, heart of diamond and soul of fire, you are right not -to wish either my friendship or my gratitude; for I feel--though the -Lord forgive me! that I hate you as I never hated any one--for if he -does not love you now, I foresee that he will love you some day." - -She called Weber to ask if Dr. Gilbert was coming next day. - -"At ten in the morning." - -Pleading that she was ailing and wearied, she forbade her ladies to -disturb her before ten, the only person she intended to see being -Gilbert. - - - - -CHAPTER XXI. - -WHAT A CUT-OFF HEAD MAY COUNSEL. - - -When Gilbert appeared before the Queen, she uttered a scream, for his -ruffles and part of his coat were torn and drops of blood stained his -shirt. - -"I ask pardon for presenting myself to your Majesty in this attire," he -said, "but your trusty servant who came to learn why I was late to the -appointment, will tell you that he found me in the midst of a mob, -trying to save a baker who was done to death for withholding bread. They -cut the poor fellow to pieces: and to make matters worse, in parading -his head on a pike it was shown to his wife who fell down and alas! has -been prematurely confined." - -"Poor woman," cried the Queen, "if she does not die I will see her -to-morrow and, any way, her child shall be maintained out of my private -purse." - -"Ah, madam," exclaimed Gilbert, "why cannot all France see these tears -in your eyes and hear these words from your lips!" - -But almost instantly the monarch returned to master the woman. She said -with a change of tone: - -"And are these, sir, the fruits of your revolution? after slaying the -great lords, the officials and the soldiery, the people are killing one -another; is there no means of dealing out justice to these cutthroats?" - -"We will try to do so; but it would be better to prevent the murders -than wait and punish the murderers." - -"How? the King and I ask nothing more fervently." - -"All these woes come from the people having lost confidence in those set -above them. Nothing of the kind would occur if they were ruled by men -with the public confidence." - -"You allude to this Mirabeau and Lafayette?" - -"I hoped that your Majesty had sent to tell me that the King was no -longer hostile to the Cabinet I proposed." - -"In the first place, doctor," replied the royal lady, "you fall into a -grave error shared with many more, I admit: you think that I have -influence over the King. You believe that he follows my inspirations? -You mistake: if any body has a sway over him, it is Lady Elizabeth; the -proof is that she yesterday sent one of my servitors, Count Charny, on -an errand without my knowing whither he goes or what is its aim." - -"Still, if your Majesty will surmount her repugnance to Mirabeau, I can -answer for bringing the King round to my views." - -"Is not such repugnance based on a motive, tell me?" counterqueried the -lady. - -"In politics, there should be neither sympathy nor antipathy; only the -meetings of principles and combinations of gains, and I ought to say -that gains are surer than principles." - -"Do you believe that this man who has publicly insulted me, would -consent to join us?" - -"He is entirely yours: when a Mirabeau turns from monarchy, it is like a -horse that shies; reminded of his allegiance by whip or spur, he will -resume his place in the right road." - -"But he is for the Duke of Orleans?" - -"So far from him is he, that on hearing of the duke going over to -England when Lafayette threatened him, he said: 'They say I am in his -pay! I would not have him for my lackey.'" - -"That reconciles him some with me," said the lady, trying to smile: "if -I could believe he might be relied on----" - -"Well?" - -"Perhaps I should be nearer him than the King." - -"Madam, I saw him at Versailles when the mob stormed the palace: then he -thought the Royal Family ought to flee but I have had a note from him -this day." - -He took out a slip of rough paper. - -"Excuse the writing--it is on paper found in a wine saloon and written -on the counter." - -"Never mind that: it is in keeping with the present style of politics." - -Taking the paper, the Queen read: - - "This bread riot changes the face of things. A great deal can be - drawn from this cut-off head. The Assembly will be frightened and - call for martial law. If there be a Mirabeau-Lafayette Cabinet, - Mirabeau will answer for all?" - -"It is not signed," objected the Queen. - -"He handed it to me himself. My advice is that he is perfectly right and -that this alliance alone can save France." - -"Be it so, let the gentleman put the project on paper and I will lay it -before the King, as well as support it." - -"Then I will go to the Assembly and see him. In two hours I shall -return." - -The Queen waited in impatience, always fond of plotting and agitation as -she was. His answer was that Mirabeau had become the spokesman of the -court. - -In fact, after a hot discussion, martial law was voted by the Assembly. -The crime of treason was to be tried at the Chatelet Royal Court, which -meant that royalty still held three fourths of the active power. - -Gilbert did not go near the Queen until the cases were tried here which -would test the alliance. - -The triumph was great to have them tried under the Royal party's thumb. -The first trial was of three men who had killed the baker of the -Assemblymen, Francois; two of whom were hanged on the mere accusation -and public notoriety; the third was tried and sent to the gallows -likewise. - -Two other cases were on the docket. - -Both the accused prisoners were on the court side, the contractor -Augeard and Inspector General Pierre Victor Benzenval, of the Swiss -Guards. - -Augeard was suspected of supplying the funds for the Queen's -_camerailla_ to pay the troops gathered in July to fight the Parisians: -the contractor was not much known and the people bore him no grudge so -that he was acquitted without protest. - -It was not so with Benzenval, who was notorious. He had commanded the -Swiss regiments during the riots and the week of the attack on the -Bastile. It was remembered that he had charged the crowds, who wanted to -pay him out. - -But the most precious orders had been sent out by the King and the -court; under no pretext must Benzenval be punished. It took at least -this two-fold protection to save him. He had acknowledged himself guilty -by taking to flight after the Bastile fell: caught half way to the -frontier, he had been brought back to the capital. - -Nevertheless he was acquitted. - -Amid the hooting, angry crowd, leaving the court, was a man, dressed -like a plain storekeeper who familiarly laid his hand on the shoulder of -a gentleman dressed better than he, and said: - -"Well, what does Dr. Gilbert think of these acquittals?" - -The other started, but recognized the speaker by sight as well as by the -voice, and replied: - -"The Master!--you ought to be asked that, not me, for you know all, -present, past and future!" - -"Well, I should say: The third prisoner will catch it severely, even -though he be innocent." - -"Why should the innocent, if coming next, be wrongfully punished?" -inquired the doctor. - -"For the simple reason that in this world the good pay for the bad," -returned the Chief of the Invisibles with the irony natural to him. - -"Good-bye, Master," said Gilbert, offering his hand; "for I have -business." - -"With whom? Mirabeau, Lafayette or the Queen?" - -Gilbert stopped and eyed Cagliostro uneasily. - -"Let me tell you that you ofttimes frighten me," he said. - -"On the contrary, I want to encourage you," said the magician. "Am I not -your friend? You may be sure of that: I will afford you a proof if you -will come with me home. I will give you such hidden particulars of this -negociation which you believe secret, that you who fancy you are -managing it, will confess ignorance of it." - -"Listen," said Gilbert; "perhaps you are jesting with me by one of those -marvellous funds of information familiar to you; but no matter! -circumstances amid which we are treading are so grave that I would -accept enlightenment though from Old Harry himself. I am following you -therefore whithersoever you lead me." - -"Be easy, it will not be far and to a place not unknown to you; only let -me hail this passing hack; the dress I came out in did not allow me to -use my carriage and horses." - -They got into the hackneycoach which came on at a sign. - -"Where am I to drive you, master?" inquired the Jehu, to Cagliostro as -though, somehow, he saw that he was the leader of the pair, though the -more plainly dressed. - -"Where you know," answered the Chief, making a masonic sign, "The -Temple." - -The driver looked at the Grand Copt with amazement. - -"Excuse me, Thou Supreme, I did not know you," he said, replying with -another sign. - -"It is not thus with me," replied Cagliostro, with a firm and lofty -voice, "innumerable as are those whom the uninitiated eyes see not, I -know all from the topmost to the lowest of those who bring the bricks -and hew the stones." - -The coachman shut the door, got upon the box, and took the carriage at a -gallop to St. Claude Street. The carriage was stopped and the door -opened with a zeal which testified to the man's respect. - -Cagliostro motioned for Gilbert to alight first and as he descended, he -said to the jarvey: - -"Any news?" - -"Yes, Master," said the knight of the whip, "and I should have made my -report this evening if I had not the luck to meet you." - -"Speak." - -"My news is not for outsiders." - -"Oh, the bystander is not an outsider," returned Cagliostro, smiling. - -But Gilbert moved off a little, though he could not help glancing and -listening partially. He saw a smile on the hearers's face as the man -told his story. He caught the name of Favras and Count Provence, before -the report was over, when the magician took out a goldpiece and offered -it. - -"The Master knows that it is forbidden to receive pay for giving -information," he objected. - -"I am not paying for your report, it is plain, but for your bringing -us," said the conspirator. - -"That I can accept. Thank you," he said, taking the coin, "I need not -work any more to-day." - -He drove away, leaving Gilbert amazed at what he had witnessed, and he -crossed the threshold reeling like a tipsy man. - -He knew this house from having traversed it years ago under impressive -circumstances; little was changed in it, even to the same servant Fritz, -only he had aged sixteen years. - -Ushered into a sitting room, the count bade his guest take a seat. - -"I am entirely yours, doctor," said he. - -The younger man forgot his present curiosity in the memories evoked by -this room. Cagliostro looked at him like Mephistopheles regarding Faust -in his brown studies. - -"This room seems to set you thinking, doctor," he said audibly. - -"It does, of the obligations I am under to you." - -"Pooh, bubbles!" - -"Really, you are a strange man," said Gilbert, speaking as much to -himself as to the other, "and if reason allowed me to put faith in what -we learn from legends, I should be inclined to take you for a magician." - -"This am I for the world, Gilbert: but not for you. I have never tried -to dazzle you with jugglery. You know I have always let you see the -bottom of the well and if you have seen Truth come up not so scantily -clothed as the painters represent her, it is because I am a Sicilian and -cannot help decorating my lady-love." - -"It was here, count, that you gave me a large sum of money that I might -be rich in offering my hand to Andrea de Taverney, with the same ease as -I might give a penny to a beggar." - -"You forget the most extraordinary part of it: the beggar brought back -the sum, except for a couple of coins which he spent for clothes." - -"He was honest but you were generous." - -"Who tells you that it was not more easy for him who handled millions to -give a hundred thousand crowns than for him who was penniless to bring -back so large a sum as that was to him? Besides, all depends on the -man's state of mind. I was under the blow of the loss of the only woman -I ever loved--my darling wife was murdered, and I believe you might have -had my life for the asking." - -"Do you feel grief, and experience it like other men," inquired Gilbert, -eyeing him with marked astonishment. - -"You speak of memories this room gives you," sighed the other. "Were I -to tell you--your hair would whiten--but let it pass; leave those events -in their grave. Let us speak of time present, and of that to-come if you -like." - -"Count, you returned to realism just now; again you turn to pretence, -for you speak of the future with the voice of a conjurer asserting the -power to read indecipherable hieroglyphics." - -"You forget that having more means at my beck and call than other men, I -see more clearly and farther than they. You shall see that the pretence -is but a veil--solid are the facts beneath. Come, doctor, how is your -Fusion Cabinet getting on? the Mirabeau-Lafayette Ministry?" - -"It is in the skies; you are trying to learn the facts by pretending to -know more than the rumors." - -"I see that you are doubt incarnate, or wish not to see what you do not -doubt. After telling you of things you do know I must tell of those -beyond your ken. Well, you have recommended Mirabeau to the King as the -only man who can save the monarchy. He will fail--all will fail, for the -monarchy is doomed. You know that I will not have it saved. You have -achieved your end; the two rulers will welcome your advocate: and you -flatter yourself that the royal conversion is due to your irrefutable -logic and irresistible arguments." - -Gilbert could not help biting his lip on hearing this ironical tone. - -"Have you invented a stethoscope by which you can read the heart of -kings? pass the wonderful instrument on to me, count: only an enemy of -mankind would want to keep it to himself alone." - -"I told you I keep nothing back from you, dear doctor. You shall have my -telescope and may look as you please through the small end which -diminishes or the other which magnifies. The Queen gave way for two -reasons: first, she met a great sorrow the night before and she must -have some mental distraction; next, she is a woman and having heard -Mirabeau spoken of as a tiger, she wants to see him and try to tame him. -She thinks: 'It will be fine revenge to bring him to lick my feet: if -some good follows for France and the crown, so much the better.' But you -understand, this idea is quite secondary." - -"You are building on hypothesis and I want facts." - -"I see you refuse my glass and I must come back to material things: such -as can be seen with the naked eye, Mirabeau's debts, for instance." - -"What a chance you have to exhibit your generosity, by paying his debts -as you once did Cardinal Rohan's." - -"Do not reproach me with that speculation, it was one of my greatest -successes. The Queen's Necklace was a pretty affair, I think, and ruined -the Queen in the general eye. At the same price I would pay Mirabeau's -debts. But you know that he is not looking to me for that, but to the -future Generalissimo, Lafayette, who will make him caper for a beggarly -fifty thousand francs, which he will not get any more than the dog gets -the cake for which he has danced. - -"Poor Mirabeau, how all these fools and conceited dunces make your -genius pay for the follies of your youth! Yet all this is providential -and heaven is obliged to proceed by human methods. All these politicians -and wirepullers blame him for some virtue which is not theirs, and yet, -if he dies to-morrow, the masses will award him an apotheosis, and all -these pigmies, over whom he stands head and shoulders, will follow as -mourners and howl: 'Woe to France which has lost her greatest -orator--woe to royalty which has lost its supporter!'" - -"Are you going to foretell the death of Mirabeau?" cried Gilbert, almost -frightened. - -"Frankly, doctor, do you see any length of life for a man whose blood -stews him, whose heart swells to suffocate him and whose genius eats him -up? do you believe that even such powers will not be worn out in -stemming the tide of mediocrity? his enterprise is the rock of Sisyphus. -For two years they have been holding him down with the cry of -Immorality. As if God moulded all men in the same form, and as if the -circle enlarged for a great mind should not enclose greater vices. -Mirabeau will not be Premier because he owes a hundred thousand francs -debt, which would be settled were he a rich contractor's son, and -because he is condemned to death for having run away with an old -imbecile's wife--who smothered herself in charcoal fumes for the love of -a strapping military captain! What a farce the tragedy of human life is! -How I should weep over it if I had not made up my mind to laugh!" - -"But your prediction?" cried Gilbert. - -"I tell you," said the diviner, in the prophet's tone which was his -alone, and allowed no reply, "Mirabeau will wear out his life without -becoming Prime Minister. So great a bar is mediocrity. Go to the -Assembly to-morrow and see. Meanwhile, come with me to the Jacobins -Club, for these night-birds will hold their session in an hour. Do you -belong?" - -"No: Danton and Desmoulins entered me at the Cordeliers. We will go -after dinner." - -Two hours subsequently, two man in gentlemanly black suits were set -down from a plain private carriage at the door of St. Roch's church, -where the throng was great. They were Dr. Gilbert and Baron Zannone, as -Cagliostro chose to call himself at this epoch. - -"Will you come into the nave or sit in the gallery?" asked the magician. - -"I thought the nave was kept for the members?" said the other. - -"Just so, but am I not a member of all societies?" returned the -Arch-master laughing. "Besides, this club is but the seat of the -Invisibles, and you can enter as one of the Rosicrucians. We are sixty -thousand strong in France alone in three months since foundation as -Jacobins, and will be four hundred thousand in a year." - -"Though I am a Rose-Croix, I prefer to be in the gallery where I can see -over the crowd and you can better tell me of the persons whom I descry." - -The seats were roughly knocked up in tiers and a wooden staircase led up -them. Cagliostro made a sign and spoke a word to two who were sitting in -the already filled seats and they got up to give them their places as if -they had been sent before to keep them. - -The place was ill lighted in the growing gloom but it was clear that -these were the best sort of the revolutionists, while the uniforms of -officers of the army and navy abounded. For the common brothers held -their meetings in the crypt. Here the literati and artists were in the -majority. - -Casting a long look around, Gilbert was encouraged by seeing that most -were not so very hostile to the royal cause. - -"Whom do you see here hostile to royalty?" he inquired of his guide. - -"In my eyes there are but two." - -"Oh, that is not many among four hundred men." - -"It is quite enough when one will be the slayer of Louis XVI. and the -other his successor." - -"A future Brutus and a future Caesar here?" exclaimed the doctor -starting. - -"Oh, apostle with scales over your eyes," said Cagliostro; "you shall -not only see them but touch them. Which shall I commence with?" - -"By the overthrower; I respect chronology: let us have Brutus first." - -"You know that men do not use the same means to accomplish a like work," -said Cagliostro, animated as by inspiration. "Therefore our Brutus will -not resemble the antique one." - -"That makes me the more eager to see ours." - -"There he is." - -He pointed to a man leaning against the rostrum in such a position that -his head alone was in the light. Pale and livid, this head seemed -dissevered from the trunk. The eyes seemed to shine with a viper's -expression, with almost scornful hatred, knowing his venom was deadly. -Gilbert felt a creeping of the flesh. - -"You were right to warn me," he said; "this is neither Brutus nor -Cromwell." - -"No, it is rather Cassius the pale-faced and leaned man whom the Emperor -dreaded most. Do you not know him?" - -"No; or rather I have seen him in the Assembly. He is one of the -longest-winded speechifyers of the Left, to whom nobody listens. A -pettifogger from Arras----" - -"The very man." - -"His name is Maximilian Robespierre." - -"Just so. Look at him. You are a pupil of Lavater the physiognomist." - -"I see the spite of mediocrity for genius as he watches Barnave." - -"In other words you judge like the world. I grant that he cannot expect -to make a hit among all these proven orators; but at least you cannot -accuse him of immorality; he is the Honest Man: he never steps outside -of the law, or only to act within a new law which he legally makes." - -"But what is this Robespierre?" asked the other. - -"You ask that as Strafford did of the future Lord Protector: 'What is -this Cromwell? a brewer!' But he cut off his head, mark, you aristocrat -of the Seventeenth Century!" - -"Do you suggest that I run the same risk as Charles First's Minister," -said Gilbert, trying to smile, but it was frozen on his lips. - -"Who can tell?" replied the diviner. - -"The more reason for me to inquire about him." - -"Who is Robespierre? he was born in Arras, of Irish extraction, in 1758. -He was the best pupil in the Jesuits' College and won a purse on which -he came to study at Paris. It was at the same college where your young -Sebastian had an experience. Other boys went out sometimes from those -sombre aisles which bleach the pallid, and had holidays with their -families and friends; young Robespierre was cooped up and breathed the -bad air of loneliness, sadness and tedium; three bad things which rob -the mind of its bloom and blight the heart with envy and hatred. The boy -became a wilted young man. His benefactor had him appointed judge, but -his tender heart would not let him dispose of the life of a man; he -resigned and became a lawyer. He took up the case of peasants disputing -with the Bishop of Arras and won their just claim; the grateful boors -sent him up to the Assembly. There he stood between the clergy's -profound hatred for the lawyer who had dared speak against their bishop -and the scorn of the nobles for the scholar reared by charity." - -"What is he doing?" - -"Nothing for others but much for the Revolution. If it did not enter -into my views that he should be kept poor, I would give him a million -francs to-morrow. Not that I should buy him, for he is joked with as the -Incorruptible! Our noble debaters have settled that he shall be the butt -of the House, for all assemblies must have one. Only one of his -colleagues understands and values him--it is Mirabeau. He told me the -other day, 'that man will go far for he believes what he says!'" - -"This grows serious," muttered Gilbert. - -"He comes here for he gets an audience. The Jacobin is a young minotaur: -suckling a calf, he will devour a nation in a while. I promised to show -you an instrument for lopping off heads, did I not? Well, Robespierre -will give it more work than all those here." - -"Really, you are funereal, count," said Gilbert; "if your Caesar does -not compensate for your Brutus, I may forget what I came here for." - -"You see my future Emperor yonder, talking with the tragic actor Talma, -and with another whom he does not know but who will have a great -influence over him. Keep this befriender's name in mind--Barras, and -recall it one of these days." - -"I do not know how right you are, but you choose your typical characters -well," said Gilbert; "this Caesar of yours has the brow to wear a crown -and his eyes--but I cannot catch the expression----" - -"Because his sight is diverted inwards--such eyes study the future, -doctor." - -"What is he saying to Barras?" - -"That he would have held the Bastile if he were defending it." - -"He is not a patriot, then?" - -"Such as he are nothing before they are all in all." - -"You seem to stick to your idea about this petty officer?" - -"Gilbert," said the soothsayer, extending his hand towards Robespierre, -"as truly as that man will re-erect the scaffold of Charles Stuart, so -truly will 'this one'"--he indicated the lieutenant of the line -regiment--"will re-erect the throne of Charlemagne." - -"Then our struggle for liberty is useless," said Gilbert discouraged. - -"Who tells you that he may not do as much for us on his throne as the -other on his scaffold?" - -"Will he be the Titus, or Marcus Aurelius, the god of peace consoling us -for the age of bronze?" - -"He will be Alexander and Hannibal in one. Born amid war, he will thrive -in war-fare and go down in warring. I defy you to calculate how much -blood the clergy and nobles have made Robespierre lose by his fits of -spite against them; take all that these nobles and priests will lose, -multiply upon multiplications, and you will not attain the sea of blood -this man will shed, with his armies of five hundred thousand men and his -three days' battles in which hundreds of cannon-shots will be fired." - -"And what will be the outcome of all this turmoil--all this chaos?" - -"The outcome of all genesis, Gilbert. We are charged to bury this Old -World. Our children will spring up in a new one. This man is but the -giant who guards the door. Like Louis XIV., Leo X. and Agustus, he will -give his name to the era unfolding." - -"What is his name?" inquired Gilbert, subjugated by Cagliostro's -convinced manner. - -"His name is Buonaparte; but he will be hailed in History as Napoleon. -Others will follow of his name, but they will be shadows--the dynasty of -the first Charlemagne lasted two hundred years; of this second one, a -tithe: did I not tell you that in a hundred years the Republic will have -the empire of France?" - -Gilbert bowed his head. He did not notice that the debates were opened. -An hour passed when he felt a powerful hand grip his shoulder. - -He turned: Cagliostro had disappeared and Mirabeau stood in his -place--after the eagle, the lion. - -Mirabeau's face was convulsed with rage as he roared in a dull voice: - -"We are flouted, deceived, betrayed! the court will not have me and you -have been taken for a dupe as I for a fool. On my moving in the House -that the Cabinet Ministers should be invited to be present at the -Assembly sessions, three friends of the King proposed that no member of -the House should be a minister. This laboriously managed combination -dissolves at a breath from the King; But," concluded Mirabeau, like -Ajax, shaking his mighty fist at the sky, "by my name, I will pay them -for this, and if their breath can shake a minister, mine shall overthrow -the throne. I shall go to the Assembly and fight to the uttermost; I am -one of those who blow up the fort and perish under the ruins." - -He rushed away, more terrible and handsomer for the divine streak which -lightning had impressed on his brow. - -Gilbert did not go to the House to witness his companion's defeat--one -very like a victory. He was musing at home over Cagliostro's strange -predictions. How could this man foresee what would be Robespierre and -Napoleon? I ask those who put this question to me how they explain -Mdlle. Lenormand's prediction to the Empress Josephine? One often meets -inexplicable things; doubt was invented to comfort those who cannot -explain them but will not believe them. - - - - -CHAPTER XXII. - -THE SMILE AND THE NOD. - - -As Cagliostro had said and Mirabeau surmised, the King had upset the -scheme. - -Without much regret the Queen saw the constitutional platform fall which -had wounded her pride. The King's policy was to gain time and profit by -circumstances; besides he had two chances of getting away into some -stronghold, which was his favorite plan. These two plans, we know, were -his brother Provence's, managed by Favras; the other his own, managed by -Charny. - -The latter reached Metz in a couple of days where the faithful royalist -Bouille did not doubt him, but resolved to send his son Louis to Paris -to be more exactly informed on the matter. Charny remained as a kind of -hostage. - -Count Louis Bouille arrived about the middle of November. At this period -the King was guarded closely by Lafayette whose cousin the young count -was. - -To keep him in ignorance of Charny's negociations, the latter worked to -be presented to the King by his kinsman. - -Providence answered the envoy's prayer for Lafayette, who had been -informed of his coming but swallowed his excuse that it was on a visit -to a sweetheart in Paris, offered to take him with him on his morning -call on the monarch. - -All the palace doors opened to the general. The sentinels presented arms -and the footmen bowed, so that Count Louis could see that his relative -was the real King of Paris. - -The King was in his forge so that the visitors had to see the Queen -first. - -Bouille had not seen her for three years. The sight of her at -thirty-four, a prisoner, slandered, threatened, and hated, made a deep -impression on the chivalric heart of the young noble. - -She remembered him at a glance and with the same was sure this was a -friendly face. Without busying about General Lafayette she gave her hand -for the young man to kiss, which was a fault such as she plentifully -committed; without this favor she had won Louis Bouille, and by doing -him it before the general she slighted the latter who had never been so -gratified; she wounded the very man she most wanted as a friend. - -Hence with a faltering in the voice but with the courtesy never leaving -him, Lafayette said: - -"Faith, my dear cousin, you want me to present you to the Queen: but it -seems to me that you were better fitted to present me." - -The Queen was so enraptured at meeting a friend on whom she could rely, -and as a woman so proud of the effect produced on the young nobleman, -that she turned round on the general with one of the beams of youth -which she had feared forever extinct. - -"General," she said with one of the smiles of her sunnier days, "Count -Bouille is not a severe republican like you: he comes from Metz, not -from America; he does not come to bother about Constitutions but to -present his homage. Do not be astonished at the favor shown him by a -nearly dethroned Queen, which this country squire may esteem a boon----" - -She completed her sentence by a playful smile as much as to say: "You -are a Scipio and think nothing of such nonsense." - -"It is a pity for me, and a great misfortune for your Majesty," returned -Lafayette, "that I pass without my respect and devotion being noticed." - -The Queen looked at him with her clear, searching eye. This was not the -first time that he had spoken in this strain and set her thinking: but -unfortunately, as he had said, she entertained an instinctive repugnance -for him. - -"Come, general, be generous and pardon me, my outburst of kindness -towards this excellent Bouille family, which loves me with a whole heart -and of which this youth is the chain of contact. I see his whole family -in him, coming to kiss my hand. Let us shake hands, as the American and -English do, and be good friends." - -The marquis touched the hand coldly. - -"I regret that you do not bear in mind that I am French. The night of -the attack on the Royal Family at Versailles ought to remind you." - -"You are right, general," responded the lady, making an effort and -shaking his hand. "I am ungrateful. Any news?" - -Lafayette had a little revenge to take. - -"No; merely an incident in the House. An old man of one hundred and -twenty was brought to the bar by five generations of descendants to -thank the Representatives for having made him free. Think of one who was -born a serf under Louis XIV. and eighty years after." - -"Very touching," retorted the Queen; "but I could not well be there as I -was succoring the widow and child of the baker murdered for supplying -bread to the Assembly." - -"Madam, we could not foresee that atrocity but we have punished the -offenders." - -"That will do her no good, as she is maddened and may give birth to a -still-born babe; if it should live, do you see any inconvenience to -standing godmother to it at the Cathedral of Notre Dame?" - -"None: and I take this opportunity of meeting your allusion, before my -kinsman, to your pretended captivity. Nothing prevents your going to -church or elsewhere, and the King may go hunting and out riding, as much -as he likes." - -The Queen smiled, for this permission might be useful as far as it went. - -"Good-bye, count," she said to Bouille; "the Princess of Lamballe -receives for me and you will be welcome any evening with your -illustrious kinsman." - -"I shall profit by the invitation," said Lafayette, "sure that I should -be oftener seen there and elsewhere by your Majesty if the request had -not been heretofore omitted." - -The Queen dismissed them with a smile and a nod, and they went out, the -one with more bitterness because of the nod, the other with more -adherence because of the smile. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII. - -THE ROYAL LOCKSMITH. - - -As the King had undertaken a very important piece of locksmith work, he -sent his valet Hue to beg General Lafayette to come into his smithy. - -It was on the second floor above his bedroom, with inner and outer -stairs. - -Since morning he had been hammering away at the work for which Master -Gamain gave him praise and so much regret that the politicians should -take him away from it to trouble about foreign countries. - -Perhaps he wanted to show the Commander of the National Guard that -however weak as a monarch, he was mighty as a Tubal Cain. - -On the road Count Louis had time to meditate; and he concluded that the -Queen knew nothing of his errand. He would have to study the King's -reception and see if he did not give some sign of better understanding -what brought him to Paris than his cousin the marquis. - -The valet did not know Bouille so that he only announced the general. - -"Ah, it is you, marquis," said the King, turning. "I must ask pardon for -calling you up here, but the smith assures you that you are welcome in -his forge. A charcoal-burner once said to my ancestor Henry IV.: 'Jack -is king in his own castle.' But you are master in the smithy as in the -palace." - -Louis spoke much in the same way as Marie Antoinette. - -"Sire, under whatever circumstances I present myself to your Majesty," -said Lafayette, "and whatever costume your Majesty is in, the King will -be ever the sovereign and I the faithful subject and devoted servant." - -"I do not doubt that, my lord; but you are not alone. Have you changed -your aid-de-camp?" - -"This young officer, Sire, whom I ask leave to introduce, is my cousin, -Count Louis Bouille, captain in the Provence Dragoons." - -"Oh, son of Marquis Bouille, commander of Metz?" said the King, with a -slight start not escaping the young man. - -"The same, Sire," he spoke up quickly. - -"Excuse me not knowing you, but I have short sight. Have you been long -in town?" - -"I left Metz five days ago; and being here without official furlough but -under special permission from my father, I solicited my kinsman the -marquis for the honor of presentation to your Majesty." - -"You were very right, my lord, for nobody could so well present you at -any hour, and from no one could the introduction come more agreeably." - -The words "at any hour" meant that Lafayette had the public and private -entry to the King. The few words from the sovereign put the young count -on his guard. The question about his coming signified that he wanted to -know if Charny had seen his father. - -Meanwhile Lafayette was looking round curiously where few penetrated; he -admired the regularity with which the tools were laid out. He blew the -bellows as the apprentice. - -"So your Majesty has undertaken an important work, eh?" queried -Lafayette, embarrassed how to talk to a King who was in a smutty apron, -with tucked up sleeves and had a file in his hand. - -"Yes, general, I have set to making our magnus opus a lock. I tell you -just what I am doing or we shall have Surgeon Marat saying that I am -forging the fetters of France. Tell him it is not so, if you lay hold of -him. I suppose you are not a smith, Bouille?" - -"At least I was bound apprentice, and to a locksmith, too." - -"I remember, your nurse's husband was a smith and your father, although -not much of a student of Rousseau acted on his advice in 'Emile' that -everybody should learn a craft, and bound you to the workbench." - -"Exactly; so that if your Majesty wanted a boy----" - -"An apprentice would not be so useful to me as a master," returned the -King. "I am afraid I have ventured on too hard a job. Oh, that I had my -teacher Gamain, who used to say he was a crafts-master above the -masters." - -"Is he dead, my lord?" - -"No," replied the King, giving the young gentleman a glance for him to -be heedful; "he lives in Versailles, but the dear fellow does not dare -come and see me at the Tuileries for fear he will get an ill name. All -my friends have gone away, to London, Turin or Coblentz. Still, my dear -general, if you do not see any inconvenience in the old fellow coming -with one of his boys to lend me a hand, I might ask him to drop in some -day." - -"Your Majesty ought to know perfectly that he can see and send for -anybody." - -"Yes, on condition that you sentries search them as the revenue officers -do those suspected of smuggling; poor Gamain will believe he is to be -hanged, drawn and quartered if they found his bag of tools on him and -took his three-cornered file for a stiletto!" - -"Sire, I do not know how to excuse myself to your Majesty, but I am -answerable for your person to the Powers of Europe, and I cannot take -too many precautions for that precious life to be protected. As for the -honest fellow of whom we are speaking, the King can give what orders he -pleases." - -"Very well; thank you, marquis; I might want him in a week or ten -days--him and his 'prentice," he added, with a glance at Bouille; "I -could notify him by my valet Durey, who is a friend of his." - -"He has only to call to be shown up to the King; his name will suffice. -Lord preserve me from getting the title of your jailer, Sire; never was -the monarch more free; and I have even desired your Majesty to resume -hunting and riding out." - -"Thank you, but no more hunts for me! Besides, you see I have something -to keep me in doors, in my head. As for traveling, that is another -matter; the last trip from Versailles to Paris cured me of the desire to -travel, in such a large party at all events." - -He threw a glance to Bouille who ventured to blink to show that he -understood. - -"Are you soon going back to your father?" inquired the King of the -latter. - -"Sire, I am leaving Paris in a couple of days to pay a visit to my -grandmother, living in Versailles; I am bound to pay my respects. Then I -am charged by my father to attend to a rather important family matter, -for which I expect to see the person who will give me the directions in -about a week. So I shall hardly be with my father before the first week -in December, unless the King has particular reasons for me to see him -sooner." - -"No, my lord, take your time; go to Versailles and transact your -business and when done, go and tell the marquis, that I do not forget -him as one of my faithful lieges, and that I will speak of him one of -these days to General Lafayette for him to advance him." - -Lafayette smiled faintly at this allusion to his omnipotence. - -"Sire," he said, "I should have long ago recommended Marquis Bouille to -your Majesty had he not been my kinsman. The fear of raising the cry -that I am looking after my family alone prevented me doing him this -justice." - -"This chimes in nicely, then; we will speak of this matter again." - -"The King will kindly allow me to say that my father would consider any -change of a post a disgrace that robbed him of the chance to serve your -Majesty particularly." - -"Oh, that is fully understood, count," responded Louis the King, "and -Marquis Bouille shall not be moved without it being according to his -desires and mine. Let General Lafayette and I manage this, and you run -to your pleasure-making without altogether forgetting business. Good -bye, gentlemen!" - -He dismissed them with a majestic manner in singular contrast with the -vulgar attire. - -"Come, come," he said to himself, when the door was shut. "I believe the -young blade has comprehended me, and that in a week or so we shall have -Master Gamain coming to aid me, _with his 'prentice_." - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV. - -HAPPY FAMILY. - - -On the evening of this same day, about five, a scene passed in the third -and top flat of a dirty old tumbledown house in Juiverie Street which we -would like our readers to behold. - -The interior of the sitting-room denoted poverty, and it was inhabited -by three persons, a man, a woman, and a boy. - -The man looked to be over fifty; he was wearing an old uniform of a -French Guards sergeant, a habit venerated since these troops sided with -the people in the riots and exchanged shots with the German dragoons. - -He was dealing out playing cards and trying to find an infallible means -of winning; a card by his side, pricked full of pinholes, showed that he -was keeping tally of the runs. - -The woman was four-and-thirty and appeared forty; she wore an old silk -dress; her poverty was the more dreadful as she exhibited tokens of -splendor; her hair was built up in a knot over a brass comb once gilded: -and her hands were scrupulously cared for with the nails properly -trimmed in an aristocratic style. The slippers on her feet, over -openwork stockings, had been worked with gold and silver. - -Her face might pass in candlelight for about thirty; but, without paint -and powder it looked five years older than reality. - -Its resemblance to Queen Marie Antoinette's was still so marked that one -tried to recall it in the dusty clouds thrown up by royal horses around -the window of a royal coach. - -The boy was five years of age; his hair curled like a cherub's; his -cheeks were round as an apple; he had his mother's diabolical eyes, and -the sensual mouth of his father--in short, the idleness and whims of the -pair. - -He wore a faded pearl velvet suit and while munching a hunk of cake -sandwiched with preserves, he frayed out the ends of an old tricolored -scarf inside a pearl gray felt hat. - -The family was illuminated by a candle with a large "thief in the -gutter," stuck in a bottle for holder, which light fell on the man and -left most of the room in darkness. - -"Mamma," the child broke the silence by saying, as he threw the end of -the cake on the mattress which served as bed, "I am tired of that kind -of cake--faugh! I want a stick of red barley sugar candy." - -"Dear little Toussaint," said the woman. "Do you hear that, Beausire?" - -As the gamester was absorbed in his calculations, she lifted her foot -within snatch of her hand and taking off the slipper, cast it to his -nose. - -"What is the matter?" he demanded, with plain ill-humor. - -"Toussaint wants some candy, being tired of cheap cake." - -"He shall have it to-morrow." - -"I want it to-day--this evening--right now!" yelled the innocent in a -tearful voice which threatened stormy weather. - -"Toussaint, my boy, I advise you to give us quiet or papa will take you -in hand," said the parent. - -The boy yelled again but more from deviltry than from fear. - -"You drunken sot, you just touch my darling, and I will attend to you," -said the mother, stretching out the white hand towards the bully which -her care of the nails made to become a claw at need. - -"Who the deuse wants to touch the imp? you know it is only my style of -speaking, my dear Oliva, and that though I may dust your skirt now and -then I have always respected the kid's jacket. Tut, tut, come and -embrace your poor Beausire who will be rich as a King in a week; come, -my little Nicole." - -"When you are rich as a king, it will be another matter: but up to that -time no fooling." - -"But I tell you that it is as safe as if I had a million. You might be -kind for a little while. Go and get credit of the baker." - -"A man rolling in millions wants a baker to let him have a loaf on -trust, ha, ha!" - -"I want some red barely sugar," howled the child. - -"Come, you king with the millions, give some sugar sticks to your -prince." - -Beausire started to put his hand to his fob but stopped half way. - -"You know I gave you my last piece yesterday." - -"Then, if you have the money," said the child to the woman whom Beausire -called indifferently Nicole or Oliva, "give me a penny to buy candy." - -"There are two cents, you naughty boy, and mind you do not fall in -sliding down the bannisters." - -"Thank you, dear mother," said the boy, capering for joy and holding out -his hand. - -"Come here till I set your hat on and adjust your sash: it must not be -said that Captain Beausire let his son race about the streets in -disorder--though it is all the same to him, the heartless fellow! I -should die of shame!" - -At the risk of whatever the neighbors might say against the heir to the -Beausire name, the boy would have dispensed with the hat and band, of -which he recognized the use before the other urchins did the freshness -and beauty. But as the arrangement of his dress was a condition of the -gift, the young Hector had to yield to it. - -He consoled himself by taunting his father with the coin by thrusting it -up under his nose; absorbed in his figuring the parent merely smiled at -the pretty freak. - -Soon they heard his timid step, though quickened by gluttony, descending -the stairs. - -"Now then, Captain Beausire," snapped the woman after a pause, "your -wits must lift us out of this miserable position, or else I must have -recourse to mine." - -She spoke with a toss of the head as much as to say: "A lady of my -lovely face never dies of starvation, never fear!" - -"Just what I am busy about, my little Nicole," responded Beausire. - -"By shuffling the cards?" - -"Did I not tell you that I have found the infallible coup?" - -"At it again, eh? Captain Beausire, I warn you that I am going to hunt -up my old acquaintances and see if one of them cannot have you shut up -in the madhouse. Dear, dear, if Lord Richelieu were not dead, if -Cardinal Rohan were not ruined, if Lady Lamotte Valois were not in -London dodging the sheriff's officers----" - -"What are you talking about?" - -"I should find means and not be obliged to share the misery of an old -swashbuckler like this one." - -With a queenly flirt of the hand Oliva _alias_ Nicole Legay, -disdainfully indicated the gambler. - -"But I keep telling you that I shall be rich to-morrow," he repeated, -himself at any rate convinced. - -"Show me the first gold piece of your million and I shall believe the -rest." - -"You will see ten gold pieces this evening--the very sum promised me. -You can have five to buy a silk dress and a velvet suit for the -youngster: with the balance I will bring you the million I promised." - -"You unhappy fellow, you mean to gamble again?" - -"But I tell you again that I have lit on an infallible sequence." - -"Own brother to the one with which you threw away the sixty thousand -livres from the amount you stole at the Portuguese Ambassador's?" - -"Money got over the devil's back goes under his belly," replied Beausire -sententiously. "I always did think that the way I got that cash brought -bad luck." - -"Is this fresh lot coming from an inheritance? have you an uncle who has -died in the Indies or America and left you the ten louis?" - -"Nicole Legay," rejoined Beausire with a lofty air, "these ten will be -earned not only honestly but honorably, for a cause which interests me -as well as the rest of the nobility of France." - -"So you are a nobleman, Friend Beausire?" jeered the lady. - -"You may say so: we have it stated so in the birth entry on the register -of St. Paul's, and signed by your servitor, Jean Baptiste Toussaint de -Beausire, on the day when I gave my name to our boy----" - -"A handsome present that was," gibed Nicole. - -"And my estate," added the so-called captain emphatically. - -"If kind heaven does not send him something more solid," interposed -Nicole, shaking her head, "the poor little dear is sure to live on air -and die in the poorhouse." - -"Really, Nicole, this is too much to endure--you are never contented." - -"Endure? good gracious, who wants you to endure?" exclaimed the reduced -gentlewoman, breaking down the dam to her long-restrained ire: "Thank -God, I am not worried about myself or my little pet, and this very night -I shall go forth and seek my fortune." - -She rose and took three steps towards the door, but he strode in between -them and opened his arms to bar the way. - -"You naughty creature, did I not tell you that my fortune----" - -"Go on," said Nicole. - -"Is coming home to-night: though the coup were a mistake--which is -impossible, it would only be five louis lost." - -"There are times when a few pieces of money are a fortune, sir. But you -would not know that, who have squandered a pile of gold as high as this -house." - -"That proves my merit: I made it at the cards, and if I made some once I -shall make more another time: besides, there is a special providence -for--smart rogues." - -"That is a fine thing to rely on!" - -"Do you not believe in Providence? are you an atheist, Nicole? of the -school of Voltaire who denies all that sort of thing?" - -"Beausire, no matter what I am, you are a fool." - -"Springing from the lower class, as you do, it is not surprising that -you nourish such notions. I warn you that they do not appertain to my -caste and political opinions." - -"You are a saucebox," returned the beauty of the past. - -"But I have faith. If anyone were to say, 'Beausire, your son who has -gone out to buy a sugar stick, will return with a lump of gold,' I -should answer: 'Very likely, if it be the will of Allah!' as a Turkish -gentleman of my acquaintance says." - -"Beausire, you are an idiot," said Nicole, but she had hardly spoken the -words before young Toussaint's voice was heard on the stairs calling: - -"Oh, papa--mamma!" - -"What is the matter?" cried Nicole, opening the door with true maternal -solicitude. "Come, my darling, come." - -The voice drew near like the ventriloquist doing the trick of the man in -the cellar. - -"I should not be astonished if he had lit on the streak of good luck I -feel promised," said the gambler. - -The boy rushed into the room, holding a sugarstick in his mouth, hugging -under his left arm a bag of sugarplums, and showing in his right hand a -gold coin which shone in the candle glimmer like the North Star. - -"Goodness of heaven, what has occurred?" cried Nicole, slamming the door -to. - -She covered his gluey face with kisses--mothers never being disgusted, -from their caresses seeming to purify everything. - -"The matter is a genuine louis of gold, worth full value of twenty-four -livres," said Beausire, skillfully obtaining the piece. - -"Where did you pick that up that I may go for the others, my duck?" he -inquired. - -"I never found it, papa: it was give to me," replied the boy. "A kind -gentleman give it me." - -Ready as Beausire to ask who this donor was, Nicole was prudent from -experience on account of Captain Beausire's jealousy. She confined -herself to repeating: - -"A gentleman?" - -"Yes, mamma dear," rejoined the child, crunching the barley-sugar -between his teeth: "a gentleman who came into the grocer's store where I -was, and he says: 'God bless me, but, master, do I not behold a young -gentleman whose name is De Beausire, whom you have the honor of -attending to at the present time?'" - -Beausire perked up and Nicole shrugged her shoulders. - -"What did the grocer say to that, eh?" demanded the card-sharper. - -"Master Grocer says: 'I don't know whether he is a gentleman or not, but -his name is Beausire,' 'Does he live by here?' went on the gentleman. -'Top-floor, next house on the left.' 'Give anything the young master -wants to him--I will foot the bill,' said the gentleman. Then he gave me -the money saying: 'There a louis for you, young sir: when you have eaten -your candy, that will buy you more. He put the money in my hand; the -grocer stuck this bag under my arm and I came away awfully glad. Oh, -where is my money-piece?" - -Not having seen Beausire's disappearing trick, he began to look all -round for the louis. - -"You clumsy little blockhead, you have lost it," said the captain. - -"No, I never!" yelled the child. - -The dispute would have become warm but for the interruption which came -to put an end to it. - -The door opened slowly and a bland voice made these words audible: - -"How do you do, Mistress Nicole? good evening, Captain Beausire! How are -you, little Toussaint?" - -All turned: on the threshold was an elegantly attired man, smiling on -the family group. - -"Oh, here's the gentleman who gave me the candy," cried young Toussaint. - -"Count Cagliostro," exclaimed Beausire and the lady at the same time. - -"That is a winning little boy, and I think you ought to be happy at -being a parent, Captain Beausire," said the intruder. - -He advanced and with one scrutinizing glance saw that the couple were -reduced to the last penny. - -The child was the first to break the silence because he had nothing on -his conscience. - -"Oh, kind sir, I have lost the shining piece," said he. - -Nicole opened her mouth to state the case but she reflected that silence -might lead to a repetition of the godsend and she would inherit it; her -expectation was not erroneous. - -"Lost your louis, have you, my poor boy?" said Cagliostro, "well, here -are two; try not to lose them." - -Pulling out a purse of which the plumpness kindled Beausire's greedy -glances, he dropped two coins into Toussaint's little sticky paw. - -"Look, mamma," said he, running to Nicole; "here's one for you and one -for me." - -While the child shared his windfall with his mother, the new-comer -remarked the tenacity with which the former-soldier watched his purse -and tried to estimate the contents before it was pocketted again. On -seeing it disappear, he sighed. - -"Still glum, captain?" said the visitor. - -"And you, count, always rich?" - -"Pooh! you are one of the finest philosophers I have ever known, as well -at the present as in antiquity, and you are bound to know the axiom to -which man does honor in all ages. 'Riches are not contentment.' I have -known you to be rich, relatively." - -"That's so: I have owned as much as a hundred thousand francs." - -"It is possible; only when I met you again, you had spent nearly forty -thousand of it so as to have but sixty, but that is a round sum for a -corporal in the army." - -"What is that to the sums you dispose of?" he sighed. - -"I am only the banker, the trustee, Captain Beausire, and if I were -obliged to settle up I daresay you could play St. Martin and I the -beggar who would be glad to have half your cloak. But, my dear Beausire, -do you not remember the circumstances of our last meeting? As I said, -just now, you had sixty thousand left of the hundred thousand: were you -happier than now?" - -The ex-corporal heaved a retrospective sigh which might pass for a moan. - -"Would you exchange your present position though you possessed nothing -but one poor louis you 'nicked' from young Toussaint?" - -"My lord!" - -"Do not let us get warm, sir: we quarrelled once and you were obliged to -go out and pick up your sword which I threw out of the window. You will -remember?" went on the count, seeing that the man made no reply: "it is -a good thing to have a memory. I ask you again would you change your -actual position, though down to the solitary louis you 'extracted' from -young Toussaint"--this time the allegation passed without protest--"for -the precarious scrape from which I relieved you?" - -"No, my lord, you are right--I should not change. At that epoch, alas! I -was parted from my darling Nicole." - -"To say nothing of being hunted by the police, on account of your -robbing the Portuguese Embassy. What the mischief has become of that -case, a villainous one, as I remember it, Captain B.?" - -"It has been dropped, my lord," was the reply. - -"So much the better: though I would not reckon on its not being picked -up again. The police are awful for raking up past grievances, and the -ruling powers might want to be on good terms with Portugal. However, -that apart, in spite of the hard lines to which you are reduced, you are -happy. If you had a thousand louis, your felicity would be complete, -eh?" - -Nicole's eyes glittered and her partner's flashed flames. - -"Lord be good to us," cried the latter: "with half I would buy a lot in -the country and live a rural life on the rest like a country squire!" - -"Like Cincinnatus!" - -"While Nicole would educate the boy." - -"Like Cornelia! Death of my life, Captain Beausire! not only would this -be exemplary but touching: do you hope to earn as much as that in the -piece of business you have in hand?" - -"What business?" queried the other, starting. - -"That you are carrying on as sergeant of the Guards; for which you are -to meet a man, this evening, under the Palais Royal arcades." - -"Oh, my lord," moaned Beausire, turning pale as a corpse and wringing -his hands. "Do not destroy me!" - -"Why, you are going distracted now? Am I the Chief of Police to ruin -you?" - -"There, I told you, you are getting into a pretty pickle," exclaimed -Nicole. "I know nothing about it, my lord, but whenever he hides any -game from me, I know it is a bad one." - -"But you are wrong, my dear lady, for this is an excellent speculation." - -"Is it not?" cried the gambler. "The count, as a nobleman, understands -that all the nobility are in this scheme----" - -"For it to succeed. It must be allowed though, that the people are -interested in its failure. If you will believe me, captain--you -understand that a friend is giving advice--you will take no part in it -for the peers or the people. Better act for yourself." - -"Certainly, for yourself," said Nicole. "Blest if you have not toiled -long enough for others: so that it is high time you looked after Number -One." - -"You hear the lady, who speaks like a born orator. Bear this in mind, -Friend Beausire, all spec's have a good and a bad side, one for the -winners, one for the losers: no affair however good, can benefit -everybody; the whole trouble is to hit on the right side." - -"And you do not think I am there, eh?" - -"Not at all; I would even add, if you are willful--for you know I dabble -in telling fortunes--that you will not only risk your honor, and the -fortune you seek--but your life. You will most likely be hanged!" - -"They do not hang noblemen," objected Beausire, wiping the perspiration -streaming from his brow. - -"That is so: but to avoid the gallows-tree and have your head cut off, -you would have to prove your family-tree; it would take so long that the -court would lose patience, and string you up for the time being--leaving -your widow to demand compensation if you turned out to have deserved -decapitation. Still you may say that it does not matter, as it is the -crime that casts shame and not the scaffold, to quote a poet. Still -again, I dare say you are not so attached to your opinions that you -would lay down your life for them; I understand this. Deuse take us, but -we have only one life, as another poet says, not so great as the other, -but as truthful." - -"My lord," faltered the ex-guardsman, "I have remarked in my too brief -acquaintance with your lordship, that you have a way of speaking of -some things which would make the hair of a more timid man than me -bristle on his head." - -"Hang me if that is my intention," responded Cagliostro; "Besides you -are not a timid man." - -"No: yet there are circumstances," began Beausire. - -"I understand; such as when one has the jail for theft behind one and -the gallows for high treason before one--for I suppose they give that -name to the crime of kidnapping the King." - -"My lord," cried Beausire, terrified. - -"Wretch, is it on kidnapping that you build your fortune?" demanded -Oliva. - -"Oh, he was not wrong to dwell in golden dreams, my dear lady; only, as -I have already said, each affair has a dark side and a bright one and -Beausire has the misfortune to take the dark one; all he has to do is to -shift." - -"If there is time, what must I do?" asked the bully. - -"Suppose one thing," said the gentleman; "that your conspiracy fails. -Suppose that the accomplices of the masked man and the one in the brown -cloak are arrested; we may suppose anything in these times--suppose they -are doomed to death! Suppose--for Augeard and Bezenval have been -acquitted, so that anything unlikely may come round nowadays--suppose -that you are one of these accomplices; you have the halter round your -neck, when--say what they like--a man always shows a little of the white -feather about then----" - -"Do have done, my lord! I entreat you, for I seem to feel the rope -throttling me!" - -"That is not astonishing as I am supposing it is round your neck! -Suppose, then, that they say to you: 'Poor old Beausire, this is your -own fault. Not only might you have dodged this Old Bony who clutches you -in his claws, but gain a thousand louis to buy the pretty cottage under -the green trees where you long to live with ever-lovely Oliva and merry -little Toussaint, with the balance of what was partly spent for the -purchase of your homestead. You might live, as you said, like a squire, -in high boots in the winter and easy shoes the rest of the year; while, -instead of this delicious lookout, you have the Execution-place, -planted with two or three one or two-armed trees, of which the highest -holds out its ugly branch unto you. Faugh! my poor Captain Beausire, -what a hideous prospect!'" - -"But how am I to elude it--how make the thousand to ensure my peace and -that of dear Nicole and little Toussaint?" - -"Your good angel would say: 'Why not apply to the Count of Cagliostro, a -rich nobleman who is in town for his pleasure and who is weary of -nothing to do. Go to him and tell him----" - -"But I do not know where he lives! I did not even know he is in town; I -did not know he was still alive!" protested Beausire. - -"He lives ever. It is because you would not know these facts that he -comes to you, my dear Beausire, so that you will have no excuse. You -have merely to say to him: 'Count, I know how fond you are of hearing -the news. I have some fresh for you. The King's brother is conspiring -with Marquis Favras. I speak from full knowledge as I am the right-hand -man of the marquis. The aim of the plot is to take the King away to -Peronne. If your lordship likes to be amused, I will tell him step by -step how the moves are played.' Thereupon the count, who is a generous -lord, would reply: 'If you will really do this, Captain Beausire, as all -laborers are worthy of their hire, I put aside twenty-four thousand -livres for a charitable act; but I will balk myself in this whim, and -you shall have them on the day when you come and tell me either that the -King shall be taken off or Marquis Favras captured--in the same way as -you are given these ten louis--not as hand-money or as an advance, or a -loan, but as a pure gift." - -Like an actor rehearsing with the "properties," Cagliostro pulled out -the weighty purse, stuck in finger and thumb and with a dexterity -bearing witness to his experience in such actions, whipped out just ten -pieces, neither more nor less, which Beausire--we must do him -justice--thrust out his hand with alacrity to receive. - -"Excuse me, captain," said the other, gently fencing off the hand, "we -are only playing at Supposes." - -"Yes, but through suppositions one arrives at the fact," responded the -cardplayer, whose eyes glowed like burning coals. - -"Have we reached this point?" - -Beausire hesitated; let us hasten to say that it was not honor, fidelity -to plighted word, or a pricked conscience which caused the wavering. Did -our readers know Beausire, they would not want this denial. It was the -simple fear that the count would not keep his word. - -"I see what you are passing through," said the tempter. - -"Ay, my lord, I shrink from betraying the trust a gentleman puts in me," -replied the adventurer. "It is very hard," he seemed to say as he raised -his eyes heavenward. - -"Nay, it is not that, and this is another proof of the old saw that 'No -man knows himself'," said the count. "You are afraid that I will not pay -you the sum stated. The objection is quite natural; but I shall give -security." - -"My lord certainly need not." - -"Personal security, Madam Legay." - -"Oh, if the count promises, it is as good as done," said the lady. - -"You see, sir, what one gains by scrupulously keeping one's promises. -One day when the lady was in the same quandary as yourself, I mean the -police were hunting after her, I offered her an asylum in my residence. -The lady hesitated, fearing that I was no Joseph--unless so christened. -I gave her my word to respect her, and this is true, eh?" - -"I swear it, on my little Toussaint," said Oliva-Nicole. - -"So you believe that I will pay the sum mentioned on the day when the -King shall have been abducted or Marquis Favras arrested, to say nothing -of my serving the running knot strangling him a while ago. For this -affair, at all events, there shall be no halter or gibbet, for I cannot -bind myself any farther. You understand: The man who is born to -be--ahem!" - -"My lord, it is as if the courts had awarded us the money," said the -woman. - -"Well, my beauty," said Cagliostro, putting the ten gold pieces on the -table in a row, "just imbue the captain with this belief of yours." - -He waved his hand for the gambler to confer with his partner. Their -parley lasted only five minutes, but it was most lively. Meanwhile -Cagliostro looked at the cards and the one by which tally was kept. - -"I know the run," he observed, "it is that invented by John Law who -floated the Mississippi Bubble. I lost a million on it." - -This remark seemed to give fresh activity to the dialogue of Beausire -and his light-o-love. At last Beausire was decided; he came forward to -offer his hand to Cagliostro like a horse-dealer about to strike a -bargain. But the other frowned. - -"Captain, between gentlemen the parole suffices. Give me yours." - -"On the faith of Beausire, it shall be done." - -"That is enough for me," said the other, drawing out a diamond-studded -watch on which was a portrait of Frederick the Great. "It is now a -quarter to nine. At nine precisely you are expected under the Royale -Place arcades, near Sully House. Take these ten pieces, pocket them, put -on your coat and buckle on your sword--and do not keep them waiting." - -"Where am I to see your lordship next?" inquired Beausire, obeying the -instructions, without asking reiteration. - -"In St. Jean's Cemetery, if you please. When we have such deadly matters -to discuss the company of the dead is better than the living. Come when -you are free; the first to arrive waits for the other. I have now to -chat with the lady." - -The captain stood on one foot. - -"Be easy; I did not make bold when she was a single woman; I have the -more reason to respect her since she is a mother of a family. Be off, -captain." - -Beausire threw a glance at his wife, by courtesy, at all events, -tenderly hugged little Toussaint, saluted the patron with respect mixed -with disquiet, and left the house just as Notre Dame clock bell was -striking the three-quarters after eight. - - - - -CHAPTER XXV. - -DOWN AMONG THE DEAD - - -It was nearly midnight when a man hesitatingly walked up to the iron -gateway of St. Jean's burying-ground, in Croix Blanche Street. - -As midnight boomed, he saw a spectre cross the grounds under the yews -and cypresses, and, approaching the grating, turn a key harshly in the -gatelock to show that, if he were a ghost and had the leave to quit his -grave, he also had that to go beyond the cemetery altogether. - -"Do you not recognize me, Captain B.?" queried the jesting voice of -Cagliostro, "or did you forget our appointment?" - -"I am glad it is you," said the man in the French Guards sergeant dress, -breathing as if his heart were relieved of great weight. "These devilish -streets are so dark and deserted that I do not know but it is better to -run up against any body than not to meet a soul." - -"Pshaw," returned the magician, "the idea of your fearing any thing at -any hour of the day or night! You will never make me believe that of a -man like you who would go anywhere with a sword by his side. However, -step on this side of the railings, and you will be tranquil, my dear -Captain Beausire, for you will meet no one but me." - -Beausire acted on the invitation, and the key grated again in the lock, -to fasten the gate behind him. - -"Keep to this little path," continued Cagliostro, "and at twenty paces -you will come upon a little broken altar, on the steps of which we can -nicely manage our little business." - -"Where the mischief do you see any path?" he grumbled, after starting -with a good will. "I meet nothing but nettles tearing my ankles and -grass up to my knees." - -"I own that this cemetery is as badly kept as any I know of; but it is -not astonishing, for here are buried only the condemned prisoners -executed in the City, and no one plants flowers for such poor fellows. -Still we have some undeniable celebrities here, my dear Beausire. If it -were daylight I would show you where lies Bouteville Montmorency, -decapitated for having fought a duel; the Knight of Rohan who suffered -the same fate for conspiring against the Government; Count Horn broken -on the wheel for murdering a Jew; Damiens who tried to kill Louis XVI., -and lots more. Oh, you are wrong to defame St. Jean's; it is badly kept -but it well keeps its famous ones." - -Beausire followed the guide so closely that he locked steps with him -like a soldier in the second rank with the predecessor so that when the -latter stopped suddenly he ran up against him. - -"Ah! this is a fresh one; the grave of your comrade Fleurdepine, one of -the murderers of Francois the Assemblymen's baker, who was hanged a week -ago by sentence at the Chatelet; this ought to interest you, as he was, -like you, a corporal, a sergeant by his own promotion, and a crimp--I -mean a recruiter." - -The hearer's teeth chattered; the thistles he walked among seemed so -many skeleton fingers stretched up to trip him, and make him understand -that this is the place where he would have his everlasting sleep. - -"Well, we have arrived," said the cicerone, stopping at a mound of -ruins. - -Sitting down on a stone he pointed out another to his companion, as if -placed for a conversation. It was time, for the ex-soldier's knees were -knocking together so that he fell rather than sat on the elevation. - -"Now that we are comfortable for a chat," went on the magician, "let us -know what went on under the Royale Place arches. The meeting must have -been interesting?" - -"To tell the truth, count, I am so upset that I really believe you will -get a clearer account by questioning me." - -"Be it so, I am easy going, and the shape of news little matters -provided I get it. How many of you met at the arches?" - -"Six, including myself." - -"I wonder if they were the persons I conjecture to be there? _Primo_, -you, no doubt." - -Beausire groaned as though he wished there could be doubt on that head. - -"You do me much honor in commencing by me, for there were very great -grandees compared with me." - -"My dear boy, I follow the Gospel: 'The first shall be last.' If the -first are to be last, why, the last will naturally lead. So I begin with -you, according to Scripture. Then there would be your comrade Tourcaty, -an old recruiting officer who is charged to raise the Brabant Legion?" - -"Yes, we had Tourcaty." - -"Then, there would be that sound royalist Marquie, once sergeant in the -French Guards, now sub-lieutenant in a regiment of the centre line. -Favras, of course? the Masked Man? Any particulars to furnish about the -Masked Man?" - -The traitor looked at the inquirer so fixedly that his eyes seemed to -kindle in the dark. - -"Why, is it not--" but he stopped as if fearing to commit a sacrilege if -he went farther. - -"What's this? have you a knot in your tongue? Take care of being -tongue-tied. Knots in the tongue lead to knots round the neck, and as -they are slip ones, they are the worst kind." - -"Well, is it not the King's b-b-brother?" stammered the other. - -"Nonsense, my dear Beausire, it is conceivable that Favras, who wants it -believed that he clasps hands with a royal prince in the plot, should -give out that the Mask hides the King's brother, Provence, but you and -your mate, Tourcaty, recruiting-sergeants, are men used to measure men -by their height in inches and lines, and it is not likely you would be -cheated that way." - -"No, it is not likely," agreed the soldier. - -"The King's brother is five feet three and seven lines," pursued the -magician, "while the Masked Man is nearly five feet six." - -"To a T.," said the traitor, "that occurred to me; but who can it be if -not the King's brother?" - -"Excuse me, I should be proud and happy to teach you something," -retorted Cagliostro: "but I came here to be taught by you." - -"But if your lordship knows who this man is," said the ex-corporal, -becoming more at home, "might I ask his name?" - -"A name is a serious thing to divulge," responded the strange man: "and -really I prefer you should guess. Do you know the story of OEdipus and -the Sphinx?" - -"I went to see a tragedy of that title and fell asleep, unfortunately, -in the fourth act." - -"Plague take me, but you ought not to call that a misfortune!" - -"But I lose by it now." - -"Not to go into details, suffice it that OEdipus, whom I knew as a boy -at one royal court and as a man at another, was predicted to be the -murderer of his father and the husband of his mother. Believing King -Polybius this father, he departed from his realm, but would not take a -hint from me about the road. The result was that he met his own sire on -the road where, as neither would turn out, a fight ensued in which he -slew his father. Some time after he met the Sphinx. It was a monster -with a woman's head on a lion's body which I regret never to have seen, -as it was a thousand years after her death that I travelled that road. -She had the habit of putting riddles to the wayfarers and eating those -who could not read them aright. To my friend OEdipus she put the -following: - -"'What animal goes upon four legs at morning, two at noon and three at -night?'" - -"OEdipus answered off-hand: 'Man, who in the morning of life as a -child crawls on all fours; as an adult walks upright; as an old man -hobbles with a stick.'" - -"That is so," exclaimed Beausire: "it crossed the sphinx!" - -"She threw herself down a precipice and the winner went on to where he -married his father's widow to accomplish the prophecy." - -"But what analogy between the Sphinx and the Masked Man?" - -"A close one. I propose an enigma; only I am not cruel like the Sphinx -and will not devour you if you fail to guess. Listen: Which lord at the -court is grandson of his father, brother of his mother and uncle of his -sisters?" - -"The devil!" burst forth Beausire, falling into a reverie. "Can you not -also help me out here, my lord?" - -"Let us turn from pagan story to sacred history, then. Do you know the -tale of Lot?" - -"Lot and the Pillar of Salt, and his daughters?" - -"The same." - -"Of course, I do. Wait a bit, do they not say that old King Louis XIV, -and his daughter the Lady Adeliade----" - -"You are getting warm, captain----" - -"In that case the Masked Man would be Count Louis Narbonne!" - -"Now that we are no longer in doubt about this conspirator, let us -finish with the aim of the plot. The object is to carry off the King? -And take him to Peronne? what means have you?" - -"For money we have two millions cash----" - -"Lent by a Genoese banker? I know him. Any other funds?" - -"I know of none." - -"So much for the money: now for the men." - -"General Lafayette has authorized the raising of a legion to fly to the -help of Brabant revolting against the Empire." - -"Under cover of which you form a royalist legion? I see the hand of -Lafayette in this," muttered Cagliostro. "But you will want more than a -legion to carry out this plan--an army." - -"Oh, we have the army. Two hundred horsemen are gathered at Versailles -ready to start at the appointed hour: they can arrive in three columns -at Paris by two in the morning. The first gets in to kill General -Lafayette: the second to settle old Necker; the third will do for Mayor -Baily." - -"Good!" exclaimed the listener. - -"This done, the cannons are spiked, and all rally on the Champs Elysees, -and march on the Tuileries where our friends will be masters." - -"What about the National Guards there?" - -"The Brabant Column attends to them: it joins with it part of the Guards -which has been bought over: four hundred Swiss, three hundred country -friends, and so on. These will have taken possession of all the gates -by help within. We rush in on the King, saying: 'Sire, the St. Antoine -ward is in insurrection; a carriage is ready--you must be off!' if he -consents, all right: if he resists, we hustle him out and drive him to -St. Denis." - -"Capital!" - -"There we find twenty thousand infantry, with all the country royalists, -well armed, in great force, who conduct the King to Peronne." - -"Better and better. What do you do there?' - -"The gathering there brings our whole array up to one hundred and fifty -thousand men." - -"A very pretty figure," commented the Chief of the Invisibles. - -"With the mass we march on Paris, cutting off supplies above and below -on the river. Famished Paris capitulates; the Assembly is kicked to -pieces, and the King enjoys his own again on the throne of his fathers." - -"Amen!" sang Cagliostro. "My dear Beausire," he went on, rising, "your -conversation is most agreeable; but as they say of the greatest orators, -when they have spoken all that is in them, nothing more is to be got. -You are done?" - -"Yes, my lord, for the moment." - -"Then, good-night: when you want another ten louis call for them at my -home, at Bellevue." - -"At the Count of Cagliostro's?" - -"No; they would not know who you meant. Ask for Baron Zannone." - -"But that is the banker who cashed up the two millions on the King's -brother's notes!" ejaculated Beausire. - -"That is not unlikely; only I do such a large business that I have -confounded it with the others. That is why it was not clear in my mind -but now you remind me, I believe I did something of the kind." - -Beausire went his way, stupefied that a banker could forget a matter of -two millions, and beginning to believe that he was quite right in siding -with the lender rather than with the borrower. He bowed lowly while the -count favored him with a slight nod at the cemetery gateway. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVI. - -GAMAIN PROVES HE IS THE MASTER. - - -The reader will not be much surprised, after the permission Lafayette -gave for the King to have his locksmith call to relieve him of a trouble -in lockmaking, that Gamain should present himself at the palace with his -apprentice who gave the name of Louis Lecomte. - -Though there was nothing in the pair aristocratic, King Louis ran to the -forge door on hearing the announcement and bade them enter. - -"Here I am," returned Gamain, with the familiarity of a crony. - -Whether he was less used to royal company, or endowed by more respect -for crowned heads under whatever attire they appeared, the boy kept on -the sill, at a space from his master, with his cap in his hand near the -door closed by the valet behind both. - -He may have been better placed there to catch the gleam of glee in the -King's dull eye, and to give unseen a respectful nod. - -"Glad to see you, my old Gamain," said Louis; "I really did not look for -you--I thought you had forgotten old times." - -"And that is why you have taken on a 'prentice," said Gamain. "You did -right enough to have help when I was not on hand, but unfortunately an -apprentice is not a master." - -"How could I help it? I was assured that you did not care to come near -me from fear of injuring yourself." - -"Faith, it was not hard to learn at Versailles that it was not healthy -to be friend of yours--as witness that brace of your Lifeguardsman whom -they cut off the heads of! ay, and by the same token had the Queen's -barber Leonard dress them in the latest fashion, which I saw in a saloon -at Secres." - -A cloud passed over the royal brow and the apprentice hung his head. - -"But folks say that you are getting on nicely since you came back to -town, and that you can make the Parisians do anything you like; not that -it is astonishing, for the Parisians are ninnies and the Queen is such a -weedler when she likes to be." - -Louis made no remark, but his cheeks were colored. The young man seemed -pained by the locksmith's familiarity. After wiping his forehead with a -handkerchief, rather fine for a locksmith's help, he approached the King -to whom he said: - -"Does your Majesty allow me to tell how we have Master Gamain here and -how I am in your employment?" - -"Yes, my dear Louis," said the King. - -"That is the style! 'My dear Louis!' as long as your arm. To a -fortnight's acquaintance, a workman, a 'prentice! why, what are you -going to call me, who has known you these five and twenty years? who put -the file in your fist? who am the master? this is the advantage of -having white hands and a glib tongue." - -"I will call you 'My good Gamain' if you like. I speak to the lad -affectionately because I owe to him the joy of seeing my old master -again: not because he speaks prettily or keeps his hands smooth, for you -know I think nothing of these fine ways--but I like him for proving it -was false what they said about my never seeing you any more." - -"Well, it was not me that held back, but that wife of mine. She was -always saying: 'Gamain, you have bad acquaintances, those who fly too -high for you. It is not good to hobnob with aristocrats nowadays. We -have a little property--look after it. Let us rear our young ones: and -let the Dauphin learn locksmithing from others than you, if he wants to, -like his father before him. There are plenty of smiths in France.'" - -Louis glanced at the apprentice, and stifling a sigh, partly sad and -partly rallying, said: - -"No doubt, but there are few like you." - -"Just what I said to the master when I called on him," said the young -man, "I told him the King was making a hidden-bolt lock; and that he had -got along very well till he came to the sliding bolt itself----" - -"I should think so," interrupted Gamain: "bless you, the bolt is the -backbone of a lock. It is not given to everybody to get over that -difficulty." - -"No, nor mine in passing the examination you put me through to be -convinced I came from the King," replied the young man, laughing. "You -said it was a trap laid by your enemies; but the twenty-five yellow boys -sent by his Majesty convinced you. So off we started, and here we are." - -"And welcome," said the royal smith, thanking the speaker with a glance; -"and now, Master Gamain, as you appear in a hurry, let us tackle the -job." - -"You have hit it. I promised the mistress that I should be home by -evening. Let us see this puzzler of a lock." - -The King put in his hands a lock three-parts finished. - -"Lord help us," said the man, grinning: "this is not a secret bolt but a -trunk lock. You have three wards on it and the second ought to catch -while the first is released by the key." - -He was using the key as he spoke and the others contemplated his -demonstration with awe for his learning. - -"But the second ward catches, like the Assembly when you want it to do -something your way and says: 'I won't budge.'" - -"But there must be some way of getting over the fix," said the King. - -"Of course; it would be a day's work to an ordinary workman but I will -knock it off in a couple of hours. Only," said he, with the suspicious -air of an artisan jealous of the secrets of the craft; "I want no -fussing round me." - -What Gamain desired was the yearning of the King. His loneliness would -allow him a dialogue apart with the Apprentice. - -"But you may need something?" - -"I will set the footman trotting." - -The King went himself to the door to acquaint Francois with the -arrangement, and then led away the apprentice, Louis Lecomte, in whom -the reader will have recognized Louis Bouille. - -They went by a secret stairway into the royal study, where a table was -covered by a large map of France, showing the King had been studying the -route of the flight. - -"Now that we are alone, count," said he, "let me compliment you on your -skill and thank you for your dedication of services to me." - -"And I ask to be excused for my apparel and the language I have had to -use before you." - -"You speak like a brave gentleman and your apparel covers a loyal heart -in any case. But we have no time to lose. Even the Queen is ignorant of -your presence here; nobody is listening; so to the point." - -"Did not your Majesty send us a naval officer, the count of Charny, who -brought a letter----" - -"Insignificant," interrupted the monarch, "a mere introduction to a -verbal communication." - -"He fulfilled it and it was to make its performance certain that my -father sent me to town to try to have an interview alone with your -Majesty. The King can have the certainty of leaving France. My father is -proud and happy of the honor done him." - -"Now for the principal point; what says he of the project?" - -"That it is hazardous and requires great precautions but is not -impossible." - -"Firstly, will not your father want the command over the adjoining -districts?" - -"It is his advice, but he would not like it to be thought personal -ambition----" - -"Pooh, do I not know his disinterestedness? did he explain about the -best road to take?" - -"In the first place he fears one thing: that many projects of flight -have been proposed and that all these getting entangled, this one will -meet some block which will be ascribed to fatality, when it will be the -spite or the rashness of the other parties." - -"I promise, my dear Louis, to let the parties intrigue around me; it is -their want and a necessity of my position. While they are following -these threads which will end in nothing but leading them astray we will -follow our own route with no other confidants, with more security from -our greater secresy. But I do not want to leave the kingdom altogether. -It is hard for a sovereign to get back if he does so. I have decided on -Montmedy as the place of retirement, which is in the centre of your -father's command and at a suitable distance." - -"Has your Majesty planned out the flight or is this but a sketch?" -queried the count. - -"Nothing is settled," replied Louis, "and all depends on circumstances. -If I see the Queen and the Family running fresh dangers from the -ruffians I will take an irrevocable decision." - -"My father thinks the dangers of the journey will be diminished by -dividing the passengers." - -"Yes, but it is useless to discuss this point. In a solemn hour the -Queen and I resolved to go together or not at all." - -The envoy bowed. - -"At the meet moment the King has but to issue the orders to have them -executed," he said. "Now, for the route. There are three ways to -Montmedy." - -"I have marked them on the map. The best is through Reims, but I was -consecrated there and would be recognized by many. I choose the Chalons -Road _via_ Vacennes and going round Verdun. Let the regiments be posted -in the petty towns between Chalons and Montmedy: I see no inconvenience -in the first detachment awaiting me in the former place." - -"Sire, the location of the regiments will have to be settled. By the -way, the King should know that there is no posting-house at Varennes." - -"I am glad you are so well informed," observed the King, merrily; "it -shows you have deeply studied the plans. But do not worry about such -matters. Charny is my engineer, who has drawn up the maps and he will -see to the supply of horses." - -"And now, Sire, that all is arranged on the main lines," said the young -conspirator, "will your Majesty allow me to quote some lines from an -Italian author, which my father thought appropriate to the situation? -They are: - -"Delay is always prejudicial, and there is no wholly favorable time in -any business; hence if one were to wait for a perfect chance, nothing -would ever be done, or if done be bungled." - -"That is Machiavelli," said the King. "I will remember the advice of -that secretary to the Magnificent Republic of Venice. But hush! I hear -steps--it is Gamain; let us go to meet him so that he may not think we -were busy about something else than the cupboard the lock is for." - -He opened the secret door, in time, for the master locksmith was there, -with the lock in his hand and a grin on his face. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVII. - -THE FRIEND OF THE FALLEN. - - -At eight that same evening, a workingman, holding his hand to his -waistcoat pocket as though it contained money in larger quantity than -usual, staggered out of the Tuileries Palace and meandered along the -road to the Soapworks Wharfside. It was there a strolling ground with -drinking resorts along the line. On Sundays and holidays, it was -thronged; on other days lonesome. - -This man passed the wine-stores with much difficulty but for a period -temperance triumphed; but when it came to the twentieth saloon on the -route, it was too much, and he entered the next one for--only one glass. - -The demon of drink, against whom he had valiantly struggled, seemed -embodied in a stranger who followed him closely and even went into the -saloon with him, sitting opposite and apparently watching him succumb -with glee. - -Five seconds after the workman had resumed his road, this watcher was on -his track. - -But how can the drinkingman stop going downhill when he has taken a -whet, and perceives with the amazement of the toper that nothing makes -one so thirsty as taking a drink? Scarcely had he tottered a hundred -paces before his thirst was so sharp that he had to slack it once more. - -The result of these lapses from the path he had previously trod was that -he reached deviously the highway beyond the Passy bars, where he -felicitated himself on the road being tolerably free from temples of the -God of Wine. - -In his gladness he set up singing. Unfortunately the delight was -ephemeral and the song of short duration. - -He fell to muttering and then talking to himself, and the soliloquy was -in the form of imprecations on unknown persecutors of whom the unsteady -sot complained. - -"Oh, the scoundrel! to give an old friend, a master, doctored wine--ugh! -So, just let him send again for me to fix his locks, let him send his -traitor of a workmate who gives me the go-by and I will tell him: 'It -won't work this trip! let your Majesty fix up your own locks.' We shall -see then if a lock is to be turned out as sleek as a decree. Oh, I'll -give you all you want of locks, with three wards, confound the villain! -the wine was salted, peppered--by heaven, it was poisoned! Hope I may be -saved, but the wine was poisoned!" - -So howling, overcome by the force of the poison, of course, the -unfortunate victim laid himself at full length, not for the first time, -on the road, mercifully carpetted thickly with mud. - -On other occasions the drunkard had scrambled up alone; difficult to do -but he had got through the difficulty with honor; but this third time, -after desperate efforts, he had to confess that the task was beyond him. -With a sigh, much resembling a groan, he seemed decided to sleep for -this night on the bosom of our common Mother Earth. - -No doubt the follower had waited for this period of doubt, -disheartenment and weakness, for he approached him warily, went all -round fallen greatness, and calling a hack, said to the driver: - -"Old man, here's my friend who has shipped too heavy a cargo. Take this -piece for yourself, help me to put the poor fellow in the straw of your -coach where he will not soil the elegant cushions, and take him to your -wine saloon at Sevres Bridge. I will get up beside you." - -There was nothing surprising that the customer should sit up with the -driver, as he appeared to be one of his sort. So, with the touching -confidence men of the lower classes have for one another, the jarvey -said: - -"All right, but let us have a look at the silver, see!" - -"Here you are, old brother," ventured the man without being in the least -offended and handing over a six-livre crownpiece. - -"But will there be a little bit beyond the fare for myself, my master?" -inquired the coachman, mollified by the money. - -"That depends how we get along. Let us get the poor chap in; shut the -blinds, try to keep your pair of skeletons on their hoofs, and we will -see when we get to Sevres, how you _conducted_ us!" - -"Now, I call this speaking to the purpose," returned the knight of the -whip. "Take it easy, master! A nod is as good as a wink. Get upon the -box and keep my Arabian steeds from bolting up the road; no jokes, they -feel the want of a supper and are chafing to race home to the stables. I -will manage the rest." - -The generous stranger did as he was bid; the driver, with all the -delicacy of which he was susceptible, dragged the sot up by the arms, -jabbed him down between the seats, slammed the door, drew down the -blinds, mounted the box again, and whipped up the barbs. With the -funeral gait of night hack-horses they stumbled through the village of -Point-du-Jour and reached the Sevres Saloon in an hour. - -The house was shut up for the night, but the new-comer jumped down and -applied such blows of the fist to the door that the inhabitants, however -fond of slumber, could not enjoy it long under so much racket. The host, -who was alone, finally got up in his night dress, to see the rioter and -promised to pack him off smartly if the game were not worth the candle. - -Apparently though the value of the game was clear, for, at the first -whisper by the irreverent arouser to the landlord, he plucked off his -cotton nightcap and made bows which his scanty costume rendered -singularly grotesque. He hastened to pilot the coachman, lugging -Gamain, into the little taproom where he had once filled himself with -his favorite burgundy. - -As the driver and his steeds had done their best, the stranger gave the -former a piece of money as extra. - -Then seeing that Master Gamain was stuck up in a chair, with his head on -the table before him, he hastened to have the host bring him two bottles -of wine and a decanter of water, and opened the windows and blinds to -change the mephitic air which the common people like to breathe in such -resorts. - -After bringing the wine, with alacrity, and the water, with reluctance, -the host respectfully retired and left the stranger with the drunkard. - -Having renewed the air, as stated, the former clapped smelling salts to -Gamain's nose which ceased to snore and gave a sneeze. This awakened him -a little from that disgusting sleep of drunkards the sight of which -would cure them--if by a miracle, they could see what they look like at -such periods. - -Gamain opened his eyes widely, and muttered some words, unintelligible -for anybody but the philologist who distinguished by his profound -attention these words: - -"The scoundrel--he--poisoned--poisoned wine----" - -The good Samaritan seemed to see with satisfaction that his ward was -under the same impression: he gave him another sniff of the hartstorn -which permitted the son of Noah to complete the sense of his phrase in -an accusation pointing to an abuse of trust and wanton heartlessness. - -"To poison a friend--an old friend!" - -"That's so--it is horrible," observed the other. - -"Infamous," faltered Gamain. - -"What a good thing I was handy to give you an antidote," suggested the -hearer. - -"It was lucky," said the locksmith. - -"But as one dose is not enough, have another," said the stranger, -putting a few drops from the smelling bottle in a glass of water; it was -ammonia and the man had hardly swallowed the compound than he opened his -eyes immeasurably and gurgled between two sneezes: - -"Ah, monster, what are you giving us there? augh, augh!" - -"My dear fellow, I am giving you stuff that will save your life," -returned the kind friend. - -"If it is physic, that is all right," said Gamain: "but it is a beastly -failure if you call it a drink." - -The stranger profited by his sneezing again and twitching his features, -shut the blinds though not the windows. - -Looking round him the master locksmith recognized with the profound -gratitude of drinking men for old haunts, the saloon where he had -feasted before. In his frequent trip to town from Versailles, he had not -seldom halted here. It might be thought necessary, as the house was -halfway. - -This gratitude produced its effect: it gave him a great confidence to -find himself on friendly ground. - -"Hurrah, it looks as though I were halfway home anyway," he exclaimed. - -"Yes, thanks to me," said the stranger. - -"Thanks to you? why, who are you?" stammered Gamain, looking from still -life to animated things. - -"My dear Gamain, your question shows that you have a poor memory." - -"Hold on," said the smith, giving him more attention: "it strikes me -that I have seen you before." - -"You don't say so? that is a blessed thing." - -"Ay, but where--that is the rub." - -"Look around you, then; something may remind you; or had you better have -some more of the counterbane to refresh you?" - -"No, thank 'ee, I have had enough of that remedy," said Gamain, -stretching his arms out. "I am so nearly brought round that I will do -without it. Where did I see you? why, in this very spot, of course. And -when? the day I was coming back from doing a special job at Paris--I -seem to be in for this sort of thing," added he, chuckling. - -"Very well: but who am I?" - -"A jolly honest mate who paid for the liquor. Shake hands!" - -"Good, good, you remember now." - -"With all the more pleasure as it is but a step from Master locksmith to -master gunsmith," said the other. - -"Ah, good, good, I remember now. Yes, it was the sixth of October, when -the King went to Paris: we talked about him." - -"And I found your conversation interesting, Master Gamain; so that, as -your memory comes home and I want to enjoy it again, I should like to -know, if I am not too inquisitive, what the deuse you were doing across -the road where a vehicle might have cut you in two? Have you sorrows, -old blade, and had you screwed up your mind to suicide?" - -"Faith, no! What was I doing flat across the road, eh? Was I in the -road?" - -"Look at your clothes." - -"Whew!" whistled Gamain after the inspection. "Mother Gamain will kick -up a hullabaloo for she said yesterday: 'Don't put on your new coat; any -old thing will do for the Tuileries.'" - -"Hello? been to the Tuileries? were you coming from the Tuileries when I -picked you up?" asked the kind soul. - -"Why, yes, that's about the size of it," responded Gamain, scratching -his head and trying to collect his entangled ideas; "certainly I was -coming home from the Tuileries. Why not? It is no mystery that I am -master locksmith to Master Veto." - -"Who is he?" - -"Why, have you come from China? not to know old Veto?" - -"What do you want? I am obliged to stick to my trade, and that is not -politics." - -"You are blamed lucky! I have to mix up with these high folk--more's the -pity! or rather, they force me to mix with them. It will be my ruin." He -sighed as he looked up to heaven. - -"Pshaw! were you called to Paris again to do another piece of work in -the style of that other one?" asked the friend. - -"But this time I was not blindfolded but taken with my eyes open." - -"So that you knew it was the Tuileries this time?" - -"The Tuileries? who said anything about the Tuileries?" - -"Why, you, of course, just now. How would I know where you had been -carousing had you not told me?" - -"That is true," muttered Gamain to himself; "how should he, unless I -told him? Perhaps," he said aloud, "I was wrong to let you know; but you -are not like the rest. Besides I am not going to deny that I was at the -Tuileries." - -"And you did some work for the King, for which he gave you twenty five -louis," went on the other. - -"Indeed, I had twenty-five shiners in my pouch," said Gamain. - -"Then, you have got them now, my friend." - -The smith quickly plunged his hand into his pocket and pulled it out -full of gold mixed with small change in silver and bronze. - -"To think that I had forgot it! twenty-five is a good bit, too--and it -is right to the 'broken' louis--one does not pick up such a lot under -the horse's foot. Thank God the account is correct." And he breathed -more freely. - -"My dear Master Gamain, I told you I found you on the King's highway, -not twenty paces from a heavy wagon which would have cut you in twain. I -shouted for the carrier to pull up; I called a passing cab; I unhooked -one of the lamps and as I looked at you by its light, I caught sight of -a gold piece on the ground; as they were near your pocket, I judged that -you had dropped them. I put my finger in the pocket and as there were a -score of their brothers in bed there I guessed that these were of the -same brood. Thereupon the hack driver shook his head. 'I ain't going to -take this fare,' said he: 'he is too rich for his dress. Twenty louis in -gold in a cotton waistcoat suggests that the gallows will be his end.' -'What,' says I, 'do you take him for a thief?' The word struck you, for -you says. 'Thief? you are another!' says you. 'So you must be a prig,' -returned the coachman, 'or how would the likes of you have a pocket -gold-lined, say?' - -"'I have money because my pupil the King of France gave it me,' said -you. By these words I thought I recognized you, and clasping the lamp to -your nose, I cried: 'Bless us and save us: all is clear; this is Master -Gamain, master locksmith at Versailles. He has been working in the royal -forge and the King has given him twenty-five mint-drops for his trouble. -All right: I will answer for him.' From the moment that I answered for -you, the driver raised no objections. I replaced the coins in your -pocket; we laid you snugly in the hack; and we set you down in this -retreat so that you have nothing to complain of except that your -'prentice left you in the lurch." - -"Did I speak of my 'prentice? that he left me in the lurch?" questioned -Gamain, more and more astonished. - -"Why, hang it all, are you going back on what you said? Did you not -growl that it was all the fault of--of--dash me if I can remember the -name you used." - -"Louis Lecomte?" - -"I guess that was it. Did you not say: 'Louis Lecomte is in fault! for -he promised to see me safe home and at the last moment he dropped me -like a hot roll?'" - -"I daresay I did so, for it is the blessed truth." - -"Then, why do you deny the truth? let me tell you, that with another -than me, such chatter would be dangerous?" - -"But with you, one is safe, eh? with a regular friend," said the smith, -coaxingly. - -"Lord, you have lots of trust in your friend. You say yes and you say -no; you wiggle and waver so that none knows how to have you. It is like -your fable t'other day about the secret door that a nobleman had you fit -on the strict quiet." - -"Then you will not believe this tale either, for it also hangs upon a -door." - -"In the palace?" - -"In the King's palace. Only instead of its being a clothes-press door, -or rather that of a safe in the wall, it is a cupboard door this time." - -"Are you gaming me that the King, while he certainly dabbles in -locksmithery, sent for you to do up a door?" - -"He did, though. Poor fellow, he thought he was smart enough to get on -without me, and began to make a lock. 'What good is Gamain anyhow?' but -he got mixed up with the works in the lock and had to fall back on -Gamain after all." - -"So you were hunted up by one of his trusty flunkeys, Hue, or Durey or -Weber, eh?" - -"That is just where you make a mistake. He has taken a green hand on to -help him, who is as much of an amateur as himself; a young sprig who -popped in upon me one morning at Versailles, and says he: 'Look here, -Daddy Gamain, the King and me tried to make a lock, and by Jove we have -made a muddle of it. The old thing won't work! 'What have I to do with -it?' I wanted to know. 'You are wanted to set it right,' says he, and as -I said that it was a plant and he did not come from the King, he slaps -some gold on the bench and says: 'Is not this earnest enough? here are -twenty-five louis which the King sends you to remove any doubts.' He -gave me them, too." - -"So these are what you are sporting round with you?" - -"No: these are another lot. These were for traveling expenses and a sort -of a payment on account!" - -"Fifty louis for filing up an old lock? there is a snake in the grass, -Friend Gamain." - -"Just what I said to myself: particularly as the 'prentice does not seem -a regular craftsman but dodged my question about work and where you stop -when you are on tramp in France, as well as who is Mother Marianne." - -"But you are not the man to be taken in when you see a boy at work." - -"I do not say so much as that. The lad plied the file and the chisel -handily. I have seen him cut a rod of iron through velean at a blow, and -put a hole in a band with a rattail file as if using a gimlet on a lath. -But there is more theory than practice about his style: he no sooner -finishes the job than he washed his hands, and what hands? so white that -never did a locksmith boast the like. You don't see me scrubbing my -hands till they are white!" - -With pride he showed his grubby, black and callous hands which indeed -seemed to defy all the cosmetics and skin-bleaches in the world. - -"But in short what did you do when you got to the King's?" asked the -other, bringing the man to the point most interesting to him. - -"It looked as though we were expected: in the forge the King showed me a -lock commenced not badly, but he had got in a corner. It was one with -three wards, d'ye see, which few locksmiths can grapple with and royal -ones least of all. I looked at it and saw where the key caught. 'All -right,' I says; 'let me alone with it for an hour and it will work as if -greased,' 'Go ahead,' said the King, 'consider yourself at home; call -for anything you like while we get the cupboard ready on which the lock -goes.' On which he went out with the imp of a 'prentice." - -"By the main stairs?" queried the gunsmith carelessly. - -"No: by a secret one leading to his study. When I got through, I had -done something, too; I said to myself: 'It is all bosh about this here -cupboard; they are laying their heads together for some mischief.' So I -crept down softly and opening the study door, I got a glimpse of what -they were up to." - -"And what were they up to?" inquired the gunsmith. - -"Well, I did not catch them in the act, for they must have heard me -coming, for I have not the light step of a dancer. They pretended to be -up and coming to me, and the King said, 'Oh this is you, and you have -finished? Come along for I have something else for you to do.' So he -hurried me through the study, but not so fast that I did not spy spread -out on a table a big map which I believe to be France on account of a -lily-flower printed in one corner. From the midst three rows of pins ran -out to the edges like files of soldiers, for they were stuck in at -regular spaces." - -"Really, you are wonderfully sharp," said the stranger in affected -admiration: "So you believe that instead of bothering about their -cupboard, they were busy with this map?" - -"I am sure of it: the pins had wax heads of different colors, black, -blue and red; and the King was using a red one to pick his teeth with, -without thinking what he was about." - -"Gamain, if I discovered some new kind of gun, hang me if I would let -you come into my workshop, even to pass through it, or I would bandage -your eyes as on the day you were taken to the great nobleman's house -though you did perceive that the house had ten steps to the stoop and -that it fronted on the main avenue." - -"Wait a bit," said the smith, enchanted at the eulogies; "you have not -heard all--there is really a safe in the wall." - -"What wall?" - -"Of the inner corridor running from the royal alcove to the young -prince's room." - -"What you say is very queer. And was this safe open?" - -"Is it likely? I squinted round in all ways but it was no use my asking -myself: 'Where on earth is this secret press?' Then the King gave me a -look and says he: 'Gamain, I have always had trust in you. So I would -not let anybody but you know the secret.' While speaking, the King -lifted a panel, while the boy held a light, for the corridor has no -windows, and showed me a two foot round hole. Seeing my astonishment, he -winked to our companion and said: 'Do you see that hole, my friend; I -made it to keep money in; this young fellow helped me during the four or -five days he has been staying in the palace. Now we want the lock put on -the panel so that it will be hidden and not interfere with its sliding. -Do you want an aid, in which case this young man will help you? or can -you do without? if so I will set him to work elsewhere. 'Tut,' I said, -'you know that I like to go alone when I am the job. It is four hour's -work for a good hand but I am a master and will be through in three. Go -and attend to your work, young fellow; and your Majesty may stick to -his. And in three hours fetch along anything you want kept in this -meat-safe.' - -"We may believe the young chap had other fish to fry, for I saw nothing -more of him: but when the time was up, the King came back. 'U. P., it is -all UP!' said I, and I made him see that the door slid without the lock -being in the way as neat as the Automatons of Vaucanson. 'Good,' said -he; 'just help me count the cash I am going to bestow here.' A valet -brought four fine bags of coin and we reckoned a million a-piece; there -were twenty-and-five over. 'There you are, Gamain,' said the King, 'Take -them for your trouble!' as though it was not disgraceful to give an old -mate a beggarly twenty-five--a man with five children, and he has been -handling two millions! What do you think of that?" - -"The truth is that this is mean," said the other, shrugging his -shoulders. - -"Wait, this is not all. I put the coin in my pocket and said. 'I thank -your Majesty: but Lord love you, I have not had sup or bite since -morning and I am ready to burst!' I had barely finished before the Queen -walked in by a secret door, so that she was on the top of us without -saying Lookout! She had a platter in her hand with a cake and a glass on -it. - -"'My dear Gamain, as you are hungry and thirsty, try our wine and cake!' -'Sorry to trouble you, Royal Madam,' I said, but just think of a drop -like that and a mouthful of wine like that fancy cake for a man. What do -you expect sensible in that line from a Queen, though? it is plain that -such folks are never really hungry and athirst. A glass of wine--oh, -dear!" - -"So you refused it?" - -"It would have been better if I had; but I drank. As for the cake I -rolled it up in my handkerchief, saying 'What is no good for the father -will do for the children.' Then I thanked his Majesty, as though it were -worth thanks, and I started off, saying that they will not catch me in -their old palace in a hurry again." - -"And why do you say you had better have refused the drink?" - -"Because they had put poison in it! Hardly had I got over the bridge -before I was seized by thirst, such a raging thirst that between the -liquor saloons and the river, I balanced myself. I could tell it was -queer stuff they gave me for the more I took the thirstier I was. This -kept on with my trying to correct that dose till I lost my senses. They -may be easy on this score: if ever they come to me for a good character, -I will say they gave me twenty-five louis for four hours' work and -counting a million, and for fear I should tell where they keep their -treasure, they poisoned me like a dog!" - -"And I, my dear Gamain," said the hearer, rising as though he had all -the information he wanted: "I will support your evidence by swearing -that I saved you with the antidote." - -"That is why we are sworn comrades till death do us part," exclaimed the -smith, grasping the speaker's hands. - -Refusing with Spartan sobriety the wine which his friend offered him for -the third or fourth time--for the amoniacal dose had sobered him as well -as disgusted him with drink for a time, Gamain took the road for -Versailles where he arrived safely at two in the morning with the -King's coin in his pocket and the Queen's cake in another. - -Left behind in the saloon, the pretended gunsmith drew out a set of -tablets mounted in diamonds and gold, and wrote with fluid-ink pencil -these two notes: - - "An iron safe behind the King's alcove, in the unlighted passage - leading to the prince's rooms. Make sure whether Louis Lecomte, - locksmith's boy, is not really Count Louis, son of Marquis Bouille, - arrived eleven days ago from Metz." - - - - -CHAPTER XXVIII. - -THE FIRST GUILLOTINE. - - -On Christmas Eve, a party was given at the Princess Lamballe's, which -the Queen's presiding over made it really her own reception. - -Isidore Charny had returned from Italy that morning and he had found -King and Queen very kind to him. Two reasons influenced the latter: one -his being the brother of Count Charny, which was a charm in his absence, -and his bringing back news from the fugitive princes which suited her -wishes. - -They backed the Favras scheme and urged her to flee for Turin. - -He left her only to go and acquaint Favras with the encouragement. The -Queen had said nothing positive about the flight: but he took enough to -the conspirator to fill him with joy. For the rest, the cash was in -hand, the men notified to stand ready, and the King would only have to -nod to have the whole plot set in motion. - -The silence of the royal couple was the only thing which worried him. -The Queen broke this by sending Isidore, and vague as were the words he -repeated, they acquired weight from coming out of a royal mouth. - -At nine the young viscount went to Lady Lamballe's. - -Count Provence was uneasy; Count Louis Narbonne walked about with the -ease of a man quite at home among princes. Isidore was not known to any -of the circle of the princes' bosom friends, but his well-known name and -the partiality accorded him by the princess led to all hands being held -out to him. - -Besides, he brought news from the foreign refuge where so many had -relatives. - -When he had delivered his budget, the conversation returned to its -former channel; the young men were laughing about a machine for -executing criminals which Dr. Guillotin had shown in a full size working -model and had proposed to the National Assembly. - -When an usher announced the King, and another the Queen, of course all -the merriment and chatter ceased. - -The more the revolutionary spirit stripped majesty of its eternals the -more the true royalists vied with each other to pour evidences of -respect upon the august chiefs. 1789 saw great ingratitude, but 1793 -great devotion. - -To talk over the Favras scheme in secret a whist party was made up of -the two rulers, Provence and Charny for the fourth hand. Respect -isolated the table. - -"Brother," said the Queen, "Lord Charny, who comes from Turin, says that -our kinsfolk there are begging us to join them." - -The King gave a stamp with impatience. - -"I entreat you to listen," whispered Lady Elizabeth, who sat on a stool. - -"Listen to what?" - -"That Lord Charny has also seen the Marquis Favras since he came home, a -gentleman whose lealty we know, and he says that the King has but to say -a word," went on the Queen, "or make a sign, and this very night, you -will be at Peronne." - -The King kept still. His brother twisted a jack of hearts all to rags. - -"Repeat this as the marquis put it," said he to Isidore. - -"Your Majesty, thanks to measures taken by Marquis Favras, he declares -that the King has but the cue to give to be in safety in Peronne this -blessed night." - -Turning sharply on his brother, the King said as he fixed his eyes on -him: - -"Are you coming if I go?" - -"I" said the other, turning pale and trembling. "I have not been -notified, and I have made no preparations." - -"You know nothing about it, and yet you found the money for Favras?" -exclaimed the monarch. "You not notified, and the moves in the game have -been reported to you hour by hour?" - -"The game?" faltered the prince. - -"The plot; for it is one of those plots for which, if discovered, Favras -will be tried and doomed to death--unless by money and other means we -save him as we did Bezenval." - -"Then you will save Favras." - -"No; for I might not be able to do as much for him. Besides, Bezenval -was my liege as Favras is yours. Let each save his own man, and both of -us shall have done our duty." - -He rose, but the Queen retained him by the skirt of the coat. - -"Sire, whether you accept or refuse, you owe the marquis an answer. What -is Viscount Charny to answer for the King?" - -"That the King does not allow himself to be spirited away like a slave -for the Louisiana plantations." He disengaged his coat. - -"This means," said Provence, "that the King will not allow of the -abduction but if it be executed in spite of his permission, it will be -welcome. In politics success condones the crime and blunderers deserve -double punishment." - -"Viscount," said the Queen, "tell the marquis what you heard and let him -act as he thinks it points. Go." - -The King had gone over to where the younger men were so hilariously -chatting; but the deepest silence fell at his approach. - -"Is the King so unhappy that he casts melancholy around him?" he -demanded. - -"Sire!" muttered the gentlemen. - -"You were very merry when the Queen and I came in. It is a bad thing for -kings when no one dares laugh before them. I may say the converse: -'Happy are the kings before whom laughter resounds.'" - -"Sire," returned one, "the subject is not one for a comic opera." - -"Of what were you talking?" - -"Sire, I yield the guilty one to your Majesty," said another, stepping -forward. - -"Oh, it is you, Editor Suleau," said the King. "I have read the last -number of your journal the Acts of the Apostles. Take care that you do -not offend Master Populus." - -"I only said that our Revolution is going so slowly that it has to help -on that in Brabant. We are lamenting the dulness of the session of the -Assembly where they had to take up the motion of Dr. Guillotin upon--of -all things--a new machine for public executions." - -"Are you making fun of Dr. Guillotin--a philanthropist? remember that I -am one myself." - -"There are various kinds; the sort I approve of has a representative at -the head of the French Nation--the one who abolished torture before -trial: we venerate, nay, we love him." - -The hearers bowed with the same impulse. - -"But," proceeded Suleau, "there are others who try to find means to kill -the hale while they had a thousand to send the ailing out of this life. -I beg your Majesty to let me deal with them?" - -"What would you do? decapitate them painlessly, or at least merely give -a slight coolness round the neck?" inquired the King, quoting Dr. -Guillotin's recommendation of his invention. - -"Sire, I should like all of these inventors to have the first experiment -tried on themselves. I do not complain that Marigny was hanged on the -Gibbet of Montfaucon which he built. I am not asking, I am not even a -judge; the probability is that I shall have to take my revenge on Dr. -Guillotin in the columns of my paper. I will give him a whole number and -propose that the machine shall bear his name for eternity, the -Guillotine!" - -"Ha, ha, the Guillotine!" exclaimed the men, without waiting for express -permission to laugh. - -"I shall assert, also, that life is divided not extinguished by this -process," continued Suleau; "why may not the sufferer feel pain in the -head and the trunk after being cut in two?" - -"This is a question for medical men. Did none of us here witness the -experiment this very morning at Bicetre madhouse?" asked the King. - -"No, no, no!" cried many voices. - -"Sire, I was there," said one grave voice. - -"Oh; it is you? Dr. Gilbert," said the sovereign, turning. - -"Yes, Sire." - -"And how did the experiment succeed?" - -"Perfectly in two instances; but at the third the instrument, though it -severed the spine, did not detach the head. They had to finish with a -knife." - -The young gentlemen listened with frightened eyes and parted lips. - -"Three executions this morning?" exclaimed Charles Lameth, who with his -brother had not yet turned against the Queen. - -"Yes, gentlemen," said the King; "but they were three corpses furnished -by the hospitals. What is your opinion of the instrument?" - -"An improvement on such machines; but the accident at the third -experiment proves that it stands in need of improvement still." - -"What is it like?" asked the royal locksmith who had a bias for -machines. - -Gilbert helped his explanation out by drawing a sketch on a sheet of -paper at a table. The King saw how curious the bystanders were and -allowed them to come near. - -"Who knows," said Suleau obeying, "but that one of us may make the -acquaintance of Lady Guillotine?" - -Laughing, they pressed round the board where the King, taking the pen -from Dr. Gilbert, said: - -"No wonder the experience failed, particularly after awhile. The cutting -blade is crescent-shaped whereas it ought to be triangular to sever a -resisting substance. See here: shape your knife thus, and I wager that -you would cut me off twenty-four heads one after another without the -edge turning up." - -He had scarcely finished the words before a heart-rending scream was -heard. The Queen had been attracted to the group of which the King and -his corrected sketch were the centre. She beheld the same instrument -which had been presented her in its likeness in a glass of water by -Balsamo the Magician twenty years before! - -At the view she had no strength to do more than scream, and life -abandoning her as though she were under the blade, she swooned in the -arms of Dr. Gilbert. - -It is easily understood that this incident broke up the party. - -Gilbert attended to the royal patient who was given the bed of the -princess. When the crisis was over, which he rightly attributed to a -mental cause, he was going out but she bade him stay. - -"Therese," she added to Lady Lamballe, "tell the King that I have come -to: and do not let us be interrupted: I must speak with the doctor. -Doctor," she pursued when they were alone, "are you not astonished that -chance seems to place us face to face in all the crises moral or -physical of my life?" - -"As I do not know whether to be sorry or to be glad for it, since I read -in your mind that the contact is not through your wish or your will." - -"That is why I said chance. I like to be frank. But the last time we -were in contiguity, you showed true devotion and I thank you and shall -never forget it." - -He bowed. - -"I am also a physiognomist. Do you know that you have said without -speaking: 'That is over; let us change the subject.'" - -"At least I felt the desire to be put to the test." - -"Doctor, what do you think of the recent event?" inquired Marie -Antoinette as though this was interlinked with what she had spoken. - -"Madam, the daughter of Maria Theresa is not one of the women who faint -at trifles." - -"Do you believe in forewarnings?" - -"Science repels all phenomena tending to upset the prevailing order of -things; still, facts offtimes give the lie to science." - -"I ought to have said; do you believe in predictions?" - -"I believe that the Supreme Being has benevolently covered the future -with an impenetrable veil. Still," he went on as if making an effort -over himself to meet questions which he wished relegated into doubt, "I -know a man who sometimes confounds all the arguments of my intelligence -by irrefutable facts. I dare not name him before your Majesty." - -"It is your master, the immortal, the all-powerful, the divine -Cagliostro, is it not, Dr. Gilbert?" - -"Madam, my only master is Nature. Cagliostro is but my saver. Pierced by -a bullet in the chest, losing all my blood by a wound which I, a -physician, after twenty years study, must pronounce incurable, he cured -me in a few days by a salve of which I know not the composition: hence -my gratitude to him, I will almost say my admiration." - -"And this man makes predictions which are accomplished?" - -"Strange and incredible ones; he moves in the present with a certainty -which makes one believe in his knowledge of the future." - -"So that you would believe if he forecast to you?" - -"I should at least act as though it might happen." - -"Would you prepare to meet a shameful, terrible and untimely death if he -foreshowed it?" - -"After having tried to escape it by all manner of means," rejoined -Gilbert, looking steadily at her. - -"Escape? No, doctor, no! I see that I am doomed," said the Queen. "This -revolution is a gulf in which will be swallowed up the throne: this -people is a lion to devour me." - -"Yet it depends on you to have it couch at your feet like a lamb." - -"Doctor, all is broken between the people and me; I am hated and -scorned." - -"Because you do not really know each other. Cease to be a queen and -become a mother to them; forget you are daughter of Maria Theresa, our -ancient enemy, the sister of Joseph our false friend. Be French, and -you will hear the voices rise to bless you, and see arms held out to -fondle you." - -"I know all this," she replied contemptuously; "fawning one day, they -tear the next." - -"Because aware of resistance to their will, and hatred opposed to their -love." - -"Does this destructive element know whether it loves or hates? it -destroys like the wind, the sea and fire, and has womanly caprices." - -"Because you see it from on high, like the man in the lighthouse views -the ocean. Did you go down in the depths you would see how steady it is. -What more obedient than the vast mass to the movement of the tides. You -are Queen over the French, madam, and yet you know not what passes in -France. Raise your veil instead of keeping it down, and you will admire -instead of dreading." - -"What would I see so very splendid?" - -"The New World blooming over the wreck of the Old; the cradle of Free -France floating on a sea wider than the Mediterranean--than the ocean. O -God protect you, little bark--O God shield you, babe of promise, -France!" - -Little of an enthusiast as Gilbert was he raised his eyes and hands -heavenward. - -The Queen eyed him with astonishment for she did not understand. - -"Fine words," she sneered. "I thought you philosophers had run them down -to dust." - -"No, great deeds have killed them," returned Gilbert. "Whither tends old -France? to the unity of the country. There are no longer provinces, but -all French." - -"What are you driving at? that your united thirty millions of rebels -should form a universal federation against their King and Queen?" - -"Do not deceive yourself: it is not the people who are rebels but the -rulers who have rebelled against them. If you go to one of the feasts -which the people hold, you will see that they hail a little child on an -altar--emblem of the new birth of liberty. Italy, Spain, Ireland, -Poland, all the down-trodden look towards this child and hold out their -enchained hands, saying: 'France, we shall be free because of you.' -Madam, if it be still time, take this child and make yourself its -mother." - -"You forget that I am the mother of others, and I ought not do as you -suggest--disinherit them in favor of a stranger." - -"If thus it be," replied Gilbert with profound sorrow, "wrap your -children up in your royal robe, in the war-cloak of Maria Theresa, and -carry them with you far from France; for you spoke the truth in saying -that the people will devour you and your offspring with you. But there -is no time to lose--make haste!" - -"You will not oppose?" - -"I will further you in the departure." - -"Nothing could fall more timely," said the Queen, "for we have a -nobleman ready to act in this escape----" - -"Do you mean Marquis Favras?" demanded Gilbert, with apprehension. - -"Who breathed you his name--who communicated to you his project?" - -"Oh, have a care, for a bloody prediction pursued him also." - -"Of the same Prophet? what fate awaits him?" - -"Untimely, terrible and infamous like that you mentioned." - -"Then you speak truly--no time must be lost in giving the lie to this -prophet of evil." - -"You were going to tell Favras that you accepted his aid?" - -"He was advised and I am awaiting his reply." - -She had not long to wait, for Isidore Charny was ushered in by the -Princess Lamballe. - -"I am told that I may speak before Dr. Gilbert," said he. "Then, know -that Marquis Favras was arrested an hour ago and imprisoned in the -Chatelet." - -Bright but despairing and full of ire, the Queen's glance crossed that -of the doctor. All her wrath seemed spent in that flash. - -"Madam," said Gilbert with deep pity, "if I can be useful in any way, -make use of me. I lay at your feet my mind, my life, my devotion." - -"Dr. Gilbert," she said in a slow and resigned voice, "is it your -opinion that the death given by this dread engine is as sweet as the -inventor asserts?" - -He sighed and hid his face in his hands. - -As the news of Favras' arrest had circulated over the palace in a few -seconds, Count Provence went to his brother. His advice was that Favras -should be repudiated and the King take the oath to the Constitution. - -"But how can I swear fidelity to an incomplete Constitution?" - -"The more easily," replied the schemer, with his false squint which came -from the darkest sinuosities of his soul. - -"I will," said the King: "this does not prevent my writing to Marquis -Bouille that our plan is postponed. This will give Charny time to -regulate the route." - -For his part, Provence acted on part of his own suggestion: he -repudiated Favras and received the thanks of the Assembly. - -Favras was left alone save for Cagliostro who perhaps felt a little -remorse that he had let the bravest in the conspiracy go so far in a -mission which he had foredoomed to failure. But Favras would not accept -rescue and met his death by hanging with unblemished courage and honor. - -The King took the oath, as he had promised his brother, to the -Constitution, yet in embryo. If he loved it so dearly already, what -would he do when it was in shape? - -The ten days following were days of rejoicing; joy in the Assembly; calm -in Paris; altars built all over the town for passers to take oath after -the royal precedent. - -The Assembly commanded a Te Deum to be chanted in the Cathedral, where -all gathered to renew the oath in solemnity. - -"Why did you not go to the church?" sneered the Queen to her husband. - -"Because I do not object to lying for a purpose, but I do not mean to -perjure myself," said Louis XVI. - -The Queen breathed again for until then she had believed in the -monarch's honesty. She felt empowered by this perfidy to take the same -path and it was after giving her hand for Mirabeau to kiss that this new -leader for the court party vowed that the monarchy was saved. - -Her forehead was swathed in a wet bandage, her eyes were wandering and -her face flushed with fever. Amongst the incoherent words, the farmer -thought he could distinguish the name of Isidore. - -"I see that it is good time that I came home," he muttered. - -He went forth, and was followed by Pitou, but Dr. Raynal detained the -latter. - -"I want you my lad," he said, "to help Mother Clement hold the patient -while I bleed her for the third time." - -"The third time?" cried Mrs. Billet, awaking from her dulness. "Do you -hear that, my man, they bleed her for the third time." - -"Woman, this would not have happened had you looked after your daughter -closer," said the farmer in a stern voice. - -He went to his room, from which he had been absent three months while -Pitou entered the sick room. - -Pitou was astonished but he would have felt more so if he had guessed -that the doctor called him in as a moral remedy. - -The doctor had noticed two names as used by the girl in her frenzy, Ange -Pitou and Isidore Charny, and he soon distinguished that one was a -friend's and the other a dearer one. He concluded that Pitou was the -lovers' confidant and that there would be no inconvenience in the -gallant's friend being there to speak with the patient on the mutual -acquaintance. - -Everybody knew down here that Valence Charny had been killed at -Versailles and that his eldest brother had called away Isidore on the -next evening. - -That night Pitou found Catherine fainted on the high road. When she -revived on the farm, it was to be in a fever, and she raved of some one -riding away whom the doctor judged to be Isidore Charny. - -The greatest need to a brain-stricken invalid is calm. To learn about -her lover would best calm Catherine, and she would ask the news of their -friend, Pitou. - -On seeing the good effect of the bleeding, the doctor stationed Mother -Clement by her side, with the strange recommendation for her to get some -sleep, and beckoned Pitou to follow him into the kitchen. - -Her forehead was swathed in a wet bandage, her eyes were wandering and -her face flushed with fever. Amongst the incoherent words, the farmer -thought he could distinguish the name of Isidore. - -"I see that it is good time that I came home," he muttered. - -He went forth, and was followed by Pitou, but Dr. Raynal detained the -latter. - -"I want you my lad," he said, "to help Mother Clement hold the patient -while I bleed her for the third time." - -"The third time?" cried Mrs. Billet, awaking from her dulness. "Do you -hear that, my man, they bleed her for the third time." - -"Woman, this would not have happened had you looked after your daughter -closer," said the farmer in a stern voice. - -He went to his room, from which he had been absent three months while -Pitou entered the sick room. - -Pitou was astonished but he would have felt more so if he had guessed -that the doctor called him in as a moral remedy. - -The doctor had noticed two names as used by the girl in her frenzy, Ange -Pitou and Isidore Charny, and he soon distinguished that one was a -friend's and the other a dearer one. He concluded that Pitou was the -lovers' confidant and that there would be no inconvenience in the -gallant's friend being there to speak with the patient on the mutual -acquaintance. - -Everybody knew down here that Valence Charny had been killed at -Versailles and that his eldest brother had called away Isidore on the -next evening. - -That night Pitou found Catherine fainted on the high road. When she -revived on the farm, it was to be in a fever, and she raved of some one -riding away whom the doctor judged to be Isidore Charny. - -The greatest need to a brain-stricken invalid is calm. To learn about -her lover would best calm Catherine, and she would ask the news of their -friend, Pitou. - -On seeing the good effect of the bleeding, the doctor stationed Mother -Clement by her side, with the strange recommendation for her to get some -sleep, and beckoned Pitou to follow him into the kitchen. - -"Cheer up, mother," said he to Mrs. Billet who was mooning in the -chimney corner, "she is going on as well as possible." - -"It is very hard that a mother cannot care for her child," said the -farmer's wife. - -"You are too fragile--we should only have you ill. She will get along -finely with Mother Clement and Ange to look after her." - -"Ange?" - -"Yes, he has a leaning toward medicine and I shall make him my -assistant. He is coming over to my place now to get a soothing potion -made up. He will bring it back and direct the administration of it. He -will remain on duty here, to run over to me with the news of any -change." - -"You know best, doctor; but give the poor father a word of your hope." - -"Where is he?" - -"In the next room." - -"Useless," said a voice on the threshold, "I have heard all." - -As though this was all he wanted, the pale-faced farmer withdrew and -offered no opposition to this ruling of the house by the medical -adviser. - -The latter was not a light of science but he was a keen observer. - -He had seen that Pitou would be the best confidant to place before his -patient's eyes as soon as they opened to life and reason. - -He was able with the first words to reassure her upon Isidore's health. -There was no rioting in Paris and the young noble had gone off to Italy -as a messenger. - -He was sure to write to Catherine, she said, and she authorized him to -go to the post for the letter. - -As Pitou on the farm ate and drank with his accustomed appetite Billet -did not suspect the treacherous part he was playing. - -Consoled by the progress the girl made after the receipt of the beloved -letter, Pitou was enabled to proceed with his public work. - -With the money Gilbert gave him, he equipped the Haramont National -Guards with new suits; this was for the ceremony of the Federation of -Villers Cotterets and other villages of the canton, to be held on a -following Sunday. - -At this prospect of uniforms, the Guards assembled with their two -minstrels and gave their liberal leader a serenade, interspersed with -fire-crackers and cheers, among which was to be heard a voice or two, -slightly tipsy, shouting: - -"Long live Pitou, the Hero of the People!" - -Remembering the impression the Haramont National Guard had created when -they had hats alike, you can appreciate the justice in the roar of -admiration when they appeared in uniforms, and what a dashing air the -captain must have worn, with his little cap cocked over one ear, his -gorget shining on his breast, his catspaws, as the epaules were -irreverently called, and his sword. - -Aunt Angelique could hardly identify her nephew who almost rode her down -on his white horse. - -But he saluted her with a wave of the sword and left her crushed by the -honor. - -Recalling that the tailor had boasted of the order which Pitou had paid, -she thought he had come home a millionaire. - -"I must not quarrel with him," she mumbled: "aunts inherit from -nephews." - -Alas! he had forgotten her by this time. Among the girls wearing -tricolored sashes and carrying green palm boughs, he recognized -Catherine. She was pale, her beauty more delicate, but Raynal had -fulfilled his word. - -She was happy, for Pitou had managed to find a hollow tree where he -deposited letters for her to take them out in a stroll, and that morning -one was there. - -Pitou came up and saluted her with his sword. He would have only touched -his hat for General Lafayette. - -"How grand you look in your uniform," she said loudly. "I thank you, my -dear Pitou," she added in a voice for him alone; "how good you are. I -love you!" - -She took his hand and pressed it in hers. Giddiness passed into poor -Pitou's head; he dropped his hat from the free hand, and would have -fallen at her feet like the hat only for a great tumult with menacing -sounds being heard towards Soissons. - -Whatever the cause, he profited by it to get out of the awkward -situation. - -He disengaged his hand from Catherine's, picked up his hat and put it on -as he ran to the head of his thirty-three men, shouting: - -"To arms!" - -It was an old enemy of his who was causing a block to the festivities. - -Father Fortier had been designated to perform the office of celebrating -the Federation Mass on the Altar of the Country, for which the holy -vessels were to be carried from the church. The mayor, Longpre, was to -superintend the transfer. Like everybody he knew the schoolmaster's -temper and thought he would not bear him good will for the part he took -in the turning over the muskets. - -So, rather than face him, he had sent him an order in writing to be -present for the mass at ten. - -At half past nine he sent his secretary to see how things looked. The -gentleman brought bad news. The church was locked up. The church -officials were all laid up with various complaints. It had the air of a -conspiracy. - -At ten the crowd gathered and talked of beating in the church doors and -taking out the church plate. - -As a conciliator, Longpre quieted them as well as he could and went to -knock at Fortier's housedoor. - -In the meantime he sent for the armed forces. The gendarmes officers -came up. They were attended by additions to the mob. - -As they had no catapult to force the door, they summoned the locksmith. -But when he was going to insert a picklock, the door opened and Abbe -Fortier appeared, with fiery eye and hair bristling. - -"Back," he cried with a threatening gesture, "back, heretics, impious -relapsers! avaunt ye from the sill of the man of God!" - -The murmur receiving his outburst was not flattering to him. - -"Excuse me," said the unctuous mayor, "but we only wanted to know -whether you would serve the mass on the altar of the country, or not?" - -"Sanction revolt, rebellion and ingratitude," yelled the holy man in one -of the fits of passion habitual to him: "curse virtue and bless sin? you -cannot have hoped it, mayor. I will not say your sacrilegous mass!" - -"Very well; this is a free country now--you need not unless you like." - -"Free? ha, ha, ha!" and with a most exasperating laugh he was going to -slam the door in their faces when a man burst through the throng, pushed -the door nearly open again and all but overturned Fortier though he was -a stout man. - -It was Billet. - -There was profound silence as all divined that not two mere men, but two -forces were opposing each other. - -Though Billet had displayed so much strength to open the door, he spoke -in a calm voice: - -"Pardon me, mayor, but I think I heard you say that the father might say -the mass or not, at his pleasure? this is an error and it is no longer -the time when errors are allowed to flourish. Every man who is paid to -do work is bound to do it. You are paid by the country to say mass and -you shall say it." - -"Blasphemer, Manichean," roared the priest. - -"You ought to set the example of obedience and here you are doing the -other thing. If you are a citizen and a Frenchman, obey the nation." - -"Bravo, Billet!" cried the multitude. "To the altar, with the priest." - -Encouraged by the acclamations, Billet lugged out from his hall the -first priest who had given the signal for counter-revolution. - -"I am a martyr," groaned the priest, comprehending that resistance was -impossible in the farmer's vigorous hands, "I call for martyrdom!" And -as he was hurried along he sang "Good Lord, deliver us!" - -This crowd conducting him was the cause of the turbulence towards which -Pitou was marching his cohort. But on seeing the reason, he and -Catherine appealed to the farmer with the same voice. - -Untouched, the latter carried the prize up to the altar where he let him -fall. - -"I proclaim you unworthy to serve at this altar which you disdained," -said Billet: "no man should go up these steps unless his head is filled -with these feelings, the desire of liberty, devotion to the country and -love of mankind. Priest, have you these sentiments? if so, go up boldly -and invoke our Maker. But if you do not feel you are the foremost of us -all as a citizen, give place to the more worthy, and be off!" - -"Madman, you do not know what you are declaring war upon," hissed the -priest, retiring with uplifted finger. - -"I do know, if they are like you, vipers, foxes, wolves," returned -Billet: "all that sneak and poison and tear in the shade. Come at me, -then--I can face ye, in the open!" he concluded, smiting his broad -chest. - -During a silent moment the throng parted to let the priest skulk -through, and, closing, remained mute and admiring the vigorous man who -offered himself as target to the terrible power to which half the world -was enslaved at that era. - -There was no longer mayor, town councilmen or gendarmes, only the Hero -of the People, Billet. - -"But we have no priest now," said Mayor Longpre. - -"We do not want him," replied Billet who had never been in church but -twice, for his wedding and his child's baptism. "We will read the -Declaration of the Rights of Man from the altar. That is the Creed of -Liberty and the Gospel of the Future." - -Billet could not read but he had his manifesto by heart. When he had -finished and with a noble movement embraced the Law and the Sword by -taking the mayor's and Pitou's hands, the multitude appreciated the -grandeur of what they were doing in shouting: - -"Long live the Nation!" - -It was one of the scenes of which Gilbert had spoken to the Queen -without her understanding him. - -From that time forward, France became one great family, with one heart -and one language. - - - - -CHAPTER XXX. - -UNDER THE WINDOW. - - -On the surface all was calm and almost smiling on the Billet Farm. - -As before, Billet, on his strong horse, trotted all over the land -keeping his hands up to the mark. But a sharp observer would have -noticed that on whatever part he was he tried to get a look at his -daughter's room window. - -Though his face had a little softened toward her, Catherine felt that -paternal distrust hovered over her. - -Mother Billet was vegetating as formerly; she did not know that her -husband harbored suspicion in his bosom, and her daughter anguish in -hers. - -Pitou, after his glory as captain of the uniformed National Guards, had -fallen back into his habitual state of sweet and kindly melancholy. By -the postmark on Isidore's letters he noticed that he had returned to -Paris. - -He concluded that he would not be long before returning to his estate. -Pitou's heart shrank at this prospect. - -Under pretence of snaring rabbits to give his friend more succulent food -than farm fare, he haunted the wood until he saw Catherine. She was -seeking him, too, for she had a word for him. - -He need not trouble about her letters as she would not be receiving any -for some days. - -He guessed that the writer was coming in person to repeat his vows. - -"Have you noticed," he said, "how gloomy the master has become of late?" - -Catherine turned pale. - -"I tell you as a sure thing that whoever is the cause of this change in -such a hearty good fellow, will have an unpleasant time with him when he -meets him." - -"You say, 'him,'" said Catherine; "why may he not have quarrelled with -a woman, against whom he nurses this sullen rage?" - -"You have seen something? have you any reason to fear?" - -"I have to fear all that a girl may fear when she loves above her -station and has an irritated father." - -"It seems to me that in your place," Pitou ventured to give advice, "I -should--no, it nearly killed you to part with him, and to give him up -altogether would be your death. Oh, all this is very unfortunate!" - -"Hush, speak of something else--here comes father." - -Indeed, seeing his daughter with a man, the farmer rode up at speed: but -recognizing Pitou, he asked him in to dinner with less gloom on his -face. - -"Gracious," muttered Catherine at the door, "can he know?" - -"What?" whispered Pitou. - -"Nothing," replied the girl, going up to her room and closing the -shutters. - -When she came down, dinner was ready, but she ate little. - -"You might tell us what brought you our way to-day," asked the morose -farmer of Pitou. - -The latter showed some brass wire loops. - -"The rabbits over our way are getting shy of me. I am going to lay some -snares on your farm, if you do not mind. Yours are so tender from the -grain they get." - -"I did not know you had so sweet a tooth." - -"Oh, not for me but for Miss Catherine." - -"Yes, she has no appetite, lately, that is a fact." - -At this moment, Pitou felt a touch to his foot. It was Catherine -directing his attention to the window past which a man was making for -the door where he entered with the farmer's gun on his shoulder. - -"Father Clovis," he was hailed by the master. - -Clovis was the old soldier who had taught Pitou to drill. - -"Yes, Papa Billet, a bargain is a bargain. You paid me to pick out a -dozen bullets to suit your rifle and here they are." - -He handed the farmer his gun and a bag of bullets. Calm as the veteran -was, he inspired terror in Catherine as he sat at table. - -"By the way I cast thirteen bullets instead of a dozen so I squandered -one on the hare you see. Your gun carries fine." - -"Is there a prize for shooting offered anywhere?" asked Pitou simply. -"You will win it, I guess like you did that silver cup and the bowl you -are drinking of, Miss Catherine. Why, what is the matter?" - -"Nothing," replied the girl opening her eyes which she had half closed -and leaning back in her chair. - -"All I know is," said Billet, "that I am going to lay in wait. It is a -wolf, I think." - -Clovis turned the bullets out on a plate. Had Pitou looked from them to -Catherine he would have seen that she nearly swooned. - -"Wolf?" repeated he. "I am astonished that before the snowfalls we -should see them here." - -"The shepherd says one is prowling round, out Boursonne way." - -Pitou looked from the speaker to Catherine. - -"Yes, he was spied last year, I was told; but he went off, and it was -thought forever; but he has turned up again. I mean to turn him down!" - -This was all the girl could endure; she uttered a cry and staggered out -of the door. Pitou followed her to offer his arm and found her in the -kitchen. - -"What ails you?" - -"Can you not guess? he knows that Isidore has arrived at Boursonne this -morning, and he is going to shoot him." - -"I will put him on his guard----" - -The voice of Billet interrupted the pair. - -"If you are going to lay snares, Master Pitou, it seems to me it is time -you were jogging. Father Clovis is going your way." - -"I am off," and he went out by the kitchen door, while Catherine went up -to her room, where she bolted the door. - -The forest was Pitou's kingdom and when he had left Clovis to go home, -he felt easy about what he had undertaken to do. - -He thought of running to Boursonne and warning Viscount Isidore; but he -might not be believed and the warning might not be heeded. - -He considered he had better wait. - -He had not a doubt that at the windows of Billet's room and of his -daughter's, they two were on the alert. All the tragedy or its failure -depended on him. If he let the viscount pass within rifle range, he -would let him march to his death. - -In fact, Billet, sure that the nobleman would not marry a farmer's -daughter, had resolved to wipe out the insult done him in blood. - -Suddenly Pitou, lying on the ground in a clump of willow, heard the -gallop of a horse. - -Billet must have heard it also for he came out of the house; and Ange -had not a doubt that the willow copse which he had chosen to spy -Catherine's window had for the same reason recommended itself to the -farmer. - -As the latter advanced, he slipped back and slid down into the ditch. - -The horse crossed the road at sixty paces, and as a shadow was soon -detached from it, the rider must have leaped off, and turned the steed -loose. It went on without stopping. - -There was ten minutes of dreadful silence. - -The night was so black that Pitou, reckoning his eyes better than -Billet's, hoped that he alone saw the shadow stealing towards the house. - -But at the same moment, as the shadow went up under Catherine's window, -Pitou heard the click of a hammer going on full cock on the gun. - -The shadow did not notice but rapped three times on the shutter. - -Pitou quivered--Catherine would surely blame him for not having passed -the warning as he had promised. - -But what could he do? - -Pitou heard the hammer fall and saw the priming flash; the powder in the -touchhole did not catch and the living target received no bullet. - -At the same moment Catherine opened her window. She saw all and cried: -"Up, it is my father!" she almost dragged Charny in at the casement. - -The farmer had his second barrel to fire and he thought: - -"He must come out and this time I will not miss him." - -Presently the dogs began barking. - -"Oh, the jade," he growled, "she has let him out at the back, through -the orchard." - -He ran round the house to overtake the escaping prey. - -"There is hope," thought Pitou: "aim cannot be taken in the night as in -the day and the hand is not so steady in firing on a man as at a wolf in -the den." - -Indeed, Billet had fired on a man whom he saw scaling the orchard wall -but he had got away on a horse which came up at his whistle. While -Billet was following the pair in vague hope that he had hurt the rider -so that he must fall out of the saddle, Ange reached the orchard where -he saw Catherine leaning up against a tree with her hand on her heart. - -"Let me take you into the house," he said. - -"No, I will not live under the roof of the man who shot at my -sweetheart." - -"But then----" - -"Do you refuse to accompany me?" - -"No, but----" - -"Come." - -No one saw them leave the farm and both disappeared in the valley. - -God only knew the refuge of Catherine Billet! - -All night a dreadful storm raged in the heart of the injured father. -Something vital seemed to snap in the mighty frame of the man when he -returned emptyhanded to see that his daughter had taken to flight. - -When he came home at nine as usual to breakfast, his wife said. "Where -is our Catherine?" - -"Catherine?" he said with an effort. "The air is bad on the farm and I -sent her over to her aunt's in Sologne." - -"Good, she wanted a change. Will she make a long stay?" - -"Till she gets better." - -Drying her tears the good woman went to sit in the chimney corner while -her husband rode off into the fields. - -Dr. Raynal had passed a restless night also. He was roused by Viscount -Charny's lackey pulling at his nightbell and, riding over to Boursonne, -found that he had a couple of bullets in his side. Neither wound was -dangerous, though one was serious. In three calls he set him up again; -but he had to wear a bandage for a time, which did not prevent him -riding out. Nobody had an idea of his accident. - -It was time for him to be healed--time to return to Paris! - -Mirabeau had promised the Queen to save her, and she wrote to her -brother on the Austrian throne: - -"I follow your counsel. I am making use of Mirabeau but there is nothing -of weight in my relations with him." - -On the following day, he saw groups on the way to the Assembly and went -up to learn the nature of the outcries. - -Little newsheets were passing from hand to hand and newsdealers were -calling out: - -"Buy the Great Treason of Mirabeau!" - -"It seems this concerns me," he said, taking a piece of money out. "My -friend," he said to one of the venders who had a donkey carrying -panniers full of the sheets, "how much is this Great Treason of -Mirabeau?" - -"Nothing to you, my lord," replied the man, looking him in the eye, "and -it is struck off in an edition of one hundred thousand." - -The orator went away thoughtful. A lampoon in such an edition and given -away by a newsman who knew him! - -Still the sheet might be one of those catchpennys which abounded at that -epoch, stupid or spiteful. No, it was the list of his debts, accurate, -and the note that their 200,000 francs had been paid by the Queen's -almoner on a certain date; also the statement that the court paid him -six thousand francs per month. Lastly the account of his reception by -the Queen. - -What mysterious enemy pursued him, or rather pursued the monarchy like a -hellhound? - -This is what we shall learn, with many another secret which none but -Cagliostro the superhuman might divine, in the sequel to this volume -entitled "THE ROYAL LIFEGUARD." - - -THE END - - * * * * * - -_A BOOK FOR EVERY FAMILY._ - -How to Live Well On 25 Cents a Day. - -By MRS. GESINE LEMCKE, One of the Most Noted Cooks and Housekeepers of -the Day. - -It contains a complete bill of fare for every day for six weeks, also -valuable hints and helps for housekeepers. - -_The Philadelphia Call_ says of it: - -"Utopia discovered! Everybody happy and want absolutely abolished. Hats -off to Mrs. Lemcke! 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OGILVIE PUBLISHING CO., -57 Rose Street, New York.= - - - - -ARE YOU A WOMAN? - -And Do You Want to Get Married? - -If so, you ought to buy our new book. - - "How to Get married - Although a Woman," - -By A YOUNG WIDOW. - -Read what _The Christian Advocate_ says about it: - -"How to Get Married Although a Woman," by a young widow, comes from the -J. S. Ogilvie Publishing Co., 57 Rose Street, New York. The woman -anxious to get married, but unable to do so, will find an immense amount -of advice and assistance in this little volume, and will learn what -manner of woman is liked and what disliked by men, the reasons of -success and failure in the race matrimonial, some unfailing methods of -catching a husband, why it is that a plain widow can come into a -community and take her pick among the most eligible men, and finally, -how to retain the love of a husband when he has been captured and how to -get another one when he has been gathered to his fathers. 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Any boy who wishes to -obtain an art by which he can develop a Wonderful amount of -astonishment, mystery, and fun, should learn Ventriloquism, as he easily -can follow the simple secret given in this book. Mailed for 15 cents. - - -=BAD BOY'S DIARY (A).=--This is one of the most successful humorous books -of the present day, filled with fun and good humor, and "will drive the -blues out of a bag of indigo." It is printed from new, large type, and -on fine, heavy white paper of a superior finish, and contains 280 pages. -New, full-page illustrations from unique designs have been prepared -expressly for this edition. Handsome paper cover, 25 cents. - - -=BATTLE FOR BREAD (THE).=--This book contains a series of Sermons by Rev. -T. DeWitt Talmage, the greatest of living preachers. Every workingman -and those who employ them should read this book, and thus be informed of -the real solution of the question of the relations of Labor and Capital, -12mo, 135 pages. Paper cover, 25 cents; cloth, 75 cents. - - -=BLACK ART EXPOSED (THE).=--This book contains some of the most marvelous -things in ancient and modern magic, jugglery, etc., ever printed, and -has to be seen to be fully appreciated. Suffice it to say that any boy -knowing the secrets it contains will be able to do things that will -astonish all. 15 cts. - - -=BLUNDERS OF A BASHFUL MAN (THE).=--By the popular author of "A Bad Boy's -Diary." This is one of the most humorous books ever issued, and has been -pronounced _better_ than "A Bad Boy's Diary." 12mo, 160 pages. -Handsomely illustrated from original designs, including also the -portrait and autograph of "The Bashful Man." Price, paper cover, 25 -cents. - - -=BOILER-MAKER'S ASSISTANT (THE),= and the Theoretical and Practical -Boiler-Maker and Engineer's Reference Book. By Samuel Nicholls, Foreman -Boiler-Maker. 1 vol. 12mo, extra cloth, $2.50. - - -=COMPLETE FORTUNE TELLER AND DREAM BOOK.=--This book contains a complete -Dictionary of Dreams, alphabetically, with a clear interpretation of -each dream, and the lucky numbers that belong to it. It includes -Palmistry, or telling fortunes by the lines of the hand; fortune telling -by the grounds in a tea or coffee cup; how to read your future life by -the white of an egg; tells how to know who your future husband will be, -and how soon you will be married; fortune-telling by cards; Hymen's -lottery; good and had omens, etc. 25 cents. - - -=CONCERT EXERCISES FOR SUNDAY SCHOOLS.=--5 cents each; 30 cents per dozen; -per hundred, by mail, postpaid, $2.00. No. 1, THE CHRISTIAN'S JOURNEY. -No. 2, THE STORY OF REDEEMING LOVE. (For Christmas.) No. 3, CHRIST IS -RISEN. (Appropriate for Easter.) No. 4, WELCOME GREETING. (Appropriate -for Children's Day.) No. 5, GOOD TIDINGS. (Appropriate for anniversaries -and celebrations.) - - -=LEISURE-HOUR WORK FOR LADIES.=--Containing instructions for flower and -shell work; Antique, Grecian and Theorem painting; Botanical specimens; -Cone work; Anglo Japanese work; Decalcomanie; Diaphame; Leather work; -Modeling in clay; Transferring; Crayon drawing; Photograph coloring, -etc., etc. A very complete book, and one that no young lady having spare -time can afford to be without. 15 cents. - - -=LOVER'S GUIDE (THE).=--A book no lover should be without. It gives -handkerchief, parasol, glove, and fan flirtations; also window and -dining-room signaling; the language of flowers; how to kiss deliciously; -love-letters, and how to write them, with specimens; bashfulness and -timidity, and how to overcome them, etc., etc. 15 cents. - - -=COURTSHIP AND MARRIAGE;= or, The Mysteries of Making Love Fully -Explained.--This is an entirely new work on a most interesting subject. -CONTENTS: First steps in courtship; Advice to both parties at the -outset; Introduction to the lady's family; Restrictions imposed by -etiquette; What the lady should observe in early courtship; What the -suitor should observe; Etiquette as to presents; The proposal; Mode of -refusal when not approved; Conduct to be observed by a rejected suitor; -Refusal by the lady's parents or guardians; Etiquette of an engagement; -Demeanor of the betrothed pair; Should a courtship be long or short; -Preliminary etiquette of a wedding; Fixing the day; How to be married; -The trousseau; Duties to be attended to by the bridegroom; Who should be -asked to the wedding; Duties of the bridesmaids and groomsmen; Etiquette -of a wedding; Costume of bride, bridesmaids, and bridegroom; Arrival at -the church; The marriage ceremonial; Registry of the marriage; Return -home, and wedding breakfast; Departure for the honeymoon; Wedding cards; -Modern practice of "No cards;" Reception and return of wedding visits; -Practical advice to a newly married couple. Price, 25 cents. - - -="DON'T MARRY"=--At least until you have read our new book entitled "Don't -Marry." Some marry too soon, others wait too long. This book will tell -you how, when, and whom to marry; besides giving you valuable hints and -helps not found in any other book. It contains 112 pages, paper cover, -and is worth $10 to any one. Price, 25 cents. - - -=DIARY OF A MINISTER'S WIFE.=--By Almedia M. Brown. Complete edition, -12mo, 544 pages. Handsomely bound in cloth, with fine full-page -illustrations, including portraits of Mrs. Minnie Hardscrabble, the -minister's wife, from the facts and incidents in whose life the story -was written; also Rev. John Hardscrabble, with three other -characteristic engravings, which will amuse and interest every reader. -Price, $1.50. - -This popular book is also issued complete in two volumes in paper -covers. Price, per volume, 25 cents. - - -=DIARY OF A VILLAGE GOSSIP.=--By Almedia M. Brown, author of "Diary of a -Minister's Wife," etc., etc. 12mo, 293 pages. Paper cover, 25 cents; -handsomely bound in cloth, $1.00. - - -=MAGIC DIAL (THE).=--By the use of which secret correspondence may be -carried on without fear of detection. No one (even if provided with one -of these dials) can decipher it. It is entirely new, and nothing like it -has ever appeared. It is simple and reliable and can be used by any -person. It will be mailed for 25 cents. - - -=EDUCATING THE HORSE.=--A new and improved system of Educating the Horse. -Also a Treatise on Shoeing, with new and valuable Receipts for Diseases -of Horses. CONTENTS: The great secret of Horse-Taming; How to throw a -horse; the wild colts to halter; break a colt; hitching colt in stall; -how to handle a colt's feet; breaking and driving colts to harness; -objects of fear; to train a horse to stand when getting into a carriage; -balking horses; pulling at halter; to break horses from jumping; pawing -in stall and kicking in harness; the runaway horse; shoeing; corns; to -teach a horse to appear intelligent; to teach a horse how to dance, -waltz, kiss you, shake hands, etc., etc.; cure of sore breasts, big -head, big leg, fullness of blood, catarrh, loose bowels, corns, cough, -inflammation of eye, brittle feet, sand crack in foot, founder (a sure -cure), galled back, grease, inflammation of kidneys, worms, itch, nasal, -gleet, over-reaching, staggers, botts, etc., etc.; concluding with rules -and regulations for the government of trotting and racing. =>No man who -owns a horse can afford to do without this book. It is very thorough, -complete and reliable, and well worth a dozen times the price asked for -it. It contains matter not to be found in any other horse book. Price, -15 cents. - - -=GRAND WONDER COLLECTION.=--A wonderful offer. $3.00 worth of goods for -only 50 cents! Everything is now very cheap, and people get a good deal -more for their money than they used to, but we have no hesitation in -saying that never before was so much offered for the money as is offered -in this GRAND WONDER COLLECTION. It could not be done, only that we -expect to sell thousands of them and are fully satisfied that each one -sold will sell a dozen more. - -The contents of the GRAND WONDER COLLECTION--comprising seven complete -books in one--1. Old Secrets and New Discoveries. 2. Secrets for -Farmers. 3. Laughing Gas. 4. The Swindlers of America. 5. Preserving and -Manufacturing Secrets. 6. The Housewife's Treasure. 7. Fourteen Popular -Songs, Words and Music. - -=>Any person ordering this collection and not fully satisfied, the money -will be cheerfully refunded. Price, 50 cents. - - -=MAGIC TRICK CARDS.=--The Magician's Own Cards, for performing wonderful -tricks. Every boy a magician! Every man a conjurer! Every girl a witch! -Every one astonished! They are the most superior trick cards ever -offered for sale, and with them you can perform some of the most -remarkable illusions ever discovered. - -Complete illustrated directions accompany each pack. They will be -mailed, postpaid, sealed as a letter, for 15 cents a pack. - - -=HEALTH HINTS.=--A new book showing how to Acquire and Retain Bodily -Symmetry, Health, Vigor, and Beauty. Its contents are as follows: Laws -of Beauty--Air, Sunshine, Water, and Food--Work and Rest--Dress and -Ornament--The Hair and its Management--Skin and Complexion--The -Mouth--The Eyes, Ears, and Nose--The Neck, Hands and Feet--Growth and -Marks that are Enemies of Beauty--Cosmetics and Perfumery. - -=Fat People.=--It gives ample rules how Corpulency may be cured--the Fat -made Lean, Comely and Active. - -=Lean People.=--It also gives directions, the following of which will -enable Lean, Angular, Bony or Sharp Visaged People, to be Plump and Rosy -Skinned. - -=Gray Hair.=--It tells how Gray Hair may be Restored to its natural color -without the aid of Dyes, Restorers or Pomades. - -=Baldness.=--It gives ample directions for Restoring Hair on Bald Heads, -as well as how to stop Falling of the Hair, how to Curl the Hair, etc. - -=Beard and Mustache.=--It tells what Young Men should do to acquire a -Fine, Silky and Handsome Beard and Mustache. - -=Freckles and Pimples.=--It gives full directions for the Cure of Sunburn, -Freckles, Pimples, Wrinkles, Warts, etc., so that they can be entirely -removed. - -=Cosmetics.=--This chapter, among other things, gives an Analysis of -Perry's Moth and Freckle Lotion, Balm of White Lilies, Hagan's Magnolia -Balm, Laird's Bloom of Youth, Phalon's Enamel, Clark's Restorative for -the Hair, Chevalier's Life for the Hair, Ayer's Hair Vigor, Professor -Wood's Hair Restorative, Hair Restorer America, Gray's Hair Restorative, -Phalon's Vitalia, Ring's Vegetable Ambrosia, Mrs. Allen's World's Hair -Restorer, Hall's Vegetable Sicilian Hair Renewer, Martha Washington Hair -Restorative, etc., etc. (no room for more), showing how the lead, etc., -in these mixtures causes disease and oftentimes premature death. Price, -25 cents. - - -=LOVE AND COURTSHIP CARDS.=--Sparking, courting, and lovemaking all made -easy by the use of these cards. They are arranged with such apt -conversation that you will be able to ask the momentous question in such -a delicate manner that the girl will not suspect what you are at. They -may be used by two persons only, or they will make lots of fun for an -evening party of young people. There are sixty cards in all, and each -answer will respond differently to every one of the questions. Price, 30 -cents. - - -=MISS SLIMMENS' BOARDING-HOUSE.=--By the author of "A Bad Boy's Diary." -16mo, 188 pages, with nine illustrations. Complete edition. Paper cover, -25 cents. - - -=HOUSEWIFE'S TREASURE (THE).=--A manual of information of everything that -relates to household economies. It gives the method of making Jackson's -Universal Washing Compound, which can clean the dirtiest cotton, linen -or woolen clothes in twenty minutes without rubbing or harming the -material. This recipe is being constantly peddled through the country at -$5.00 each, and is certainly worth it. It also tells all about -soap-making at home, so as to make it cost about one-quarter of what bar -soap costs; it tells how to make candles by molding or dipping; it gives -seven methods for destroying rats and mice; how to make healthy bread -without flour (something entirely new); to preserve clothes and furs -from moths; a sure plan for destroying houseflies, cockroaches, beetles, -ants, bedbugs and fleas; all about house cleaning, papering, etc., and -hundreds of other valuable hints just such as housekeepers are wanting -to know. 25 cents. - - -=HOW TO ENTERTAIN A SOCIAL PARTY.=--A complete selection of Home -Recreations. Profusely illustrated with fine wood-cuts, containing: -Round Games and Forfeit Games; Parlor Magic and Curious Puzzles; Comic -Diversions and Parlor Tricks; Scientific Recreations and Evening -Amusements; The Blue Beard tableaux; Tableaux-vivant for acting; The -play-room; Blind-man's buff; One old ox opening oysters; How do you like -it? when do you like it? and where do you like it? Cross questions and -crooked answers; Cupid's coming; Proverbs; Earth, air and water; Yes and -no; Copenhagen; Hunt the hare, and a thousand other games. - -Here is family amusement for the million. Here is parlor or drawing-room -entertainment, night after night, for a whole winter. A young man with -this volume may render himself the _beau ideal_ of a delightful -companion to every party. Price, 25 cents. - - -=HOW TO WOO AND HOW TO WIN.-=-This interesting work contains full and -interesting rules for the etiquette of courtship, with directions -showing how to win the favor of the ladies; how to begin and end a -courtship; and how love-letters should be written. It not only tells how -to win the favor of the ladies, but how to address a lady; Conduct a -courtship; "Pop the Question;" Write love-letters; All about the -marriage ceremony; Bridal chamber; After marriage, etc. Price, 15 cents. - - -=ODELL'S SYSTEM OF SHORTHAND.=--By which the taking down of sermons, -lectures, trials, speeches, etc., may be easily acquired, without the -aid of a master. By this plan the difficulties of mastering this useful -art are very much lessened, and the time required to attain proficiency -reduced to the least possible limits. Price, 15 cents. - - -=HOW TO TALK AND DEBATE.=--CONTENTS: Introduction; Laws of Conversation; -Listening; Self-possession; Appreciativeness; Conversation, when -confidential; The matter and the manner; Proper subjects; Trifles; -Objectionable subjects; Politics; Rights of women; Wit and humor; -Questions and negatives; Our own hobbies; The voice, how to improve; -Speaking one's mind; Public speaking; How to make a speech; Opening a -debate; Division of the subject; The affirmative; The reply, etc., etc. -A really valuable book, and one that every man and woman, boy and girl -should possess. 15 cents. - - -=LIFE IN THE BACKWOODS.=--A Guide to the successful without the wool or -hair; to skin and stuff birds; baits and hooks for fishing; how to fish -successfully without nets, lines, spears, snares, "bobs," or bait (a -great secret), how to choose and clean guns; how to breed minks for -their skins (hundreds of dollars can be made by any boy or young man who -knows how to breed minks), etc. - -This book is by an old trapper, for many years engaged in trapping in -the Northwest, who has finally consented to publish and disclose these -secrets. Persons living where wild animals exist, with some traps and -the information contained in this book, can make money faster through -the trapping season by giving their time and energies to the business -than they can by seeking their fortunes in the gold regions or in oil -speculations. This is at once the most complete and practical book now -in the market. Price, 15 cents. - - -=MODEL LETTER-WRITER (THE).=--A comprehensive and complete guide -and assistant for those who desire to carry on epistolary -correspondence--containing instructions for writing letters of -introduction; Letters of business; Letters of recommendation; -Applications for employment; Letters of congratulation; Letters of -condolence; Letters of friendship and relationship; Love-letters; Notes -of invitation; Letters of favor, of advice, and of excuse, etc., etc., -together with appropriate answers to each. This is an invaluable book -for those persons who have not had sufficient practice to enable them to -write letters without great effort. 15 cents. - - -=NAPOLEON'S COMPLETE BOOK= of Fate and Complete Fortune Teller.--This is -the celebrated Oracle of Human Destiny consulted by Napoleon the First -previous to any of his undertakings, and by which he was so successful -in war, business, and love. It is the only authentic and complete copy -extant, being translated into English from a German translation of an -ancient Egyptian manuscript found in the year 1801 by M. Sonini, in one -of the royal tombs near Mount Libycus, in Upper Egypt. This Oraculum is -so arranged that any question on business, love, wealth, losses, hidden -treasures, no matter what its nature, the Oraculum has an answer for it. -It also shows how to learn of one's fate by consulting the planets. -Price 15 cents. - - -=OGILVIE'S HOUSE PLANS; OR HOW TO BUILD A HOUSE.=--A neat new book, -containing over thirty finely executed engravings of dwellings of all -sizes, from two rooms up; also churches, barns, and out-houses in great -variety. - -This handy, compact, and very useful volume contains, in addition to the -foregoing, plans for each floor in each and every dwelling of which an -engraving is given. It has, also, valuable information relative to -building, such as number of shingles required in a roof, quantity of -plaster for a house, quantity of materials required for building a -house, etc., etc., and much other information of permanent and practical -value. - -Any one of the plans is alone worth very much more than the price asked -for the book. It is invaluable to every architect, builder, mason, or -carpenter, and particularly do we urge all who anticipate erecting a new -or remodeling an old dwelling to send for a copy, as its fortunate -possessor may save hundred of dollars by following the suggestions it -contains. 25 cents. - - -=HOW TO BEHAVE.=--Hand-book of Etiquette and Guide to True Politeness. -CONTENTS: Etiquette and its uses; Introductions; Cutting acquaintances; -Letters of introduction; Street etiquette; Domestic etiquette and -duties; Visiting; Receiving company; Evening parties; The lady's toilet; -The gentleman's toilet; Invitations; Etiquette of the ball-room; General -rules of conversation; Bashfulness and how to overcome it; Dinner -parties; Table etiquette; Carving; Servants; Traveling; Visiting cards; -Letter writing; Conclusion. This is the best book of the kind yet -published, and every person wishing to be considered well-bred, who -wishes to understand the customs of good society, and to avoid incorrect -and vulgar habits, should send for a copy. 15 cents. - - -=MISS SLIMMENS' WINDOW.=--Complete edition in one volume now ready. 16mo, -150 pages. Bound in heavy paper covers, with 13 illustrations. 25 -cents. - - -=OGILVIE'S HANDY MONITOR AND UNIVERSAL ASSISTANT,= containing Statistical -Tables of Practical Value for Mechanics, Merchants, Editors, Lawyers, -Printers, Doctors, Farmers, Lumbermen, Bankers, Bookkeepers, Politicians -and all classes of workers in every department of human effort, and -containing a compilation of facts for reference on various subjects, -being an epitome of matters Historical, Statistical, Biographical, -Political, Geographical and general interest. 192 pages bound in paper, -25 cents. - -No more valuable book has ever been offered containing so much -information of practical value in everyday life. - - -=OLD SECRETS AND NEW DISCOVERIES.=--Containing Information of Rare Value -for all Classes, in all Conditions of Society. - -=It Tells= all about _Electrical Psychology_, showing how you can -biologize any person, and, while under the influence, he will do -anything you may wish him, no matter how ridiculous it may be, and he -cannot help doing it. - -=It Tells= how to _Mesmerize_. Knowing this, you can place any person in a -mesmeric sleep, and then be able to do with him as you will. This secret -has been sold over and over again for $10. - -=It Tells= how to make persons at a distance think of you--something all -lovers should know. - -=It Tells= how you can charm those you meet and make them love you, -whether they will or not. - -=It Tells= how Spiritualists and others can make writing appear on the arm -in blood characters, as performed by Foster and all noted magicians. - -=It Tells= how to make a cheap Galvanic Battery; how to plate and gild -without a battery; how to make a candle burn all night; how to make a -clock for 25 cents; how to detect counterfeit money; how to banish and -prevent mosquitoes from biting; how to make yellow butter in winter; -Circassian curling fluid; Sympathetic or Secret Writing Ink; Cologne -Water; Artificial honey; Stammering; how to make large noses small; to -cure drunkenness; to copy letters without a press; to obtain fresh-blown -flowers in winter; to make good burning candles from lard. - -=It Tells= how to make a horse appear as though he was badly foundered; to -make a horse temporarily lame; how to make him stand by his food and not -eat it; how to cure a horse from the crib or sucking wind; how to put a -young countenance on the horse; how to cover up the heaves; how to make -him appear as if he had the glanders; how to make a true-pulling horse -balk; how to nerve a horse that is lame, etc., etc.--These horse secrets -are being continually sold at one dollar each. - -=It Tells= how to make the Eggs of Pharo's Serpents, which when lighted, -though but the size of a pea, there issues from it a coiling, hissing -serpent, wonderful in length and similarity to a genuine serpent. - -=It Tells= how to make gold and silver from block tin (the least said -about which the better). Also how to take impressions from coins. Also -how to imitate gold and silver. - -=It Tells= of a simple and ingenious method of copying any kind of drawing -or picture. Also, more wonderful still, how to print pictures from the -print itself. - -=It Tells= how to perform the Davenport Brothers "Spirit Mysteries." So -that any person can astonish an audience, as they have done. Also scores -of other wonderful things which there is no room to mention. - -=Old Secrets and New Discoveries= is worth $5 to any person; but it will -be mailed to any address on receipt of only 25 cents. - - -=OUT IN THE STREETS.=--By S. N. Cook. Price, 15 cents. - -We take pleasure in offering the strictly moral and very amusing -temperance drama entitled, "Out in the Streets," to all entertainment -committees as one that will give entire satisfaction. The parts are -taken by six male and six female characters. - - -=PHUNNY PHELLOW'S GRAB BAG;= or, Jolly Tid-Bits for Mirthful -Mortals.--Josh Billings, Danbury News Man and Bret Harte rolled into -one. It is not too much to say that the book contains the choicest humor -in the English language. Its size is mammoth, containing more than one -thousand of the raciest jests, comical hits, exhilarating stories, -flowers of wit, excruciating jokes, uproarious poems, laughable -sketches, darky comicalities, clowns' efforts, button-bursting -conundrums, endmen's jokes, plantation humors, funny caricatures, -hifalutin dialogues, curious scenes, cute sayings, ludicrous drolleries, -peculiar repartees, and nearly 500 illustrations. 25 cents. - - -=SCIENCE OF A NEW LIFE (THE).=--By John Cowan, M.D. A handsome 8vo, -containing over 400 pages, with more than 100 illustrations, and sold at -the following prices: English cloth, beveled boards, gilt side and back, -$3.00; leather, sprinkled edges, $3.50; half turkey morocco, marbled -edges, gilt back, $4.00. - - -=SOME FUNNY THINGS= said by Clever Children. Who is not interested in -children? We are satisfied that this book will give genuine satisfaction -to all who are interested in listening to the happy voices of children. -This will show that humor is not confined to adult minds by any means. -64 pages, 10 cents. - - - - -THE EVERY-DAY EDUCATOR - -OR, - -How To Do Business. - -Prepared for Ambitious Americans by -Prof. SEYMOUR EATON. - -The Brightest and Best Help Manual ever issued in this Country. - -Each of the numerous departments forms a unique feature. Here are the -titles of a few: - -[Illustration: HOW TO APPLY] - -[Illustration: _For a Situation_] - - BOOK-KEEPING, BANKING, CORRESPONDENCE, - ARITHMETIC, FRENCH, GERMAN, - LESSONS IN ELECTRICITY, ASTRONOMY, - PENMANSHIP, PHYSICAL CULTURE, - HOW TO WRITE FOR THE PRESS, - FIGURE SHORTHAND, LESSONS IN DRAWING, - TELEGRAPHY, FACTS and FIGURES, - THESE BODIES OF OURS, GAMES AND PUZZLES, - CHARACTER IN HANDS, - GOOD OPENINGS IN NEW TRADES, U. S. HISTORY, - PUBLIC SPEAKING, HOW TO GET A START, - LITERATURE, AUTHORS and BOOKS. - -[Illustration: RULES OF ORDER FOR BUSINESS MEETINGS] - -But why go further? Get the book and we guarantee you will say it is -away ahead of anything you have seen before. - -=The Every-Day Educator= contains 240 pages. Handsomely printed on fine -paper. Fully illustrated. Substantially bound in cloth, and in every -respect a perfect specimen of advanced book-making, price, 75 cents; -bound in paper cover, 25 cents. Sent by mail, postpaid, to any address -on receipt of price. Agents wanted. Address all orders and applications -for an agency to - -_J. S. OGILVIE PUBLISHING COMPANY_, -_Lock Box 2767._ _57 Rose Street, New York._ - - -AYER'S - -Hair Vigor - -cures scalp humors, prevents dandruff, restores color and vitality to -faded and gray hair, stimulates growth, makes the hair soft, glossy, and -beautiful. As a tonic and dressing for the hair and scalp it has no -equal, being used by both ladies and gentlemen - -FOR THE TOILET - -[Illustration] - -"I have used Ayer's Hair Vigor for years. It prevents the hair from -falling out, thickens the growth of the hair and gives it a fine, rich, -glossy appearance, such as no other dressing will impart. It is an -elegant toilet article, and I can cordially recommend it."--Miss DYDA -YATES, Utica, Mississippi. - -NO MORE -GRAY HAIR - -AYER'S PILLS cure Stomach Troubles. - - * * * * * - - -Typographical errors corrected by the etext transcriber: - -costly fireram come into the hands=> costly firearm come into the hands -{pg 4} - -I did make a mistep at=> I did make a mis step at {pg 8} - -his eyebrows were so baldy shape=> his eyebrows were so badly shape {pg -13} - -gifted with this elasticty=> gifted with this elasticity {pg 13} - -That is why weh aveoc me to=> That is why we have [illegible]oc me to -{pg 57} - -what has happend me=> what has happened me {pg 129} - -story of Oledipus=> story of OEdipus {pg 170} - -gold earings and chain=> gold earrings and chain {pg 14} - -the royal couch tramped men and women=> the royal coach tramped men and -women {pg 18} - -had complaisant treasures=> had complaisant treasurers {pg 20} - -Queen and their son is in the midst=> Queen and their son are in the -midst {pg 21} - -I always come with pelasure and confidence=> I always come with pleasure -and confidence {pg 34} - -probably intented to=> probably intended to {pg 49} - -But Piton did not participate=> But Pitou did not participate {pg 64} - -with the competeitors=> with the competitors {pg 67} - -started through the words=> started through the woods {pg 72} - -has anything bad happened him=> has anything bad happened to him {pg 72} - -Her recoiled on the lounge=> She recoiled on the lounge {pg 83} - -he demaded=> he demanded {pg 83} - -Rosseau was dead=> Rousseau was dead {pg 95} - -He laid peculiar streets on this name=> He laid peculiar stress on this -name {pg 100} - -villian=> villain {pg 103} - -so distinguised a man=> so distinguished a man {pg 104} - -wanting fine thousand=> wanting five thousand {pg 104} - -I have no pretention=> I have no pretension {pg 116} - -your are a friend=> you are a friend {pg 118} - -Ravaillac's or Damiens'=> Ravaillac's or Damien's {pg 119} - -Provence's owns Guards=> Provence's own Guards {pg 119} - -Govenror of Metz=> Governor of Metz {pg 120} - -neasure of greatness=> measure of greatness {pg 130} - -meetings in the craypt=> meetings in the crypt {pg 141} - -The Jacobin is a young minotaurs=> The Jacobin is a young minotaur {pg -143} - -you are funeral, count=> you are funereal, count {pg 143} - -or we shall Surgeon=> or we shall have Surgeon {pg 150} - -I could notifiy him=> I could notify him {pg 151} - -he was wearing on old uniform=> he was wearing an old uniform {pg 153} - -nails properly trimed=> nails properly trimmed {pg 153} - -A kind gentelman=> A kind gentleman {pg 158} - -While Nocole would educate the boy=> While Nicole would educate the boy -{pg 161} - -Do you not rocognize me=> Do you not recognize me {pg 167} - -what anology between=> what analogy between {pg 170} - -amoniacal dose=> ammoniacal dose {pg 189} - -this very mornng=> this very morning {pg 194} - -three corpes furnished=> three corpses furnished {pg 194} - -that this indicent broke=> that this incident broke {pg 195} - -loking steadily at her=> looking steadily at her {pg 196} - -instead of kepping it down=> instead of keeping it down {pg 197} - -yet in embyro=> yet in embryo {pg 199} - -road her down=> rode her down {pg 203} - -the vetran was=> the veteran was {pg 208} - -while her husaband rode off=> while her husband rode off {pg 211} - - - - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's The Hero of the People, by Alexandre Dumas - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HERO OF THE PEOPLE *** - -***** This file should be named 42681.txt or 42681.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/2/6/8/42681/ - -Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Chuck Greif and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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