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diff --git a/43633.txt b/43633.txt deleted file mode 100644 index b583900..0000000 --- a/43633.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,10820 +0,0 @@ -Project Gutenberg's The Royal Life Guard, by Alexander Dumas (pere) - -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/license - - -Title: The Royal Life Guard - or, the flight of the royal family. A historical romance - of the suppression of the French monarchy - -Author: Alexander Dumas (pere) - -Translator: Hery Llewellyn Williams - -Release Date: September 3, 2013 [EBook #43633] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ROYAL LIFE GUARD *** - - - - -Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Ray Wobbe and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - -Transcriber's Note: Italic text is denoted by _underscores_ and bold -text by =equal signs=. - - - - -PRICE, 25 CENTS. No. 81. - - THE SUNSET SERIES. - - By Subscription, per Year, Nine Dollars. March 1, 1894. - Entered at the New York Post Office as second-class matter. - - Copyright 1891, by J. S. OGILVIE. - - - - - THE - ROYAL LIFE GUARD. - - BY - Alex. Dumas. - - - - - NEW YORK: - J. S. OGILVIE PUBLISHING COMPANY, - 57 ROSE STREET. - - - - -A GREAT OFFER! - -[Illustration] - -The price of Each One of these books bound in cloth is 75 cents, but we -will send you the FIVE BOOKS bound in paper for 75 cents! - -2269 Pages for 75 Cents. - - Remarkable but True. We will, for 75 cents, send the Leather - Stocking Tales, by J. Fenimore Cooper, comprising the five separate - books, The Deerslayer, The Pathfinder, The Pioneer, The Prairie, - The Last of the Mohicans, set in large long primer type, and each - bound in heavy lithograph covers. Sent by mail, postpaid, for 75 - cents, and money refunded if you are not satisfied. Address, - - _J. S. OGILVIE PUBLISHING COMPANY, - 57 Rose Street, New York._ - - - - -HOW TO GET MARRIED - - Although a Woman, or The Art of Pleasing Men. By a YOUNG - WIDOW. The following is the table of contents: Girls and Matrimony. - The Girls Whom Men Like. The Girl Who Wins and How She Does It. - The Girl Who Fails. Some Unfailing Methods. A Word of Warning. The - Secret of the Widow's Power. Lady Beauty. The Loved Wife. Every - woman, married or single, should read this book. It will be sent - by mail, postpaid, _securely sealed_, on receipt of only 25 cents. - Address, - - _J. S. OGILVIE PUBLISHING COMPANY, - 57 Rose Street, New York._ - - - - - THE ROYAL LIFE-GUARD; - OR - THE FLIGHT OF THE ROYAL FAMILY. - - - A HISTORICAL ROMANCE OF THE SUPPRESSION - OF THE FRENCH MONARCHY. - - - BY ALEXANDER DUMAS. - - Author of "Balsamo the Magician," "Monte Cristo," "The Queen's - Necklace," "The Three Musketeers," "Chicot the Jester," - "The Countess of Charny," "The Knight of - Redcastle," etc. - - - TRANSLATED FROM THE LATEST PARIS 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 ROYAL LIFE-GUARD. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -A NEW LEASE OF LIFE. - - -France had been changed to a limited monarchy from an absolute one, and -King Louis XVI. had solemnly sworn to defend the new Constitution. But -it had been remarked by shrewd observers that he had not attended the Te -Deum at the Paris Cathedral, with the members of the National Assembly: -that is, he would tell a lie but not commit perjury. - -The people were therefore on their guard against him, while they felt -that his Queen, Marie Antoinette, the daughter of Austria, was ever -their foe. - -But the murders by the rabble had frightened all property holders and -when the court bought Mirabeau, the popular orator, over to its cause -by paying his debts and a monthly salary the majority of the better -classes, who had not fled from France in terror, thought the Royal -Family would yet regain their own. - -In point of fact, Mirabeau had obtained from the House of -Representatives that the King should have the right to rule the army -and direct it and propose war, which the Assembly would only have the -sanction of. He would have obtained more in the reaction after the -Taking of the Bastile but for an unknown hand having distributed full -particulars of his purchase by the royalists in a broadside given away -by thousands in the streets. - -Hence he retired from the senate broken by his victory, though carrying -himself proudly. - -In face of danger the strong athlete thought of the antagonist, not of -his powers. - -On going home, he flung himself on the floor, rolling on flowers. He had -two passionate loves: for the fair sex, because he was an ugly though -robust man, and for flowers. - -This time he felt so exhausted that he resisted his attendant feebly, -who wanted to send for a doctor, when "Dr. Gilbert" was announced. - -A man still young though with a grave expression like one tried in -the furnace of personal and political heats, entered the room. He was -clothed in the wholly black suit which he introduced from America, where -it was popular among Republicans, for he was a friend of Washington and -Marquis Lafayette, who like him had returned to make a sister Republic -of France to that of the Thirteen United States. - -Dr. Gilbert was a friend of Mirabeau, for he wished to preserve the King -at the head of the State though he knew it was but the gilded figurehead -without which, if knocked off in the tempest, the Ship rights itself and -lives through all without feeling the loss. - -Nevertheless, Gilbert, who was one of the Invisibles, that Secret -Society which worked for years to bring about the downfall of monarchy -in Europe, had been warned by its Chief, the Grand Copt Cagliostro, -_alias_ Balsamo the Mesmerist, _alias_ Baron Zannone--since he had -escaped from the Papal dungeons under cover of his being supposed dead -and buried there--that the Queen cajoled him and that royalty was -doomed. - -"I have come to congratulate you, my dear count," said the doctor to the -orator, "you promised us a victory, and you have borne away a triumph." - -"A Pyrrhic one--another such and we are lost. I am very ill of it. Oh, -doctor, tell me of something, not to keep me alive but to give me force -while I do live." - -"How can I advise for a constitution like yours," said the physician, -after feeling the nobleman's pulse: "you do not heed my advice. I told -you not to have flowers in the room as they spoil the air, and you are -smothered in them. As for the ladies, I bade you beware and you answer -that you would rather die than be reft of their society." - -"Never mind that. I suffer too much to think of aught but myself. I -sometimes think that as I am slandered so that the Queen hesitated to -trust me, so have I been physically done to death. Do you believe in the -famous poisons which slay without knowing they are used until too late?" - -"Yes; I believe," for Gilbert frowned as he remembered that his secret -brotherhood was allowed to use the Aqua Tofana where an enemy could not -be otherwise reached: "but in your case it is the sword wearing out its -sheath. The electric spark will explode the crystal chamber in which it -is confined. Still I can help you." - -He drew from his pocket a phial holding about a couple of thimblefuls of -a green liquid. - -"One of my friends--whom I would were yours--deeply versed in natural -and occult sciences, gave me the recipe of this brew as a sovereign -elixir of life. I have often taken it to cure what the English call -the blue devils. And I am bound to say that the effect was instant and -salutary. Will you taste it?" - -"I will take anything from your hand, my dear doctor." - -A servant was rung up, who brought a spoon and a little brandy in a -glass. - -"Brandy to mollify it," said Mirabeau: "it must be liquid fire, then!" - -Gilbert added the same quantity of his elixir to the half-dozen drops of -eau-de-vie and the two fluids mixed to the color of wormwood bitters, -which the exhausted man drank off. - -Immediately he was invigorated and sprang up, saying: - -"Doctor, I will pay a diamond a drop for that liquor, for it would make -me feel invincible." - -"Count, promise me that you will take it only each three days, and I -will leave you a phial every week." - -"Give it, and I promise everything." - -"Now, I have come for another matter. I want you to come out of town -for carriage exercise and at the same time to select a residence there." - -"It chances that I was looking for one, and my man found a nice house at -Argenteuil, recommended by a fellow countryman of his, one Fritz, whose -master, a foreign banker, had lived in it. It is delightful and being -vacant could be moved into at once. My father had a house out there, -whence he drove me with his cane." - -"Let us go to Argenteuil, then," said Gilbert; "your health is so -valuable that we must study everything bearing upon it." - -Mirabeau had no establishment and a hack had to be called for the -gentlemen. In this they proceeded to the village where, a hundred paces -on the Besons Road, they saw a house buried in the trees. It was called -the Marsh House. - -On the right of the road was a humble cottage, in front of which sat a -woman on a stool, holding a child in her arms who seemed devoured with -fever. - -"Doctor," said the orator, fixing his eyes on the sad sight, "I am as -superstitious as an ancient. If that child dies, I would not live in -this house. Just see what you think of the case." - -Gilbert got down while the carriage went on. - -A gardener was keeping the house which he showed to the inquirer. -It belonged to St. Denis Abbey and was for sale under the decree -confiscating Church property. Over against the gardener's lodge was -another, a summerhouse simply overgrown with flowers. Mirabeau's passion -for them made this sufficient lure; for this alone he would have taken -the house. - -"Is this little cottage, this Temple of Flora, on the property?" he -asked. - -"Yes, sir: it belongs to the big house but it is at present occupied by -a lady with her child, a pretty lady, but of course she will have to go -if the house and estate are bought." - -"A lovely neighbor does no harm," said the count: "Let me see the -interior of the house." - -The rooms were lofty and elegant, the furniture fine and stylish. In -the main room Mirabeau opened a window to look out and it commanded a -view of the summerhouse. What was more, he had a view of a lady, sewing, -half reclining, while a child of five or six played on the lawn among -flowering shrubs. - -It was the lady tenant. - -It was not only such a pretty woman as one might imagine a Queen among -the roses, but it was the living likeness of Queen Marie Antoinette and -to accentuate the resemblance the boy was about the age of the Prince -Royal. - -Suddenly the beautiful stranger perceived that she was under observation -for she uttered a faint scream of surprise, rose, called her son, and -drew him inside by the hand, but not without looking back two or three -times. - -At this same moment Mirabeau started, for a hand was laid on his -shoulder. It was the doctor who reported that the peasant's child had -caught swamp fever from being set down beside a stagnant pool while the -mother reaped the grass. The disease was deadly but the doctor hoped to -save the sufferer by Jesuit's Bark, as quinine was still styled at this -date. - -But he warned his friend against this House in the Marsh, where the -air might be as fatal to him as that of the senate house, where bad -ventilation made the atmosphere mephitic. - -"I am sorry the air is not good, for the house suits me wonderfully." - -"What an eternal enemy you are to yourself? If you mean to obey the -orders of the Faculty, begin by renouncing the idea of taking this -residence. You will find fifty around Paris better placed." - -Perhaps Mirabeau, yielding to Reason's voice, would have promised; but -suddenly, in the first shades of evening, behind a screen of flowers, -appeared the head of a woman in white and pink flounces: he fancied that -she smiled on him. He had no time to assure himself as Gilbert dragged -him away, suspecting something was going on. - -"My dear doctor," said the orator, "remember that I said to the Queen -when she gave me her hand to kiss on our interview for reconciliation: -'By this token, the Monarchy is saved.' I took a heavy engagement that -time, especially if they whom I defend plot against me; but I shall hold -to it, though suicide may be the only way for me to get honorably out of -it." - -In a day Mirabeau bought the Marsh House. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -THE FEDERATION OF FRANCE. - - -All the realm had bound itself together in the girdle of Federation, one -which preceded the United Europe of later utopists. - -Mirabeau had favored the movement, thinking that the King would gain -by the country people coming to Paris, where they might overpower the -citizens. He deluded himself into the belief that the sight of royalty -would result in an alliance which no plot could break. - -Men of genius sometimes have these sublime but foolish ideas at which -the tyros in politics may well laugh. - -There was a great stir in the Congress when the proposition was brought -forward for this Federation ceremony at Paris which the provinces -demanded. It was disapproved by the two parties dividing the House, the -Jacobins (So called from the old Monastery of Jacobins where they met) -and the royalists. The former dreaded the union more than their foes -from not knowing the effect Louis XVI. might have on the masses. - -The King's-men feared that a great riot would destroy the royal family -as one had destroyed the Bastile. - -But there was no means to oppose the movement which had not its like -since the Crusades. - -The Assembly did its utmost to impede it, particularly by resolving -that the delegates must come at their own expense; this was aimed -at the distant provinces. But the politicians had no conception of -the extent of the desire: all doors opened along the roads for these -pilgrims of liberty and the guides of the long procession were all the -discontented--soldiers and under-officers who had been kept down that -aristocrats should have all the high offices; seamen who had won the -Indies and were left poor: shattered waifs to whom the storms had left -stranded. They found the strength of their youth to lead their friends -to the capitol. - -Hope marched before them. - -All the pilgrims sang the same song: "It must go on!" that is, the -Revolution. The Angel of Renovation had taught it to all as it hovered -over the country. - -To receive the five hundred thousand of the city and country, a gigantic -area was required: the field of Mars did for that, while the surrounding -hills would hold the spectators; but as it was flat it had to be -excavated. - -Fifteen thousand regular workmen, that is, of the kind who loudly -complain that they have no work to do and under their breath thank -heaven when they do not find it--started in on the task converting the -flat into the pit of an amphitheatre. At the rate they worked they would -be three months at it, while it was promised for the Fourteenth of July, -the Anniversary of the Taking of the Bastile. - -Thereupon a miracle occurred by which one may judge the enthusiasm of -the masses. - -Paris volunteered to work the night after the regular excavators had -gone off. Each brought his own tools: some rolled casks of refreshing -drink, others food; all ages and both sexes, all conditions from the -scholar to the carter; children carried torches; musicians played all -kinds of instruments to cheer the multitude, and from one hundred -thousand workers sounded the song "It shall go on!" - -Among the most enfevered toilers might be remarked two who had been -among the first to arrive; they were in National Guards uniform. One was -a gloomy-faced man of forty, with robust and thickset frame; the other a -youth of twenty. - -The former did not sing and spoke seldom. - -The latter had blue eyes in a frank and open countenance, with white -teeth and light hair; he stood solidly on long legs and large feet. With -his full-sized hands he lifted heavy weights, rolling dirt carts and -pulling hurdles without rest. He was always singing, while watching his -comrade out of the corner of the eye, saying joking words to which he -did not reply, bringing him a glass of wine which he refused, returning -to his place with sorrow, but falling to work again like ten men, and -singing like twenty. - -These two men, newly elected Representatives by the Aisne District, ten -miles from Paris, having heard that hands were wanted, ran in hot haste -to offer one his silent co-operation, the other his merry and noisy -assistance. - -Their names were Francois Billet and Ange Pitou. The first was a wealthy -farmer, whose land was owned by Dr. Gilbert, and the second a boy of the -district who had been the schoolmate of Gilbert's son Sebastian. - -Thanks to their help, with that of others as energetic and patriotically -inspired, the enormous works were finished on the Thirteenth of July -1790. - -To make sure of having places next day, many workers slept on the -battlefield. - -Billet and Pitou were to officiate in the ceremonies and they went to -join their companions on the main street. Hotel-keepers had lowered -their prices and many houses were open to their brothers from the -country. The farther they came the more kindly they were treated, if any -distinction was made. - -On its part the Assembly had received a portion of the shock. A few days -before, it had abolished hereditary nobility, on the motion of Marquis -Lafayette. - -Contrarily, the influence of Mirabeau was felt daily. A place was -assigned in the Federation to him as Orator. Thanks to so mighty a -champion, the court won partisans in the opposition ranks. The Assembly -had voted liberal sums to the King for his civil list and for the Queen, -so that they lost nothing by pensioning Mirabeau. - -The fact was, he seemed quite right in appealing to the rustics; the -Federalists whom the King welcomed seemed to bring love for royalty -along with enthusiasm for the National Assembly. - -Unhappily the King, dull and neither poetical nor chivalric, met the -cheers coolly. - -Unfortunately, also, the Queen, too much of a Lorrainer to love the -French and too proud to greet common people, did not properly value -these outbursts of the heart. - -Besides, poor woman, she had a spot on her sun: one of those gloomy fits -which clouded her mind. - -She had long loved Count Charny, lieutenant of the Royal Lifeguards, but -his loyalty to the King, who had treated him like a brother in times of -danger, had rendered him invulnerable to the woman's wiles. - -Marie Antoinette was no longer a young woman and sorrow had touched her -head with her wing, which was making the threads of silver appear in the -blonde tresses--but she was fair enough to bewitch a Mirabeau and might -have enthralled George Charny. - -But, married to save the Queen's reputation to a lady of the court, -Andrea de Taverney, he was falling in love with her, she having loved -him at first sight, and this love naturally fortified his tacit pledge -never to wrong his sovereign. - -Hence the Queen was miserable, and all the more as Charny had departed -on some errand for the King of which he had not told her the nature. - -Probably this was why she had played the flirt with Mirabeau. The genius -had flattered her by kneeling at her feet. But she too soon compared the -bloated, heavy, leonine man with Charny. - -George Charny was elegance itself, the noble and the courtier and yet -more a seaman, who had saved a war-ship by nailing the colors to the -mast and bidding the crew fight on. - -In his brilliant uniform he looked like a prince of battles, while -Mirabeau, in his black suit, resembled a canon of the church. - -The fourteenth of July came impassibly, draped in clouds and promising -rain and a gale when it ought to have illumined a splendid day. - -But the French laugh even on a rainy day. - -Though drenched with rain and dying of hunger, the country delegates -and National Guards, ranked along the main street, made merry and sang. -But the population, while unable to keep the wet off them, were not -going to let them starve. Food and drink were lowered by ropes out of -the windows. Similar offerings were made in all the thoroughfares they -passed through. - -During their march, a hundred and fifty thousand people took places on -the edges of the Field of Mars, and as many stood behind them. It was -not possible to estimate the number on the surrounding hills. - -Never had such a sight struck the eye of man. - -The Field was changed in a twinkling of the plain into a pit, with the -auditorium holding three hundred thousand. - -In the midst was the Altar of the Country, to which led four staircases, -corresponding with the faces of the obelisk which overtowered it. - -At each corner smoked incense dishes--incense being decreed henceforth -to be used only in offerings to God. - -Inscriptions heralded that the French People were free, and invited all -nations to the feast of Freedom. - -One grand stand was reserved for the Queen, the court and the Assembly. -It was draped with the Red, White and Blue which she abhorred, since she -had seen it flaunt above her own, the Austrian black. - -For this day only the King was appointed Commander-in-chief, but he had -transferred his command to Lafayette who ruled six millions of armed men -in the National Guards of France. - -The tricolor surmounted everything--even to the distinctive banners of -each body of delegates. - -At the same time as the President of the Assembly took his seat, the -King and the Queen took theirs. - -Alas, poor Queen! her court was meager: her best friends had fled -in fright: perhaps some would have returned if they knew what money -Mirabeau had obtained for her; but they were ignorant. - -She knew that Charny, whom she vainly looked for, would not be attracted -by the power or by gold. - -She looked for his younger brother, Isidore, wondering why all the -Queen's defenders seemed absent from their post. - -Nobody knew where he was. At this hour he was conducting his sweetheart, -Catherine, daughter of the gloomy farmer Billet, to a house in Bellevue, -Paris, for refuge from the contumely of her sisters in the village and -the wrath of her father. - -Who knows, though, but that the heiress to the throne of the Caesars -would have consented to be an obscure peasant girl to be loved by George -again as Isidore loved the farmer's daughter. - -She was no doubt revolving such ideas when Mirabeau, who saw her with -glances, half thunderous weather, half sunshine, and could not help -exclaiming: - -"Of what is the royal enchantress thinking?" - -She was brooding over the absence of Charny and his love died out. - -The mass was said by Talleyrand, the French "Vicar of Bray," who swore -allegiance to all manner of Constitutions himself. It must have been of -evil augury. The storm redoubled as though protesting against the false -priest who burlesqued the service. - -Here followed the ceremony of taking the oath. Lafayette was the first, -binding the National Guards. The Assembly Speaker swore for France; and -the King in his own name. - -When the vows were made in deep silence, a hundred pieces of artillery -burst into flame at once and bellowed the signal to the surrounding -country. - -From every fortified place an immense flame issued, followed by the -menacing thunder invented by man and eclipsing that of heaven if -superiority is to be measured by disasters. So the circle enlarged until -the warning reached the frontier and surpassed it. - -When the King rose to declare his purpose the clouds parted and the sun -peered out like the Eye of God. - -"I, King of the French," he said, "swear to employ all the power -delegated to me by the Constitutional Law of the State to maintain the -Constitution." - -Why had he not eluded the solemn pledge as before; for his next step, -flight from the kingdom, was to be the key to the enigma set that day. -But, true or false, the cannon-fire none the less roared the oath to the -confines. It took the warning to the monarchs: - -"Take heed! France is afoot, wishing to be free, and she is ready like -the Roman envoy to shake peace or war, as you like it, from the folds of -her dress." - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -WHERE THE BASTILE STOOD. - - -Night came: the morning festival had been on the great parade ground; -the night rejoicing was to be on the site where the Bastile had stood. - -Eighty-three trees, one for each department of France, were stuck up -to show the space occupied by the infamous states-prison, on whose -foundation these trees of liberty were planted. Strings of lamps ran -from tree to tree. In the midst rose a large pole, with a flag lettered: -"Freedom!" - -Near the moats, in a grave left open on purpose were flung the old -chains, fetters, instruments of torture found in it, and its clock with -chained captives the supporters. The dungeons were left open and lighted -ghastly, where so many tears and groans had been vainly expanded. - -Lastly, in the inmost courtyard, a ballroom had been set up and as the -music pealed, the couples could be seen promenading. The prediction -of Cagliostro was fulfilled that the Bastile should be a public -strolling-ground. - -At one of the thousand tables set up around the Bastile, under the -shadow of the trees outlining the site of the old fortress, two men were -repairing their strength exhausted by the day's marching, and other -military manoeuvres. Before them was a huge sausage, a four-pound loaf, -and two bottles of wine. - -"By all that is blue," said the younger, who wore the National Guards -captain's uniform, "it is a fine thing to eat when you are hungry and -drink when a-thirst." He paused. "But you do not seem to be hungry or -thirsty, Father Billet." - -"I have had all I want, and only thirst for one thing----" - -"What is that?" - -"I will tell you Pitou, when the time for me to sit at my feast shall -come." - -Pitou did not see the drift of the reply. - -Pitou was a lover of Catherine Billet, but he self-acknowledged that he -could have no chance against the young nobleman who had captivated the -rustic maid. When her father tried to shoot the gallant, he had--while -not shielding her or her lover, helped her to conceal herself from -Billet. - -It was not he, however, but Isidore who had brought the girl to Paris, -after she had given birth to a boy. This occurred in the absence of -Billet and Pitou, both of whom were ignorant of the removal. - -Pitou had housed her in a quiet corner, and he went to Paris without -anything arising to cause him sadness. - -He had found Dr. Gilbert, to whom he had to report that with money he -had given, Captain Pitou had equipped his Guards at Haramont in uniform -which was the admiration of the county. - -The doctor gave him five-and-twenty more gold pieces to be applied to -maintaining the company at its present state of efficiency. - -"While I am talking with Billet," said Gilbert, "who has much to tell -me, would you not like to see Sebastian?" - -"I should think I do," answered the peasant, "but I did not like to ask -your permission." - -After meditating a few instants, Gilbert wrote several words on a paper -which he folded up like a letter and addressed to his son. - -"Take a hack and go find him," he said. "Probably from what I have -written, he will want to pay a visit; take him thither and wait at the -door. He may keep you an hour or so, but I know how obliging you are; -you will not find the time hang heavy when you know you are doing me a -kindness." - -"Do not bother about that," responded the honest fellow; "I never feel -dull; besides, I will get in a supply of something to feed on and I will -kill time by eating." - -"A good method," laughed Gilbert; "only you must not eat dry bread as a -matter of health, but wash it down with good wine." - -"I will get a bottle, and some head cheese, too," replied Pitou. - -"Bravo!" exclaimed the physician. - -Pitou found Sebastian in the Louis-the-Great College, in the gardens. -He was a winsome young man of eighteen, or less, with handsome chestnut -curls enframing his melancholy and thoughtful face and blue eyes darting -juvenile glances like a Spring sun. - -In him were combined the lofty aspirations of two aristocracies: that of -the intellect, as embodied in his father, and of race, personified in -Andrea Countess of Charny, who had become his mother while unconscious -in a mesmeric sleep, induced by Balsamo-Cagliostro, but perceived by -Gilbert, who had not in his wild passion for the beauty been able to -shrink from profiting by the trance. - -It was to the countess's that Gilbert had suggested his son should go. - -On the way Pitou laid in the provisions to fill up time if he had to -wait any great while in the hack for the youth to come out of his -mother's. - -As the countess was at home, the janitor made no opposition to a -well-dressed young gentleman entering. - -Five minutes after, while Pitou was slicing up his loaf and sausage and -taking a pull at his wine, a footman came out to say: - -"Her ladyship, the countess of Charny, prays Captain Pitou to do her the -honor to step inside instead of awaiting Master Sebastian in a hired -conveyance." - -The Assembly had abolished titles but the servants of the titled had not -yet obeyed. - -Pitou had to wipe his mouth, pack up in paper the uneaten comestibles, -with a sigh, and follow the man in a maze. His astonishment doubled when -he saw a lovely lady who held Sebastian in her arms and who said, as she -put out her hand to the new-comer: - -"Captain Pitou, you give me such great and unhoped-for joy in bringing -Sebastian to me that I wanted to thank you myself." - -Pitou stared, and stammered, but let the hand remain untaken. - -"Take and kiss the lady's hand," prompted Sebastian: "it is my mother." - -"Your mother? oh, Gemini!" exclaimed the peasant, while the other young -man nodded. - -"Yes, his mother," said Andrea with her glance beaming with delight: -"you bring him to me after nine months' parting, and then I had only -seen him once before: in the hope you will again bring him, I wish to -have no secrets from you, though it would be my ruin if revealed." - -Every time the heart and trust of our rural friend was appealed to, one -might be sure that he would lose his hesitation and dismay. - -"Oh, my lady, be you easy, your secret is here," he responded, grasping -her hand and kissing it, before laying his own with some dignity on his -heart. - -"My son tells me, Captain Pitou, that you have not breakfasted," went on -the countess; "pray step into the dining-room, and you can make up for -lost time while I speak with my boy." - -Soon, on the board were arrayed two cutlets, a cold fowl, and a pot of -preserves, near a bottle of Bordeaux, a fine Venice glass and a pile of -china plates. But for all the elegance of the set out edibles, Pitou -rather deplored the head cheese, bread and common wine in the cab. - -As he was attacking the chicken after having put away the cutlets, the -door opened and a young gentleman appeared, meaning to cross the room. -But as Pitou lifted his head, they both recognized each other, and -uttered a simultaneous cry: - -"Viscount Charny!" - -"Ange Pitou!" - -The peasant sprang up; his heart was violently throbbing; the sight of -the patrician aroused his most painful memories. - -Not only was this his rival but his successful rival and the man who had -wronged Catherine Billet and caused her to lose her father's respect and -her place at her mother's side in the farmhouse. Isidore only knew that -Catherine was under obligations to this country lad; he had no idea of -the latter's profound love for his mistress: love out of which Pitou -drew his devotedness. - -Consequently he walked right up to the other, in whom, spite of the -uniform, he only saw still the poacher and farm boy of Haramont. - -"Oh, you here, Pitou," said he: "delighted to meet you to thank you for -all the services you have done us." - -"My lord viscount, I did all for Miss Catherine alone," returned the -young man, in a firm voice though all his frame thrilled. - -"That was all well up to your knowing that I loved her; then, I was -bound to take my share in the gratitude and as you must have gone to -some outlay, say for the letters transmitted to her----" - -He clapped his hand to his pocket to prick Pitou's conscience. But the -other stopped him, saying, with the dignity sometimes astonishing to -appear in him: - -"My lord, I do services when I can but not for pay. Besides, I repeat, -these were for Miss Catherine solely. She is my friend; if she believes -she is in any way indebted to me, she will regulate the account. But -you, my lord, owe me nothing; for I did all for her, and not a stroke -for you. So you have to offer me nothing." - -These words, but especially the tone, struck the hearer; perhaps it was -only then that he noticed that the speaker was dressed as a captain in -the new army. - -"Excuse me, Captain Pitou," said Isidore, slightly bowing: "I do owe you -something, and that is my thanks, and I offer you my hand; I hope you -will do me the pleasure of accepting one and the honor of accepting the -other." - -There was such grandeur in the speech and the gesture in company with -it, that vanquished Pitou held out his hand and with the fingers' ends -touched Isidore's. - -At this juncture Countess Charny appeared on the threshold. - -"You asked for me, my lord," she said; "I am here." - -Isidore saluted the peasant and walked into the next room; he swung the -door to behind him but the countess caught it and checked it so that it -remained ajar. Pitou understood that he was allowed, nay, invited to -hear what was spoken. He remarked that on the other side of the sitting -room was another door, leading into a bedroom; if Sebastian was there, -he could hear on that side as well as the captain on this other. - -"My lady," began Isidore, "I had news yesterday from my brother George; -as in other letters, he begs me to ask you to remember him. He does not -yet know when he is to return, and will be happy to have news from you -either by letter or by your charging me." - -"I could not answer the letter he sent me from want of an address; but I -will profit by your intermediation to have the duty of a submissive and -respectful wife presented him. If you will take charge of a letter for -my lord, one shall be ready on the morrow." - -"Have it ready," said Isidore; "but I cannot call for it till some five -or six days as I have a mission to carry out, a journey of necessity, -of unknown duration, but I will come here at once on my return and take -your message." - -As he passed through the dining-room he saw that Pitou was spooning -deeply into the preserves. He had finished when the countess came in, -with Sebastian. - -It was difficult to recognize the grave Countess Charny in this radiant -young mother whom two hours of chat with her son had transformed. The -hand which she gave to Pitou seemed to be of marble still, but mollified -and warmed. - -Sebastian embraced his mother with the ardor he infused in all he did. - -Pitou took leave without putting a question, and was silent on the way -to the college, absorbing the rest of his head cheese, bread and wine. -There was nothing in this incident to spoil his appetite. - -But he was chilled to see how gloomy Farmer Billet was. - -He resolved to dissipate this sadness. - -"I say, Father Billet," he resumed, after preparing his stock of words -as a sharpshooter makes a provision of cartridges, "who the devil could -have guessed, in a year and two days, that since Miss Catherine received -me on the farm, so many events should have taken place." - -"Nobody," rejoined Billet whose terrible glance at the mention of -Catherine had not been remarked. - -"The idea of the pair of us taking the Bastile," continued he, like the -sharpshooter having reloaded his gun. - -"Nobody," replied the farmer mechanically. - -"Plague on it, he has made up his mind not to talk," thought the -younger man. "Who would think that I should become a captain and you a -Federalist, and we both be taking supper under an arbor in the very spot -where the old prison stood?" - -"Nobody," said Billet for the third time, with a more sombre look than -before. - -The younger man saw that there was no inducing the other to speak but he -found comfort in the thought that this ought not to alienate his right. -So he continued, leaving Billet the right to speak if he chose. - -"I suppose, like the Bastile, all whom we knew, have become dust, as -the Scriptures foretold. To think that we stormed the Bastile, on your -saying so, as if it were a chicken-house, and that here we sit where -it used to be, drinking merrily! oh, the racket we kicked up that day. -Talking of racket," he interrupted himself, "what is this rumpus all -about?" - -The uproar was caused by the passing of a man who had the rare privilege -of creating noise wherever he walked: it was Mirabeau, who, with a lady -on his arm, was visiting the Bastile site. - -Another than he would have shrank from the cheers in which were mingled -some sullen murmurs; but he was the bird of the storm and he smiled amid -the thunderous tempest, while supporting the woman, who shivered under -her veil at the simoon of such dreadful popularity. - -Pitou jumped upon a chair and waved his cocked hat on the tip of his -sword as he shouted: - -"Long live Mirabeau!" - -Billet let escape no token of feelings either way; he folded his arms on -his burly chest and muttered in a hollow voice: - -"It is said he betrays the people." - -"Pooh, that has been said of all great men, from antiquity down," -replied his friend. - -In his excitement he only now noticed that a third chair, drawn up to -their table, was occupied by a stranger who seemed about to accost them. - -To be sure it was a day of fraternity, and familiarity was allowable -among fellow-citizens, but Pitou, who had not finished his repast, -thought it going too far. The stranger did not apologize but eyed the -pair with a jeering manner apparently habitual to him. - -Billet was no doubt in no mood to support being "quizzed," as the -current word ran, for he turned on the new-comer; but the latter made a -sign before he was addressed which drew another from Billet. - -The two did not know each other, but they were brothers. - -Like Billet, he was clad like one of the delegates to the Federation. -But he had a change of attire which reminded Billet that so were dressed -the party with Anacharsis Clootz, the German anarchist, representing -Mankind. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -THE LODGE OF THE INVISIBLES. - - -"You do not know me, brothers," said the stranger, when Billet had -nodded and Pitou smiled condescendingly, "but I know you both. You are -Captain Pitou, and you, Farmer Billet. Why are you so gloomy? because, -though you were the first to enter the Bastile, they have forgotten to -hang at your buttonhole the medal for the Conquerors of the Bastile and -to do you the honors accorded to others this day?" - -"Did you really know me, brother," replied the farmer with scorn, "you -would know that such trifles do not affect a heart like mine." - -"Is it because you found your fields unproductive when you returned home -in October?" - -"I am rich--a harvest lost little worries me." - -"Then, it must be," said the stranger, looking him hard in the face, -"that something has happened to your daughter Catherine----" - -"Silence," said the farmer, clutching the speaker's arm, "let us not -speak of that matter." - -"Why not if I speak in order that you may be revenged?" - -"Then that is another thing--speak of it," said the other, turning pale -but smiling at the same time. - -Pitou thought no more of eating or drinking, but stared at their new -acquaintance as at a wizard. - -"But what do you understand by revenge?" went on he with a smile: "tell -me. In a paltry manner, by killing one individual, as you tried to do?" - -Billet blanched like a corpse: Pitou shuddered all over. - -"Or by pursuing a whole class?" - -"By hunting down a whole caste," said Billet, "for of such are the -crimes of all his like. When I mourned before my friend Dr. Gilbert, -he said: 'Poor Billet, what has befallen you has already happened to a -hundred thousand fathers; what would the young noblemen have in the way -of pastime if they did not steal away the poor man's daughter, and the -old ones steal away the King's money?'" - -"Oh, Gilbert said that, did he?" - -"Do you know him?" - -"I know all men," replied the stranger, smiling: "as I know you two, and -Viscount Charny, Isidore, Lord of Boursonnes; as I know Catherine, the -prettiest girl of the county." - -"I bade you not speak her name, for she is no more--she is dead." - -"Why, no, Father Billet," broke in Pitou, "for she----" - -He was no doubt going to say that he saw her daily, but the farmer -repeated in a voice admitting of no reply, - -"She is dead." - -Pitou hung his head for he understood. - -"Ha, ha," said the stranger: "if I were my friend Diogenes, I should -put out my lantern, for I believe I have found an honest man." Rising, -he offered his arms to Billet, saying: "Brother, come and take a stroll -with me, while this good fellow finishes the eatables." - -"Willingly," returned Billet, "for I begin to understand to what feast -you invite me. Wait for me here," he added to his friend; "I shall -return." - -The stranger seemed to know the gastronomical taste of Pitou for he sent -by the waiter some more delicacies, which he was still discussing, while -wondering, when Billet reappeared. His brow was illumined with something -like pleasure. - -"Anything new, Father Billet?" asked the captain. - -"Only that you will start for home to-morrow while I remain." - -This is what Billet remained for. - -A week after, he might have been seen, in the dress of a well-to-do -farmer, in Plastriere Street. Two thirds up the thoroughfare was blocked -by a crowd around a ballad singer with a fiddler to accompany him, who -was singing a lampoon at the characters of the day. - -Billet paused only an instant to listen to the strain, in which, from -the Assembly being on the site of the old Horse-training ground, the -attributes of horses were given to the members, as "the Roarer," to -Mirabeau, etc. - -Slipping in at an alleyway at the back of the throng, he came to a low -doorway, over which was scrawled in red chalk--symbols effaced each time -of usage: - -"L. P. D." - -This was the way down into a subterranean passage. Billet could not read -but he may have understood that these letters were a token, He took the -underground road with boldness. - -At its end a pale light glimmered, by which a seated man was reading or -pretending to read a newspaper, as is the custom of the Paris janitor of -an evening. - -At the sound of steps he got up and with a finger touching his breast -waited. Billet presented his forefinger bent and laid it like the ring -of a padlock on his lips. This was probably the sign of recognition -expected by the door-guard, for he opened a door on his right which was -wholly invisible when shut, and pointed out to the adventurer a narrow -and steep flight of steps going down into the earth. - -When Billet entered, the door shut behind him swiftly and silently. He -counted seventeen steps, and though he was not talkative could not help -saying: "Good, I am going right." - -Before a door floated tapestry: he went straight to it, lifted it and -was within a large circular hall where some fifty persons were gathered. -The walls were hung with red and white cloth, on which were traced the -Square, the Compass and the Level. A single lamp, hung from the center -of the ceiling, cast a wan light insufficient to define those who -preferred to stand out of its direct beams. - -A rostrum up which four steps led, awaited orators or new members, and -on this platform, next the wall, a desk and chair stood for the -chairman. - -In a few minutes the hall filled so that there was no moving about. -The men were of all conditions and sorts from the peasant to the -prince, arriving like Billet solitarily, and standing wherever they -liked, without knowing or being known to each other. Each wore under -his overcoat the masonic apron if only a mason, or the scarf of the -Illuminati, if affiliated to the Grand Mystery. Only three restricted -themselves to the masonic apron. - -One was Billet; another a young man, and the third a man of forty-two -who appeared by his bearing to belong to the highest upper class. - -Some seconds after he had arrived, though no more noticed than the -meanest, a second panel opened and the chairman appeared, wearing the -insignia of the Grand Orient and the Grand Copt. - -Billet uttered faintly his astonishment, for the Master was the man who -had accosted him at the Bastile. - -He mounted the dais and turning to the assembly, said: - -"Brothers, we have two pieces of business to do this day: I have to -receive three new candidates; and I have to render account of how the -Work has gone on: for as it grows harder and harder, it is meet that -you should know if I am ever worthy of your trust and that I should -know if I still deserve it. It is only by receiving light from you and -imparting it that I can walk in the dark way. Let the chiefs alone stay -in the lodge to receive or reject the applicants. They dealt with, all -are to return into session, from the first to the last, for it is in the -presence of all and not only within the Supreme Circle, I wish to lay -bare my conduct and receive censure or ask for recompense." - -At these words a door flew open opposite that he had come in by; vast -vaulted depths were beheld, as the crypt of an ancient basilica. - -The arcades were feebly lighted by brass lamps hung so as to make -darkness visible. - -Only three remained, the novices. Chance fixed it that they should be -standing up by the wall at nearly regular distances. They looked at each -other with astonishment, only thus and now learning that they were the -heroes of the occasion. - -At this instant the door by which the chairman had come, opened to admit -six masked men who came to place themselves beside the Master, three on -each hand. - -"Let Numbers Two and Three disappear for the time," said the Master; -"none but the supreme chiefs must know the secrets of the reception or -refusal of a would-be mason in the Order of the Illuminated." - -The young man and the high-born one retired by the lobby by which they -had come, leaving Billet alone. - -"Draw nearer," said the chairman. "What is your name among the profane?" -he demanded when obeyed. - -"Francois Billet, and it is Strength, among the elect." - -"Where did you first see the Light?" - -"In the lodge of the Soissons Friends of Truth." - -"How old are you?" - -"Seven years," replied Billet, making the sign to show what rank he had -attained in the order. - -"Why do you want to rise a step and be received among us?" - -"Because I am told that it is a step nearer the Universal Light." - -"Have you supporters?" - -"I have no one to speak for me save him who came to me and offered to -have me welcomed." He looked fixedly at the chairman. - -"With what feelings would you walk in the way which we may open unto -you?" - -"With hate of the powerful and love for equality." - -"What answers for these feelings?" - -"The pledge of a man who has never broken his word." - -"What inspired your wish for equality?" - -"The inferior condition in which I was born." - -"What the hatred of those above you?" - -"That is my secret; yet it is known to you; why do you want me to say -aloud what I hesitate to say in a whisper to myself?" - -"Will you walk in the way to Equality and with you lead all those whom -you can control?" - -"Yes." - -"As far as your will and strength can go, will you overthrow all -obstacles opposing the freedom of France and the emancipation of the -world?" - -"I will." - -"Are you free from any anterior engagement or if made will you break it -if contrary to this new pledge?" - -"I am ready." - -Turning to the chiefs, the Master said: - -"Brothers, this man speaks the truth. I invited him to be one of ours. A -great grief binds him to our cause by the ties of hatred. He has already -done much for the Revolution and may do more. I propose him, and answer -for him in the past, the present and the future." - -"Receive him," said all the six. - -The presiding officer raised his hand and said in a slow and solemn -voice: - -"In the name of the Architect of the Universe, swear to break all carnal -bonds still binding you to parents, sister, brother, wife, kinsmen, -mistress, kings, benefactors, and to whomsoever you have promised faith, -obedience, service or gratitude." - -Billet repeated in a voice as firm as the speaker's. - -"Good! henceforth you are freed from the so-called oath of allegiance -made to the country and the laws. Swear therefore to reveal to your new -chief what you see and do, hear or learn, read or divine, and moreover -to seek out and find which is not offered to the sight." - -"I swear," said Billet. - -"Swear to honor and respect steel, fire and poison as sure and prompt -means necessary to purge the world by the death of those who try to -lessen truth or snatch it from our hands. - -"Swear to avoid Naples, Rome, Spain and all accursed places. To shun the -temptation of revealing anything seen and heard in our meetings, for the -lightning is not swifter to strike than our invisible and inevitable -knife, wherever you may hide. And now, live in the Name of the Three!" - -A brother hidden in the crypt, opened the door where the inferior -members were strolling till the initiation was over. The Master waved -Billet to go there, and, bowing, he went to join those whom the dreadful -words he had uttered made his associates. - -The second candidate was the famous St. Just, the Revolutionist whom -Robespierre sent to the guillotine. He was initiated in the same terms -as Billet and similarly joined the band. - -The third candidate was Louis Philippe, Duke of Orleans whom hatred -of his relatives had induced to take this step to have the aid of -powerful partners in his attempt to seize the throne. He was already -at the degree of Rose-Croix. He took the oath which was administered -in a different order from before in order to test him at the outset, -and instead of saying, Yes, he repeated the very words of the section -binding him to break all ties, of affection or allegiance to royalty. - -When he darted into the crypt he exclaimed: - -"At last I shall have my revenge!" - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -THE CONSPIRATORS ACCOUNT. - - -On being left together, the six masked men and the chairman whispered -among themselves. - -"Let all come in," said Cagliostro, for he was the Master; "I am ready -to make the report I promised." - -The door was instantly opened: the members of the league walked in; to -crowd the hall once more. - -Hardly was the door closed behind the last before the Master said -holding up his hand quickly like one who knew the value of time, and -wished not to lose a second: - -"Brothers, there may be some here who were present at a meeting held -just twenty years ago, a couple of miles from Danenfels, in a cavern of -Thunder Mountain, five miles from the Rhine; if so, let the venerable -upholders of the Great Cause which we have embraced, signify the same by -holding up the hand, saying: 'I was there!'" - -Five or six hands were held above the throng and as many voices cried: -"I was there." - -"So far good," continued the speaker; "the others are in the Temple -above, or scattered over the earth, working at the common and holy work, -for it is that of all mankind. Twenty years ago, this work which we have -pursued in its different periods was scarce commenced. The light was -at its dawning and the steadiest eyes beheld the future only through -the cloud which none but the eyes of the chosen could pierce. At that -meeting, I explained by what miracle death did not exist for me, it -being merely for man forgetfulness of the past, or rather how, during -twenty centuries, I had dwelt in succeeding bodies for my immortal soul. -Slowly I saw peoples pass from slavery to serfdom, from serfdom to the -state of those aspirations for freedom which precede it. Like the stars -of the night hinting what a sun can be, we have seen the republics try -their rules, at Genoa, Venice, Switzerland; but this is not what we -needed. - -"A great country was wanted to give the impetus, a wheel in which should -be cogged all the others, a planet which should illumine the world." - -A cheering murmur ran through the audience and Cagliostro proceeded with -an inspired air: - -"Heaven indicated to me, France. Indeed, having tried all systems, she -appeared likely to suit our purpose, and we decided on her being first -freed. But look back on France twenty years ago, and grant that it was -great boldness or rather sublime faith to undertake such a task. In -Louis XV.'s hands so weakly, it was still the realm of Louis XIV., an -aristocratic kingdom, where the nobles had all the rights and the rich -all the privileges. At the head was a man who represented at once the -lowest and the loftiest, the grandest and the paltriest, heaven and the -masses. With a word he could make you wealthy or a beggar, happy or -miserable, free or captive, keep you living or send you to death. - -"He had three grandsons, young princes called to succeed him. Chance had -it that he whom nature designated was also the choice of the people, if -the people had any choice at the epoch. He was accounted kind, just, -honest, learned, almost a lover of wisdom. In order to quench the wars -which the fatal succession of Charles II. enkindled, the daughter of -Maria Theresa was chosen for his wife: the two nations were to be -indissolubly united which are the counterbalances west and east of -Europe, France and Austria. So calculated Maria Theresa the foremost -politician of Europe. - -"It was at this period, none the less, when France, supported on -Austria, Spain and Italy, was to enter on a new and desired reign that -we determined--not that she should be the chief of kingdoms but that the -French should be the first people free. - -"It was demanded who would be the new Theseus to rush into the den of -this Minotaur, thread the innumerable turnings of the maze while guided -by the light of Truth, and face the royal monster. I replied it should -be me. Some eager spirits, uneasy characters, wanted to know how long -a time it would take to accomplish the first period of my enterprise, -divided into three portions, and I required twenty years. They cried out -against that. Can you understand this? man had been serf or slave for -twenty centuries, and he mocked at me because I wanted twenty years to -make him free!" - -He looked upon the meeting, where his last words had provoked ironical -smiles. - -"In short, I obtained the twenty years. I gave my brothers the famous -device: 'Lilia Pedibus Destrue--the Lilies shall be trodden underfoot!' -and I set to work, urging all to do likewise. I entered France under -arches of triumph; the rose and the laurel made the road from Strasburg -to Paris one trellis garlanded with flowers. Everybody was shouting: -'Long live the Dauphiness! our future Queen!' Now, far from me to take -credit to myself for the initiative or the merit of events; the Builder -had planned all this and He laid each stone well and truly. He allowed -this humble mason who officiates in this fane to see the Hand divinely -wielding the Line and the Level and, praise unto Him! I have done some -levelling: the rocks have been removed off the way, the bridge has been -thrown over the flood, and the gulfs have been filled up so that the -car has rolled smoothly. List brothers, to what has been performed in a -score of years. - -"Parliaments broken up: Louis XV., called once the Well-Beloved, dies -amid general scorn! The Queen, after seven years, unfruitful wedlock, -gives birth to children whose paternity is contested, so that she is -defamed as mother of the Crown Prince, and dishonored as a woman in the -case of the Diamond Necklace. - -"The new King consecrated under the name of Louis the Desired, impotent -in politics as in love, tries one utopia after another, until he reaches -national bankruptcy, and has all kinds of ministers down to a Calonne. -The Assembly of Worthies decrees the States General Congress, which -appointed by universal suffrage, declares itself the National Assembly. -The clergy and nobility are overcome by the other classes; the Bastile -is stormed and the foreign troops driven out of the capital; the night -of Aug. 4th, 1789, shows the aristocracy that they are reduced to -nothing; on the 5th and 6th October, the King and Queen are shown that -royalty is nothing; on the 14th of July, 1790, the unity of France is -shown to the world. - -"The princes are deprived of popularity by their absconding; the -King's brother loses his hold by the Favras conspiracy showing that he -casts off his friends to save his neck. Lastly, the Constitution is -sworn unto, on the Altar of the Country; the Speaker of the House of -Representatives sits on a chair on the level with the King's; it is the -Law and the Nation sitting side by side; attentive Europe leans towards -us, silently watching--all who do not applaud are trembling. Now, is not -France the cornerstone on which Free Europe shall be laid, the wheel -which turns all the machine, the sun which shall illuminate the Old -World?" - -"Yea, yea, yea!" shouted all voices. - -"But, brothers," continued the magician, "do you believe the work is -so far advanced that we may leave it to get on by itself? Although the -Constitution has been sworn to, can we trust to the royal vow?" - -"Nay, nay, nay," cried every voice. - -"Then we begin the second stage of the revolutionary work," pursued -Cagliostro. "As your eyes see, I perceive with delight that the -Federation of 1790 is not the goal but a halting-place: after the -repose the court will recommence the task of counter-revolution: let -us also gird up our loins and start afresh. No doubt for timid hearts -there will be hours of weakening and of distrust; often the beam from -the All-seeing Eye will seem to be eclipsed--the Hand that beckons us -will cease to be seen. More than once during the second period, the -cause will appear injured, even lost, by some unforeseen and fortuitous -accident; all will seem to show that we are wrong; circumstances -will look as if unfavorable; our enemies will have some triumph, our -fellow-citizens will be ungrateful. After many real fatigues and -apparent uselessness, many will ask themselves if they have not gone -astray on the bad path. - -"No, brothers, no; I tell you at this hour for the words to ring -everlastingly in your ears, in victory as a blast of trumpets, in -defeat as the rallying cry--No! leading races have their providential -mission which must be unerringly accomplished. The Arch-Designer laid -down the road and found it true and straight; His mysterious goal -cannot be revealed until it is attained in its full splendor; the cloud -may obscure it and we think it gone; an idea may recoil but, like the -old-time knights, it is but to set the lance in rest and rush forward to -hurl over the dragon. - -"Brothers, brothers, our goal is the bonfire on the high mount, believed -extinct because the ridge concealed it as we sank in the vale: then the -weaklings muttered as they halted and whined: 'We have no beacon--we are -blundering in the dark: let us stay where we are; what is the good of -getting lost?' But the strong hearts keep right on confidently smiling, -and soon will the light on the height reappear, albeit it may disappear -again, but each time it is brighter and clearer because it is more near! - -"Thus will it be with the chosen band who, struggling, pressing on, -persevering and above all believing in the Republic to be, arrive -at the foot of the lighthouse of which the radiance will join that -cast across the Atlantic by the Republic which we have also helped to -throw off the tyrant's yoke. Let us swear, brothers, for ourselves -and our descendants, since the eternal idea and principle serves many -a generation, never to stop until we establish on this temple of the -Architect the holy device of which we have conquered one portion: -'Liberty, Equality and Fraternity.'" - -The speech was hailed with uproarious approbation. - -"But do not confine it to France solely: inscribe it on the banner of -mankind as the whole world's motto. And now, brothers, go out upon your -task, which is great, so great that, through whatever vale of tears and -of the shadow of death you must pass, your descendants will envy the -holy errand you shall have accomplished, and like the crusaders who -became more and more numerous and eager as their foregoers were slain, -they march over the road whitened by the bones of their fathers. Be of -good cheer, apostles; courage, pilgrims of freedom; courage, soldiers, -Apostles, converts! pilgrims, march on! soldiers, fight!" - -Cagliostro stopped, but that would have happened from the applause. -Three times the cheering rose and was extinguished in the gloomy vaults -like an earthquake's rumbling. Then the six masked men bowed to him one -after another, kissed his hand and retired. Each of the brothers, bowing -unto the platform where the new Peter the Hermit preached the renewal of -the political crusade, passed out, repeating the motto: - -"We shall Trample the Lilies under." - -As the last went forth, the lamps were extinguished. - -Alone remained the Arch-Revolutionist, buried in the bowels of the -earth, lost in silence and darkness like those divinities of the Indies, -into whose mysteries he asserted himself to have been initiated two -thousand years before. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -WOMEN AND FLOWERS. - - -Some months after recorded events, about the end of March, 1791, Dr. -Gilbert was hurriedly called to his friend Mirabeau, by the latter's -faithful servant Deutsch, who had been alarmed. - -Mirabeau had spoken in the House on the question of Mines, the interests -of owners and of the State not being very clearly defined. To celebrate -his victory, he gave a supper to some friends and was prostrated by -internal pains. - -Gilbert was too skillful a physician not to see how grave the invalid -was. He bled him and the black blood relieved the sufferer. - -"You are a downright great man," said he. - -"And you a great blockhead to risk a life so precious to your friends -for a few hours of fictitious pleasure," retorted his deliverer. - -The orator smiled almost ironically, in melancholy. - -"I think you exaggerate and that my friends and France do not hold me so -dear." - -"Upon my honor," replied Gilbert laughing, "great men complain of -ingratitude and they are really the ungrateful ones. If it were a most -serious malady of yours, all Paris would flock under your window; were -you to die, all France would come to your obsequies." - -"What you say is very consoling, let me tell you," said the other, -merrily. - -"It is just because you can see one without risking the other that I -say it, and indeed, you need a great public demonstration to restore -your morale. Let me take you to Paris within a couple of hours, my dear -count; let me tell the first man on the street corner that you are -ailing and you will see the excitement." - -"I would go if you put off the departure till this evening, and let me -meet you at my house in Paris at eleven." - -Gilbert looked at his patient and the latter saw that he was seen -through. - -"My dear count, I noticed flowers on the Dining-room table," said he: -"it was not merely a supper to friends." - -"You know that I cannot do without flowers; they are my craze." - -"But they were not alone." - -"If they are a necessity I must suffer from the consequences they -entail." - -"Count, the consequences will kill you." - -"Confess, doctor, that it will be a delightful kind of suicide." - -"I will not leave you this day." - -"Doctor, I have pledged my word and you would not make me fail in that." - -"I shall see you this night, though?" - -"Yes, really I feel better." - -"You mean you drive me away?" - -"The idea of such a thing." - -"I shall be in town; I am on duty at the palace." - -"Then you will see the Queen," said Mirabeau, becoming gloomy once more. - -"Probably; have you any message for her?" - -Mirabeau smiled bitterly. - -"I should not take such a liberty, doctor; do not even say that you have -seen me: for she will ask if I have saved the monarchy, as I promised, -and you will be obliged to answer No! It is true," he added with a -nervous laugh, "that the fault is as much hers as mine." - -"You do not want me to tell her that your excess of exertions in the -tribune is killing you." - -"Nay, you may tell her that," he replied after brief meditation: "you -may make me out as worse than I am, to test her feelings." - -"I promise you that, and to repeat her own words." - -"It is well: I thank you, doctor--adieu!" - -"What are you prescribing?" - -"Warm drinks, soothing, strict diet and--no nurse-woman less than -fifty----" - -"Rather than infringe the regulation I would take two of twenty-five!" - -At the door Gilbert met Deutsch, who was in tears. - -"All this through a woman--just because she looks like the Queen," said -the man; "how stupid of a genius, as they say he is." - -He let out Gilbert who stepped into his carriage, muttering: - -"What does he mean by a woman like the Queen?" - -He thought of asking Deutsch, but it was the count's secret, and he -ordered his coachman to drive to town. - -On the way he met Camille Desmoulins, the living newspaper of the day, -to whom he told the truth of the illness because it was the truth. - -When he announced the news to the King, the latter inquired if the count -had lost his appetite. - -"Yes, Sire," was the doctor's reply. - -"Then it is a bad case," sighed the monarch, shifting the subject. - -When the same words were repeated to the daughter of Maria Theresa, her -forehead darkened. - -"Why was he not so stricken on the day of his panegyric on the tricolor -flag?" she sneered. "Never mind," she went on, as if repenting the -expression of her hatred before a Frenchman, "it would be very -unfortunate for France if this malady makes progress. Doctor, I rely on -your keeping me informed about it." - -At the appointed hour, Gilbert called on his patient at his town house. -His eyes caught sight of a lady's scarf on a chair. - -"Glad to see you," said Mirabeau, quickly as though to divert his -attention from it, "I have learnt that you kept half your promise. -Deutsch has been busy answering friendly inquiries from our arrival. Are -you true to the second part? have you been to the palace and seen the -King and Queen?" - -"Yes; and told them you were unwell. The King sincerely condoled when he -heard that you had lost your appetite. The Queen was sorry and bade me -keep her informed." - -"But I want the words she used." - -"Well, she said that it was a pity you were not ill when you praised the -new flag of the country." - -He wished to judge of the Queen's influence over the orator. - -He started on the easy chair as if receiving the discharge of a galvanic -battery. - -"Ingratitude of monarchs," he muttered. "That speech of mine blotted -out remembrance of the rich Civil List and the dower I obtained for -her. This Queen must be ignorant that I was compelled to regain the -popularity I lost for her sake; but she no more remembers it than my -proposing the adjournment of the annexation of Avignon to France in -order to please the King's religious scruples. But these and other -faults of mine I have dearly paid for," continued Mirabeau. "Not that -these faults will ruin them, but there are times when ruin must come, -whether faults help them forward or not. The Queen does not wish to be -saved but to be revenged; hence she relishes no reasonable ideas. - -"I have tried to save liberty and royalty at the same time; but I am -not fighting against men, or tigers, but an element--it is submerging -me like the sea: yesterday up to the knee, today up to the waist, -to-morrow I shall be struggling with it up to my neck. I must be open -with you, doctor; I felt chagrin first, then disgust. I dreamt of being -the arbiter between the Revolution and monarchy. I believed I should -have an ascendancy over the Queen as a man, and some day when she was -going under the flood, I meant to leap in and rescue her. But, no! they -would not honestly take me; they try to destroy my popularity, ruin me, -annihilate me, and make me powerless to do either good or evil. So, -now that I have done my best, I tell you, doctor, that the best thing -I can do is die in the nick of time; fall artistically like the Dying -Gladiator, and offer my throat to be cut with gracefulness; yield up the -ghost with decency." - -He sank back on the reclining chair and bit the pillow savagely. Gilbert -knew what he sought, on what Mirabeau's life depended. - -"What will you say if the King or the Queen should send to inquire after -your health?" he asked. - -"The Queen will not do it--she will not stoop so low." - -"I do not believe, but I suppose, I presume----" - -"I will wait till to-morrow night." - -"And then?" - -"If she sends a confidential man I will say you are right and I wrong. -But if on the contrary none come, then it will be the other way." - -"Keep tranquil till then. But this scarf?" - -"I shall not see her, on my honor," he said, smiling. - -"Good, try to get a good quiet night, and I will answer for you," said -Gilbert, going out. - -"Your master is better, my honest Deutsch," said he to the attendant at -the door. - -The old valet shook his head sadly. - -"Do you doubt my word?" - -"I doubt everything since his bad angel will be beside him." - -He sighed as he left the doctor on the gloomy stairs. At the landing -corner Gilbert saw a veiled shadow which seemed waiting: on perceiving -him, it uttered a low scream and disappeared so quickly by a partly -opened door that it resembled a flight. - -"Who is that woman?" questioned the doctor. - -"The one who looks like the Queen," responded Deutsch. - -For the second time Gilbert was struck by the same idea on hearing this -phrase: he took a couple of steps as though to chase the phantom, but he -checked himself, saying, - -"It cannot be." - -He continued his way, leaving the old domestic in despair that this -learned man could not conjure away the demon whom he believed the agent -of the Inferno. - -Next day all Paris called to inquire after the invalid orator. The crowd -in the street would not believe Deutsch's encouraging report but forced -all vehicles to turn into the side streets so that their idol should not -be disturbed by their noise. - -Mirabeau got up and went to the window to wave a greeting to these -worshipers, who shouted their wishes for his long life. - -But he was thinking of the haughty woman who did not trouble her head -about him, and his eyes wandered over the mob to see if any servants in -the royal blue livery were not trying to make their way through the -mass. By evening his impatience changed into gloomy bitterness. - -Still he waited for the almost promised token of interest, and still it -did not come. - -At eleven, Gilbert came; he had written his best wishes during the day: -he came in smiling, but he was daunted by the expression on Mirabeau's -face, faithful mirror of his soul's perturbations. - -"Nobody has come," said he. "Will you tell me what you have done this -day?" - -"Why, the same as usual----" - -"No, doctor and I saw what happened and will tell you the same as though -present. You called on the Queen and told her how ill I was: she said -she would send to ask the latest news, and you went away, happy and -satisfied, relying on the royal word. She was left laughing, bitter and -haughty, ignorant that a royal word must not be broken--mocking at your -credulity." - -"Truly, had you been there, you could not have seen and heard more -clearly," said Gilbert. - -"What numbskulls they are," exclaimed Mirabeau. "I told you they never -did a thing at the right time. Men in the royal livery coming to my door -would have wrung shouts of 'Long live the King!' from the multitude and -given them popularity for a year." - -He shook his head with grief. - -"What is the matter, count?" asked Gilbert. - -"Nothing." - -"Have you had anything to eat?" - -"Not since two o'clock." - -"Then take a bath and have a meal." - -"A capital idea!" - -Mirabeau listened in the bath until he heard the street door close after -the doctor. - -Then he rang for his servant, not Deutsch but another, to have the table -in his room decked with flowers, and "Madam Oliva" invited to sup with -him. - -He closed all the doors of the supper-room except that to the rooms of -the strange woman whom the old German called his bad angel. - -At about four in the morning, Deutsch who sat up, heard a violent ring -of the room bell. He and another servant rushed to the supper-room, but -all the doors were fastened so that they had to go round by the strange -lady's rooms. There they found her in the arms of their master, who had -tried to prevent her giving the alarm. She had rung the table-bell from -inability to get at the bell pull. - -She was screaming as much for her own relief as her lover's, as he was -suffocating her in his convulsive embrace. - -It seemed to be Death trying to drag her into the grave. - -Jean ran to rouse Dr. Gilbert while Deutsch got his master to a couch. -In ten minutes the doctor drove up. - -"What is it now?" he asked of Deutsch, in the hall. - -"That woman again and the cursed flowers! Come and see." - -At this moment something like a sob was heard; Gilbert, ran up the -stairs at the top step of which a door opened, and a woman in a white -wrapper ran out suddenly and fell at the doctor's feet. - -"Oh, Gilbert," she screamed, "save him!" - -"Nicole Legay," cried the doctor; "was it you, wretch, who have killed -him?" A dreadful thought overwhelmed him. "I saw her bully Beausire -selling broadsides against Mirabeau, and she became his mistress. He is -undoubtedly lost, for Cagliostro set himself against him." - -He turned back into his patient's room, fully aware that no time was -to be lost. Indeed, he was too versed in secrets of his craft still to -hope, far less to preserve any doubt. In the body before his eyes, it -was impossible to see the living Mirabeau. From that time, his face -assumed the solemn cast of great men dying. - -Meanwhile the news had spread that there was a relapse and that the doom -impended. Then could it be judged what a gigantic place one man may fill -among his fellows. The entire city was stirred as on great calamities. -The door was besieged by persons of all opinions as though everybody -knew they had something to lose by his loss. - -He caused the window to be opened that he might be soothed by the hum of -the multitude beneath. - -"Oh, good people," he murmured: "slandered, despised and insulted like -me, it is right that those Royals should forget me and the Plebes bear -me in mind." - -Night drew near. - -"My dear doctor," he said to him who would not leave him, "this is my -dying day. At this point nothing is to be done but embalm my corpse and -strew flowers roundabout." - -Scarcely had Jean, to whom everybody rushed at the door for news, said -he wanted flowers for his master, than all the windows opened, and -flowers were offered from conservatories and gardens of the rarest -sorts. By nine in the morning the room was transformed into a bower of -bloom. - -"My dear doctor, I beg a quarter of an hour to say good-bye to a person -who ought to quit the house before I go. I ask you to protect her in -case they hoot her." - -"I leave you alone," said Gilbert, understanding. - -"Before going, kindly hand me the little casket in the secretary." - -Gilbert did as requested; the money-box was heavy enough to be full of -gold. - -At the end of half an hour, spent by Gilbert in giving news to the -inquirers, Jean ushered a veiled lady out to a hackney-carriage at the -door. - -Gilbert ran to his patient. - -"Put the casket back," said he in a faint voice. "Odd, is it not?" he -continued, seeing how astonished the doctor looked at its being as heavy -as before, "but where the deuce will disinterestedness next have a -nest?" - -Near the bed, Gilbert picked up a lace handkerchief wet with tears. - -"Ah, she would take nothing away--but she left something," remarked -Mirabeau. - -Feeling it was damp he pressed it to his forehead. - -"Tears? is she the only one who has a heart?" he murmured. - -He fell back on the bed, with closed eyes; he might have been believed -dead or swooning but for the death-rattle in his breast. - -How came it that this man of athletic, herculean build should die? - -Was it not because he had held out his hand to stay the tumbling throne -from toppling over? Was it not because he had offered his arm to that -woman of misfortune known as Marie Antoinette? - -Had not Cagliostro predicted some such fate to Gilbert for Mirabeau? and -the two strange creatures--one, Beausire, blasting the reputation, the -other, Nicole, blasting the health of the great orator who had become -the supporter of the monarchy--were they not for him, Gilbert, a proof -that all things which were obstacles to this man--or rather the idea he -stood for--must go down before him as the Bastile had done? - -Nevertheless he was going to try upon him the elixir of life which he -owed to Cagliostro; it was irony to save his victim with his own remedy. - -The patient had opened his eyes. - -"Nay," said he, "a few drops will be vain. You must give me the whole -phial. I had the stuff analyzed and found it was Indian hemp; I had some -compounded for myself and I have been taking it copiously not to live -but to dream." - -"Unhappy man that I am," sighed Gilbert; "he has led to my dealing out -poison to my friend." - -"A sweet poison, by which I have lengthened out the last moments of my -life a hundredfold. In my dream I have enjoyed what has really escaped -me, riches, power, and love. I do not know whether I ought to thank God -for my life, but I thank you, doctor, for your drug. Fill up the glass -and let me have it." - -Gilbert presented the extract which the patient absorbed with gusto. - -"Ah, doctor," he said after a short pause, as if the veil of the future -were raised at the approach of eternity; "blessed are those who die -in this year, 1791! for they will have seen the sunny side of the -Revolution. Never has a great one cost so little bloodshed up to now, -because it is the mind that was conquered: but on the morrow the war -will be upon facts and in things. Perhaps you believe that the tenants -of the Tuileries will mourn for me? not at all. My death rids them of -an engagement. With me, they had to rule in a certain way: I was less -support than hindrance. _She_ excused herself for leaning on me, to her -brother: 'Mirabeau believes that he is advising me--I am only amusing -myself with him.' That is why I wished that woman, her likeness, to be -my mistress, and not my Queen. - -"What a fine part he shall play in History who undertook to sustain the -young nation with one hand and the old monarchy in the other, forcing -them to tread the same goal--the happiness of the governed and the -respect of the governors. It might have been possible and might be but -a dream; but I am convinced that I alone could have realized the dream. -My sorrow is not in dying, but in dying with work unfinished. Who will -glorify my idea left mangled, an abortion? What will be known of me will -be the part that should be buried in oblivion--my wild, reckless, rakish -life and my obscene writings. - -"I shall be blamed for having made a bond with the court out of which -comes gain for no man; I shall be judged, dying at forty-two, like one -who lived man's full age. They will take me to task as if instead of -trying to walk on the waters in a storm, I had trodden a broad way paved -with laws, statutes, and regulations. To whom shall I league my memory -to be cleansed and be an honor to my country? - -"But I could do nothing without her, and she would not take my helping -hand. I pledged myself like a fool, while she remained unfettered. But -it is so--all is for the best; and if you will promise one thing, no -regret will trouble my last breath." - -"Good God, what would I not promise?" - -"If my passing from life is tedious, make it easy? I ask the aid not -only of the doctor but of the man and the philosopher--promise to aid -me. I do not wish to die dead,--but living, and the last step will not -be hard to take." - -The doctor bent his head towards the speaker. - -"I promised not to leave you, my friend; if heaven hath condemned -you--though I hope we have not come to that point--leave to my affection -at the supreme instant the care of accomplishing what I ought to do. If -death comes, I shall be at hand also." - -"Thanks," said the dying one as if this were all he awaited. - -The abundant dose of cannabis indicus had restored speech to the doomed -one: but this vitality of the mind vanished and for three hours the cold -hand remained in the doctor's without a throb. Suddenly he felt a start: -the awakening had come. - -"It will be a dreadful struggle," he thought. - -Such was the agony in which the strong frame wrestled that Gilbert -forgot that he had promised to second death, not to oppose it. But, -reminded of his pledge, he seized the pen to write a prescription for -an opiate. Scarcely had he written the last words than Mirabeau rose on -the pillow and asked for the pen. With his hand clenched by death he -scrawled: - -"Flee, flee, flee!" - -He tried to sign but could only trace four letters of his name. - -"For her," he gasped, holding out his convulsed arm towards his -companion. - -He fell back without breath, movement or look--he was dead. - -Gilbert turned to the spectators of this scene and said: - -"Mirabeau is no more." - -Taking the paper whose destination he alone might divine, he rapidly -departed from the death chamber. - -Some seconds after the doctor's going, a great clamor arose in the -street and was prolonged throughout Paris. - -The grief was intense and wide. The Assembly voted a public funeral, and -the Pantheon, formerly Church of St. Genevieve, was selected for the -great man's resting-place. Three years subsequently the Convention sent -the coffin to the Clamart Cemetery to be bundled among the corpses of -the publicly executed. - -Petion claimed to have discovered a contra-revolutionary plot written in -the hand of Mirabeau, and Congress reversed its previous judgment and -declared that genius could not condone corruption. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -THE KING'S MESSENGER. - - -On the morning of the second of April, an hour before Mirabeau yielded -up his last breath, a superior officer of the navy, wearing his full -dress uniform of captain, entered the Tuileries Palace like one to whom -the ways were familiar. - -He took the private stairs to the King's apartments, where, by the -study, a valet saw him and uttered a cry of surprise. - -"Hue," he said, laying a finger on his lips, "can the King receive me?" - -"His Majesty gave word that you were to be shown in whenever you -arrived." - -He opened a door and as a proof that the King was alone, he called out: - -"The Count of Charny!" - -"Let him enter," said the King; "I have been expecting him since -yesterday." - -Charny entered quickly and said as he went up to his royal master with -respectful eagerness: - -"Sire, I am a few hours behindhand, but I hope to be forgiven when your -Majesty hears the reasons for the delay." - -"Come, come, my lord; I awaited you with impatience, it is true; but I -was of your opinion beforehand that an important cause alone could delay -your journey. You have come, and you are welcome." - -He held out his hand which the courier kissed with reverence. - -"Sire, I received your order early the day before yesterday and I -started at three A. M. yesterday from Montmedy by the post." - -"That explains the few hours delay," observed the sovereign, smiling. - -"Sire," went on the count, "I might have dashed on and made better speed -but I wanted to study the road as it is generally used so as to remark -the posting-houses where the work is well or ill done; I wished to jot -the time down by the minute. I have noted everything and am consequently -in a position to answer on any point." - -"Bravo, my lord," cried the King. "You are a first-rate servitor; but -let me begin by showing how we stand here; you can give me the news of -the position out there afterwards." - -"Things are going badly, if I may guess by what I have heard," observed -Charny. - -"To such a degree that I am a prisoner in the place, my dear count. I -was just saying to General Lafayette that I would rather be King at Metz -than over France; but never mind, you have returned. You know my aunts -have taken to flight? it is very plain why. You know the Assembly will -allow no priests to officiate at the altar unless they take oaths to the -country. The poor souls became frightened as Easter came near, thinking -they risked damnation by confessing to a priest who had sworn to the -Constitution, and I must confess, it was on my advice that they went to -Rome. No law opposes their journey and no one can think two poor women -will much strengthen the party of the fugitive nobility. They charged -Narbonne with getting them off; but I do not know how the movement was -guessed. A visit of the same nature as we experienced at Versailles in -October was projected upon them, but they happily got out by one door -while the mob rushed in by another. Just think of the crosses! not a -vehicle was at hand though three had been ordered to be ready. They had -to go to Meudon from Bellevue on foot. - -"They found carriages there and made the start. Three hours afterwards, -tremendous uproar in Paris: those who went to stop the flight found the -nest warm but empty. Next day the press fairly howled: Marat said that -they were carrying away millions; Desmoulins that they were taking the -Dauphin. Nothing of the sort: the two poor ladies had a few hundred -thousand francs in their purses, and had enough to take care of without -burdening themselves with a boy who might bring about their recognition. -The proof was that they were recognized, without him, first at a place -where they were let go through, and then at Arnay, where they were -arrested. I had to write to the Assembly to get them passed, and spite -of my letter the Assembly debated all day. However, they were authorized -to continue their journey but on condition that the committee of the -House should present a bill against quitting the kingdom." - -"Yes," said Charny, "but I understood, that, in spite of a magnificent -speech from Mirabeau, the Assembly rejected the proposition." - -"True, it was thrown out: but beside this slight triumph was great -humiliation for me. When the excitement was noticed over the departure -of the two ladies, a few devoted friends, more than you may believe -being left to me, count--some hundreds of noblemen hastened to the -Tuileries and offered me their lives. The report was immediately spread -that a conspiracy was discovered to spirit me away. Lafayette, who had -been gulled into going to the Bastile under a story that an attempt -to rebuild it was under way, came back here furious at the hoax, and -entered with sword and bayonet!--my poor friends were seized and -disarmed. Pistols were found on some, stilettos on others, each having -snatched up at home any weapon handy. But the day is written down in -history as that of the Knights of the Dagger!" - -"Oh, Sire, in what dreadful times do we live," said Charny, shaking his -head. - -"Yes, and Mirabeau perhaps dying, maybe dead at present speaking." - -"The more reason to hasten out of this cauldron." - -"Just what we have decided on. Have you arranged with Bouille? I hope -he is strong enough now. The opportunity was presented and I reinforced -him." - -"Yes, Sire: but the War Minister has crossed your orders; the Saxon -Hussars have drawn from him, and the Swiss regiments refused. He had -trouble to keep the Bouillon Foot at Montmedy Fort." - -"Does he doubt now?" - -"No Sire, but there are so many chances less. What matters? in these -dashes one must reckon on luck, and we still have ninety per cent of -chances. The question is if your Majesty holds to the Chalons Route -although the posting at Varennes is doubtful?" - -"Bouille already knows my reasons for the preference." - -"That is why I have minutely mapped out the route." - -"The route-chart is a marvel of clearness, my dear count. I know the -road as though I had myself travelled it." - -"I have the following directions to add----" - -"Let me look at them by the map." And he unfolded on the table a map -drawn by hand with every natural feature laid in. It was a work of eight -months. The two stooped over the paper. - -"Sire, the real danger begins at St. Menehould and ceases at Stenay. On -those eighteen leagues must be stationed the soldiers." - -"Could they not be brought nearer Paris--say, up to Chalons?" - -"It is difficult," was the response. "Chalons is too strong a place for -even a hundred men to do anything efficacious to your safety if menaced. -Besides, Bouille does not answer for anything beyond St. Menehould. All -he can do is set his first troops at Sommevelle Bridge. That is the -first post beyond Chalons." - -"What time will it take?" - -"The King can go from Paris to Montmedy in thirty-six hours." - -"What have you decided about the relay of horses at Varennes? where we -must be certain not to want for them; it is most important." - -"I have investigated the spot and decided to place the horses on the -other side of the little town. It will be better to dash through, coming -full speed from Clermont, and change horses five hundred paces from the -bridge, guarded and defended if signalled by three or four men." - -Charny gave the King a paper. - -It was Bouille's arrangement of the stations of the troops along the -road for the royal escape. The cover would be that the soldiers were -waiting to convoy some money sent by the War Minister. - -"Everything has been foreseen," said the King delightedly. "But talking -of money, do you know whether Bouille has received the million I sent -him?" - -"Yes, but as assignats are below par, he would lose twenty per cent -on the gross amount, only for a faithful subject of your Majesty who -cashed, as if gold, a hundred thousand crowns' worth." - -"And the rest?" inquired the King, eyeing the speaker. - -"Count Bouille got his banker to take it; so that there will be no lack -of the sinews of war." - -"I thank you, my lord count," said the sovereign. "I should like to -know the name of the faithful servitor who perhaps lessened his cash by -giving the sum to Bouille." - -"He is rich and consequently there was no merit in what he did. The only -condition he put in doing the act was to have his name kept back." - -"Still you know him?" - -"Yes, I know who it is." - -"Then, Lord Charny," said the monarch with the hearty dignity which he -sometimes showed, as he took a ring off his finger, "here is a jewel -very dear to me. I took it off the finger of my dying father when his -hand was chill in death. Its value is therefore that which I attach to -it; it has no other; but for a soul which understands me, it will be -more precious than the finest diamond. Repeat to the faithful servitor -what I say, my lord, and give him this gem from me." - -Charny's bosom heaved as he dropped on one knee to receive the ring from -the royal hand. - -At this juncture the door opened. The King turned sharply, for a door to -open thus was worse than infraction of etiquette; it was an insult only -to be excused by great necessity. - -It was the Queen, pale and holding a paper. She let it drop with a cry -of astonishment at seeing Count Charny at the feet of her consort. The -noble rose and saluted the lady, who faltered: - -"Charny here, in the King's rooms, in the Tuileries!" And she said to -herself: "Without my knowing it!" - -There was such sorrow in the tone that Charny guessed the reason and -took two steps towards her. - -"I have just arrived and I was going to crave the King's permission for -me to pay my respects to your Majesty," he said. - -The blood reappeared on her cheeks; she had not heard that voice for a -long while and the sweet tone charmed her ears. She held out both hands -towards him but brought back one upon her heart from its beating too -violently. Charny noticed all this although in the short space required -for the King to pick up the paper, which the draft from the door had -floated to the side of the room. - -The King read without understanding. - -"What is the meaning of the word 'Flee' three times written, and the -fragment of a signature?" inquired he. - -"Sire, it seems that Mirabeau died ten minutes ago, and that is the -advice he sends you." - -"It is good advice," returned the King, "and this time the instant to -put it into execution has come." - -The Queen looked at them both, and said to the count: - -"Follow me, my lord." - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -THE HUSBAND'S PROMISE. - - -The Queen sank upon a divan when she had arrived within her own -apartments, making a sign for Charny to close the door. - -Scarcely was she seated before her heart overflowed and she burst into -sobs. They were so sincere and forcible that they went down into the -depths of Charny's heart and sought for his former love. Such passions -burning in a man never completely die out unless from one of those -dreadful shocks which turn love to loathing. - -He was in that strange dilemma which they will appreciate who have stood -in the same: between old love and the new. - -He loved his wife with all the pity in his bosom and he pitied the Queen -with all his soul. He could not help feeling regret and giving words of -consolation. - -But he saw that reproach pierced through this sobbing; that -recrimination came to light among the tears, reminding him of the -exactions of this love, the absolute will, the regal despotism mingled -with the expressions of tenderness and proofs of passion; he steeled -himself against the exactions and took up arms against the despotism, -entering into the strife against the will. He compared all this with -Andrea's sweet, unalterable countenance, and preferred the statue, -though he believed it to be of snow, to this glowing bronze, heated from -the furnace, ever ready to dart from its eyes the lightnings of love, -pride and jealousy. - -This time the Queen wept without saying anything. - -It was more than eight months since she had seen him. Before this, for -two or three years she had believed that they could not separate without -their hearts breaking. Her only consolation had been that he was working -for her sake in doing some deed for the King. - -But it was a weak consolation. - -She wept for the sake of relief, for her pent-up tears would have choked -her if she had not poured them forth. Was it joy or pain that held her -silent? both, perhaps, for many mighty emotions dissolve in tears. - -With more love even than respect, Charny went up to her, took one of her -hands away from her face and said as he applied his lips to it: - -"Madam, I am proud and happy to say that not an hour has been without -toil for you since I went hence." - -"Oh, Charny," retorted the Queen, "there was a time when you might have -been less busy on my account but you would have thought the more of me." - -"I was charged by the King with grave responsibility, which imposed the -more strict silence until the business was accomplished. It is done -at present. I can see and speak with you now, but I might not write a -letter up to this period." - -"It is a fine sample of loyalty, and I regret that it should be -performed at the expense of another sentiment, George," she said with -melancholy. - -She pressed his hand tenderly, while eyeing him with that gaze for -which once he would have flung away the life still at her service. - -She noticed that he was not the courier dusty and bloody from spurring, -but the courtier spic and span according to the rules of the Royal -Household. This complete attire visibly fretted the woman while it must -have satisfied the exacting Queen. - -"Where do you come from?" she asked. - -"Montmedy, in postchaise." - -"Half across the kingdom, and you are spruce, brushed and dandified -like one of Lafayette's aid-de-camps. Were the news you brought so -unimportant as to let you dally at the toilet table?" - -"Very important; but I feared that if I stepped out of the mud -be-splattered postchaise in the palace yard, all disordered with travel, -suspicion would be roused; the King had told me that you are closely -guarded, and that made me congratulate myself on walking in, clad in my -naval uniform like an officer coming to present his devoirs after a week -or two on leave." - -She squeezed his hand convulsively, having a question to put the harder -to frame as it appeared so far from important. - -"I forgot that you had a Paris house. Of course you dropped in at -Coq-Heron Street, where the countess is keeping house?" - -Charny was ready to spring away like a high-mettled steed spurred in -the raw; but there was so much hesitation and pain in her words that he -had to pity one so haughty for suffering so much and for showing her -feelings though she was so strong-minded. - -"Madam," he replied, with profound sadness not wholly caused by her -pain, "I thought I had stated before my departure that the Countess of -Charny's residence is not mine. I stopped at my brother Isidore's to -change my dress." - -The Queen uttered a cry of joy and slid down on her knees, carrying his -hand to her lips, but he caught her up in both arms and exclaimed: - -"Oh, what are you doing?" - -"I thank you--ask me not for what! do you ask me for what? for the only -moment of thorough delight I have felt since your departure. God knows -this is folly, and foolish jealousy, but it is most worthy of pity. You -were jealous once, though you forget it. Oh, you men are happy when -you are jealous, because you can fight with your rivals and kill or be -slain; but we women can only weep, though we perceive that our tears are -useless if not dangerous. For our tears part us from our beloved rather -than wash us nearer; our grief is the vertigo of love--it hurls us -towards the abyss which we see without avail. I thank you again, George; -you see that I am happy anew and weep no more." - -She tried to laugh; but in her repining she had forgotten how to be -merry, and the tone was so sad and doleful that the count shuddered. - -"Be blessed, O God!" she said, "for he would not have the power to love -me from the day when he pities me." - -Charny felt he was dragged down a steep where in time he would be in the -impossibility of checking himself. He made an effort to stop, like those -skaters who lean back on their heels at the risk of breaking through the -ice. - -"Will you not permit me to offer the fruit of my long absence by -explaining what I have been happy to do for your sake?" he said. - -"Oh, Charny, I like better to have things as I said just now; but you -are right: the woman must not too long forget she is a Queen. Speak, -ambassador, the woman has obtained all she had a right to claim--the -Queen listens." - -The count related how he had surveyed the way for the flight of the -Royal Family, and how all was ready. She listened with deep attention -and fervent gratitude. It seemed to her that mere devotion could not -go so far; that it must be ardent and unquiet love to foresee such -obstacles and invent the means to cope with and overcome them. - -"So you are quite happy to save me?" she asked at the end, regarding him -with supreme affection. - -"Oh, can you ask me that? it is the dream of my ambition, and it will be -the glory of my life if I attain it." - -"I would rather it were simply the reward of your love," replied Marie -Antoinette with melancholy. "But let that pass! you ardently desire this -great deed of the rescue of the Royal Family to be performed by you?" - -"I await but your consent to set aside my life to it." - -"I understand it, my dear one," said the sovereign: "your dedication -ought to be free from all alien sentiment, and material affection. It is -impossible that my husband and our children should be saved by a hand -which would not dare to be stretched out towards them if they slipped on -the road we are to travel in company. I place their lives and mine in -your custody, as to a brother: but you will feel some pity for me?" - -"Pity?" - -"You cannot wish that in one of those crises when one needs all courage, -patience and coolness, a mad idea of mine--for in the night one may see -the specters which would not frighten in the day--you cannot wish that -all should fail because I had not your promise that you loved me?" - -"Lady," interrupted Charny, "above all I aim at your Majesty's bliss: -that of France; the glory of achieving the task I have begun; and I -confess that I am sorry the sacrifice I make is so slight; but I swear -not to see the Countess of Charny without your Majesty's permission." - -Coldly and respectfully saluting the monarch's consort, he retired -without her trying to detain him, so chilled was she by his tone. - -Hardly had he shut the door after him, than she wrung her hands and -ruefully moaned: - -"Oh, rather that he made the vow not to see me, but loved me as he loves -her!" - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -OFF AND AWAY. - - -Spite of all precautions, or perhaps because they necessitated changes -in the usual order of things, suspicion was engendered in Paris by the -plot at the palace. - -Lafayette went straight to the King, who mocked at his -half-accusations: Bailly sent a denunciatory letter to the Queen, having -become quite courteous, not to say a courtier. - -About nine in the night of the 20th of June, two persons were conversing -in the sitting-room of the Countess of Charny, in Coq-Heron Street. - -She was apparently calm but was deeply moved, as she spoke with Isidore, -who wore a courier's dress. It was composed of a buff leather riding -jacket, tight breeches of buckskin and top-boots, and he carried a -hunting-sword. His round laced hat was held in his hand. - -"But in short, viscount, since your brother has been two months and a -half in town, why has he not come here?" she persisted. - -"He has sent me very often for news of your health." - -"I know that, and I am grateful to both of you; but it seems to me that -he ought to come to say good-bye if he is going on another journey." - -"Of course, my lady, but it is impossible; so he has charged me to do -that." - -"Is the journey to be a long one?" - -"I am ignorant." - -"I said 'yours' because it looks from your equipment that you are going -too." - -"I shall probably leave town this midnight." - -"Do you accompany your brother or go by another route?" - -"I believe we take the same." - -"Will you tell him you have seen me?" - -"Yes, my lady: for he would not forgive me omitting to perform the -errand of asking after you, judging by the solicitude he put in charging -me, and the reiterated instructions he gave me." - -She ran her hands over her eyes, sighed, and said after short -meditation: - -"Viscount, as a nobleman, you will comprehend the reach of the question -I am putting; answer as you would were I really your sister; as you -would to heaven. In the journey he undertakes, does my Lord Charny run -any serious danger?" - -"Who can tell where no danger is or is not in these times?" evasively -responded young Charny. "On the morning of the day when my brother -Valence was struck down, he would have surely answered No, if he had -been asked if he stood in peril. Yet he was laid low in death by the -morrow. At present, danger leaps up from the ground, and we face death -without knowing whence it came and without calling it." - -Andrea turned pale and said, - -"There is danger of death, then? You think so if you do not say it." - -"I think, lady, that if you have something important to tell my brother, -the enterprise we are committed to is serious enough to make you -charge me by word of mouth or writing with your wish or thought to be -transmitted to him." - -"It is well: viscount, I ask five minutes," said the countess, rising. - -With the mechanical, slow step habitual to her, she went into her room, -of which she shut the door. - -The young gentleman looked at his watch with uneasiness. - -"A quarter past nine, and the King expects me at half after," he -muttered: "luckily it is but a step to the palace." - -But the countess did not take the time she had stated; in a few seconds -she returned with a sealed letter, and said with solemnity, - -"Viscount, I entrust this to your honor." - -Isidore stretched out his hand to take it. - -"Stay, and clearly understand what I am telling you," said Andrea: "if -your brother count fulfills the undertaking, there is nothing to be said -to him beyond what I stated--sympathy for his loyalty, respect for his -devotion and admiration for his character. If he be wounded"--here her -voice faltered--"badly hurt, you will ask the favor for me to join him, -whereupon you will send a messenger who can conduct me straight to him -for I shall start directly. If he be mortally injured--" here emotion -checked her voice: "Hand him this note; if he cannot read it, read it -to him, for I want him to know this before he dies. Your pledge as a -nobleman to do this, my lord?" - -"On my honor," replied Isidore, as much affected as the speaker. - -He kissed her hand and went out. - -"Oh, if he should die, I must have him know that I love him!" - -At the same time as he quitted his sister-in-law's and thrust the letter -in his breast, beside another of which he had read the address by the -light of a street lamp, two men, dressed just like himself, were ushered -into the Queen's boudoir, but by different ways. - -These two did not know each other but judging that the same business -thus arrayed them they bowed to one another. - -Immediately another door still opened and in walked Viscount Charny, the -third outrider, who was as unknown to the other two, Malden and Valory, -Royal Lifeguardsmen, as they, it happened, to each other. Isidore alone -knew the aim of their being brought together, and the common design. No -doubt he would have replied to the inquiries they were going to put but -the door opened and Louis XVI. appeared. - -"Gentlemen," said he to Malden and Valory, "excuse me disposing of you -without your permission but you belonged to my guards and I hold you -to be faithful servitors of the crown; so I suggested your going to a -certain tailor's and trying one courier's costume which you would find -there and be at the palace at half-past nine this evening. Your presence -proves that you accept the errand with which I have to charge you." - -The two guardsmen bowed. - -"Sire," said Valory, "your Majesty was fully aware that he had no need -to consult his gentlemen about laying down their lives on his behalf." - -"Sire, my brother-soldier answers for me in answering for himself, and I -presume for our third companion," said Malden. - -"Your third companion, gentlemen, is an acquaintance good to form, being -Viscount Charny, whose brother was slain defending the Queen's door at -Versailles; we are habituated to the devotion of members of his family, -so that we do not thank them for it." - -"According to this," went on Valory, "my Lord of Charny would know the -motive of our gathering, while we are ignorant and eager to learn." - -"Gentlemen," said the King, "you know that I am a prisoner to the -National Guard, the Assembly, the Mayor of Paris, the mob, to anybody -who is for the time being the master. I rely on you to help me shake off -this humiliation, and recover my liberty. My fate, that of the Queen and -of our children, rests in your hands: all is ready for me to make away -to-night; will you undertake to get me out of this place?" - -"Give the orders, my lord," said the three young men. - -"You will understand that we cannot go forth together. We are to meet -at the corner of St. Nicaise Street, where Count Charny awaits us with -a hired carriage. You, viscount, will take care of the Queen, and use -the name of Melchior; you, Malden, under the name of Jean, escort Lady -Elizabeth and the Princess Royal; you, Valory, guard Lady Tourzel and -the Dauphin; they will call you Francois. Do not forget your new names -and await further instructions." - -He gave his hand all round to them and went out, leaving three men ready -to die for him. - -He went to dress, while the Queen and the others were also attiring -themselves plainly, with large hats to conceal their faces. - -Louis put on a plain grey suit with short breeches, grey stockings and -buckled shoes. For the week past his valet Hue had gone in and out in -a similar dress so as to get the sentinels used to the sight. He went -out by the private door of Lord Villequier, who had fled the country six -months before. - -In provision of this flight, a room of his quarters had been set aside -on the eleventh of the month. Here were the Queen and the others -assembled. This flat was believed uninhabited; the King had the keys: -and the sentries at about eleven were accustomed to see a number of the -servants, who did not sleep on the premises, quit the palace in a flock. - -Isidore Charny, who had been over the road with his brother, would ride -on ahead; he would get the postboys ready so that no delay would be -incurred. - -Malden and Valory, on the driver's box, were to pay the postillions, who -were given extra money as the carriage for the journey was a specially -built one and very heavy from having to carry so many persons. Count -Charny was to ride inside, ready for all emergencies; he would be well -armed, like the three outriders; a pair of pistols for each were to be -in the vehicle. - -At a fair pace they reckoned to be at Chalons in thirteen hours. - -All promised to obey the instructions settled between Charny and the -Count of Choiseul. - -Lights were blown out and all groped their way at midnight into -Villequier's rooms. But the door by which they ought to have passed -straightway, was locked. The King had to go to his smithy for keys and a -pick-lock. - -When he opened the door, he looked round triumphantly in the light of a -little night-lamp. - -"I will not say that a locksmith's art is not good sometimes," said the -Queen; "but it is also well to be the King at others." - -They had to regulate the order of the sallying forth. - -Lady Elizabeth led, with the Princess Royal. At twenty paces she was -followed by Lady Tourzel and the Dauphin. Malden came on behind to run -to their succor. - -The children stepped on tiptoe and trembling, with love before and -behind them, to enter the ring of glare from the lamps with reflector, -lighting the palace doors at the courtyard, but they passed before the -sentinel without his appearing to trouble about them. - -At the Carrousel Gate, the sentinel turned his back and they could -easily pass. Had he recognized the illustrious fugitives? They believed -so, and sent him a thousand blessings. - -On the farther side of the wicket they perceived Charny's uneasy face. -He was wearing a large blue coat with cape, called a Garrick from the -English actor having made it popular, and his head was covered with a -tarpaulin hat. - -"Thank God, you have got through," he said, "what about the King, and -the Queen?" - -"They follow us," said Lady Elizabeth. - -"Come," said he, leading them to the hack in St. Nicaise Street. - -Another was beside theirs, and its driver might be a spy; so Malden -jumped into it and ordered the man to drive him to the Opera-house as if -he were a servant going to join his master there. - -Scarcely had he driven off before the others saw a plain sort of fellow -in a gray suit, with his hat cocked over his nose and his hands in -his pocket, saunter out of the same gate as had given passage to Lady -Elizabeth, like a clerk who was strolling home after his work was over. - -This was the King, attended by Valory. - -Charny went up to meet them; for he had recognized Valory, and not the -King. He was one of those who always wish to see a king kinglike. He -sighed with pain, almost with shame, as he murmured: - -"Come, Sire, come. Where is the Queen?" he asked of Valory. - -"Coming with your brother." - -"Good; take the shortest road and wait for us at St. Martin's Gate; I -will go by the longer way round; we meet at the coach." - -Both arrived at the rendezvous and waited half an hour for the Queen. - -We shall not try to paint the fugitives' anxiety; Charny, on whom the -whole responsibility fell, was like a maniac. He wanted to go back and -make inquiries, but the King restrained him. The little prince wept and -cried for his mother. His sister and the two ladies could not console -him. - -Their terror doubled when they saw Lafayette's carriage dash by, -surrounded by soldiers, some bearing torches. - -When at the palace gates, Viscount Charny wanted to turn to the left; -the Queen, on his arm, stopped him and said that the count was waiting -at the waterside gate of the Tuileries. She was so sure of what she -asserted that doubt entered his mind. - -"Be very careful, lady, for any error may be deadly to us," he said. - -"I heard him say by the waterside," she repeated. - -So he let her drag him through three courtyards, separated by thick -walls and with chains at each opening, which should have been guarded -by sentinels. They had to scramble through the gaps and clamber over the -chains. Not one of the watchers had the idea of saying anything to them. -How could they believe that a buxom woman in such dress as a housemaid -would wear and climbing over the chains on the arm of a strapping young -chap in livery, was the Queen of the French? - -On arriving at the water's edge they found it deserted. - -"He must mean the other side of the river," said the crazed Queen. - -Isidore wanted to return but he said as if in a vertigo: - -"No, no, there it is!" - -She drew him upon the Royal Bridge which they crossed to find the other -shore as blank as the nigher one. - -"Let us look up this street," said she. - -She forced Isidore to go up the Ferry Street a little. At the end of a -hundred paces she owned she was wrong, but she stopped, panting; her -powers almost fled her. - -"Now, take me where you will," she said. - -"Courage, my lady," said Isidore. - -"It is not courage I lack so much as strength. Oh, heaven, will I never -get my breath again," she gasped. - -Isidore paused, for he knew that the second wind she panted was -necessary to her as to the hunted deer. - -"Take breath, madam," he said: "we have time, for my brother would wait -till daylight for your sake." - -"Then you believe that he loves me?" she exclaimed rashly as quickly -while pressing his arm against her breast. - -"I believe that his life is yours as mine is, and that the feeling in -others which is love and respect becomes adoration in him." - -"Thanks," she said, "that does me good! I breathe again. On, on!" - -With a feverish step, she retraced the path they had gone and they went -out by the small gate of the Carrousel. The large open space was till -midnight covered with stalls and prowling cabs. But it was now deserted -and gloomy. - -Suddenly they heard a great din of carriages and horses. They saw a -light: no doubt the flambeaux accompanying the vehicles. - -Isidore wanted to keep in the dark but the Queen pressed forward. He -dragged her into the depths of the gateway but the torchlight flooded -this cave with its beams. - -In the middle of the escort of cavalry, half reclining in a carriage, in -his costume of General of the National Guards, was Marquis Lafayette. - -As it whizzed by, Isidore felt an arm, strong with will if not real -power, elbow him aside. It was the Queen's left arm, while with a cane -in her right hand she struck the carriage wheels. - -"A fig for you, Jailer!" she said. "I am out of your prison!" - -"What are you doing, and what are you risking?" ejaculated the Viscount. - -"I am taking my revenge," said the silly victim of spite, "and one may -risk a good deal for that." - -Behind the last torch-bearer she bounded along, radiant as a goddess, -and gleeful as a child. - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -ON THE HIGHWAY. - - -The Queen had not taken ten paces beyond the gateway before a man in a -blue garrick and with his face hidden by a tarpaulin hat, caught her -convulsively by the arm and dragged her to a hackney coach stationed at -the St. Nicaise corner: it was Count Charny. - -They expected to see the Queen come up, after this half hour of delay, -dying, downcast and prostrated, but they saw her merry and gladsome; the -cut of the cane which she had given a carriage-wheel and fancied was on -the rider, had made her forget her fatigue, her blunder, her obstinacy, -the lost time and the consequences of the delay. - -Charny pointed out a saddled horse which a servant was holding at a -little distance to his brother who mounted and dashed ahead to pioneer -the way. He would have to get the horses ready at Bondy. - -Seeing him go, the Queen uttered some words of thanks which he did not -hear. - -"Let us be off, madam; we have not one second to lose," said Charny, -with that firmness of will mixed with respect which great men take for -grand occasions. - -The Queen entered the hackney-coach, where were five already, the King, -Lady Elizabeth, the Princess Royal, her brother and Lady Tourzel. She -had to sit at the back with her son on her lap, with the King beside -her: the two ladies and the girl were on the front seat. Fortunately the -hackney carriages, old family coaches, were roomy in those days. - -Charny got upon the box and to avert suspicion, turned the horses round -and had them driven to the gate circuitously. - -Their special conveyance was waiting for them there, on the side-road -leading to the ditch. This part was lonesome. The traveling carriage had -the door open, and Malden and Valory were on the steps. - -In an instant the six travelers were out on the road. Charny drove the -hack to the ditch and upset it in it, before returning to the party. - -They were inside; Malden got up behind; Valory joined Charny on the box. -The four horses went off at a rattling good pace as a quarter past one -sounded from the church clock. - -In an hour they were at Bondy, where Isidore had better teams ready. He -saw the royal coach come up. - -Charny got down to get inside as had been settled; but Lady Tourzel, who -was to be sent back to town alone, had not been consulted. - -With all her profound devotion to the Royal Family, she was unalterable -on points of court etiquette. She stated that her duty was to look after -the royal children, whom she was bound not to quit for a single instant -unless by the King's express order, or the Queen's; but there being no -precedent of a Queen having ordered the royal governess away from her -charges, she would not go. - -The Queen quivered with impatience, for she doubly wished Charny in the -vehicle, as a lover who would make it pleasanter and as a Queen, as he -would guard her. - -Louis did not dare pronounce on the grave question. He tried to get out -of the dilemma by a side-issue. Lady Tourzel stood ready to yield to the -King's command but he dared not command her, so strong are the minutest -regulations in the courtly-bred. - -"Arrange anyway you like, count," said the fretful Queen, "only you must -be with us." - -"I will follow close to the carriage, like a simple servant," he -replied: "I will return to town to get a horse by the one my brother -came therefrom, and changing my dress I will join you at full speed." - -"Is there no other means?" said Marie Antoinette in despair. - -"I see none," remarked the King. - -Lady Tourzel took her seat triumphantly and the stage-coach started off. - -The importance of this discussion had made them forget to serve out the -firearms which went back to Paris in the hack. - -By daybreak, which was three o'clock, they changed horses at Meaux where -the King was hungry. They brought their own provisions in the boot of -the coach, cold veal and bread and wine, which Charny had seen to. But -there were no knives and forks and the King had to carve with "Jean," -that is, Malden's hunting-knife. - -During this, the Queen leaned out to see if Charny were returning. - -"What are you thinking of, madam?" inquired the King, who had found the -two guards would not take refreshment. - -"That Lafayette is in a way at this hour," replied the lady. - -But nothing showed that their departure had been seen. - -Valory said that all would go well. - -"Cheer up!" he said, as he got upon the box with Malden and off they -rolled again. - -At eight o'clock they reached the foot of a long slope where the King -had all get out to walk up. Scattered over the road, the pretty children -romping and playing, the sister resting on her brother's arm and -smiling: the pensive women looking backward, and all lit up by the June -sun while the forest flung a transparent shade upon the highway--they -seemed a family going home to an old manor to resume a regular and -peaceful life and not a King and Queen of France fleeing from the throne -which would be converted into their scaffold. - -An accident was soon to stir up the dormant passions in the bosoms of -the party. - -The Queen suddenly stopped as though her feet had struck root. - -A horseman appeared a quarter-league away, wrapped in the cloud of dust -which his horse's hoofs threw up. - -Marie Antoinette dared not say: "It is Count Charny!" but she did -exclaim, "News from Paris!" - -Everybody turned round except the Dauphin who was chasing a -butterfly--compared with its capture the news from the capital little -mattered. - -Being shortsighted, the King drew a small spy-glass from his pocket. - -"I believe it is only Lord Charny," he said. - -"Yes, it is he," said the Queen. - -"Go on," said the other: "he will catch up to us and we have no time to -lose." - -The Queen dared not suggest that the news might be of value. - -It was only a few seconds at stake anyhow, for the rider galloped up as -fast as his horse could go. - -He stared as he came up for he could not understand why the party should -be scattered all over the road. - -He arrived as the huge vehicle stopped at the top of the ridge to take -up the passengers. - -It was indeed Charny as the Queen's heart and the King's eyes had -told them. He was now wearing a green riding coat with flap collar, a -broad brimmed hat with steel buckle, white waistcoat, tight buckskin -breeches, and high boots reaching above the knee. His usually dead white -complexion was animated by the ride and sparks of the same flame which -reddened his cheeks shot from his eyes. - -He looked like a conqueror as he rushed along; the Queen thought she had -never seen him look handsomer. She heaved a deep sigh as the horseman -leaped off his horse and saluted the King. - -Turning, he bowed to the Queen. All grouped themselves round him, except -two guardsmen who stood aloof in respect. - -"Come near, gentlemen," said the King: "what news Count Charny brings -concerns us all." - -"To begin with, all goes well," said Charny: "At two in the morning none -suspected our flight." - -They breathed easier: the questions were multiplied. He related that -he had entered the town and been stopped by a patrol of volunteers who -however became convinced that the King was still in the palace. He -entered his own room and changed his dress: the aid of Lafayette who -first had a doubt, had become calm and dismissed extra guards. - -He had returned on the same horse from the difficulty of getting a fresh -one so early. It almost foundered, poor beast, but he reached Bondy -upon it. There he took a fresh one and continued his ride with nothing -alarming along the road. - -The Queen found that such good news deserved the favor of her extending -her hand to the bearer; he kissed it respectfully, and she turned pale. -Was it from joy that he had returned, or with sorrow that he did not -press it? - -When the vehicle started off, Charny rode by the side. - -At the next relay house all was ready except a saddle horse for the -count which Isidore had not foreseen the want of. There would be delay -for one to be found. The vehicle went off without him, but he overtook -it in five minutes. It was settled that he should follow and not escort -it. Still he kept close enough for the Queen to see him if she put -her head out of the window and thus he exchanged a few words with the -illustrious couple when the pace allowed it. - -Charny changed horses at Montmirail and was dashing on thinking it had a -good start of him when he almost ran into it. It had been pulled up from -a trace breaking. He dismounted and found a new leather in the boot, -filled with repairing stuff. The two guardsmen profited by the halt to -ask for their weapons, but the King opposed their having them. On the -objection that the vehicle might be stopped he replied that he would -not have blood spilt on his account. - -They lost half an hour by this mishap, when seconds were priceless. - -They arrived at Chalons by two o'clock. - -"All will go well if we reach Chalons without being stopped," the King -had said. - -Here the King showed himself for a moment. In the crowd around the huge -conveyance two men watched him with sustained attention. One of them -suddenly went away while the other came up. - -"Sire, you will wreck all if you show yourself thus," he said. "Make -haste, you lazybones," he cried to the postboys: "this is a pretty way -to serve those who pay you handsomely." - -He set to work, aiding the hostlers. - -It was the postmaster. - -At last the horses were hooked on and the postboys in their saddles and -boots. The first tried to start his pair when they went clean off their -feet. They got them up and all clear again, when the second span went -off their feet! This time the postboy was caught under them. - -Charny, who was looking on in silence, seized hold of the man and -dragged him out of his heavy boots, remaining under the horse. - -"What kind of horses have you given us?" demanded he of the postinghouse -master. - -"The best I had in," replied the man. - -The horses were so entangled with the traces that the more they pulled -at them the worse the snarl became. - -Charny flew down to the spot. - -"Unbuckle and take off everything," he said, "and harness up afresh. We -shall get on quicker so." - -The postmaster lent a hand in the work, cursing with desperation. - -Meanwhile the other man, who had been looking on had run to the mayor, -whom he told that the Royal Family were in a coach passing through the -town. Luckily the official was far from being a republican and did -not care to take any responsibility on himself. Instead of making the -assertion sure, he shilly-shallied so that time was lost and finally -arrived as the coach disappeared round the corner. - -But more than twenty minutes had been frittered away. - -Alarm was in the royal party; the Queen thought that the downfall of the -two pair of horses were akin to the four candles going out one after -another which she had taken to portend the death of herself, her husband -and their two children. - -Still, on getting out of the town, she and the King and his sister had -all exclaimed: - -"We are saved!" - -But, a hundred paces beyond, a man shouted in at the window: - -"Your measures are badly taken--you will be arrested!" - -The Queen screamed but the man jumped into the hedge and was lost to -sight. - -Happily they were but four leagues from Sommevelle Bridge, where -Choiseul and forty hussars were to be posted. But it was three in the -afternoon and they were nearly four hours late. - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - -THE QUEEN'S HAIRDRESSER. - - -On the morning of the twenty-first of June, the Count of Choiseul, who -had notified the King that he could wait no longer but must pick up his -detachments along the road and fall back towards Bouille, who was also -at the end of his patience, was told that a messenger from the Queen was -at last at his house in Paris. - -It was Leonard the Queen's hairdresser. He was a favorite who enjoyed -immense credit at the court, but the duke could wish for a more weighty -confidant. But how could the Queen go into exile without the artist who -alone could build up her hair into one of those towers which caused her -to be the envy of her sex and the stupefaction of the sterner one? - -He was wearing a round hat pulled down to his eyes and an enormous -"wraprascal," which he explained were property of his brother. The -Queen, in confiding to him her jewels, had ordered him to disguise -himself, and placed himself under the command of Choiseul. Not only -verbal was this direction but in a note which the duke read and burned. - -He ordered a cab to be made ready. When the servant reported it at the -door, he said to the hairdresser: - -"Come, my dear Leonard." - -"But where?" - -"A little way out of town where your art is required." - -"But the diamonds?" - -"Bring them along." - -"But my brother will come home and see I have taken his best hat and -overcoat--he will wonder what has become of me." - -"Let him wonder! Did not the Queen bid you obey me as herself?" - -"True, but Lady Ange will be expecting me to do up her hair. Nobody can -make anything of her scanty wisp but me, and----" - -"Lady Ange must wait till her hair grows again." - -Without paying farther heed to his lamentations, the lord forced him -into his cab and the horse started off at a fast gait. When they stopped -to renew the horse, he believed they were going to the world's end, -though the duke confessed that their destination was the frontier. - -At Montmirail they were to pass the balance of the night, and indeed -at the inn beds were ready. Leonard began to feel better, in pride at -having been chosen for such an important errand. - -At eleven they reached Sommevelle Bridge, where Choiseul got out to put -on his uniform. His hussars had not yet arrived. - -Leonard watched his preparations, particularly his freshening the pistol -primings, with sharp disquiet and heaved sighs which touched the hearer. - -"It is time to let you into the truth, Leonard; you are true to your -masters so you may as well know that they will be here in a couple of -hours. The King, the Queen, Lady Elizabeth, and the royal children. You -know what dangers they were running, and dangers they are running still, -but in two hours they will be saved. I am awaiting a hussar detachment -to be brought by Lieut. Goguelat. We will have dinner and take our time -over it." - -But they heard the bugle and the hussars arrived. Goguelat brought six -blank royal warrants and the order from Bouille for Choiseul to be -obeyed like himself by all military officers, whatever their ranking -seniority. - -The horses were hobbled, wine and eatables served out to the troopers -and Choiseuil sat at table. - -Not that the lieutenant's news was good. He had found ferment everywhere -along the road. For more than a year rumors of the King's flight had -circulated as well in the country as in town, and the stationing of the -soldiers had aroused talk. In one township the village church bells had -sounded the alarm. - -This was calculated to dull even a Choiseuil's appetite. So he got up -from the board in an hour, as the clock struck half after twelve, and -leaving Lieut. Boudet to rule the troop of horse, he went out on a hill -by the town entrance which commanded a good view. Every five minutes -he pulled out his watch, and, each time, Leonard groaned: "Oh, my poor -masters, they will not come. Something bad has happened them." - -His despair added to the duke's disquiet. - -Three o'clock came without any tidings. It will be remembered that this -was the hour when the King left Chalons. - -While Choiseul was fretting, Fatality, unless Cagliostro had a hand in -it, was preparing an event which had much to do with influencing the -drama in course of performance. - -A few days before, some peasants on the Duchess of Elboeuf's estate, -near Sommevelle Bridge, had refused payment of some unredeemable taxes. -They were threatened with the sheriff calling in the military; but -the Federation business had done its work and the inhabitants of the -neighborhood vowed to make common cause with their brothers of the plow -and came armed to resist the process-servers. - -On seeing the hussars ride in, the clowns thought that they were here -for this purpose. So they sent runners to the surrounding villages and -at three o'clock the alarm-bells were booming all over the country. - -Choiseul went back on hearing this and found Lieut. Boudet uneasy. - -Threats were heard against the hussars who were the best hated corps in -the army. The crowd bantered them and sang a song at them which was made -for the occasion: - - "Than the hussars there is no worse, - But we don't care for them a curse!" - -Other persons, better informed or keener, began to whisper that the -cavalry were here not to execute a writ on the Elboeuf tillers but to -wait for the King and Queen coming through. - -Meanwhile four o'clock struck without any courier with intelligence. - -The count put Leonard in his cab with the diamonds, and sent him on -to Varennes, with order to say all he could to the commanders of each -military troop on the road. - -To calm the agitation he informed the mob that he and his company were -there not to assist the sheriff, but to guard a treasure which the -War Minister was sending along. This word "treasure," with its double -meaning, confirmed suspicions on one side while allaying irritability on -the other. In a short time he saw that his men were so outnumbered and -as hedged in that they could do nothing in such a mass, and would have -been powerless to protect the Royal Family if they came then. - -His orders were to "act so that the King's carriage should pass without -hindrance," while his presence was becoming an obstacle instead of -protection. - -Even had the King came up he had better be out of the way. Indeed his -departure would remove the block from the highway. But he needed an -excuse for the going. - -The postmaster was there among half-a-dozen leading citizens whom a word -would turn into active foes. He was close to Choiseul who inquired: - -"My friend, did you hear anything about this military money-chest coming -through?" - -"This very morning," replied the man, "the stage-coach came along for -Metz with a hundred thousand crowns; two gendarmes rode with it." - -"You don't say so?" cried the nobleman, amazed at luck so befriending -him. - -"It is so true that I was one of the escort," struck in a gendarme. - -"Then the Minister preferred that way of transmitting the cash," said -Choiseul, turning to his lieutenant, quietly, "and we were sent only as -a blind to highwaymen. As we are no longer needed, I think we can be -off. Boot and saddle, my men!" - -The troop marched out with trumpets sounding and the count at the head -as the clock struck half-past five. - -He branched off the road to avoid St. Menehould, where great hubbub was -reported to prevail. - -At this very instant, Isidore Charny, spurring and whipping a horse -which had taken two hours to cover four leagues, dashed up to the -posthouse to get another; asking about a squad of hussars he was told -that it had marched slowly out of the place a quarter of an hour before; -leaving orders about the horses for the carriage, he rode off at full -speed of the fresh steed, hoping to overtake the count. - -Choiseul had taken the side road precisely as Isidore arrived at the -post, so that the viscount never met him. - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - -MISCHANCE. - - -Ten minutes after young Charny rode out, the King's coach rumbled in. - -As the duke had foreseen, the crowd had dissolved almost completely. - -Knowing that a detachment of soldiery was to be at Sommevelle, Charny -had thought he need not linger and had galloped beside the door, urging -on the postillions and keeping them up to the hand-gallop. - -On arriving and seeing neither Choiseul nor the escort, the King stuck -his head out of the window. - -"For mercy's sake, do not show yourself," said Charny; "let me inquire." - -In five minutes he returned from the postinghouse where he had learnt -all, and he repeated it to the monarch. They understood that the count -had withdrawn to leave the road open. No doubt he had fallen back on St. -Menehould where they ought to hasten to find him with the hussars and -dragoons. - -"What am I to do?" asked Charny as they were about to proceed again; -"does the Queen order me to go ahead or ride in the rear?" - -"Do not leave me," said the Queen. - -He bowed, and rode by the carriage side. - -During this time Isidore rode on, gaining on the vehicle, and fearing -that the people of St. Menehould would also take umbrage at having the -soldiers in their town. He was not wrong. - -The first thing he perceived there was a goodly number of National -Guards scattered about the streets; they were the first seen since he -left the capital. - -The whole town seemed in a stir and on the opposite side, drums were -beating. - -He dashed through the streets without appearing to notice the tumult: -crossing the square he stopped at the postinghouse. - -On a bench in the square he noticed a dozen dragoons not in their -helmets but fatigue caps, sitting at ease. Up at a ground floor window -lounged Marquis Dandoins in undress, also, with a riding whip in his -hand. - -Isidore passed without seeming to look, presuming that the captain would -recognize the royal courier by his uniform and not need any other hint. - -At the posthouse was a young man whose hair was cut short in the Emperor -Titus fashion which the Patriots adopted in the period: he wore his -beard all round the lower face from ear to ear. He was in a dressing -gown. - -"What do you want?" challenged the black-whiskered man, seeing that the -new-comer was looking round. - -"To speak to the postmaster." - -"He is out just now, but I am his son, Jean Baptiste Drouet. If I can -replace him, speak." - -He had emphasized his name as though he fore-felt that it would take a -place on the historic page. - -"I want six horses for two carriages coming after me." - -Drouet nodded to show that he would fulfill the order and walked into -the stable yard, calling out: - -"Turn out there! six horses for carriages and a nag for the courier." - -At this nick Marquis Dandoins hurriedly came up to Isidore. - -"You are preceding the King's coach, I suppose?" he questioned. - -"Yes, my lord, and I am surprised to see that you and your men are not -in the battle array." - -"We have not been notified; besides, very ugly manifestations have been -made around us; attempts to make my men mutiny. What am I to do?" - -"Why, as the King passes, guard the vehicle, act as circumstances -dictate, and start off half an hour after the Royal Family to guard the -rear." But he interrupted himself saying: "Hush, we are spied. Perhaps -we have been overheard. Get away to your squadron and do all you can to -keep your men steadfast." - -Indeed, Drouet was at the kitchen door where this dialogue was held. -Dandoins walked away. - -At this period, cracking of whips was heard: the royal coach rolled up -across the square and stopped at the posthouse. - -At the noise it made, the population mustered around the spot with -curiosity. - -Captain Dandoins, whose heart was sore about the oversight, and wanting -to explain why his men were standing at ease instead of being ready -for action, darted up to the carriage window, taking off his cap and -bowing, with all kind of respect to excuse himself to the sovereign and -the Royal Family. To answer him the King put his head out of the window -several times. - -Isidore, with his foot in the stirrup, was near Drouet who watched -the conveyance with profound attention: he had been up to town to -the Federation Festival and he had seen the King whom he believed he -recognized. That morning he had received a number of the new issue of -_assignats_ the paper money of the State which bore the monarch's head: -he pulled one out and compared it with the original. This seemed to cry -out to him: "You have the man before you." - -Isidore went round the carriage to the other side where his brother was -masking the Queen by leaning his elbow on the window. - -"The King is recognized," he said; "hurry off the carriage and take -a good look at that tall dark fellow--the postmaster's son, who has -recognized the King. His name is Jean Baptiste Drouet." - -"Right," responded George, "I will look to him. You, be off!" - -Isidore galloped on to Clermont to have the fresh horses ready there. - -Scarcely was he through the town before the vehicle started off, by -Malden and Valory pressing and the promise of extra money. - -Charny had lost sight of Drouet who did not budge, but was talking with -the groom. The count went up to him. - -"Was there no horse ordered for me, sir?" he demanded. - -"One was ordered, but we are out of them." - -"What do you mean--when here is a saddled horse in the yard." - -"That is mine." - -"But you can let me have it. I do not mind what I pay." - -"Impossible. I have a journey to make, and it cannot be postponed." - -To insist was to cause suspicions; to take by force was to ruin all. -He thought of a means to smoothe over the difficulty. He went over to -Captain Dandoins who was watching the royal carriage going round the -corner. He turned on a hand being laid on his shoulder. - -"Hush, I am Count Charny," said the Lifeguard. "I cannot get a horse -here. Let me have one of your dragoons' as I must follow the King and -the Queen. I alone know where the relays set by the Count of Choiseul -are, and if I am not at hand the King will be brought to a standstill at -Varennes." - -"Count, you must take my charger, not one of my men's." - -"I accept. The welfare of the Royal Family depends on the least -accident. The better the steed the better the chances." - -The two went through the town to the marquis' lodgings. Before departing -Charny charged a quarter-master to watch young Drouet. - -Unfortunately the nobleman's rooms were five hundred paces away. When -the horses were saddled a quarter of an hour had gone by; for the -marquis had another got ready as he was to take up the rear guard duty -over the King. - -Suddenly it seemed to Charny that he heard great clamor and could -distinguish shouts of "The Queen, the Queen!" - -He sprang from the house, begging Dandoins to have the horse brought to -the square. - -The town was in an uproar. Scarcely had Charny and his brother noble -gone, as if Drouet had waited for it, he shouted out: - -"That carriage which went by is the King's! in it are the King, the -Queen, and the Royals!" - -He jumped on his horse; some friends sought to detain him. - -"Where are you off to? what do you intend? what is your project?" - -"The colonel and the troop are here. We could not stop the King without -a riot which might turn out ill for us. What cannot be done here can be -done at Clermont. Keep back the dragoons, that is all I ask." - -And away galloped he on the track of the King. - -Hence the shouting that the King and the Queen had gone through, as -Charny heard. Those shouts set the mayor and councilmen afoot; the mayor -ordered the soldiers into the barracks as eight o'clock was striking -and it was the hour when soldiers had no business to be about in arms. - -"Horses!" cried Charny as Dandoins joined him. - -"They are coming." - -"Have you pistols in the holsters?" - -"I loaded them myself." - -"Good! Now, all hangs on the goodness of your horse. I must catch up -with a man who has a quarter-hour's start, and kill him." - -"You must kill him----" - -"Or, all is lost!" - -"Do not wait for the horses, then." - -"Never mind me; you, get your men out before they are coaxed over; look -at the mayor speechifying to them! you have no time to lose either; make -haste!" - -At this instant up came the orderly with the two chargers. Charny took -the nearest at hazard, snatched the reins from the man's hands, leaped -astride, drove in both spurs and burst away on the track of Drouet, -without clearly comprehending what the marquis yelled after him. Yet -these words were important. - -"You have taken my horse and not yours, and the pistols are not loaded!" - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - -STOP, KING! - - -With Isidore riding before it, the royal conveyance flew over the road -between St. Menehould and Clermont. - -Night was falling; the coach entered Argonne Forest crossing the -highway. - -The Queen had noticed the absence of Charny, but she could not slacken -the pace or question the postboys. She did lean out a dozen times but -she discovered nothing. - -At half-past nine they reached Clermont, four leagues covered. Count -Damas was waiting outside the place as he had been warned by Leonard and -he stopped Isidore on recognizing his livery. - -"You are Charles de Damas? well; I am preceding the King. Get your -dragoons in hand and escort the carriage." - -"My lord," replied the count, "such a breath of discontent is blowing -that I am alarmed, and must confess that my men cannot be answered for, -if they recognize the King. All I can promise is that I will fall in -behind when he gets by, and bar the road." - -"Do your best--here they come!" - -He pointed to the carriage rushing through the darkness and visible by -the sparks from the horses' shoes. - -Isidore's duty was to ride ahead and get the relays ready. In five -minutes, he stopped at the posthouse door. - -Almost at the same time, Damas rode up with half-a-dozen dragoons, and -the King's coach came next. It had followed Isidore so closely that he -had not had time to remount. Without being showy it was so large and -well built that a great crowd gathered to see it. - -Damas stood by the door to prevent the passengers being studied. But -neither the King nor the Queen could master their desire to learn what -was going on. - -"Is that you, Count Damas?" asked the King. "Why are not your dragoons -under arms?" - -"Sire, your Majesty is five hours behind time. My troop has been in the -saddle since four P. M. I have kept as quiet as possible but the town -is getting fretful; and my men want to know what is the matter. If the -excitement comes to a head before your Majesty is off again, the alarm -bell will be rung and the road will be blocked. So I have kept only -a dozen men ready and sent the others into quarters; but I have the -trumpeters in my rooms so as to sound the Boot-and-Saddle at the first -call. Your Majesty sees that all was for the best for the road is free." - -"Very well; you have acted like a prudent man, my lord," said the King; -"when I am gone, get your men together and follow me closely." - -"Sire, will you kindly hear what Viscount Charny has to say?" asked the -Queen. - -"What has he to say?" said the King, fretfully. - -"That you were recognised by the St. Menehould postmaster's son, who -compared your face with the likeness on the new paper money; his brother -the count stayed behind to watch this fellow, and no doubt something -serious is happening as he has not rejoined us." - -"If we were recognized, the more reason to hurry. Viscount, urge on the -postboys and ride on before." - -Isidore's horse was ready. He dashed on, shouting to the postillions: -"The Varennes Road!" and led the vehicle, which rattled off with -lightning speed. - -Damas thought of following with his handful but he had positive orders -and as the town was in commotion--lights appearing at windows and -persons running from door to door--he thought only of one thing: to stop -the alarm bell. He ran to the church tower and set a guard on the door. - -But all seemed to calm down. A messenger arrived from Dandoins, to say -that he and his dragoons were detained at St. Menehould by the people; -besides--as Damas already knew--Drouet had ridden off to pursue the -carriage which he had probably failed to catch up with, as they had not -seen him at Clermont. - -Then came a hussar orderly, from Commandant Rohrig, at Varennes with -Count Bouille and another. He was a young officer of twenty who was not -in the knowledge of the plot but was told a treasure was in question. -Uneasy at time going by they wanted to know what news Damas could give. - -All was quiet with them and on the road the hussar had passed the royal -carriage. - -"All's well," thought Count Damas, going home to bid his bugler sound -"Boot and Saddle!" - -All was therefore going for the best, except for the St. Menehould -incident, by which Dandoins' thirty dragoons were locked up. - -But Damas could dispense with them from having a hundred and forty. - -Returning to the King's carriage, it was on the road to Varennes. - -This place is composed of an upper and a lower town; the relay of horses -was to be ready beyond the town, on the farther side of the bridge and -a vaulted passage, where a stoppage would be bad. - -Count Jules Bouille and Raigecourt were to guard these horses and Charny -was to guide the party through the daedalus of streets. He had spent a -fortnight in Varennes and had studied and jotted down every point; not a -lane but was familiar, not a boundary post but he knew it. - -Unfortunately Charny was not to the fore. - -Hence the Queen's anxiety doubled. Something grave must have befallen -him to keep him remote when he knew how much he was wanted. - -The King grew more distressed, too, as he had so reckoned on Charny that -he had not brought away the plan of the town. - -Besides the night was densely dark--not a star scintillated. - -It was easy to go wrong in a known place, still more a strange one. - -Isidore's orders from his brother was to stop before the town. - -Here his brother was to change horses and take the lead. - -He was as troubled as the Queen herself at this absence. His hope was -that Bouille and Raigecourt in their eagerness would come out to meet -the Royal party: they must have learnt the site during three days and -would do as guides. - -Consequently on reaching the base of the hill, seeing a few lights -sparkling over the town, Isidore pulled up irresolutely, and cast a -glance around to try and pierce the murkiness. He saw nothing. - -He ventured to call in a low voice, but louder and louder, for the -officers; but no reply came. - -He heard the rumbling of the stage coming along at a quarter of a league -off, like a thunder peal. - -Perhaps the officers were hiding in the woods which he explored along -the skirts without meeting a soul. - -He had no alternative but to wait. - -In five minutes the carriage came up, and the heads of the royal couple -were thrust out of the windows. - -"Have you seen Count Charny?" both asked simultaneously. - -"I have not, Sire," was the response: "and I judge that some hurt has -met him in the chase of that confounded Drouet." - -The Queen groaned. - -"What can be done?" inquired the King who found that nobody knew the -place. - -"Sire," said the viscount, "all is silent and appears quiet. Please your -Majesty, wait ten minutes. I will go into the town, and try to get news -of Count Bouille or at least of the Choiseul horses." - -He darted towards the houses. - -The nearest had opened at the approach of the vehicles, and light was -perceptible through the chink of the door. - -The Queen got out, leant on Malden's arm and walked up to this dwelling: -but the door closed at their drawing near. Malden had time to dash up -and give it a shove which overpowered the resistance. The man who had -attempted to shut it was in his fiftieth year; he wore a night gown and -slippers. - -It was not without astonishment that he was pushed into his own house by -a gentleman who had a lady on his arm. He started when he cast a rapid -glance at the latter. - -"What do you want?" he challenged Malden. - -"We are strangers to Varennes, and we beg you to point out the Stenay -road." - -"But if I give you the information, and it is known, I will be a ruined -man." - -"Whatever the risk, sir," said the Lifeguardsman, "it will be kindness -to a lady who is in a dangerous position----" - -"Yes, but this is a great lady--it is the Queen," he whispered to the -sham courier. - -The Queen pulled Malden back. - -"Before going farther, let the King know that I am recognized," she -said. - -Malden took but a second to run this errand and he brought word that the -King wanted to see this careful man. - -He kicked off his slippers with a sigh, and went on tiptoe out to the -vehicle. - -"Your name, sir?" demanded the King. - -"I am Major Prefontaine of the cavalry, and Knight of the St. Louis -Order." - -"In both capacities you have sworn fealty to me: it is doubly your duty -therefore to help me in this quandary." - -"Certainly: but will your Majesty please be quick about it lest I am -seen," faltered the major. - -"All the better if you are seen," interposed Malden; "you will never -have a finer chance to do your duty." - -Not appearing to be of this opinion, the major gave a groan. The Queen -shook her shoulders with scorn and stamped with impatience. - -The King waved his hand to appease her and said to the lukewarm -royalist: - -"Sir, did you hear by chance of soldiers waiting for a carriage to come -through, and have you seen any hussars lately about?" - -"They are on the other side of the town, Sire; the horses are at the -Great Monarch inn and the soldiers probably in the barracks." - -"I thank you, sir; nobody has seen you and you will probably have -nothing happen you." - -He gave his hand to the Queen to help her into the vehicle, and issued -orders for the start to be made again. - -But as the couriers shouted "To the Monarch Inn!" a shadowy horseman -loomed up in the woods and darted crosswise on the road, shouting: - -"Postboys, not a step farther! You are driving the fleeing King. In the -name of the Nation, I bid ye stand!" - -"The King," muttered the postillions, who had gathered up the reins. - -Louis XVI. saw that it was a vital instant. - -"Who are you, sir, to give orders here?" he demanded. - -"A plain citizen, but I represent the law and I speak in the name of the -Nation. Postillions, I order you a second time not to stir. You know me -well: I am Jean Baptiste Drouet, son of the postmaster at St. -Menehould." - -"The scoundrel, it is he," shouted the two Lifeguardsmen, drawing their -hunting-swords. - -But before they could alight, the other had dashed away into the Lower -Town streets. - -"Oh, what has become of Charny?" murmured the Queen. - -Fatality had ridden at the count's knee. - -Dandoins' horse was a good racer but Drouet had twenty minute's start. -Charny dug in the spurs, and the bounding horse blew steam from his -nostrils as it darted off. Without knowing that he was pursued, -Drouet tore along, but he rode an ordinary nag while the other was a -thoroughbred. - -The result was that at a league's end the pursuer gained a third. -Thereupon the postmaster's son saw that he was chased and redoubled -his efforts to keep beyond the hunter. At the end of the second league -Charny saw that he had gained in the same proportion, while the other -turned to watch him with more and more uneasiness. - -Drouet had gone off in such haste that he had forgotten to arm himself. -The young patriot did not dread death, but he feared being stopped -in his mission of arresting the King, whereupon he would lose the -opportunity of making his name famous. - -He had still two leagues to go before reaching Clermont, but it was -evident that he would be overtaken at the end of the first league, that -is, the third, from his leaving St. Menehould. - -As if to stimulate his ardor, he was sure that the royal carriage was in -front of him. - -He laid on the lash and drove in the spurs more cruelly. - -It was half after nine and night fell. - -He was but three quarters of a league from Clermont but Charny was only -two hundred paces away. - -Drouet knew Varennes was not a posting station and he surmised that the -King would have to go through Verdun. He began to despair; before he -caught up with the King he would be seized. He would have to give up the -pursuit or turn to fight his pursuer and he was unarmed. - -Suddenly, when Charny was not fifty paces from him, he met postillions -returning with the unharnessed horses. Drouet recognized them as those -who had ridden the royal horses. - -"They took the Verdun Road, eh?" he called out as he forged past them. - -"No, the Varennes Road," they shouted. - -He roared with delight. He was saved and the King lost! - -Instead of the long way he had a short cut to make. He knew all about -Argonne Woods into which he flung himself: by cutting through, he would -gain a quarter of an hour over the King, besides being shielded by the -darkness under the trees. - -Charny, who knew the ground almost as well as the young man, understood -that he would escape him and he howled with rage. - -"Stop, stop!" he shouted out to Drouet, as he at the same time urged his -horse also on the short level separating the road from the woods. - -But Drouet took good care not to reply: he bent down on his horse's -neck, inciting him with whip and spur and voice. All he wanted was to -reach the thicket--he would be safe there. - -He could do it, but he had to run the gauntlet of Charny at ten paces. -He seized one of the horse-pistols and levelled it. - -"Stop!" he called out again, "or you are a dead man." - -Drouet only leaned over the more and pressed on. The royalist pulled the -trigger but the flint on the hammer only shot sparks from the pan: he -furiously flung the weapon at the flyer, took out the other of the pair -and plunging into the woods after him, shot again at the dark-form--but -once more the hammer fell uselessly; neither pistol was loaded. - -It was then he remembered that Dandoins had called out something to him -which he had heard imperfectly. - -"I made a mistake in the horse," he said, "and no doubt what he shouted -was that the pistols were not charged. Never mind, I will catch this -villain, and strangle him with my own hands if needs must." - -He took up the pursuit of the shadow which he just descried in the -obscurity. But he had hardly gone a hundred paces in the forest before -his horse broke down in the ditch: he was thrown over its head; rising -he pulled it up and got into the seat again but Drouet was out of sight. - -Thus it was that he escaped Charny, and swept like a phantom over the -road to bid the King's conductors to make not another step. - -They obeyed, for he had conjured them in the name of the Nation, -beginning to be more mighty than the King's. - -Scarcely had he dived into the Lower Town and the sound of his horse -lessened before they heard that of another coming nearer. - -Isidore appeared by the same street as Drouet had taken. - -His information agreed with that furnished by Major Prefontaine. The -horses were beyond the town at the Monarch Hotel. - -Lieutenant Rohrig had the hussars at the barracks. - -But instead of filling them with joy by his news he found the party -plunged into the deepest stupor. Prefontaine was wailing and the two -Lifeguardsmen threatening someone unseen. - -"Did not a rider go by you at a gallop?" - -"Yes, Sire." - -"The man was Drouet," said the King. - -"Then my brother is dead," ejaculated Isidore with a deep pang at the -heart. - -The Queen uttered a shriek and buried her face in her hands. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. - -THE CAPTURE. - - -Inexpressible prostration overpowered the fugitives, checked on the -highway by a danger they could not measure. - -"Sire," said Isidore, the first to shake it off; "dead or living, let us -not think of our brother, but of your Majesty. There is not an instant -to lose. These fellows must know the Monarch Hotel; so, gallop to the -Grand Monarch!" - -But the postillions did not stir. - -"Did you not hear?" queried the young noble. - -"Yes, sir, we heard----" - -"Well, why do we not start?" - -"Because Master Drouet forbade us." - -"What? Drouet forbade you? when the King commands and Drouet forbids, do -you obey a Drouet?" - -"We obey the Nation." - -"Then, gentlemen," went on Isidore, "there are moments when a human life -is of no account. Pick out your man; I will settle this one. We will -drive ourselves." - -He grasped the nearest postillion by the collar and set the point of his -short sword to his breast. - -On seeing the three knives flash, the Queen screamed and cried: - -"Mercy, gentlemen!" - -She turned to the postboys: - -"Friends, fifty gold pieces to share among you, and a pension of five -hundred a-year if you save the King!" - -Whether they were frightened by the young nobles' demonstration or -snapped at the offer, the three shook up their horses and resumed the -road. - -Prefontaine sneaked into his house all of a tremble and barred himself -in. - -Isidore rode on in front to clear the way through the town and over the -bridge to the Monarch House. - -The vehicle rolled at full speed down the slope. - -On arriving at a vaulted way leading to the bridge and passing under the -Revenue Tower, one of the doors was seen closed. They got it open but -two or three wagons were in the way. - -"Lend me a hand, gentlemen," cried Isidore, dismounting. - -Just then they heard the bells boom and a drum beat. Drouet was hard at -work! - -"The scamp! if ever I lay hold of him--" growled Isidore, grinding his -teeth. By an incredible effort he dragged one of the carts aside while -Malden and Valory drew off the other. They tugged at the last as the -coach thundered under the vault. - -Suddenly through the uprights of the tilt, they saw several musket -barrels thrust upon the cart. - -"Not a step or you are dead men!" shouted a voice. - -"Gentlemen," interposed the King, looking out of the window, "do not try -to force your way through--I order you." - -The two officers and Isidore fell back a step. - -"What do they mean to do?" asked the King. - -At the same time a shriek of fright sounded from within the coach. -Besides the men who barred the way, two or three had slipped up to the -conveyance and shoved their gun barrels under the windows. One was -pointed at the Queen's breast: Isidore saw this; he darted up, and -pushed the gun aside by grasping the barrel. - -"Fire, fire," roared several voices. - -One of the men obeyed but luckily his gun missed fire. - -Isidore raised his arm to stab him but the Queen stopped his hand. - -"Oh, in heaven's name, let me charge this rabble," said Isidore, -enraged. - -"No, sheathe your sword, do you hear me?" - -He did not obey her by half; instead of sheathing his sword he let it -fall on the ground. - -"If I only get hold of Drouet," he snarled. - -"I leave you him to wreck your vengeance on," said the Queen, in an -undertone and squeezing his arm with strange force. - -"In short, gentlemen," said the King, "what do you want?" - -"We want to see your passports," returned several voices. - -"So you may," he replied. "Get the town authorities and we will show -them." - -"You are making too much fuss over it," said the fellow who had missed -fire with his gun and now levelled it at the King. - -But the two Guardsmen leaped upon him, and dragged him down; in the -scuffle the gun went off and the bullet did no harm in the crowd. - -"Who fired?" demanded a voice. - -"Help," called out the one whom the officers were beating. - -Five or six armed men rushed to his rescue. The two Lifeguardsmen -whipped out their short swords and prepared to use them. The King and -the Queen made useless efforts to stop both parties: the contest was -beginning fierce, terrible and deadly. - -But two men plunged into the struggle, distinguishable by a tricolored -scarf and military uniform; one was Sausse the County Attorney and the -other National Guard Commandant Hannonet. - -They brought twenty muskets, which gleamed in the torchlight. - -The King comprehended that these officials were a guarantee if not -assistance. - -"Gentlemen," he said, "I am ready to entrust myself and party to you, -but put a stop to these rough fellow's brutality." - -"Ground your arms," cried Hannonet. - -The men obeyed but growlingly. - -"Excuse me, sir," said the attorney, "but the story is about that the -King is in flight and it is our duty to make sure if it is a fact." - -"Make sure?" retorted Isidore. "If this carriage really conveyed his -Majesty you ought to be at his feet: if it is but a private individual -by what right do you stay him?" - -"Sir, I am addressing you," went on Sausse, to the King. "Will you be -good enough to answer me?" - -"Sire, gain time," whispered Isidore: "Damas and his dragoons are -somewhere near and will doubtless ride up in a trice." - -The King thought this right and replied to Sausse: - -"I suppose you will let us go on if our passes are correct?" - -"Of course," was the reply. - -"Then, Baroness," said the Monarch to Lady Tourzel, "be good enough to -find the passports and give them to the gentleman." - -The old lady understood what the speaker meant by saying "find!" so she -went to seeking in the pockets where it was not likely to be. - -"Nonsense," said one of the crowd, "don't you see that they have not got -any passport." - -The voice was fretful and full of menace too. - -"Excuse me, sir," said the Queen, "my lady the baroness has the paper -but not knowing that it would be called for, she does not know where she -put it." - -The bystanders began to hoot, showing that they were not dupes of the -trick. - -"There is a plainer way," said Sausse: "postillions, drive on to my -store, where the ladies and gentlemen can go in while the matter is -cleared up. Go ahead, boys! Soldiers of the National Guard, escort the -carriage." - -This invitation was too much like an order to be dallied with. - -Besides resistance would probably not have succeeded for the bells -continued to ring and the drum to beat so that the crowd was -considerably augmented, as the carriage moved on. - -"Oh, Colonel Damas," muttered the King, "if you will only strike in -before we are put within this accursed house!" - -The Queen said nothing for she had to stifle her sobs as she thought of -Charny, and restrained her tears. - -Damas? he had managed to break out of Clermont with three officers and -twice as many troopers but the rest had fraternized with the people. - -Sausse was a grocer as well as attorney, and his grocery had a parlor -behind the store where he meant to lodge the visitors. - -His wife, half-dressed, came from upstairs as the Queen crossed the -sill, with the King next, Lady Elizabeth and Lady Tourzel following. - -More than a hundred persons guarded the coach, and stopped before the -store which was in a little square. - -"If the lady has found the pass yet," observed Sausse, who had shown the -way in, "I will take it to the Town Council and see if it is correct." - -As the passport which Charny had got from Baron Zannone, and given to -the Queen, was in order, the King made a sign that Lady Tourzel was to -hand it over. She drew the precious paper from her pocket and let Sausse -have it. He charged his wife to do the honor of his house while he went -to the town-house. - -It was a lively meeting, for Drouet was there to fan the flames. The -silence of curiosity fell as the attorney entered with the document. All -knew that he harbored the party. The mayor pronounced the pass perfectly -good. - -"It must be good for there is the royal signature," he said. - -A dozen hands were held out for it but Drouet snatched it up. - -"But has it got the signature of the Assembly?" he demanded. - -It was signed by a member of the Committee though not for the president. - -"This is not the question," said the young patriot, "these travelers -are not Baroness von Korff, a Russian lady, with her steward, her -governess and her children, but the King and the Queen, the Prince -and the Princess Royal and Lady Elizabeth, a court lady, and their -guardsmen--the Royal Family in short. Will you or will you not let the -Royal Family go out of the kingdom?" - -This question was properly put, but it was too heavy for the town -governors of a third-rate town to handle. - -As their deliberation promised to take up some time, Sausse went home to -see how his guests were faring. - -They had refused to lay aside their wraps or sit down as this concession -seemed to delay their approaching departure, which they took for -granted. - -All their faculties were concentrated on the master of the house who -might be expected to bring the council's decision. When he arrived the -King went to meet him. - -"Well, what about the passport?" he asked, with anxiety he vainly strove -to conceal. - -"It causes a grave debate in the council," replied Sausse. - -"Why? is its validity doubted by any chance?" proceeded the King. - -"No; but it is doubted that it is really in the hands of Lady Korff, and -the rumor spreads that it covers the Royal Family." - -Louis hesitated an instant, but then, making up his mind, he said: - -"Well, yes; I am the King. You see the Queen and the children; I entreat -you to deal with them with the respect the French have always shown -their sovereigns." - -The street door had remained open to the staring multitude; the words -were heard without. Unhappily, though they were uttered with a kind of -dignity, the speaker did not carry out the idea in his bob wig, grey -coat, and plain stockings and shoes. - -How could anybody see the ruler of the realm in this travesty? - -The Queen felt the flush come to her eyes at the poor impression made on -the mob. - -"Let us accept Madam Sausse's hospitality," she hastened to say, "and go -upstairs." - -Meanwhile the news was carried to the town house and the tumult -redoubled over the town. - -How was it this did not attract the soldiers in waiting? - -At about nine in the evening, Count Jules Bouille--not his brother Louis -whom we have seen in locksmith's dress--and Lieut. Raigecourt, with -their hussars, were at the Monarch inn door, when they heard a carriage -coming. But it was the cab containing the Queen's hairdresser. He was -very frightened. - -He revealed his personality. - -"The King got out of Paris last evening," he said: "but it does not -look as if he could keep on; I have warned Colonel Damas who has called -in his outposts; the dragoon regiment mutinied; at Clermont there was -a riot--I have had great trouble to get through. I have the Queen's -diamonds and my brother's hat and coat, and you must give me a horse to -help me on the road." - -"Master Leonard," said Bouille, who wanted to set the hairdresser down a -peg, "the horses here are for the King's service and nobody else can use -them." - -"But as I tell you that there is little likelihood of the King coming -along----" - -"But still he may, and he would hold me to task for letting you have -them." - -"What, do you imagine that the King would blame you for giving me his -horses when it is to help me out of a fix?" - -The young noble could not help smiling. Leonard was comic in the big -hat and misfit coat, and he was glad to get rid of him by begging the -landlord to find a horse for the cab. - -Bouille and his brother-officer went through the town and saw nothing -on the farther side; they began to believe that the King, eight or ten -hours belated, would never come. It was eleven when they returned to -the inn. They had sent out an orderly before this, who had reported to -Damas, as we have seen. - -They threw themselves, dressed, on the bed to wait till midnight. - -At half past twelve they were aroused by the tocsin, the drum and the -shouting. Thrusting their heads out of the window, they saw the town in -confusion racing towards the town hall. Many armed men ran in the same -direction with all sorts of weapons. - -The officers went to the stables to get the horses out so that they -would be ready for the carriage if it crossed the town. They had their -own chargers ready and kept by the King's relay, on which sat the -postboys. - -Soon they learnt, amid the shouts and menaces that the royal party had -been stopped. - -They argued that they had better ride over to Stenay where the little -army corps commanded by Bouille was waiting. They could arrive in two -hours. - -Abandoning the relay, they galloped off, so that one of the main forces -foiled the King at the critical moment! - -During this time, Choiseul had been pushing on but he lost three -quarters of an hour by threading a wood, the guide going wrong by -accident or design. This was the very time while the King was compelled -to alight and go into Sausse's. - -At half after twelve, while the two young officers were riding off by -the other road, Choiseul presented himself at the gate, coming by the -cross-road. - -"Who goes there?" was challenged at the bridge where National guards -were posted. - -"France--Lauzun Hussars," was the count's reply. - -"You cannot pass!" returned the sentry, who called up the guard to arms. - -At the instant the darkness was streaked with torchlight, and the -cavalry could see masses of armed men and the musket-barrels shine. - -Not knowing what had happened, Choiseul parleyed and said that he wanted -to be put in communication with the officers of the garrison. - -But while he was talking he noticed that trees were felled to make a -breastwork and that two field pieces were trained on his forty men. As -the gunner finished his aiming, the hussar's provost-marshal's squad -arrived, unhorsed; they had been surprised and disarmed in the barracks -and only knew that the King had been arrested. They were ignorant what -had become of their comrades. - -As they were concluding these thin explanations, Choiseul saw a troop of -horse advance in the gloom and heard the bridge guards challenge: - -"Who goes there?" - -"The Provence Dragoons!" - -A national Guard fired off his gun: - -"It is Damas with his cavalry," whispered the count to an officer. - -Without waiting for more, he shook off the two soldiers who were -clinging to his skirts and suggesting that his duty was to obey the town -authorities and know nothing beyond. He commanded his men to go at the -trot, and took the defenders so well by surprise that he cut through, -and rushed the streets, swarming with people. - -On approaching Sausse's store, he saw the royal carriage, without the -horses, and a numerous guard before the mean-looking house in the petty -square. - -Not to have a collision with the townsfolk, the count went straight to -the military barracks, which he knew. - -As he came out, two men stopped him and bade him appear before the town -council; still having his troopers within call, he sent them off, saying -that he would pay the council a visit when he found time, and he ordered -the sentry to allow no one entrance. - -Inquiring of the stablemen, he learnt that the hussars, not knowing what -had become of their leaders, had scattered about the streets where the -inhabitants had sympathized with them and treated them to drink. He went -back into barracks to count what he might rely upon, say, forty men, as -tired as their horses which had travelled more than twenty leagues that -day. - -But the situation was not one to trifle with. - -He had the pistols inspected to make sure they were loaded; as the -hussars were Germans and did not understand French, he harangued them -in their tongue to the effect that they were in Varennes where the -Royal Family had been waylaid and were detained and that they must be -rescued or the rescuers should die. Short but sharp, the speech made a -fine impression; the men repeated in German: "The King! the Queen!" with -amazement. - -Leaving them no time to cool down, he arranged them in fours and led -them with sabres drawn to the house where he suspected the King was held -in durance. - -In the midst of the volunteer guards' invectives, he placed two videttes -at the door, and alighted to walk in. - -As he was crossing the threshold, he was touched on the shoulder by -Colonel Damas on whose assistance he had no little depended. - -"Are you in force?" he inquired. - -"I am all but alone. My regiment refused to follow me and I have but -half-a-dozen men." - -"What a misfortune! but never mind--I have forty fellows and we must see -what we can do with them." - -The King was receiving a deputation from the town, whose spokesman said: - -"Since there is no longer any doubt that Varennes has the honor to -receive King Louis, we come to have his orders." - -"My orders are to have the horses put to my carriage and let me depart," -replied the monarch. - -The answer to this precise request will never be known as at this point -they heard Choiseul's horsemen gallop up and saw them form a line on the -square with flashing swords. - -The Queen started with a beam of joy in her eyes. - -"We are saved," she whispered to her sister-in-law. - -"Heaven grant it," replied the holy woman, who looked to heaven for -everything. - -The King waited eagerly and the town's delegation with disquiet. - -Great riot broke out in the outer room guarded by countrymen with -scythes; words and blows were exchanged and Choiseul, without his hat -and sword in hand, appeared on the sill. - -Above his shoulder was seen the colonel's pale but resolute face. - -In the look of both was such a threatening expression that the deputies -stood aside so as to give a clear space to the Royal Family. - -"Welcome, Lord Choiseul," cried the Queen going over to the officer. - -"Alas, my lady, I arrive very late." - -"No matter, since you come in good company." - -"Nay, we are almost alone, on the contrary. Dandoins has been held with -his cavalry at St. Menehould and Damas has been abandoned by his troop." - -The Queen sadly shook her head. - -"But where is Chevalier Bouille, and Lieut. Raigecourt?" he looked -inquiringly around. - -"I have not so much as seen those officers," said the King, joining in. - -"I give you my word, Sire, that I thought they had died under your -carriage-wheels, or even you had come to this," observed Count Damas. - -"What is to be done?" asked the King. - -"We must save you," replied Damas. "Give your orders." - -"My orders?" - -"Sire, I have forty hussars at the door, who are fagged but we can get -as far as Dun." - -"But how can we manage?" inquired the King. - -"I will dismount seven of my men, on whose horses you should get, the -Dauphin in your arms. We will lay the swords about us and cut our way -through as the only chance. But the decision must be instant for in a -quarter of an hour perhaps my men will be bought over." - -The Queen approved of the project but the King seemed to elude her gaze -and the influence she had over him. - -"It is a way," he responded to the proposer, "and I daresay the only -one; but can you answer for it that in the unequal struggle of thirty -men with seven or eight hundred, no shot will kill my boy or my -daughter, the Queen or my sister?" - -"Sire, if such a misfortune befell through my suggestion, I should be -killed under your Majesty's eyes." - -"Then, instead of yielding to such mad propositions," returned the -other, "let us reason calmly." - -The Queen sighed and retired a few paces. In this regretful movement, -she met Isidore who was going over to the window whither a noise in the -street attracted him; he hoped it was his brother coming. - -"The townsfolk do not refuse to let me pass," said the King, without -appearing to notice the two in conversation, "but ask me to wait till -daybreak. We have no news of the Count of Charny, who is so deeply -devoted to us. I am assured that Bouille and Raigecourt left the town -ten minutes before we drove in, to notify Marquis Bouille and bring up -his troops, which are surely ready. Were I alone I should follow your -advice and break through; but it is impossible to risk the Queen, my -children, my sister and the others with so small a guard as you offer, -especially as part must be dismounted--for I certainly would not leave -my Lifeguards here." - -He looked at his watch. - -"It will soon be three o'clock; young Bouille left at half after twelve -so that, as his father must have ranged his troops in detachments along -the road, he will warn them and they will successively arrive. About -five or six, Marquis Bouille ought to be here with the main body, the -first companies outstripping him. Thereupon, without any danger to my -family, and no violence, we can quit Varennes and continue our road." - -Choiseul acknowledged the logic in this argument but he felt that logic -must not be listened to on certain occasions. - -He turned to the Queen to beg other orders from her, or to have her get -the King to revoke his, but she shook her head and said: - -"I do not want to take anything upon myself; it is the King's place to -command and my duty to obey. Besides, I am of his opinion--Bouille will -soon be coming." - -Choiseul bowed and drew Damas aside while beckoning the two Lifeguards -to join in the council he held. - - - - -CHAPTER XV. - -POOR CATHERINE. - - -The scene was slightly changed in aspect. - -The little princess could not resist the weariness and she was put abed -beside her brother, where both slumbered. - -Lady Elizabeth stood by, leaning her head against the wall. - -Shivering with anger the Queen stood near the fireplace, looking -alternatively at the King, seated on a bale of goods, and on the four -officers deliberating near the door. - -An old woman knelt by the children and prayed; it was the attorney's -grandmother who was struck by the beauty of the children and the Queen's -imposing air. - -Sausse and his colleagues had gone out, promising that the horses should -be harnessed to the carriage. - -But the Queen's bearing showed that she attached little faith to the -pledge, which caused Choiseul to say to his party: - -"Gentlemen, do not trust to the feigned tranquility of our masters; -the position is not hopeless and we must look it in the face. The -probability is that at present, Marquis Bouille has been informed, and -will be arriving here about six, as he ought to be at hand with some of -the royal Germans. His vanguard may be only half an hour before him; for -in such a scrape all that is possible ought to be performed. But we must -not deceive ourselves about the four or five thousand men surrounding -us, and that the moment they see the troops, there will be dreadful -excitement and imminent danger. - -"They will try to drag the King back from Varennes, put him on a -horse and carry him to Clermont, threaten and have a try at his life -perhaps--but this will only be a temporary danger," added Choiseul, "and -as soon as the barricades are stormed and our cavalry inside the town, -the route will be complete. Therefore we ten men must hold out as many -minutes; as the land lays we may hope to lose but a man a minute, so -that we have time enough." - -The audience nodded; this devotion to the death's point, thus plainly -set down, was accepted with the same simplicity. - -"This is what we must do," continued the count, "at the first shot we -hear and shout without, we rush into the outer room, where we kill -everybody in it, and take possession of the outlets: three windows, -where three of us defend. The seven others stand on the stairs which -the winding will facilitate our defending as one may face a score. The -bodies of the slain will serve as rampart; it is a hundred to one that -the troops will be masters of the town, before we are killed to the last -man, and though that happens, we will fill a glorious page in history, -as recompense for our sacrifice." - -The chosen ones shook hands on this pledge like Spartans, and selected -their stations during the action: the two Lifeguards, and Isidore, whose -place was kept though he was absent, at the three casements on the -street; Choiseul at the staircase foot; next him, Damas, and the rest of -the soldiers. - -As they settled their arrangements, bustle was heard in the street. - -In came a second deputation headed by Sausse, the National Guards -commander Hannonet, and three or four town officers. Thinking they -came to say the horses were put to the coach, the King ordered their -admittance. - -The officers who were trying to read every token, believed that Sausse -betrayed hesitation but that Hannonet had a settled will which was of -evil omen. - -At the same time, Isidore ran up and whispered a few words to the Queen -before he went out again. She went to the children, pale, and leaned on -the bed. - -As the deputation bowed without speaking, the King pretended to infer -what they came upon, and said: - -"Gentlemen, the French have merely gone astray, and their attachment -to their monarch is genuine. Weary of the excesses daily felt in my -capital, I have decided to go down into the country where the sacred -flame of devotion ever burns; I am assured of finding the ancient -devotion of the people here, I am ready to give my loyal subjects the -proof of my trust. So, I will form an escort, part troops of the line -and part National Guards, to accompany me to Montmedy where I have -determined to retire. Consequently, commander, I ask you to select the -men to escort me from your own force, and to have my carriage ready." - -During the silence, Sausse and Hannonet looked at each other for one to -speak. At last the latter bowed and said, - -"Sire, I should feel great pleasure in obeying your Majesty, but an -article of the Constitution forbids the King leaving the kingdom and -good Frenchmen from aiding a flight." - -This made the hearer start. - -"Consequently," proceeded the volunteer soldier, lifting his hand to -hush the King, "the Varennes Council decide that a courier must take the -word to Paris and return with the advice of the Assembly before allowing -the departure." - -The King felt the perspiration damp his brow, while the Queen bit her -pale lips fretfully, and Lady Elizabeth raised her eyes and hands to -heaven. - -"Soho, gentlemen," exclaimed the sovereign with the dignity returning -to him when driven to the wall. "Am I no longer the master to go my own -way? In that case I am more of a slave than the meanest of my subjects." - -"Sire," replied the National Guardsman, "you are always the ruler; -but all men, King or citizens, are bound by their oath; you swore to -obey the law, and ought to set the example--it is also a noble duty to -fulfill." - -Meanwhile Choiseul had consulted with the Queen by glances and on her -mute assent he had gone downstairs. - -The King was aware that he was lost if he yielded without resistance to -this rebellion of the villages, for it was rebellion from his point of -view. - -"Gentlemen," he said, "this is violence; but I am not so lonely as you -imagine. At the door are forty determined men and ten thousand soldiers -are around Varennes. I order you to have my horses harnessed to the -coach--do you hear, I order!" - -"Well said, Sire," whispered the Queen, stepping up; "let us risk life -but not injure our honor and dignity." - -"What will result if we refuse your Majesty?" asked the National Guards -officer. - -"I shall appeal to force, and you will be responsible for the blood -spilt, which will be shed by you." - -"Have it so then," replied Hannonet, "call in your hussars--I will let -my men loose on them!" - -He left the room. - -The King and the Queen looked at one another, daunted; they would -perhaps have given way had it not been for an incident. - -Pushing aside her grandmother, who continued to pray by the bedside, -Madam Sausse walked up to the Queen and said with the bluntness and -plain speech of the common people: - -"So, so, you are the Queen, it appears?" - -Marie Antoinette turned, stung at being accosted thus. - -"At least I thought so an hour ago," she replied. - -"Well, if you are the Queen, and get twenty odd millions to keep your -place, why do you not hold to it, being so well paid?" - -The Queen uttered an outcry of pain and said to the King: - -"Oh, anything, everything but such insults!" - -She took up the sleeping prince off the couch in her arms, and running -to open the window, she cried: - -"My lord, let us show ourselves to the people, and learn whether they -are entirely corrupted. In that case, appeal to the soldiers, and -encourage them with voice and gesture. It is little enough for those who -are going to die for us!" - -The King mechanically followed her and appeared on the balcony. The -whole square on which fell their gaze presented a scene of lively -agitation. - -Half Choiseul's hussars were on horseback; the others, separated from -their chargers, were carried away by the mob, having been won over; the -mounted men seemed submissive yet to Choiseul, who was talking to them -in German but they seemed to point to their lost comrades. - -Isidore Charny, with his knife in hand, seemed to be waylaying for some -prey like a hunter. - -"The King!" was the shout from five hundred voices. - -Had the Sixteenth Louis been regally arrayed, or even militarily, -with sword or sceptre in his hand, and spoken in the strong, imposing -voice seeming still to the masses that of God, he might have swayed the -concourse. - -But in the grey dawn, that wan light which spoils beauty itself, he was -not the personage his friends--or even his enemies, expected to behold. -He was clad like a waiting-gentleman, in plain attire, with a powderless -curly wig; he was pale and flabby and his beard had bristled out; his -thick lip and dull eye expressed no idea of tyranny or the family man; -he stammered over and over again: "Gentlemen, my children!" - -However, the Count of Choiseul cried "Long live the King!" Isidore -Charny imitated him, and such was the magic of royalty that spite of his -not looking to be head of the great realm, a few voices uttered a feeble -"God save the King!" - -But one cheer responded, set up by the National Guards commander, and -most generally repeated, with a mighty echo--it was: - -"The Nation forever!" It was rebellion at such a time, and the King and -the Queen could see that part of their German hussars had joined in with -it. - -She uttered a scream of rage, and hugging her son to her, ignorant -of the grandeur of passing events, she hung over the rail, muttering -between her teeth and finally hurling at the multitude these words: - -"You beasts!" - -Some heard this and replied by similar language, the whole place being -in immense uproar. - -Choiseul, in despair, was only wishful to get killed. - -"Hussars," he shouted, "in the name of honor, save the King!" - -But at the head of twenty men, well armed, a fresh actor came on the -stage. It was Drouet, come from the council which he had constrained to -stay the King from going. - -"Ha," he cried, stepping up to the count, "you want to take away the -King, do ye? I tell you it will not be unless dead." - -Choiseul started towards him with his sword up. - -"Stand, or I will have you shot," interrupted the National Guards -commander. - -Just then a man leaped out of the crowd, who could not stop him. It was -Isidore Charny who was watching for Drouet. - -"Back, back," he yelled to the bystanders, crushing them away from -before the breast of his horse, "this wretch belongs to me." - -But as he was striking at Drouet with his short sword, two shots went -off together: a pistol and a gun--the bullet of the first flattened on -his collarbone, the other went through his chest. They were fired so -close to him that the unfortunate young noble was literally wrapt in -flame and smoke. - -Through the fiery cloud he was seen to throw up his arms as he gasped: - -"Poor Catherine!" - -Letting his weapon drop, he bent back in the saddle, and slipped from -the crupper to the ground. - -The Queen uttered a terrible shriek. She nearly let the prince fall, and -in her own falling back she did not see a horseman riding at the top of -his pace from Dun, and plunging into the wake Isidore had furrowed in -the crowd. - -The King closed the window behind the Queen. - -It was no longer almost but all voices that roared "The Nation forever!" -The twenty hussars who had been the last reliance of royalty in -distress, added their voices to the cheer. - -The Queen sank upon an armchair, hiding her face in her hands, for she -still saw Isidore falling in her defense as his brother had been slain -at her door at Versailles. - -Suddenly there was loud disturbance at the door which forced her to lift -her eyes. We renounce describing what passed in an instant in her heart -of Queen and loving woman--it was George Charny, pale and bloody from -the last embrace of his brother, who stood on the threshold! - -The King seemed confounded. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI. - -THE MAN OF THE PEOPLE. - - -The room was crammed with strangers and National Guards whom curiosity -had drawn into it. - -The Queen was therefore checked in her first impulse which was to rush -to the new arrival, sponge away the blood with her handkerchief and -address him some of the comforting words which spring from the heart, -and therefore go to them. - -But she could not help rising a little on her seat, extend her arms -towards him and mutter his Christian name. - -Calm and gloomy, he waved his hand to the strangers and in a soft but -firm voice, said: - -"You will excuse me, but I have business with their Majesties." - -The National Guard began to remonstrate that they were there to prevent -anybody talking with the prisoners, but Charny pressed his bloodless -lips, frowned, opened his riding coat to show that he carried pistols, -and repeated in a voice as gentle as before but twice as menacing: - -"Gentlemen, I have already had the honor to tell you that I have private -business with the King and the Queen." - -At the same time he waved them to go out. On this voice, and the mastery -Charny exercised over others, Damas and the two bodyguards resumed their -energy, temporarily impaired, and cleared the room by driving the gapers -and volunteer soldiers before them. - -The Queen now comprehended what use this man would have been in the -royal carriage instead of Lady Tourzel, whom she had let etiquette -impose on them. - -Charny glanced round to make sure that only the faithful were at hand, -and said as he went nearer Marie Antoinette: - -"I am here, my lady. I have some seventy hussars at the town gate. I -believe I can depend on them. What do you order me to do?" - -"Tell us first what has happened you, my poor Charny?" she said in -German. - -He made a sign towards Malden whom he knew to understand the speaker's -language. - -"Alas, not seeing you, we thought you were dead," she went on in French. - -"Unhappily, it is not I but my brother who is slain--poor Isidore! but -my turn is coming." - -"Charny, I ask you what happened and how you came to keep so long out of -the way?" continued the Queen. "You were a defaulter, George, especially -to me," she added in German and in a lower voice. - -"I thought my brother would account for my temporary absence," he said, -bowing. - -"Yes, I know: to pursue that wretch of a man, Drouet, and we feared for -awhile that you had come to disaster, in that chase." - -"A great misfortune did befall me, for despite all my efforts, I could -not catch up with him. A postboy returning let him know that your -carriage had taken the Varennes Road when he was thinking it had gone -to Verdun: he turned into the woods where I pulled my pistols on him -but they were not loaded--I had taken Dandoins' horse and not the one -prepared for me. It was fatality, and who could help it? I pursued him -none the less through the forest but I only knew the roads, so that I -was thrown by my horse falling into a ditch! In the darkness I was but -hunting a shadow, and he knew it in every hollow. Thus I was left alone -in the night, cursing with rage." - -She offered her hand to him and he touched it with his tremulous lips. - -"Nobody replied to my calls. All night long I wandered and only at -daybreak came out at a village on the road from Varennes to Dun. As -it was possible that you had escaped Drouet as he escaped me, it was -then useless for me to go to Varennes; yet but as he might have had you -stopped there, and I was but one man and my devotion was useless, I -determined to go on to Dun. - -"Before I arrived I met Captain Deslon with a hundred hussars. He was -fretting in the absence of news: he had seen Bouille and Raigecourt -racing by towards Stenay, but they had said nothing to him, probably -from some distrust. But I know Deslon to be a loyal gentleman; I guessed -that your Majesty had been detained at Varennes, and that Bouille and -his companion had taken flight to get help. I told Deslon all, adjured -him to follow me with his cavalry, which he did, but leaving thirty to -guard the Meuse Bridge. - -"An hour after we were at Varennes, four leagues in an hour, where I -wanted to charge and upset everything between us and your Majesty: but -we found breastworks inside of works; and to try to ride over them -was folly. So I tried parleying: a post of the National Guards being -there, I asked leave to join my hussars with those inside but it was -refused me: I asked to be allowed to get the King's orders direct and -as that was about to be refused likewise. I spurred my steed, jumped -two barricades and guided by the tumult, galloped up to this spot just -when my bro--your Majesty fell back from the balcony. Now, I await your -orders," he concluded. - -The Queen pressed his hand in both hers. - -"Sire," she said to the King, still plunged in torpor; "have you heard -what this faithful servitor is saying?" - -The King gave no answer and she went over to him. - -"Sire, there is no time to lose, and indeed too much has been lost. -Here is Lord Charny with seventy men, sure, he says, and he wants your -orders." - -He shook his head, though Charny implored him with a glance and the -Queen by her voice. - -"Orders? I have none to give, being a prisoner. Do whatever you like." - -"Good, that is all we want," said the Queen: "you have a blank warrant, -you see," she added to her follower whom she took aside: "Do as the -King says, whatever you see fit." In a lower voice she appended: "Do it -swiftly, and with vigor, or else we are lost!" - -"Very well," returned the Lifeguards officer, "let me confer a -moment with these gentlemen and we will carry out what we determine -immediately." - -Choiseul entered, carrying some letters wrapped in a bloodstained -handkerchief. He offered this to Charny without a word. The count -understood that it came from his brother and putting out his hand to -receive the tragic inheritance, he kissed the wrapper. The Queen could -not hold back a sigh. - -But Charny did not turn round to her, but said as he thrust the packet -into his breast: - -"Gentlemen, can you aid me in the last effort I intend?" - -"We are ready for anything." - -"Do you believe we are a dozen men staunch and able?" - -"We are eight or nine, any way." - -"Well, I will return to my hussars. While I attack the barriers in -front, you storm them in the rear. By favor of your diversion, I will -force through, and with our united forces we will reach this spot where -we will extricate the King." - -They held out their hands to him by way of answer. - -"In an hour," said Charny to the King and Queen, "you shall be free, or -I dead." - -"Oh, count, do not say that word," said she, "it causes me too much -pain." - -George bowed in confirmation of his vow, and stepped towards the door -without being appalled by the fresh uproar in the street. - -But as he laid his hand on the knob, it flew open and gave admission to -a new character who mingled directly in the already complicated plot of -the drama. - -This was a man in his fortieth year; his countenance was dark and -forbidding; his collar open at the throat, his unbuttoned coat, the dust -on his clothes, and his eyes red with fatigue, all indicated that he had -ridden far and fast under the goad of fierce feeling. - -He carried a brace of pistols in his sash girdle and a sabre hung by his -side. - -Almost breathless as he opened the door, he appeared relieved only when -he saw the Royal Family. A smile of vengeance flittered over his face -and without troubling about the other persons around the room and by the -doorway itself, which he almost blocked up with his massive form, he -thundered as he stretched out his hand: - -"In the name of the National Assembly, you are all my prisoners!" - -As swift as thought Choiseul sprang forward with a pistol in hand and -offered to blow out the brains of this intruder, who seemed to surpass -in insolence and resolution all they had met before. But the Queen -stopped the menacing hand with a still swifter action and said in an -undertone to the count: - -"Do not hasten our ruin! prudence, my lord! let us gain time for Bouille -to arrive." - -"You are right," said Choiseul, putting up the firearm. - -The Queen glanced at Charny whom she had thought would have been the -first to intervene: but, astonishing thing! Charny seemed not to -want the new-comer to notice him, and shrank into the darkest corner -apparently in that end. - -But she did not doubt him or that he would step out of the mystery and -shadow at the proper time. - -The threatening move of the nobleman against the representative of the -National Assembly had passed over without the latter appearing to remark -his escape from death. - -Besides, another emotion than fear seemed to monopolize his heart: there -was no mistaking his face's expression; so looks the hunter who has -tracked to the den of the lion, the lioness and their cubs, with their -jackals,--amongst whom was devoured his only child! - -But the King had winced at the word "Prisoners," which had made Choiseul -revolt. - -"Prisoners, in the name of the Assembly? what do you mean? I do not -understand you." - -"It is plain, and easy enough," replied the man. "In spite of the oath -you took not to go out of France, you have fled in the night, betraying -your pledge, the Nation and the people; hence the nation have cried 'To -arms!' risen, and to say:--by the voice of one of your lowest subjects, -not less powerful because it comes from below, though: 'Sire, in the -name of the people, the nation and the National Assembly, you are my -prisoner!" - -In the adjoining room, a cheer burst at the words. - -"My lady," said Choiseul to the Queen, in her ear, "do not forget that -you stopped me and that you would not suffer this insult if your pity -had not interfered for this bully." - -"It will go for nothing if we are revenged," she replied. - -"But if not?" - -She could only groan hollowly and painfully. But Charny's hand was -slowly reached over the duke's shoulder and touched the Queen's arm. She -turned quickly. - -"Let that man speak and act--I answer for him," said the count. - -Meanwhile the monarch, stunned by the fresh blow dealt him, stared with -amazement at the gloomy figure which had spoken so energetic a language, -and curiosity was mingled with it from his belief that he had seen him -before. - -"Well, in short, what do you want? Speak," he said. - -"Sire, I am here to prevent you and the Royal Family taking another step -towards the frontier." - -"I suppose you come with thousands of men to oppose my march," went on -the King, who became grander during his discussion. - -"No, Sire, I am alone, or with only another, General Lafayette's -aid-de-camp, sent by him and the Assembly to have the orders of the -Nation executed. I am sent by Mayor Bailly, but I come mainly on my own -behalf to watch this envoy and blow out his brains if he flinches." - -All the hearers looked at him with astonishment; they had never seen the -commoners but oppressed or furious, and begging for pardon or murdering -all before them; for the first time they beheld a man of the people -upright, with folded arms, feeling his force and speaking in the name of -his rights. - -Louis saw quickly that nothing was to be hoped from one of this metal -and said in his eagerness to finish with him: - -"Where is your companion?" - -"Here he is, behind me," said he, stepping forward so as to disclose the -doorway, where might be seen a young man in staff-officer's uniform, who -was leaning against the window. He was also in disorder but it was of -fatigue not force. His face looked mournful. He held a paper in his -hand. - -This was Captain Romeuf, Lafayette's aid, a sincere patriot, but during -Lafayette's dictature while he was superintending the Tuileries, he -had shown so much respectful delicacy that the Queen had thanked him on -several occasions. - -"Oh, it is you?" she exclaimed, painfully surprised. "I never should -have believed it," she added, with the painful groan of a beauty who -feels her fancied invincible power failing. - -"Good, it looks as if I were quite right to come," muttered the second -deputy, smiling. - -The impatient King did not give the young officer time to present his -warrant; he took a step towards him rapidly and snatched it from his -hands. - -"There is no longer a King in France," he uttered after having read it. - -The companion of Romeuf smiled as much as to say: "I knew that all -along." - -The Queen moved towards the King to question him at these words. - -"Listen, madam," he said, "to the decree the Assembly has presumed to -issue." - -In a voice shaking with indignation he read the following lines: - - "It is hereby ordered by the Assembly that the Home Secretary - shall send instantly messengers into every department with the - order for all functionaries, National Guards, and troops of - the line in the country to arrest or have arrested all persons - soever attempting to leave the country, as well as to prevent all - departure of goods, arms, ammunition, gold and silver, horses - and vehicles; and in case these messengers overtake the King, or - any members of the Royal Family, and those who connive at their - absconding, the said functionaries, National Guards and troops of - the line are to take, and hereby are bound to take, all measure - possible to check the said absconding, prevent the absconders - continuing their route, and give an account immediately to the - House of Representatives." - -The Queen listened in torpor--but when the King finished she shook her -head to arouse her wits and said: - -"Impossible--give it to me," and she held out her hand for the fatal -message. - -In the meantime Romeuf's companion was encouraging the National Guards -and patriots of Varennes with a smile. - -Though they had heard the tenor of the missive the Queen's expression of -"Impossible!" had startled them. - -"Read, Madam, and if still you doubt," said the King with bitterness; -"it is written and signed by the Speaker of the House." - -"What man dares write and sign such impudence?" - -"A peer of the realm--the Marquis of Beauharnais." - -Is it not a strange thing, which proves how events are mysteriously -linked together, that the decree stopping Louis in his flight should -bear a name, obscure up to then, yet about to be attached in a brilliant -manner with the history of the commencement of the 19th Century? - -The Queen read the paper, frowning. The King took it to re-peruse it and -then tossed it aside so carelessly that it fell on the sleeping prince -and princess's couch. At this, the Queen, incapable of self-constraint -any longer, rose quickly with an angry roar, and seizing the paper, -crushed it up in her grip before throwing it afar, with the words: - -"Be careful, my lord--I would not have such a filthy rag sully my -children." - -A deafening clamor arose from the next room, and the Guards made a -movement to rush in upon the illustrious fugitives. Lafayette's aid let -a cry of apprehension escape him. His companion uttered one of wrath. - -"Ha," he growled between his teeth, "is it thus you insult the Assembly, -the Nation and the people?--very well, we shall see! Come, citizens!" he -called out, turning to the men without, already excited by the contest, -and armed with guns, scythes mounted on poles like spears, and swords. - -They were taking the second stride to enter the room and Heaven only -knows what would have been the shock of two such enmities, had not -Charny sprang forward. He had kept aloof during the scene, and now -grasping the National Guards man by the wrist as he was about to draw -his sabre, he said: - -"A word with you, Farmer Billet; I want to speak with you." - -Billet, for it was he, emitted a cry of astonishment, turned pale as -death, stood irresolute for an instant, and then said as he sheathed the -half-drawn steel: - -"Have it so. I have to speak with you, Lord Charny." He proceeded to -the door and said: "Citizens, make room if you please. I have to confer -with this officer; but have no uneasiness," he added in a low voice, -"there shall not escape one wolf, he or she, or yet a whelp. I am on the -lookout and I answer for them!" - -As if this man had the right to give them orders, though he was unknown -to them all--save Charny--they backed out and left the inner room free. -Besides, each was eager to relate to those without what had happened -inside, and enjoin all patriots to keep close watch. - -In the meantime Charny whispered to the Queen: - -"Romeuf is a friend of yours; I leave him with you--get the utmost from -him." - -This was the more easy as Charny closed the door behind him to prevent -anybody, even Billet, entering. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII. - -THE FEUD. - - -The two men, on facing each other, looked without the nobleman making -the plebeian cower. More than that, it was the latter who spoke the -first. - -"The count does me the honor to say he wants to speak with me. I am -waiting for him to be good enough to do so." - -"Billet," began Charny, "how comes it that you are here on an errand of -vengeance? I thought you were the friend of your superiors the nobles, -and, besides, a faithful and sound subject of his Majesty." - -"I was all that, count: I was your most humble servant--for I cannot -say your friend, in as much as such an honor is not vouchsafed to -a farmer like me. But you may see that I am nothing of the kind at -present." - -"I do not follow you, Billet." - -"Why need you? am I asking you the reason for your fidelity to the King, -and your standing true to the Queen? No, I presume you have your reasons -for doing this, and as you are a good and wise gentleman I expect your -reasons are sound or at least meet for your conscience. I am not in -your high position, count, and have not your learning; but you know, or -you have heard I am accounted an honest and sensible man, and you may -suppose that, like yourself, I have my reasons----suiting my conscience, -if not good." - -"Billet, I used to know you as far different from what you are now," -said Charny, totally unaware of the farmer's grounds for hatred against -royalty and nobility. - -"Oh, certainly I am not going to deny that you saw me unlike this," -replied Billet, with a bitter smile. "I do not mind telling you, count, -how this is: I was a true lover of my country, devoted to one thing -and two persons: the men were the King and Dr. Gilbert--the thing, my -native-land. One day the King's men--I confess that this began to set me -against him," said the farmer, shaking his head, "broke into my house -and stole away a casket, half by surprise, half by force, a precious -trust left me by Dr. Gilbert. - -"As soon as I was free I started for Paris, where I arrived on the -evening of the thirteenth of July. It was right in the thick of the -riot over the busts of Necker and the Duke of Orleans. Fellows were -carrying them about the street, with cheers for those two, doing no -harm to the King, when the royal soldiers charged upon us. I saw poor -chaps, who had committed no offense but shouting for persons they had -probably never seen, fall around me, some with their skulls laid open -with sabre slashes, others with their breasts bored by bullets. I saw -Prince Lambesq, a friend of the King, drive women and children inside -the Tuileries gardens, who had shouted for nobody, and trample under his -horse's hoofs an old man. This set me still more against the King. - -"Next day I went to the boarding school where Dr. Gilbert's son -Sebastian was kept, and learnt from the poor lad that his father was -locked up in the Bastile on a King's order sued for by a lady of the -court. So I said to myself, this King, whom they call kind, has moments -when he errs, blunders or is ignorant, and I ought to amend one of the -faults the King so makes--which I proposed to do by contributing all my -power to destroying the Bastile. We managed that--not without its being -a tough job, for the soldiers of the King fired on us, and killed some -two hundred of us which gave me a fresh wrinkle on the kindness of the -King. But in short, we took the Bastile. In one of its dungeons I found -Dr. Gilbert, for whom I had risked death a hundred times, and the joy -of finding him made me forget that and a lot more. Besides, he was the -first to tell me that the King was kind, ignorant for the most part of -the shameful deeds perpetrated in his name, and that one must not bear -him a grudge but cast it on his ministers. Now, as all that Dr. Gilbert -said at that time was Gospel, I believed Dr. Gilbert. - -"The Bastile being captured, Dr. Gilbert safe and free, and Pitou and -myself all well, I forgot the charges in the Tuileries garden, the -shooting in the street, the two hundred men slain by Marshal Saxe's -sackbut, which is or was a gun on the Bastile ramparts, and the -imprisonment of my friend on the mere application of a court dame. But, -pardon me, count," Billet interrupted himself, "all this is no concern -of yours, and you cannot have asked to speak with me to hear the babble -of a poor uneducated rustic--you who are both a high noble and learned -gentleman." - -He made a move to lay hold of the doorknob and re-enter the other room. -But Charny stopped him for two reasons, the first that it might be -important to learn why Billet acted thus, and again, to gain time. - -"No; tell me the whole story, my dear Billet," he said; "you know the -interest my poor brothers and I always bore you, and what you say -engages me in a high degree." - -Billet smiled bitterly at the words "My poor brothers." - -"Well, then," he replied, "I will tell you all; with regret that your -poor brothers--particularly Lord Isidore, are not here to hear me." - -This was spoken with such singular intonation that the count repressed -the feeling of grief the mention of Isidore's name had aroused in his -soul, and he waved his hand for the farmer to continue, as Billet was -evidently ignorant of what had happened the viscount whose presence he -desired. - -"Hence," proceeded the yeoman, "when the King returned to Paris from -Versailles, I saw in it sheerly the return home of a father among his -children. I walked with Dr. Gilbert beside the royal carriage, making -a breastwork for those within it of my body, and shouting 'Long live -the King!' to split the ear. This was the first journey of the King: -blessings and flowers were all around him. On arriving at the City Hall -it was noticed that he did not wear the white cockade of his fathers, -but he had not yet donned the tricolored one. So I plucked mine from my -hat and gave it him as they were roaring he must sport it, and therefore -he thanked me, to the cheering of the crowd. I was wild with glee at the -King wearing my own favor and I shouted Long Life to him louder than -anybody. - -"I was so enthusiastic about our good King that I wanted to stay in -town. My harvest was ripe and cried for me; but pooh, what mattered a -harvest? I was rich enough to lose one season and it was better for me -to stay beside this good King to be useful, this Father of the People, -this Restorer of French Liberty, as we dunces called him at the time. I -lost pretty near all the harvest because I trusted it to Catherine, who -had something else to look after than my wheat. Let us say no more on -that score. - -"Still, it was said that the King had not quite fairly agreed to the -change in things, that he moved forced and constrained; that he might -wear the tricolor cockade in his hat but the white one was in his -heart. They were slanderers who said this; it was clearly proved that -at the Guards' Banquet, the Queen put on neither the national nor the -French cockade but the black one of her brother the Austrian Emperor. -I own that this made my doubts revive; but as Dr. Gilbert pointed out, -'Billet, it is not the King who did this but the Queen; and the Queen -being a woman, one must be indulgent towards a woman.' I believed -this so deeply that, when the ruffians came from Paris to attack the -Versailles Palace, though I did not hold them wholly in the wrong--it -was I who ran to rouse General Lafayette--who was in the sleep of the -blessed, poor dear man! and brought him on the field in time to save the -Royal Family. - -"On that night I saw Lady Elizabeth hug General Lafayette and the Queen -give him her hand to kiss, while the King called him his friend, and -I said to myself, says I: 'Upon my faith, I believe Dr. Gilbert is -right. Surely, not from fear would such high folks make such a show of -gratitude, and they would not play a lie if they did not share this -hero's opinions, howsoever useful he may be at this pinch to them all.' -Again I pitied the poor Queen, who had only been rash, and the poor -King, only feeble; but I let them go back to Paris without me--I had -better to do at Versailles. You know what, Count Charny!" - -The Lifeguardsman uttered a sigh recalling the death of his brother -Valence. - -"I heard that this second trip to the town was not as merry as the -former," continued Billet; "instead of blessings, curses were showered -down; instead of shouts of Long Live! those of Death to the lot! instead -of bouquets under the horses hoofs and carriage wheels, dead men's heads -carried on spear-points. I don't know, not being there, as I stayed at -Versailles. Still I left the farm without a master, but pshaw! I was -rich enough to lose another harvest after that of '89! But, one fine -morning, Pitou arrived to announce that I was on the brink of losing -something dearer which no father is rich enough to lose: his daughter!" - -Charny started, but the other only looked at him fixedly as he went on: - -"I must tell you, lord, that a league off from us, at Boursonne, lives -a noble family of mighty lords, terribly rich. Three brothers were the -family. When they were boys and used to come over to Villers Cotterets, -the two younger of the three were wont to stop on my place, doing me the -honor to say that they never drank sweeter milk than my cows gave, or -eaten finer bread than my wife made, and, from time to time they would -add--I believing they just said it in payment of my good cheer--ass -that I was! that they had never seen a prettier lass than my Catherine. -Lord bless you, I thanked them for drinking the milk, and eating the -bread, and finding my child so pretty into the bargain! What would you? -as I believed in the King, though he is half a German by the mother's -side, I might believe in noblemen who were wholly French. - -"So, when the youngest of all, Valence, who had been away from our parts -for a long time, was killed at Versailles, before the Queen's door, on -the October Riot night, bravely doing his duty as a nobleman, what a -blow that was to me! His brother saw me on my knees before the body, -shedding almost as many tears as he shed blood--his eldest brother, -I mean, who never came to my house, not because he was too proud, I -will do him that fair play, but because he was sent to foreign parts -while young. I think I can still see him in the damp courtyard, where I -carried the poor young fellow in my arms so that he should not be hacked -to pieces, like his comrades, whose blood so dyed me that I was almost -as reddened as yourself, Lord Charny. He was a pretty boy, whom I still -see riding to school on his little dappled pony, with a basket on his -arm--and thinking of him thus, I think I can mourn him like yourself, my -lord. But I think of the other, and I weep no more," said Billet. - -"The other? what do you mean." cried the count. - -"Wait, we are coming to it," was the reply. "Pitou had come to Paris, -and let a couple of words drop to show that it was not my crops so much -in danger as my child--not my fortune but my happiness. So I left the -King to shift for himself in the city. Since he meant the right thing, -as Dr. Gilbert assured me, all would go for the best, whether I was at -hand or not, and I returned on my farm. - -"I believed that Catherine had brain fever or something I would not -understand, but was only in danger of death. The condition in which I -found her made me uneasy, all the more as the doctor forbade me the room -till she was cured. The poor father in despair, not allowed to go into -the sickroom, could not help hanging round the door. Yes, I listened. -Then I learnt that she was at death's point almost out of her senses -with fever, mad because her lover--her gallant, not her sweetheart, see! -had gone away. A year before, I had gone away, but she had smiled on my -going instead of grieving. My going left her free to meet her gallant! - -"Catherine returned to health but not to gladness! a month, two, three, -six months passed without a single beam of joy kissing the face which -my eyes never quitted. One morning I saw her smile and shuddered. Was -not her lover coming back that she should smile? Indeed a shepherd who -had seen him prowling about, a year before, told me that he had arrived -that morning. I did not doubt that he would come over on my ground that -evening or rather on the land where Catherine was mistress. I loaded up -my gun at dark and laid in wait----" - -"You did this, Billet?" queried Charny. - -"Why not?" retorted the farmer. "I lay in wait right enough for the wild -boar coming to make mush of my potatoes, the wolf to tear my lambs' -throats, the fox to throttle my fowls, and am I not to lay in wait for -the villain who comes to disgrace my daughter?" - -"But your heart failed you at the test, Billet, I hope," said the count. - -"No, not the heart, but the eye and the hand," said the other: "A track -of blood showed me that I had not wholly missed, only you may understand -that a defamed maid had not wavered between father and scoundrel--when I -entered the house, Catherine had disappeared." - -"And you have not seen her since?" - -"No. Why should I see her? she knows right well that I should kill her -on sight." - -Charny shrank back in terror mingled with admiration for the massive -character confronting him. - -"I retook the work on the farm," proceeded the farmer. "What concern -of mine was my misfortune if France were only happy? Was not the King -marching steadily in the road of Revolution? was he not to take his part -in the Federation? might I not see him again whom I had saved in October -and sheltered with my own cockade? what a pleasure it must be for him to -see all France gathered on the parade-ground at Paris, swearing like -one man the Unity of the country! - -"So, for a space, while I saw him, I forgot all, even to Catherine--no, -I lie--no father forgets his child! He also took the oath. It seemed to -me that he swore clumsily, evasively, from his seat, instead of at the -Altar of the Country, but what did that matter? the main thing was that -he did swear. An oath is an oath. It is not the place where he takes it -that makes it holy, and when an honest man takes an oath, he keeps it. -So the King should keep his word. But it is true that when I got home -to Villers Cotterets,--having no child now, I attended to politics--I -heard say that the King was willing to have Marquis Favras carry him -off but the scheme had fallen through; that the King had tried to flee -with his aunts, but that had failed; that he wanted to go out to St. -Cloud, whence he would have hurried off to Rouen, but that the people -prevented him leaving town. I heard all this but I did not believe it. -Had I not with my own eyes seen the King hold up his hand to high heaven -on the Paris Parade-ground and swear to maintain the nation? How could -I believe that a king, having sworn in the presence of three hundred -thousand citizens, would not hold his pledge to be as sacred as that of -other men? It was not likely! - -"Hence, as I was at Meaux Market yesterday,--I may as well say I was -sleeping at the postmaster's house, with whom I had made a grain deal--I -was astonished to see in a carriage changing horses at my friend's door, -the King, the Queen and the Dauphin! There was no mistaking them; I was -in the habit of seeing them in a coach; on the sixteenth of July, I -accompanied them from Versailles to Paris. I heard one of the party say: -'The Chalons Road!' This man in a buff waistcoat had a voice I knew; -I turned and recognized--who but the gentleman who had stolen away my -daughter! This noble was doing his duty by playing the flunky before his -master's coach." - -At this, he looked hard at Charny to see if he understood that his -brother Isidore was the subject; but the hearer was silent as he wiped -his face with his handkerchief. - -"I wanted to fly at him, but he was already at a distance. He was on -a good horse and had weapons--I, none. I ground my teeth at the idea -that the King was escaping out of France and this ravisher escaping me, -but suddenly another thought struck me. Why, look ye; I took an oath to -the Nation, and while the King breaks his, I shall keep mine. I am only -ten leagues from Paris which I can reach in two hours on a good nag; it -is but three in the morning. I will talk this matter over with Mayor -Bailly, an honest man who appears to be one of the kind who stick to the -promises they make. This point settled I wasted no time, but begged my -friend the postinghouse keeper to lend me his national Guards uniform, -his sword and pistols and I took the best horse in his stables--all -without letting him know what was in the wind, of course. Instead, -therefore, of trotting home, I galloped hellity-split to Paris. - -"Thank God, I got there on time! the flight of the King was known but -not the direction. Lafayette had sent his aid Romeuf on the Valenciennes -Road! But mark what a thing chance is! they had stopped him at the bars, -and he was brought back to the Assembly, where he walked in at the very -nick when Mayor Bailly, informed by me, was furnishing the most precise -particulars about the runaways. There was nothing but the proper warrant -to write and the road to state. The thing was done in a flash. Romeuf -was dispatched on the Chalons Road and my order was to stick to him, -which I am going to do. Now," concluded Billet, with a gloomy air, "I -have overtaken the King, who deceived me as a Frenchman, and I am easy -about his escaping me! I can go and attend to the man who deceived me as -a father; and I swear to you, Lord Charny, that he shall not escape me -either." - -"You are wrong, my dear Billet--woeful to say," responded the count. - -"How so?" - -"The unfortunate young man you speak of has escaped." - -"Fled?" cried Billet with indescribable rage. - -"No, he is dead," replied the other. - -"Dead?" exclaimed Billet, shivering in spite of himself, and sponging -his forehead on which the sweat had started out. - -"Dead," repeated Charny, "for this is his blood which you see on me and -which you were right just now in likening to that from his brother slain -at Versailles. If you doubt, go down into the street where you will find -his body laid out in a little yard, like that of Versailles, struck down -for the same cause for which his brother fell." - -Billet looked at the speaker, who spoke in a gentle voice, but with -haggard eyes and a frightened face; then suddenly he cried: - -"Of a truth, there is justice in heaven!" He darted out of the room, -saying: "I do not doubt your word, lord, but I must assure my sight that -justice is done." - -Charny stifled a sigh as he watched him go, and dashed away a tear. -Aware that there was not an instant to lose, he hurried to the Queen's -room, and as soon as he walked directly up to her, he asked how she had -got on with Romeuf. - -"He is on our side," responded the lady. - -"So much the better," said Charny, "for there is nothing to hope in that -quarter." - -"What are we to do then?" - -"Gain time for Bouille to come up." - -"But will he come?" - -"Yes, for I am going to fetch him." - -"But the streets swarm with murderers," cried the Queen. "You are known, -you will never pass, you will be hewn to pieces: George, George!" - -But smiling without replying, Charny opened the window on the back -garden, waved his hand to the King and the Queen, and jumped out over -fifteen feet. The Queen sent up a shriek of terror and hid her face in -her hands; but the man ran to the wind and by a cheer allayed her fears. - -Charny had scaled the garden wall and was disappearing on the other -side. - -It was high time, for Billet was entering. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII. - -ON THE BACK TRACK. - - -Billet's countenance was dark; thoughtfulness lowered the brows over -eyes deeply investigating; he reviewed all the prisoners and over the -circle he made two remarks. - -Charny's flight was patent; the window was being closed by the Colonel -after him; by bending forward Billet could see the count vaulting over -the garden wall. It followed that the agreement made between Captain -Romeuf and the Queen was for him to stand neutral. - -Behind Billet the outer room was filled as before with the -scythe-bearers, musketeers and swordsmen whom his gesture had dismissed. - -These men seemed to obey this chief to whom they were attracted by -magnetic influence, because they divined in one a plebeian like -themselves patriotism or hatred equal to their own. - -His glance behind himself meeting theirs told him that he might rely on -them, even in case he had to proceed to violence. - -"Well, have they decided to go?" he asked Romeuf. - -The Queen threw on him one of those side looks which would have blasted -him if they had the power of lightning, which they resemble. Without -replying, she clutched the arm of her chair as though to clamp herself -to it. - -"The King begs a little more time as they have not slept in the night -and their Majesties are dying of fatigue?" said Romeuf. - -"Captain," returned Billet bluntly, "you know very well that it is not -because their Majesties are fatigued that they sue for time, but because -they hope in a few instants that Lord Bouille will arrive. But it will -be well for their Majesties not to dally," added Billet with emphasis, -"for if they refuse to come out willingly, they will be lugged by the -heels." - -"Scoundrel!" cried Damas, darting at the speaker with his sword up. - -Billet turned to face him, but with folded arms. He had in truth no -need to defend himself, for eight or ten men sprang into the room, and -the colonel was threatened by ten different weapons. The King saw that -the least word or move would lead to all his supporters being shot or -chopped to rags, and he said, - -"It is well: let the horses be put to. We are going." - -One of the Queen's women who travelled in a cab with her companion after -the royal coach, screamed and swooned; this awakened the boy prince and -his sister, who wept. - -"Fie, sir, you cannot have a child that you are so cruel to a mother," -said the Queen to the farmer. - -"No, madam," replied he, repressing a start, and with a bitter smile, "I -have no child now. There is to be no delay about the horses," he went -on, to the King, "the horses are harnessed, and the carriage at the -door." - -Approaching the window the King saw that all was ready; in the immense -din he had not heard the horses brought up. Seeing him through the -window the mob burst into a shout which was a threat. He turned pale. - -"What does your Majesty order?" inquired Choiseul of the Queen: "we had -rather die than witness this outrage." - -"Do you believe Lord Charny has got away?" she asked quickly in an -undertone. - -"I can answer for that." - -"Then let us go; but in heaven's name, for your own sake as well as -ours, do not quit us." - -The King understood her fear. - -"I do not see any horses for Lord Choiseul and Damas," observed he. - -"They can follow as they like," said Billet; "my orders are to bring the -King and the Queen, and do not speak of them." - -"But I declare that I will not go without them having their horses," -broke forth the monarch with more firmness than was expected from him. - -"What do you say to that?" cried Billet to his men swarming into the -room. "Here is the King not going because these gentlemen have no -horses!" - -The mob roared with laughter. - -"I will find them," said Romeuf. - -"Do not quit their Majesties," interposed Choiseul: "your office gives -you some power over the people, and it depends on your honor that not a -hair of their head should fall." - -Romeuf stopped, while Billet snapped his fingers. - -"I will attend to this," said he, leading the way; but stopping on the -threshold he said, frowning: "But you will fetch them along, eh, lads?" - -"Oh, never fear," replied the men, with a peal of laughter evidencing -that no pity was to be expected in case of resistance. - -At such a point of irritation, they would certainly have used roughness -and shot down any one resisting. Billet had no need to come upstairs -again. One of them by the window watched what happened in the street. - -"The horses are ready," he said: "out you get!" - -"Out, and be off!" said his companions with a tone admitting no -discussion. - -The King took the lead. Romeuf was supposed to look particularly after -the family, but the fact is he had need to take care of himself. The -rumor had spread that he was not only carrying out the Assembly's orders -with mildness but by his inertia, if not actively, favored the flight of -one of the most devoted upholders of the Royals, who had only quitted -them in order to hurry up Marquis Bouille to their rescue. - -The result was that on the sill, while Billet's conduct was glorified -by the gathering, Romeuf heard himself qualified as a traitor and an -aristocrat. - -The party stepped into the carriage and the cab, with the two Lifeguards -on the box. - -Valory had asked as a favor that the King would let him and his comrade -be considered as domestics since they were no longer allowed to act as -his soldiers. - -"As things stand," he pleaded, "princes of the blood royal might be -glad to be here; the more honor for simple gentlemen like us." - -"Have it so," said the sovereign tearfully, "you shall not quit me -ever." - -Thus they took in reality the place of couriers. Choiseul closed the -door. - -"Gentlemen," said the King, "I positively give the order that you shall -drive me to Montmedy. Postillions, to Montmedy!" - -But one voice, that of the united populations of more than this town, -replied: - -"To Paris!" - -In the lull, Billet pointed with his sword and said: - -"Postboys, take the Clermont Road." - -The vehicle whirled round to obey this order. - -"I take you all for witness that I am overpowered by violence," said -Louis XVI. - -Exhausted by the effort he had made, the unfortunate King, who had never -shown so much will before, fell back on the rear seat, between the Queen -and his sister. - -In five minutes, after going a couple of hundred paces, a great clamor -was heard behind. As they were placed, the Queen was the passenger who -could first get her head out of the window. - -She drew in almost instantly, covering her eyes with both hands, and -muttering: - -"Oh, woe to us! they are murdering Choiseul." - -The King tried to rise, but the two ladies pulled him down; anyhow the -carriage turned the road and they could not see what passed at twenty -paces that way. - -Choiseul and Damas had mounted their horses at Sausse's door but -Romeuf's had been taken away from the post-house. He and two cavalrymen -followed on foot, hoping to find a horse or two, either of the hussars -and dragoons who had been led off by the people, or abandoned by their -masters. But they had not gone fifteen steps before Choiseul perceived -that the three were in danger of being smothered, pressed down and -scattered in the multitude. He stopped, letting the carriage go on, and -judging that Romeuf was of the most value to the Royal Family in this -strait, called to his servant, James Brisack, who was mixed up with the -press. - -"Give my spare horse to Captain Romeuf." - -Scarce had he spoken the words than the exasperated crowd enveloped him, -yelling: - -"This is the Count of Choiseul, one who wanted to take away the King! -Down with the aristocrat--death to the traitor!" - -All know with what rapidity the effect follows the threat in popular -commotions. - -Torn from his saddle, Count Choiseul was hurled back and was swallowed -up in that horrible gulf of the multitude, from which in that epoch of -deadly passions one emerged only in fragments. - -But at the same time as he fell five persons rushed to his rescue. These -were Damas, Romeuf, Brisack and two others, the last having lost the led -horse so that his hands were free for his master's service. - -Such a conflict arose as the Indians wage around the body of a fallen -warrior whom they do not wish scalped. - -Contrary to all probability, Choiseul was not hurt, or at least -slightly, despite the ugly weapons used against him. A soldier parried -with his musket a scythe thrust aimed at him, and Brisack warded off -another with a stick he had snatched from a hand in the medley. This -stick was cleft like a reed, but the cut was so turned as to wound only -the count's horse. - -"This way the dragoons!" it came into Adjutant Foucq's head to halloa. - -Some soldiers rushed up at the call and cleared a space in their shame -at the officer being murdered among them. Romeuf sprang into the open -space. - -"In the name of the National Assembly, and of General Lafayette, whose -deputy I am, lead these gentleman to the town-hall!" he vociferated. - -Both names of the Assembly and the general enjoyed full popularity at -this period and exerted their usual effect. - -"To the town-hall," roared the concourse. - -Willing hands made a united effort and Choiseul and his companions -were dragged towards the council rooms. It took well over an hour to -get there; each minute had its threat and attempt to murder, and every -opening the protectors left was used to thrust with a pike or pitchfork -or sabre. - -However, the municipal building was reached at last, where only one -towns officer remained, frightened extremely at the responsibility -devolving on him. To relieve him of this charge, he ordered that -Choiseul, Damas and Floirac should be put in the cells and watched by -the National Guards. - -Romeuf thereupon declared that he would not quit Choiseul, who had -shielded him and so brought on himself what happened. So the town -official ordered that he should be put in the cell along with him. - -Choiseul made a sign for his groom Brisack to get away and see to the -horses. Not much pulled about, they were in an inn, guarded by the -volunteers. - -Romeuf stayed till the Verdun National Guard came in, when he entrusted -the prisoners to them, and went his way with the officers' pledge that -they would keep them well. - -Isidore Charny's remains were dragged into a weaver's house, where pious -but alien hands prepared them for the grave--less fortunate he than -his brother Valence, who, at least, was mourned over by his brother -and Billet, and Gilbert. But at that time, Billet was a devoted and -respectful friend. We know how these feelings changed into hate: as -implacable as the better sentiments had been deep. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX. - -THE DOLOROUS WAY. - - -In the meantime the Royal Family continued on the road to Paris. - -They advanced slowly, for the carriage could not move but at the gait -of the escort, and that was composed mostly of men on foot. Their ranks -were filled up with women and children, the women lifting their babes up -in their arms to see the King dragged back to the capital: probably they -would never have seen him under other circumstances. - -The coach and the cab with the ladies in waiting, seemed in the human -sea like a ship with her tender. Incidents stirred up the sea into -heaving furiously at times when the coach disappeared under the billows -and appeared very slow to emerge. - -Though it was six miles to Clermont where they arrived, the terrible -escort did not lessen in number as those who dropped off were replaced -by new-comers from the countryside who wanted to have a peep at the -show. - -Of all the captives on and in this ambulatory prison the worst exposed -to the popular wrath and the plainest butt of the menaces were the -unhappy Lifeguards on the large box seat; as the order of the National -Assembly made the Royal Family inviolable, the way to vent spite on them -by proxy, was to plague these men. Bayonets were continually held to -their breasts, some scythes, really Death's, gleamed over their heads, -or some spear glided like a perfidious serpent, in the gaps to pierce -the flesh with its keen sting and return to the wielder disgusted that -he had not drawn more blood. - -All at once they saw a man without hat or weapon, his clothing smeared -with mud and dust, split the crowd. After having addressed a respectful -bow to the King and the Queen, he sprang upon the forepart of the -carriage and from the trace-chain hooks upon the box between the two -Lifeguards. - -The Queen's outcry was of fear, joy and pain. She had recognized Charny. - -Fear, for what he did was so bold that it was a miracle he had reached -the perch without receiving some wound. Joy, for she was happy to see -that he had escaped the unknown dangers he must have run, all the -greater as imagination was outstripped by the reality. Pain, for she -comprehended that Charny's solitary return implied that nothing was to -be expected from Bouille. - -In fact, while Charny had reached the royalists at Grange-au-Bois on a -horse he picked up on the road, his attempt to guide the army ended in -failure: a canal which he had not noted down in his survey, perhaps cut -since then, was brimful of water and he nearly lost his life, as he did -his horse, in trying to swim across it. All he could do, on scrambling -out on the other side from his friends, was to wave them a farewell, -for he understood that the cavaliers as a mass could not succeed where -he had fallen short. - -Confounded by the audacity of this recruit to the lost cause, the mob -seemed to respect him for this boldness. - -At the turmoil, Billet, who was riding at the head, turned and -recognized the nobleman. - -"Ha, I am glad that nothing happened him," he said: "but woe to -whomsoever tries this again, for he shall certainly pay for the two." - -At two of the afternoon they arrived at St. Menehould. - -Loss of sleep and weariness was telling on all the prisoners, but -particularly on the Dauphin, who was feverish and wanted to be undressed -and put to bed, as he was not well, he said. - -But St. Menehould was the place most enraged against the Royal Family. -So no attention was paid to the King who ordered a stop. A contradictory -order from Billet led to the change of horses being hooked on the pole. - -The Queen could not withstand her child's complaints and holding the -little prince up at the window to show him to the people, shivering and -in tears, she said: - -"Gentlemen, in pity for this boy, stop!" - -"Forward, March!" shouted Billet. - -"Forward," repeated the people. - -Billet passed the carriage window to take his place in the front when -the Queen appealed to him: - -"For shame, sir, it is plain, I repeat that you never were a father." - -"And I repeat, madam, that I was a father once, but am one no longer." - -"Do as you will, for you are the stronger: but beware! for no voice -cries more loudly to heaven than that of these little ones!" - -The procession went on again. - -It was cruel work passing through the town. If kings could learn any -thing, the enthusiasm excited by sight of Drouet, to whom the arrest was -due, would have been a dreadful lesson; but both captives saw merely -blind fury in the cheers; they saw but rebels in these patriots who -were convinced that they were saving their country. - -Perhaps it was the King's impression that Paris alone was perverted that -urged him into the evil course. He had relied on "his dear provinces." -But here were the dear rurals not only escaping him but turning -pitilessly against him. The country folk had frightened Choiseul in -Sommevelle, imprisoned Dandoins at St. Menehould, fired on Damas at -Clermont, and lately killed Isidore Charny under the royal eyes. All -classes rose against him. - -It would have cut him worse had he seen what the spreading news did; -roused all the country to come--not to stare and form an escort--but to -kill him. The harvest was so bad that this country was called "Blank -Champagne," and here came the King who had brought in the thievish -hussar and the pillaging pandour to trample the poor fields under their -horses' hoofs; but the carriage was guarded by an angel and two cherubs. - -Lady Elizabeth was twenty-seven but her chastity had kept the unfading -brilliancy of youth on her brow: the Dauphin, ailing and shivering on -his mother's knee; the princess fair as the blondes can be, looking out -with her firm while astonished gaze. - -These men saw these, the Queen bent over her boy, and the King -downhearted: and their anger abated or sought another object on which to -turn it. - -They yelped at the Lifeguardsmen; insulted them, called those noble and -devoted hearts traitors and cowards, while the June sun made a fiery -rainbow in the chalky dust flung up by the endless train upon those -hotheads, heated by the cheap wine of the taverns. - -Half a mile out of the town, an old Knight of St. Louis was seen -galloping over the fields; he wore the ribbon of the order at his -buttonhole: as it was first thought that he came from sheer curiosity, -the crowd made room for him. He went up to the carriage window, hat in -hand, saluted the King and the Queen, and hailed them as Majesties. The -people had measured true force and real majesty, and were indignant at -the title being given away from them to whom it was due; they began to -grumble and threaten. - -The King had already learnt what this growl portended from hearing it -around the house at Varennes. - -"Sir Knight," he said to the old chevalier, "the Queen and myself are -touched by this publicly expressed token of your devotion; but in God's -name, get you hence--your life is not safe." - -"My life is the King's, and the finest day of it will be when laid down -for the King." - -Hearing this speech, some growled. - -"Retire," said the King. "Make way there, my friends, for Chevalier -Dampierre." - -Those near who heard the appeal, stood back. But unfortunately the -horseman was squeezed in and used the whip and spur on the animal unable -to move freely. Some trodden-on women screamed, a frightened child -cried, and on the men shaking their fists the old noble flourished his -whip. Thereupon the growl changed to a roar: the grand popular and -leonine fury broke forth. - -Dampierre was already on the edge of the forest of men; he drove in both -spurs which made the steed leap the ditch where it galloped across the -country. He turned, and waving his hat, cried: "God save the King!"--a -final homage to his sovereign but a supreme insult to the people. - -Off went a gun. He pulled a pistol from his holsters and returned the -fire. Everyone who had firearms, let fly at him. The horse fell, riddled -with bullets. - -Nobody ever knew whether the man was slain outright or not by this -dreadful volley. The multitude rushed like an avalanche where rider -and steed had dropped, some fifty paces from the royal carriage: one -of those tumults arose such as surge upon a dead body in battle: then, -out of the disordered movements, the shapeless chaos, the gulf of yells -and cheers, up rose a pike surmounted by the white head of the luckless -Chevalier Dampierre. - -The Queen screamed and threw herself back in the vehicle. - -"Monsters, cannibals, assassins!" shouted Charny. - -"Hold your tongue, count," said Billet, "or I cannot answer for you." - -"What matters? I am tired of life. What can befall me worse than my poor -brother?" - -"Your brother was guilty and you are not," replied Billet. - -Charny started to jump down from the box but the other Lifeguard -restrained him, while twenty bayonets bristled to receive him. - -"Friends," said the farmer in his strong and imposing voice, as he -pointed to Charny, "whatever this man says or does, never heed--I forbid -a hair of his head being touched. I am answerable for him to his wife." - -"To his wife," muttered the Queen, shuddering as though one of the steel -points menacing her beloved had pricked her heart, "why does he say to -his wife?" - -Billet could not have himself told. He had invoked the name of the -count's wife, knowing how powerful such a charm is over a mob composed -mainly of men with wives. - -They were late reaching Chalons, where the King, in alighting at the -house prepared for the family, heard a bullet whizz by his ear. - -Was it an accident where so many were inexperienced in arms or an -attempt at regicide? - -"Some clumsy fellow," said he coolly: "gentlemen, you ought to be -careful--an accident soon happens." - -Apart from this shot, there was a calmer atmosphere to step into. The -uproar ceased at the house door: murmurs of compassion were heard; the -table was laid out with elegance astonishing the captives. There were -servants also, but Charny claimed their work for himself and the other -Lifeguards, hiding under the pretended humility, the intention to stay -close to the King for any event. - -Marie Antoinette understood this; but in her heart rumbled Billet's -words about Charny's wife, like a storm brewing. - -Charny, whom she had expected to take away from France, to live abroad -with her, was now returning to Paris to see his wife Andrea again! - -He was ignorant of this ferment in her heart, from not supposing she had -heard the words; besides, he was busy over some freshly conceived hopes. -Having been sent in advance to study the route he had conscientiously -fulfilled his errand. He knew the political tone of even each village. -Chalons had a royalist bias from it being an old town, without trade, -work or activity, peopled by nobles, retired business men and contented -citizens. - -Scarcely were the royal party at table than the County Lieutenant, whose -house they were in, came to bow to the Queen, who looked at him uneasily -from having ceased to expect anything good, and said: - -"May it please your Majesty to let the maids of Chalons offer flowers?" - -"Flowers?" repeated she, looking with astonishment from him to Lady -Elizabeth. "Pray, let them come." - -Shortly after, twelve young ladies, the prettiest they could find in the -town, tripped up to the threshold where the Queen held out her arms to -them. One of them who had been taught a formal speech, was so effected -by this warm greeting that she forgot it all and stammered the general -opinion: - -"Oh, your Majesty, what a dreadful misfortune!" - -The Queen took the bunch of flowers and kissed the girl. - -"Sire," whispered Charny to the King meanwhile, "something good may be -done here; if your Majesty will spare me for an hour, I will go out and -inquire how the wind turns." - -"Do so, but be prudent," was the reply: "I shall never console myself if -harm befalls you. Alas, two deaths are enough in one family." - -"Sire, my life is as much the King's as my brothers'." - -In the presence of the monarch his stoicism could be worn but he felt -his grief when by himself. - -"Poor Isidore," he muttered, while pressing his hand to his breast to -see if he still had in the pocket the papers of the dead handed him by -Count Choiseul, which he had promised himself to read as he would the -last will of his loved one. - -Behind the girls came their parents, almost all nobles or members of the -upper middle class; they came timidly and humbly to crave permission to -offer their respect to their unfortunate sovereigns. They could hardly -believe that they had seen the unfortunate Dampierre hewn to pieces -under their eyes a while before. - -Charny came back in half an hour. It was impossible for the keenest eye -to read the effect of his reconnoitre on his countenance. - -"All is for the best, Sire," replied he to the King's inquiry. "The -National Guard offer to conduct your Majesty to-morrow to Montmedy." - -"So you have arranged some course?" - -"With the principal citizens. It is a church feast to-morrow so that -they cannot refuse your request to go to hear service. At the church -door a carriage will be waiting which will receive your Majesties; amid -the cheering you will give the order to be driven to Montmedy and you -will be obeyed." - -"That is well," said Louis: "thank you, count, and we will do this if -nothing comes between. But you and your companions must take some rest; -you must need it more than we." - -The reception was not prolonged far into the night so that the Royal -Family retired about nine. A sentinel at their door let them see that -they were still regarded as prisoners. But he presented arms to them. By -his precise movement the King recognized an old soldier. - -"Where have you served, my friend?" he inquired. - -"In the French Guards, Sire," answered the veteran. - -"Then I am not surprised to see you here," returned the monarch; for he -had not forgotten that the French Guards had gone over to the people on -the 13th July, 1789. - -This sentinel was posted at their sleeping room door. An hour -afterwards, he asked to speak with the leader of the escort, who was -Billet, on his being relieved of guard-mounting. The farmer was taking -supper with the rustics who flocked in from all sides and endeavoring -to persuade them to stay in town all night. But most of them had seen -the King, which was mainly what led them, and they wanted to celebrate -the holiday at home. He tried to detain them because the aristocratic -tendency of the old town alarmed him. - -It was in the midst of this discussion that the sentinel came to talk -with him. They conversed in a low voice most lively. - -Next, Billet sent for Drouet, and they held a similar conference. After -this they went to the postmaster, who was Drouet's friend, and the same -line of business made them friendlier still. - -He saddled two horses and in ten minutes Billet was galloping on the -road to Rheims and Drouet to Vitry. - -Day dawned. Hardly six hundred men remained of the numerous escort, and -they were fagged out, having passed the night on straw they had brought -along, in the street. As they shook themselves awake in the dawn they -might have seen a dozen men in uniform enter the Lieutenancy Office and -come out hastily shortly after. - -Chalons was headquarters for the Villeroy Company of Lifeguards, and -ten or twelve of the officers came to take orders from Charny. He told -them to don full dress and be on their horses by the church door for the -King's exit. These were the uniformed men whom we have seen. - -Some of the peasants reckoned their distance from home in the morning -and to the number of two hundred more or less they departed, in spite of -their comrades' pleadings. This reduced the faithful to a little over -four hundred only. - -To the same number might be reckoned the National Guards devoted to the -King, without the Royal Guards officers and those recruited, a forlorn -hope which would set the lead in case of emergency. - -Besides, as hinted, the town was aristocratic. - -When the word was sent to Billet and Drouet to hear what they said about -the King and the Queen going to hear mass, they could not be found and -nothing therefore opposed the desire. - -The King was delighted to hear of the absence but Charny shook his head: -he did not know Drouet's character but he knew Billet's. - -Nevertheless all the augury was favorable, and indeed the King not only -came out of church amid cheers but the royalist gathering had assumed -colossal proportions. - -Still it was not without apprehension that Charny encouraged the King to -make up his mind. - -He put his head out of the carriage window and said: - -"Gentlemen, yesterday at Varennes, violence was used against me; I gave -the order to be driven to Montmedy but I was constrained to go towards -a revolted capital. Then I was among rebels, but now I am among honest -subjects, to whom I repeat, 'To Montmedy!'" - -"To Montmedy!" echoed Charny and the others shouted the same, and to the -chorus of "Long live the King!" the carriage was turned round and retook -the road it had yesterday travelled. - -In the absence of Billet and Drouet the rustics seemed commanded by the -French Guardsman who had stood sentry at the royal door. Charny watched -and saw that he made his men wheel and mutely follow the movement -though the scowls showed that they did not approve of it. They let the -National Guards pass them, and massed in their rear as a rearguard. -In the foremost ranks marched the pike and spear-men: then fifty who -carried muskets and fowling pieces manoeuvring so neatly that Charny was -disquieted: but he could not oppose it and he was unable to understand -it. - -He was soon to have the explanation. - -As they approached the town gates, spite of the cheering, they heard -another sound like the dull rolling of a storm. Suddenly Charny turned -pale and laid his hand on the Lifeguard next him. - -"All is lost," he gasped: "do you not hear that drum?" - -They turned the corner into a square where two streets entered. One came -from Rheims the other from Vitry, and up each was marching a column of -National Guards; one numbered eighteen hundred, the other more than two -thousand. Each was led by a man on horseback. One was Billet, the other -Drouet. - -Charny saw why they had disappeared during the night. Fore-warned no -doubt, of the counteraction in preparation, they had gone off for -reinforcements. They had concerted their movements so as to arrive -simultaneously. They halted their men in the square, completely blocking -the road. Without any cries, they began to load their firearms. The -procession had to stop. - -"What is the matter?" asked the King, putting his head out of the -window, of Charny, pale and gritting his teeth. - -"Why, my lord, the enemy has gone for reinforcements and they stand -yonder, loading their guns, while behind the Chalons National Guards the -peasants are ready with their guns." - -"What do you think of all this?" - -"That we are caught between two fires, which will not prevent us -passing, but what will happen to your Majesty I cannot tell." - -"Very well, let us turn back. Enough blood has been shed for my sake and -I weep bitter tears for it. I do not wish one drop more to flow. Let us -return." - -"Gentlemen," said Charny, jumping down and taking the leader horse by -the bridle, "the King bids us turn back." - -At the Paris Gate the Chalons National Guards, become useless, gave -place to those from Rheims and Vitry. - -"Do you not think I behaved properly, madam?" inquired Louis of his -wife. - -"Yes--but I think Count Charny obeyed you very easily," was her comment. - -She fell into one of those gloomy reveries which was not entirely due to -the terrible situation in which she was hedged in. - - - - -CHAPTER XX. - -MIRABEAU'S SUCCESSOR. - - -The royal carriage sadly travelled the Paris Road, watched by the two -moody men who had forced it to alter its direction. Between Epernay and -Dormans, Charny, from his stature and his high seat, could distinguish a -four-in-hand coach approaching from the way of Paris. - -He guessed that it brought grave news of some important character. - -Indeed, it was hailed with cheers for the National Assembly, and -contained three officials. One was Hatour Maubourg, Lafayette's right -hand man, Petion and Barnave, members of the House. - -Of the three the oldest stepped up to the royal carriage, leaving his -own, and roughly opening the door, he said: - -"I am Petion, and these Barnave and Latour, members of the Assembly, -sent by it to serve you as escort and see that the wrath of the populace -does not anticipate justice with its own hand. Close up there to make -room for me." - -The Queen darted on all three one of those disdainful glances which the -haughty daughter of Maria Theresa deigned to let fall from her pride. -Latour was a gentleman of the old school, like Lafayette, and he could -not support the glance. He declined to enter the carriage on the ground -that the occupants were too closely packed. - -"I will get into the following one," he said. - -"Get in where you like," said Petion; "my place is with the King and the -Queen, and in I go." - -He stepped in at the same time. He looked one after another at the King, -the Queen and Lady Elizabeth, who occupied the back seat. - -"Excuse me, madam," he said to the last, "but the place of honor belongs -to me as representative of the Assembly. Be obliging enough to rise and -take the front seat." - -"Whoever heard of such a thing?" muttered the Queen. - -"Sir!" began the King. - -"That is the way of it; so, rise, madam, and give your place to me." - -Lady Elizabeth obeyed, with a sign of resignation to her brother and -sister. - -Latour had gone to the cab to ask the ladies to let him travel with -them. Member Barnave stood without, wavering about entering the -conveyance where seven persons were. - -"Are you not coming, Barnave?" asked Petion. - -"Where am I to put myself?" inquired the somewhat embarrassed man. - -"Would you like my place?" demanded the Queen tartly. - -"I thank you, madam," rejoined Barnave, stung; "a seat in the front will -do for me." - -It was made by Lady Elizabeth drawing the Princess Royal to her side -while the Queen took the Dauphin on her knee. Barnave was thus placed -opposite the Queen. - -"All ready," cried Petion, without asking the King, "on you go!" - -The vehicle resumed the journey, to cheers for the National Assembly. - -It was the people who stepped into the royal carriage with their -representatives. - -There was silence during which each studied the others except Petion who -seemed in his roughness to be indifferent to everything. - -Jerome Petion, _alias_ Villeneuve, was about thirty-two; his features -were sharply defined; his merit lay in the exaltation, clearness and -straightforwardness of his political opinions. Born at Chartres, he was -a lawyer when sent to Paris in 1789, as member of the Assembly. He was -fated to be Mayor of Paris, enjoy popularity effacing that of Bailly -and Lafayette and die on the Bordeaux salt meadow wastes, devoured by -wolves. His friends called him the Virtuous Petion. He and Camille -Desmoulins were republicans when nobody else in France knew the word. - -Pierre Joseph Marie Barnave was born at Grenoble; he was hardly -thirty; in the Assembly he had acquired both his reputation and great -popularity, by struggling with Mirabeau as the latter waned. All the -great orator's enemies were necessarily friends of Barnave and had -sustained him. He appeared but five-and-twenty, with bright blue eyes, a -largish mouth, turned-up nose and sharp voice. But his form was elegant; -a duelist and aggressive, he looked like a young military captain in -citizen's dress. He was worth more than he seemed. - -He belonged to the Constitutional Royalist party. - -"Gentlemen," said the King as he took his seat, "I declare to you that -it never was my intention to quit the kingdom." - -"That being so, the words will save France," replied Barnave, looking at -him ere he sat down. - -Thereupon something strange transpired between this scion of the country -middle class and the woman descended from the greatest throne of Europe. -Each tried to read the other's heart, not like two political foes, -hiding state secrets, but like a man and a woman seeking mysteries of -love. - -Barnave aimed in all things to be the heir and successor of Mirabeau. -In everybody's eyes Mirabeau passed for having enjoyed the King's -confidence and the Queen's affection. We know what the truth was. It was -not only the fashion then to spread libels but to believe in them. - -Barnave's desire to be Mirabeau in all respects is what led him to be -appointed one of the three Commissioners to bring back the Royal Family. - -He came with the assurance of the man who knows that he has the power to -make himself hated if he cannot make himself loved. - -The Queen divined this with her woman's eye if she did not perceive it. - -She also observed Barnave's moodiness. - -Half a dozen times in a quarter of an hour, Barnave turned to look -at the three Lifeguards on the box, examining them with scrupulous -attention, and dropping his glance to the Queen more hard and hostile -than before. - -Barnave knew that one of the trio was Charny, but which he was ignorant -of: and public rumor accredited Charny as the Queen's paramour. He was -jealous, though it is hard to explain such a feeling in him; but the -Queen guessed that, too. - -From that moment she was stronger; she knew the flaw in the adversary's -breastplate and she could strike true. - -"Did you hear what that man who was conducting the carriage said about -the Count of Charny?" she asked of Louis XVI. - -Barnave gave a start which did not escape the Queen, whose knees was -touching his. - -"He declared, did he not, that he was responsible for the count's life?" -rejoined the sovereign. - -"Exactly, and that he answered for his life to his wife." - -Barnave half closed his eyes but he did not lose a syllable. - -"Now the countess is my old friend Andrea Taverney. Do you think, on our -return to Paris, that it will be handsome to give him leave to go and -cheer his wife. He has run great risks, and his brother has been killed -on our behalf. I think that to claim his continued service beside us -would be to act cruelly to the happy couple." - -Barnave breathed again and opened his eyes fully. - -"You are right, though I doubt that the count will accept it," returned -the King. - -"In that case we shall both have done our duty--we in proposing it and -the count in refusing." - -By magnetic sympathy she felt that Barnave's irritation was softening. -At the same time that his generous heart understood that he had been -unfair to her his shame sprang up. - -He had borne himself with a high head like a judge, and now she suddenly -spoke the very words which determined her innocence of the charge which -she could not have foreseen, or her repentance. Why not innocence? - -"We would stand in the better position," continued the Queen, "from -our not having taken Count Charny with us, and from my thinking, on my -part, that he was in Paris when he suddenly appeared by the side of our -carriage." - -"It is so," proceeded the monarch; "but it only proves that the count -has no need of stimulant when his duty is in question." - -There was no longer any doubt that she was guiltless. - -How was Barnave to obtain the Queen's forgiveness for having wronged her -as a woman? He did not dare address her, and was he to wait till she -spoke the first? She said nothing at all as she was satisfied with the -effect she had produced. - -He had become gentle, almost humble; he implored her with a look, but -she did not appear to pay him any heed. - -He was in one of those moods when to rouse a woman from inattention he -would have undertaken the twelve labors of Hercules, at the risk of the -first being too much for him. - -He was beseeching "the Supreme Being," which was the fashionable God -in 1789, when they had ceased to believe in heaven, for some chance to -bring attention upon him, when all at once, as though the Ruler, under -whatever title addressed, had heard the prayer, a poor priest who waited -for the King to go by, approached from the roadside to see the august -prisoner the nearer, and said as he raised his supplicating hands and -tear-wet eyes: - -"God bless your Majesty!" - -It was a long time since the crowd had a chance of flying into anger. -Nothing had presented itself since the hapless Knight of St. Louis, -whose head was still following on the pike-point. This occasion was -eagerly embraced. - -The mob replied to the reverence with a roar: they threw themselves on -the priest in a twinkling, and he was flung down and would have been -flayed alive before Barnave broke from his abstraction had not the -frightened Queen appealed to him. - -"Oh, sir, do you not see what is going on?" - -He raised his head, plunged a rapid look into the ocean which submerged -the priest, and rolled in growling and tumultuous waves up to the -carriage; he burst the door with such violence that he would have fallen -out if the Princess Elizabeth had not caught him by the coat. - -"You villains!" he shouted. "Tigers, who cannot be French men! or -France, the home of the brave, has become a den of assassins!" - -This apostrophe may appear bombastic to us but it was in the style of -the period. Besides, the denunciator belonged to the National Assembly -and supreme power spoke by his voice. The crowd recoiled and the old man -was saved. - -He rose and said: - -"You did well to save an old man, young sir--he will ever pray for you." - -He made the sign of the cross, and went his way, the throng opening to -him, dominated by the voice and attitude of Barnave, who seemed the -statue of Command. When the victim was gone from sight, the young deputy -simply and naturally retook his seat, as if he were not aware he had -saved a human life. - -"I thank you, sir," said the Queen. - -These few words set him quivering over all his frame. In all the long -period during which we have accompanied Marie Antoinette, though she had -been more lovely, never had she been more touching. - -He was contemplating so much motherly grace when the prince uttered a -cry of pain at the moment when Barnave was inclined to fall at the knees -of dying Majesty. The boy had played some roguish trick on the virtuous -Petion, who had deemed it proper to pull his ears. The King reddened -with anger, the Queen turned pale with shame. She held out her arms and -pulled the boy from between Petion's knees, so that Barnave received him -between his. She still wished to draw him to her but he resisted, -saying: - -"I am comfortable here." - -Through motherly playfulness or womanly seductiveness, she allowed the -boy to stay. It is impossible to tell what passed in Barnave's heart: he -was both proud and happy. The prince set to playing with the buttons of -the member's coat, which bore the motto: "Live Free or Die." - -"What does that mean?" he wanted to know. - -As Barnave was silent, Petion interpreted. - -"My little man, that means that the French have sworn never to know -masters more, if you can understand that? Explain it otherwise, Barnave, -if you can." - -The other was hushed: the motto, which he had thought sublime, seemed -almost cruel at present. But he took the boy's hand and respectfully -kissed it. The Queen wiped away a tear, risen from her heart. - -The carriage, moving theatre of this little episode, continued to roll -forward through the hooting of the mob, bearing to death six of the -eight passengers. - - - - -CHAPTER XXI. - -ANOTHER DUPE. - - -On arriving at Dormans, the party had to get out at an inn as nothing -was prepared for them. Either from Petion's orders or from the Royal -Family's snubbing him on the journey having vexed him, or because the -place was really full, only three garret rooms were available. - -Charny got down the first to have the Queen's orders but she gave him a -look to imply that he was to keep in the background. He hastened to obey -without knowing the cause. - -It was Petion who entered the hotel, and acted as quarter-master; he did -not give himself the trouble to come out again and it was a waiter who -told the Royals that their rooms were ready. - -Barnave was embarrassed as he wanted to offer his arm to the Queen, but -he feared that she who had been wont to rail at exaggerated etiquette, -would nevertheless invoke it now. So he waited. - -The King stepped out, followed by the Queen, who held out her arms for -her son, but he said as if he knew his part to please his mother: - -"No, I want to stay with my friend Barnave." - -Marie Antoinette submitted with a sweet smile. Barnave let lady -Elizabeth pass out with the Princess Royal before he alighted, carrying -the boy in his arms. - -Lady Tourzel closed the march, eager to snatch the royal child from -these plebeian arms but the Queen made her a sign which cooled the ardor -of the aristocratic governess. Barnave did not say anything on finding -that the Virtuous Petion had taken the best part of the house, as he set -down the prince on the second landing. - -"Mamma, here is my friend Barnave going away," cried he. - -"Very right, too," observed the Queen on seeing the attics reserved for -her and her family. - -The King was so tired that he wished to lie down, but the bed was so -short that he had to get up in a minute and called for a chair. With the -cane-bottomed one eking out a wooden one he lengthened the couch. - -"Oh, Sire," said Malden, who brought the chair, "can you pass the night -thus?" - -"Certainly: besides, if what the ministers say be true, many of my -subjects would be only too glad to have this loft, these chairs and this -pallet." - -He laid on this wretched bed, a prelude to his miserable nights in the -Temple Prison. - -When he came in to supper, he found the table set for six: Petion had -added himself to the Royal Family. - -"Why not eight, then, for Messieurs Latour Maubourg and Barnave?" jeered -the King. - -"M. Barnave excused himself, but M. Petion persisted," replied the -waiter. - -The grave, austere face of the deputy appeared in the doorway. - -The King bore himself as if alone and said to the waiter: - -"I sit at table with my own family solely: or without guests. If not, we -do not eat at all." - -Petion went away furious, and heard the door bolted after him. - -The Queen looked for Charny during the meal, wishing that he had -disobeyed her. - -Her husband was rising after finishing supper when the waiter came to -state that the first floor parlors were ready for them. They had been -decked out with flowers, by the forethought of Barnave. - -The Queen sighed: a few years before she would have had to thank Charny -for such attentions. Moreover, Barnave had the delicacy not to appear -to receive his reward; just as the count would have acted. How was it -a petty country lawyer should show the same attentions and daintiness -as the most eminent courtier? There was certainly much in this to set a -woman--even a queen, a-thinking. Hence she did ponder over this mystery -half the night. - -What had become of Count Charny during this interval? - -With his duty keeping him close to his masters, he was glad to have the -Queen's signal for him to take some leisure for lonely reflection. - -After having been so busy for others lately, he was not sorry to have -time for his own distress. - -He was the old-time nobleman, more a father than a brother to his -younger brothers. - -His grief had been great at Valence's death, but at least he had a -comfort in the second brother Isidore on whom he placed the whole of -his affection. Isidore had become more dear still since he was his -intermediary with Andrea. - -The less Charny saw of Andrea the more he thought of her, and to think -of her was to love her. She was a statue when he saw her, but when he -departed she became colored and animated by the distance. It seemed to -him that internal fire sprang up in the alabaster mould and he could see -the veins circulate blood and the heart throb. - -It was in these times of loneliness and separation that the wife was the -real rival of the Queen: in the feverish nights Charny saw the tapestry -cleft or the walls melt to allow the transparent statue to approach his -couch, with open arms and murmuring lips and kindled eye: the fire of -her love beamed from within. He also would hold out his arms, calling -the lovely vision, and try to press the phantom to his heart. But, alas! -the vision would flee and, embracing vacancy, he would fall from his -breathless dream into sad and cold reality. - -Therefore, Isidore was dearer to him than Valence, and he had not the -chance to mourn over him as he had over the cadet of the family. - -Both had fallen for the same fatal woman and into the abyss of the same -cause full of pitfalls. For them he would certainly fall. - -Alone in an attic, shut up with a table which bore an old-fashioned -three-wicked oil lamp, he drew out the bloodstained papers, the last -relics of his brother. He sighed, raised his head and opened one letter. - -It was from poor Catherine Billet. Charny had suspected the connection -some months before Billet had at Varennes given him confirmation of it. -Only then had he given it the importance it should have taken in his -mind. - -Now he learnt that the title of mistress had become holy by its -promotion to that of mother, and in the simple language Catherine used, -all her woman's life was given in expiation of her fault as a girl. A -second and a third, showed the same plans of love, maternal joys, fears -of the loving, pains and repentance. - -Suddenly, among the letters, he saw one whose writing struck him. To -this was attached a note of Isidore's, sealed with his arms in black -wax. It was the letter which Andrea had enjoined him to give her husband -in case he were mortally hurt or read to him if unable. The note -explained this and concluded: - -"I league to my brother the Count of Charny poor Catherine Billet, now -living with my boy in the village of Villedovray." - -This note had totally absorbed him: but finally he turned his attention -to that from his wife. But after reading the explanation three times, he -shook his head and said in an undertone: - -"I have no right to open this letter; but I will so entreat her that she -will let me read it." - -Dawn surprised him, devouring with his gaze this letter damp with -frequent pressing it with his lips. - -Suddenly in the midst of the bustle for the departure, he heard his name -called and he hurried out on the stairs. - -Here he met Barnave inquiring for the Queen and charging Valory to get -the order for the start. It was easy to see that Barnave had had no more -sleep than the count. They bowed to each other, and Charny would surely -have remarked the jealous gleam in the member's eye if he had been able -to think of anything but the letter of his wife which he pressed to his -heart under his arm. - -On stepping into the coach once more the royal pair noticed they had -only the population of the town to stare at them and cavalry to escort -them. This was an attention of Barnave's. - -He knew what the Queen had suffered from the squalid and infected -peasants pressing round the wheels, the severed head, the threats to -her guards. He pretended to have heard of an invasion by the Austrians -to help Marquis Bouille, and he had turned towards the frontier all the -irregularly armed men. - -The hatred of the French for the foreign invader was such that it made -them forget for the moment that the Queen was one of them. - -She guessed to whom she owed this boon, and thanked him with a look. - -As she resumed her place in the conveyance she glanced out to see -Charny, who had taken the outer seat beside the Guards; he wanted to -be in the danger, in hopes that a wound would give him the right to -open his wife's letter. He did not notice her looking for him, and that -made her sigh, which Barnave heard. Uneasy about it, he stopped on the -carriage step. - -"Madam," he said, "I remarked yesterday how incommoded we were in -here: if you like I will find room in the other carriage with M. -Latour-Maubourg." - -While suggesting this, he would have given half his remaining days--not -that many were left him!--to have her refuse the offer. - -"No, stay with us," she quickly responded. - -At once the Dauphin held out his little hands to draw him to him, -saying: - -"My friend Barnave! I do not want him to go." - -Barnave gladly took his former place. The prince went over to his knee -from his mother's. The Queen kissed him on his cheek as he passed and -the member looked at the pink spots caused by the pressure like Tantalus -at the fruit hanging over his head. He asked leave to kiss the little -fellow and did it with such ardor that the boy cried out. She lost none -of this incident in which Barnave was staking his head. - -Perhaps she had no more slept than Charny or the deputy; perhaps the -animation enflaming her eyes was caused by fever; any way, her purpled -lips and rosy cheeks, all made her that perilous siren who with one -golden tress would draw her adorers over the whirlpool's edge. - -The carriage went faster and they could dine at Chateau Thierry. Before -they got to Meaux, at evening Lady Elizabeth was overpowered by sleep -and laid down in the middle of the vehicle. Her giving way had caused -her to lean against Petion, who deposed in his report that she had -tried to tempt him with love and had rested her head on his virtuous -shoulder--that pious creature! - -The halt at Meaux was in the bishop's palace, a gloomy structure which -still echoed those sinister wails from Bossuet's study that presaged the -downfall of monarchy. - -The Queen looked around for support and smiled on seeing Barnave. - -"Give me your arm," she said, "and be my guide in this old palace. I -dare not venture alone lest the great voice is heard which one day made -Christianity shudder with the outcry: 'The Duchess Henriette is dead!'" - -Barnave sprang forward to offer his arm, while the lady cast a last -glance around, fretted by Charny's obstinate silence. - -"Do you seek some one?" he asked. - -"Yes; the King." - -"Oh, he is chatting with Petion." - -Appearing satisfied, the Queen drew Barnave into the pile. She seemed -a fugitive, following some phantom and looking neither before her nor -behind. She only stopped, breathless, in the great preacher's sleeping -chamber, where chance placed her confronting the portrait of a lady. -Mechanically looking, she read the label: "Madam Henriette." She started -without Barnave understanding why. From the name he guessed. - -"Yes," he observed, "not Henrietta Maria of England, not the widow of -the unfortunate Charles the First but the wife of the reckless Philip of -Orleans; not she who died of cold in the Louvre Palace, but she who died -of poison at St. Cloud and sent her ring to Bossuet. Rather would I have -it her portrait," he said after a pause "for such a mouth as hers might -give advice, but, alas! such are the very ones death seals up." - -"What could Charles the First's widow furnish me in the way of advice?" -she inquired. - -"By your leave, I will try to say. 'Oh, my sister (Seems to say this -mouth) do you not see the resemblance between our fates? I come from -England as you from Austria, and was a foreigner to the English as you -are to the French. I might have given my husband good counsel, but was -silent or gave him bad; instead of uniting him to his people, I excited -him to war against them; I gave him the counsel to march on London with -the Irish. Not only did I maintain correspondence with the enemies of -England but twice I went over into France to bring back foreign troops'. -But why continue the bloody story which you know?" - -"Continue," said the Queen, with dark brow and pleated lip. - -"The portrait would continue to say: 'Sister, finally the Scotch -delivered up their monarch, so that he was arrested just when he dreamt -of escaping into France. A tailor seized him, a butcher led him into -prison, a carter packed the jury, a beer-vendor presided over the -assembly, and that nothing should be omitted odious in the trial and the -sentence, it was carried out by a masked deaths-man striking off the -victim's head.' This is what the picture of Henrietta Maria would say. -God knows that nothing is lacking for the likeness. We have our brewer -in Santerre for Cromwell, our butcher in Lengedre, not Harrison, and all -the other plebeians who will conduct the trial; even as the conductor of -this array is a lowborn peasant. What do you say to the picture?" - -"I would say: 'Poor dear princess, you are reading me a page of history -not giving me advice.'" - -"If you do not refuse to follow it, the advice would be given you by the -living," rejoined Barnave. - -"Dead or living, those who can advise ought to do so: if good, it should -be followed." - -"Dead or living, one kind alone is given. Gain the people's love." - -"It is so very easy to gain your people's love!" - -"Why, madam, they are more your people than mine, and the proof is that -they worshiped you when you first came here." - -"Oh, sir, dwell not on that flimsy thing, popularity." - -"Madam," returned Barnave, "if I, springing from my obscure sphere, -won this popularity, how much easier for you to keep it than I to -conquer it? But no," continued he, warming with the theme, "to whom -have you confided this holy cause of monarchy, the loftiest and most -splendorous? What voices and what arms do you choose to defend it? -Never was seen such ignorance of the times and such forgetfulness of -the characteristics of France! Why, you have only to look at me for one -instance--who solicited the mission of coming to you with the single end -of offering myself, devoting myself----" - -"Hush, some one is coming," interrupted the Queen; "we must refer to -this, M. Barnave, for I am ready to listen to your counsel and heed -you." - -It was a servant announcing that dinner was waiting. - -The two Lifeguards waited at table, but Charny stood in a window -recess. Though under the roof of one of the first bishops, the meal was -nothing to brag of: but the King ate heartily. - -The Dauphin had been asking for strawberries but was told along the road -that there were none, though he had seen the country lads devouring them -by the handsful. So the poor little fellow had envied the rustic urchins -who could seek the fruit in the dewy grass like the birds that revel at -nature's bounteous board. - -This desire had saddened the Queen, who called Charny in a voice hoarse -with emotion. At the third call he heard her and came, but the door -opened and Barnave appeared on the sill; in his hand was a platter of -the fruit. - -"I hope the King and the Queen will excuse my intruding," he said, "but -I heard the prince ask for strawberries several times during the day, so -that, finding this dish on the bishop's table, I made so bold as to take -and bring it." - -"Thank you, count," said the Queen to Charny, "but M. Barnave has -divined my want and I have no farther need of you." - -Charny bowed without a word and returned to his place. The Dauphin -thanked the member, and the King asked him to sit down between the boy -and the Queen to partake of the meal, bad as it was. - -Charny beheld the scene without a spark of jealousy. But he said, on -seeing this poor moth singe its wings at the royal light: - -"Still another going to destruction! a pity, for he is worth more than -the others." But returning to his thought, he muttered: "This letter, -what can be in this letter?" - - - - -CHAPTER XXII. - -THE CENTRE OF CATASTROPHES. - - -After the repast, the King called the three Lifeguards into council with -the Queen and Lady Elizabeth. - -"Gentlemen," he began, "yesterday, M. Petion proposed that you should -flee in disguise, but the Queen and I opposed the plan for fear it -was a plot. This day he repeats the offer, pledging his honor as a -representative, and I believe you ought to hear the idea." - -"Sire, we humbly beg," replied Charny for the others, "that we may be -free to take the hint or leave it." - -"I pledge myself to put no pressure on you. Your desires be done." - -The astonished Queen looked at Charny without understanding the growing -indifference she remarked in his determination not to swerve from his -duty. She said nothing but let the King conduct the conversation. - -"Now that you reserve freedom, here are Petion's own words," he went on. -"Sire, there is no safeguard for your attendants in Paris. Neither I, -nor Barnave nor Latour can answer for shielding them even at peril of -our lives, for their blood is claimed by the people.'" - -Charny exchanged a look with the other two bodyguards who smiled with -scorn. - -"Well?" he said. - -"M. Petion suggests that he should provide three National Guards suits -and you might in them get away this night." - -Charny consulted his brother officers who replied with the same smile. - -"Sire," he replied, "our days are set apart for your Majesty, having -deigned to accept the homage, it is easier for us to die than separate. -Do us the favor to treat us as you have been doing. Of all your court -and army and Lifeguards, three have stood staunch; do not rob them of -the only glory they yearn for, namely to be true to the last." - -"It is well, gentlemen," said, the Queen; "but you understand that you -are no longer servants but brothers." She took her tablets from her -pockets. "Let us know the names of your kinsfolk so that, should you -fall in the struggle, we can tell the loved ones how it happened and -soothe them as far as in our power lies." - -Malden named his old, infirm mother and Valory his young orphan sister. -The Queen stopped in her writing to wipe her eyes. - -"Count," she said, turning to Charny, "we know that you have no one to -mention as you have lost your two brothers----" - -"Yes, they had the happiness to perish for your sake," said the nobleman -"but the latter to fall leaves a poor girl recommended in a kind of -will found upon him. He stole her away from her family which will never -forgive her. So long as I live she and her child never shall want, but, -as your Majesty says with her admirable courage, we are all in the -face of death, and if death strikes me down, she and her babe will be -penniless. Madam, deign to write the name of this poor country girl, and -if I die like the others of the house of Charny, for my august master -and noble mistress, lower your generosity to Catherine Billet and her -child, in Villedovray." - -No doubt the idea of George Charny expiring like his brothers was too -dreadful a picture for the hearer, for in swaying back with a faint cry, -she let the tablets fall and sank giddily on a chair. The two Guards -hastened to her while Charny caught up the memo-book and inscribed the -name and address. - -The Queen recovered and said: "Gentlemen, do not leave me without -kissing my hand." - -The Lifeguards obeyed, but when it came Charny's turn he barely brushed -the hand with his lips. It seemed to him sacrilege when he was carrying -Andrea's letter on his heart. The Queen sighed: never had she so -accurately measured the depth of the gulf between her and her lover, -widening daily. - -As the Guards therefore replied next day to the Committeemen that -they would not change their attire from what the King authorized them -to wear, Barnave had an extra seat placed in front of them with two -grenadiers to occupy it so as to shield them in some degree. - -At ten A. M. they quitted Meaux for Paris, from which they had been five -days absent. - -What an unfathomable abyss had deepened in those few days. - -At a league beyond Meaux the accompanying sightseers took an aspect more -frightful than before. All the dwellers of the Paris suburbs flocked to -the road. Barnave tried to make the postillions go at a trot but the -Claye National Guard blocked the way with their bayonets and it would be -imprudent to try to break that dam: comprehending the danger, the Queen -supplicated the deputies not to vex the mob--it was a formidable storm -growling and felt to be coming. - -Such was the press that the horses could hardly move at a walk. - -It had never been hotter, the air seemed fire. - -The insolent curiosity of the people pursued the royal prisoners right -up to the carriage interior. Men mounted upon it and clung to the -horses. It was a miracle that Charny and his comrades were not killed -over and over again. The two grenadiers failed to fend off the attacks: -appeals in the name of the Assembly were drowned by the hooting. - -Two thousand men formed the vanguard, and double that number closed up -the rear. On the flanks rolled an incalculable gathering. - -The air seemed to fail as they neared Paris as though that giant inhaled -it all. The Queen was suffocating, and when the King begged for a glass -of wine it was proposed that he should have a sponge dipped in gall and -vinegar. - -At Lavillette, the multitude was beyond the power of sight to estimate; -the pavement was so covered that they could not move. Windows, walls, -doors, all were crammed. The trees were bending under the novel living -fruit. - -Everybody wore their hats, for the walls had been placarded: - -"Flogging for whoever salutes the King: hanging for him who insults -him." - -All this was so appalling that the Commissioners dared not go down St. -Martin's Street Without-the-City, a crowded way full of horrors, where -Berthier Savigny had been torn to pieces and other barbarities -committed. - -So they made the circuit and went by the Champs Elysees. - -The concourse of spectators was still more great and broke up the ranks -of the soldiery. - -It was the third time Louis had entered by this dread entrance. - -All Paris rushed hither. The King and the Queen saw a vast sea of heads, -silent, sombre and threatening, with hats on. Still more alarming was -the double row of National Guards, all the way to the Tuileries, their -muskets held butt up as if at a funeral. It was a funeral procession -indeed, for the monarchy of seven centuries! - -This slowly toiling carriage was the hearse taking royalty to the grave. - -On perceiving this long file of Guards the soldiers of the escort -greeted them with "Long Live the Nation!" and that was the cry bursting -out along the line from the barrier to the palace. - -All the bystanders joined in, a cry of brotherhood uttered by the whole -of France, but this one family was excluded. - -Behind the cab following the royal carriage came a chaise, open but -covered with green boughs on account of the heat; it contained Drouet -and two others who had arrested the King. Fatigue had forced them to -ride. - -Billet alone, indefatigable, as if revenge made him bronze, kept on -horseback and seemed to lead the whole procession. - -Louis noticed that the statue of his ancestor, on Louis XV. Square, had -the eyes bandaged; in token of the blindness of rulers, Petion -explained. - -Spite of all, the mob burst all bars and stormed the carriage. Suddenly -the Queen saw at the windows those hideous men with implacable speech -who come to the surface on certain days like the sea monsters seen only -in tempestuous weather. - -Once she was so terrified that she pulled down the sash, whereupon a -dozen furious voices demanded the reason. - -"I am stifling," she stammered. - -"Pooh, we will stifle you in quite another way, never fear," replied a -rough voice while a dirty fist smashed the window. - -Nevertheless the cortege reached the grand terrace steps. - -"Oh, gentlemen, save the Lifeguards," cried the Queen, particularly to -Barnave and Petion. - -"Have you any preference?" asked the former. - -"No," she answered, looking at him full and square. - -She required that the King and the royal children should first alight. - -The next ten minutes were the cruelest of her life. She was under -the impression, not that she would be killed--prompt death would be -nothing--but made the sport of the mob or dragged away into jail whence -she would issue only after a trial handing her over to ignominious -death. - -As she stepped forth, under the ceiling of steel made by the swords -and bayonets of the soldiers, Barnave gathered to cover her. Even as -a giddiness made her close her eyes, she caught a glimpse down the -flashing vista of a face she remembered. This face seemed to be the -centre of the multitudinous eyes of the mob: from his glance would -come the cue for her immolation. It was the terrible man who had in a -mysterious manner at Taverney Manor raised the veil over the future. -He whom she had seen at Sevres on returning from Versailles. He who -appeared merely to foretell great catastrophes or to witness their -fulfillment. - -And yet if Cagliostro, was he not dead in the dungeons of the Pope? - -To be assured that her sight did not deceive her, she darted down the -tunnel of steel, strong against realities but not against this sinister -vision. - -It seemed to her that the earth gave way under her tread; that all -whirled round her, palace, gardens, trees, the countless people; that -vigorous arms seized her and carried her away amid deafening yells. She -heard the Lifeguards shouting, calling the wrath upon them to turn it -aside from its true aim. Opening her eyes an instant, she beheld Charny -between the pair hurled from the box--pale and handsome, as ever, he -fought with ten men at once, with the nobleman's smile of scorn and the -martyr's light in his gaze. From Charny her eyes went back to the man -whose myrmidons ruled the storm and swept her out of the maelstrom. With -terror she undoubtedly recognized the magician of Taverney and Sevres. - -"You, it is you!" she gasped, trying to repel him with her rigid hands. - -"Yes, it is I," he hissed in her ear. "I still need you to push the -throne into its last gulf, and so I save you!" - -She could support no more, but screaming, she swooned. - -Meanwhile the mob, defrauded of the chief morsel, were tearing the -Lifeguards to pieces and carrying Billet and Drouet in triumph. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII. - -THE BITTER CUP. - - -When the Queen came to her senses she was in her sleeping room in the -Tuileries. Her favorite bed-chamber women, Lady Misery and Madam Campan -were at hand. Though they told her the Dauphin was safe, she rose and -went to see him: he was in sleep after the great fright. - -She looked at him for a long time, haunted by the words of that awful -man: "I save you because you are needed to hurl the throne over into the -last abyss." Was it true that she would destroy the monarchy? Were her -enemies guarding her that she might accomplish the work of destruction -better than themselves? But would this gulf close after swallowing the -King, the throne and herself? Would not her two children go down in it -also? In religions of the past alone is innocence safe to disarm the -gods? - -Abraham's sacrifice had not been accepted, but it was not so in -Jephthaph's case. - -These were gloomy thoughts for a Queen, gloomier still for a mother. - -She shook her head and went slowly back to her rooms. She noticed the -disorder she was in and took a bath and was attired more fitly. - -The news awaiting her was not so black as she had feared; all three -Lifeguards had been saved from the mob, mainly by Petion who screened a -good heart under his rough bark. Malden and Valory were in the palace, -bruised, wounded, but alive. Nobody knew where Charny was in refuge -after having been snatched from the ruffians. - -At these words from Madam Campan, such a deadly pallor came over the -Queen's countenance that the Lady thought it was from anxiety about the -count and she hastened to say: - -"But there need be no alarm about his coming back to the palace; the -countess has a town house and of course he will hasten there." - -This was just what she feared and what made her lose color. - -She wanted to dress, as if she would be allowed to go out of the palace -prison to inquire about his fate, when he was announced as present in -the other room. - -"Oh, he is keeping his word," muttered the Queen which her attendants -did not understand. - -Her toilet hastily completed, she ordered the count to be introduced -into her sitting room, where she joined him. - -He had also dressed for the reception, for he wore the naval uniform in -which she had first seen him. Never had he been calmer, handsomer and -more elegant, and she could not believe that this beau was the man whom -she had seen the mob fall upon a while before. - -"Oh, my lord, I hope you were told how distressed I was on your behalf -and that I was sending out for tidings?" - -"Madam, you may be sure that I did not go away till I learned that you -were safe and sound," was his rejoinder. "And now that I am assured by -sight, and hearing of the health of your children and the King, I think -it proper to ask leave to give personal news to my lady the countess." - -The Queen pressed her hand to her heart as if to ascertain if this blow -had not deadened it, and said in a voice almost strangled by the dryness -of her throat: - -"It is only fair, my lord, and I wonder how it is that you did not ask -before this." - -"The Queen forgets my promise not to see the countess without her -permission." - -"I suppose, though, in your ardor to see the lady again, you could do -without it?" - -"I think the Queen unjust to me," he replied. "When I left Paris I -believed it was to part from her forever. During the journey I did all -that was humanly possible to make the journey a success. It is not my -fault that I did not lose my life like my brother or was not cut to -pieces on the road or in the Tuileries Gardens. Had I the honor to -conduct your Majesty across the frontier, I should have lived in exile -with you, or if I were fated to die, I should have died without seeing -the countess. But, I repeat, I cannot, being again in town, give the -lady this mark of indifference, not to show her I am alive, particularly -as I no longer have my brother Isidore as my substitute; at all events, -either M. Barnave is wrong or your Majesty was of the same opinion only -yesterday." - -The Queen glided her arm along the chair-arm and following the movement -with her body said: - -"You must love this woman fondly to give me this pain so coldly?" - -"Madam, at a time when I did not think of such a thing, as there was -but one woman the world for me--it will soon be six years--this woman -being placed too high above me for me to hope for her, as well as under -an indissoluble bond--you gave me as wife Mdlle. Andrea Taverney, -imposed her on me! In these six years my hand has not twice touched -hers; without necessity I have not spoken a word to her and our glances -have not met a dozen times. My life has been occupied by another love, -the thousand tasks, cares and combats agitating man's existence in camp -and court. I have coursed the King's highways, entangling the thread -the master gave me in the intrigues of fatality. I have not counted the -days, or months or years, for time has passed most rapidly from my being -enwrapt in these tasks. - -"But not so has fared the Countess of Charny. Since she has had the -affliction of quitting your Majesty, after having displeased you, I -suppose, she has lived lonely in the Paris summerhouse, accepting the -neglect and isolation without complaining, for she has not the same -affections as other women from her heart being devoid of love. But she -may not accept without complaint my forgetting the simplest duty and the -most commonplace attentions." - -"Good gracious, my lord, you are mightily busy about what the countess -thinks of you according to whether you see her or not! Before worrying -yourself it would be well to know whether she does think of you in the -hour of your departure or in that of your return." - -"I do not know about the hour of my return but I do know that she -thought about me when I departed." - -"So you saw her before you went?" - -"I had the honor of stating that I had not seen the countess since I -promised the Queen not to see her." - -"Then she wrote to you? confess it!" cried Marie Antoinette. - -"She confided a letter for me to my brother Isidore." - -"A letter which you read? what does she say? but she promised me--but -let us hear quickly. What does she say in this letter? Speak, see you -not that I am on thorns?" - -"I cannot repeat what it says as I have not read it." - -"You destroyed it unread?" exclaimed she delightedly, "you threw it in -the fire? Oh, Charny, if you did that, you are the most true of lovers -and I was wrong to scold--for I have lost nothing." - -She held out her arms to lure him to his former place, but he stood -firm. - -"I have not torn it or burnt it," he replied. - -"But then, how came you not to read it?" questioned she, sinking back on -the chair. - -"The letter was to be given me if I were mortally wounded. But alas! it -was the bearer who fell. He being dead, his papers were brought to me -and among them was this, the countess's letter." - -She took the letter with a trembling hand and rang for lights. During -the brief silence in the dusk, her breathing could be heard and the -hurried throbbing of her heart. As soon as the candlesticks were placed -on the mantle shelf, before the servant left the room, she ran to the -light. She looked on the paper twice without ability to read it. - -"It is flame," she said, "Oh, God!" she ejaculated, smoothing her -forehead to bring back her sight and stamping her foot to calm her hand -by force of will. In a husky voice utterly like her own, she read: - -"This letter is intended not for me but for my brother Count Charny, -or to be returned to the countess. It is from her I had it with the -following recommendation. If in the enterprise undertaken by the count, -he succeeds without mishap, return the letter to the countess." - -The reader's voice became more panting as she proceeded. - -"If he is grievously hurt, but without mortal danger, his wife prays to -be let join him." - -"That is clear," said the Queen falteringly and in a scarcely -intelligible voice she added: "'Lastly, if he be wounded to the death, -give him the letter or read it to him if he cannot, in order that he -should know the secret contained before he dies.' - -"Do you deny it now, that she loves you?" demanded the Queen, covering -the count with a flaming look. - -"The countess love me? what are you saying?" cried Charny. - -"The truth, unhappy woman that I am!" - -"Love me? impossible!" - -"Why, for I love you?" - -"But in six years the countess has never let me see it, never said a -word!" - -The time had come for Marie Antoinette to suffer so keenly that she felt -the need to bury her grief like a dagger in the depth of his heart. - -"Of course," she sneered, "she would not breathe a word, she would not -let a token show, and the reason is because she was well aware that she -was not worthy to be your wife." - -"Not worthy?" reiterated Charny. - -"She cherished a secret which would slay your love," continued the -other, more and more maddened by her pain. - -"A secret to kill our love?" - -"She knew you would despise her after she told it." - -"I, despise the countess? tut, tut!" - -"Unless one is not to despise the girl who is a mother without being a -wife." - -It was the man's turn to become paler than death and lean on the back of -the nearest chair. - -"Madam, you have said too much or too little, and I have the right for -an explanation." - -"Do you ask a queen for explanations?" - -"I do," replied Charny. - -The door opened, and the Queen turned to demand impatiently: - -"What is wanted?" - -It was a valet who announced Dr. Gilbert, come by appointment. She -eagerly bade him send him in. - -"You call for an explanation about the countess," she continued to the -count: "well, ask it of this gentleman, who can give it, better than -anybody else." - -Gilbert had come in so as to hear the final words and he remained on the -threshold, mute and standing. - -The Queen tossed the letter to Charny and took a few steps to gain her -dressing room when the count barred her passage and grasped her wrist. - -"My lord, methinks that you forget I am your Queen," said Marie -Antoinette, with clenched teeth and enfevered eye. - -"You are an ungrateful woman who slanders her friend, a jealous women -who defames another, and that woman the wife of a man who has for three -days risked his life a score of times for you--the wife of George Count -of Charny. Justice must be rendered in face of her you have calumniated -and insulted! Sit down and wait." - -"Well, have it so," railed the Queen. "Dr. Gilbert," she pursued, -forcing a shallow laugh, "you see what this nobleman desires." - -"Dr. Gilbert, you hear what the Queen orders," rebuked Charny with a -tone full of courtesy and dignity. - -"Oh, madam," said Gilbert, sadly regarding the Queen as he came forward. -"My Lord Count," he went on to the gentleman, "I have to tell you -of the shame of a man and the glory of a woman. A wretched earthworm -fell in love with his lord's daughter, the Lady of Taverney. One day, -he found her in a mesmeric trance, and without respect for her youth, -beauty and innocence, this villain abused her and thus the maid became -a woman, the mother before marriage. Mdlle. Taverney was an angel--Lady -Charny is a martyr!" - -"I thank Dr. Gilbert," said the count, wiping his brow. "Madam," he -proceeded to the Queen, "I was ignorant that Mdlle. Taverney was so -unfortunate--that Lady Charny was so worthy of respect; otherwise, -believe me, six years would not have elapsed before I fell at her feet -and adored her as she deserves." - -Bowing to the stupefied Queen, he stalked forth without the baffled one -making a move to detain him. But he heard her shriek of pain when the -door closed between them. She comprehended that over those portals the -hand of the demon of jealousy was writing the dread doom: - - "Leave hope behind who enter here." - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV. - -AT LAST THEY ARE HAPPY! - - -It is easy for us who know the state of Andrea's heart to imagine what -she suffered from the time of Isidore's leaving. She trembled for the -grand plot failing or succeeding. If succeeding, she knew the count's -devotion to his masters too well not to be sure that he would never quit -them in exile. If failure, she knew his courage too well not to be sure -that he would struggle till the last moment, so long as hope remained, -and beyond that. - -So she had her eye open to every light and her ear to every sound. - -On the following day, she learnt with the rest of the population that -the King had fled from the capital in the night, without any mischance. - -She had suspected the flight, and as Charny would participate, she was -losing him by his going far from her. - -Sighing deeply, she knelt in prayer for the journey to be happy. - -For two days, Paris was dumb, without news; then the rumor broke forth -that the King had been stopped at Varennes. No details, just the word. - -Andrea hunted up on the map the little obscure point on which attention -was centred. There she lived on hopes, fears and thought. - -Gradually came the details precious to her, particularly when news came -that a Charny, one of the royal bodyguard, had been killed: Isidore -or George? for two days, while this was undecided, Andrea's heart -oscillated in anguish indescribable. - -Finally the return of the august prisoners were heralded. They slept at -Meaux. - -At eleven in the morning, veiled and dressed most plainly she went and -waited till three o'clock at the east end, for it was supposed that the -party would enter by St. Martin's suburb. At that hour the mob began to -move away, hearing that the King was going round to enter through the -Champs Elysees. It was half the city to cross afoot as no vehicles could -move in the throng, unexampled since the Taking of the Bastile. - -Andrea did not hesitate and was one of the first on the spot where she -had still three mortal hours to wait. - -At last the procession appeared, we know in what order. - -She hailed the royal coach with a cry of joy for she saw Charny on the -box. A scream which seemed an echo of her own, though different in tone, -arose, and she saw a girl in convulsions in the crowd. She would have -gone to her help, though three or four kind persons flew to her side, -but she heard the men around her pour imprecations on the three on the -box seat. On them would fall the popular rage as the scapegoats of the -royal treachery; when the coach stopped they would be torn to pieces. - -And Charny was one! - -She resolved to do her utmost to get within the Tuileries gardens; this -she managed by going round about but the crush was so dense that she -could not get into the front. She retired to the waterside terrace where -she saw and heard badly, but that was better than not seeing at all. - -She saw Charny, indeed, on the same level, little suspecting that the -heart beating for him alone was so near; probably he had no thought for -her--solely for the Queen, forgetting his own safety to watch over hers. - -Oh, had she known that he was pressing her letter on his heart and -offering her the last sigh which he thought he must soon yield! At -last the coach stopped amid the howling, groaning and clamor. Almost -instantly around it rose an immense turbulence, weapons swaying like a -steel wheat-field shaken by the breeze. - -Precipitated from the box, the three Lifeguards disappeared as if -dropped into a gulf. Then there was such a back-wave of the crowd that -the retiring rear ranks broke against the terrace front. - -Andrea was shrouded in anguish; she could hear and see nothing; -breathless and with outstretched arms, she screamed inarticulate sounds -into the midst of the dreadful concert of maledictions, blasphemy and -death cries. - -She could no longer understand what went on: the earth turned, the sky -grew red, and a roar as of the sea rang in her ears. - -She fell, half dead, knowing only that she lived from her feeling -suffering. - -A sensation of coolness brought her round: a woman was putting to -her forehead a handkerchief dipped in river water. She remembered -her as having fainted when the royal coach came into sight, without -guessing what sympathy attached her to this mistress of her husband's -brother--for this was Catherine Billet. - -"Are they dead?" was her first question. - -Compassion is intelligent: they around her understood that she asked -after the three Lifeguardsmen. - -"No, all three are saved." - -"The Lord be praised! Where are they?" - -"I believe in the palace." - -Rising and shaking her head, seeing where she was in a distracted way, -she went around to the Princes' Court and sprang into the janitor's -room. This man knew the countess as having been in attendance when the -court first came back from Versailles. He had also seen her go away, -with Sebastian in her carriage. - -He related that the Guardsmen were safe; Count Charny had gone out for a -little while, when he returned dressed in naval uniform to appear in the -Queen's rooms, where he probably was at that period. - -Andrea thanked the good fellow and hastened home, now that George was -safe. She knelt on her praying stand, to thank heaven, with all her soul -going up to her Maker. - -She was plunged in ecstasy when she heard the door open, and she -wondered what this earthly sound could be, disturbing her in her deepest -reverie. - -The shadow in the doorway was dim but her instinct told her who it was -without the girl announcing: - -"My lord the Count of Charny." - -Andrea tried to rise but her strength failed her: half turning, she slid -down the slope of the stand, leaning her arm on the guard. - -"The count," she murmured, disbelieving her eyes. - -The servant closed the door on her master and mistress. - -"I was told you had recently returned home? Am I rude in following you -indoors so closely?" he asked. - -"No, you are welcome, my lord," she tremblingly replied. "I was so -uneasy that I left the house to learn what had happened." - -"Were you long out?" - -"Since morning; I was first out to St. Martin's Bars, and then went -to the Champs Elysees; there I saw--" she hesitated--"I saw the Royal -Family--you, and momentarily I was set at ease, though I feared for you -when the carriage should set you down. Then I went into the Tuileries -Gardens, where I thought I should have died." - -"Yes, the crowd was great; you were crushed, and I understand----" - -"No," said Andrea, shaking her head, "that was not it. I inquired and -learned that you were unhurt, so that I hastened home to thank God on my -knees." - -"Since you are so, praying, say a word for my poor brother." - -"Isidore--poor youth! was it he, then?" exclaimed Andrea. - -She let her head sink on her hands. Charny stepped forward a few steps -to regard the chaste creature at her devotions. In his look was immense -commiseration, together with a longing restrained. - -Had not the Queen said--or rather revealed that Andrea loved him? - -"And he is no more?" queried the lady, turning round after finishing her -prayer. - -"He died, madam, like Valence, and for the same cause, fulfilling the -same duty." - -"And in the great grief which you must have felt, you still thought of -me?" asked Andrea in so weak a voice that her words were barely audible. - -Luckily Charny was listening with the heart as well as ear. - -"Did you not charge my brother with a message for me?" he inquired. "A -letter to my address?" - -She rose on one knee and looked with anxiety upon him. - -"After poor Isidore's death, his papers were handed to me and among them -was this letter." - -"And you have read it--ah!" she cried, hiding her face in her hands. - -"I ought to know the contents only if I were mortally wounded and you -see I have returned safe. Consequently, as you see, it is intact, as you -gave it to Isidore." - -"Oh, what you have done is very lofty--or very unkind," muttered the -countess, taking the letter. - -Charny stretched out his hand and caught her hand in spite of an effort -to retain it. As Charny persisted, uttering a reproachful "Oh!" she -sighed almost with fright; but she gave way, leaving it quivering in his -clasp. Embarrassed, not knowing where to turn her eyes, to avoid his -glance, which she felt to be fastened on her, and unable to retreat as -her back was against the wall, she said: - -"I understand--you came to restore the letter." - -"For that, and another matter. I have to beg your pardon heartily, -Andrea." - -She shuddered to the bottom of her soul for this was the first time he -had addressed her so informally. The whole sentence had been spoken with -indescribable softness. - -"Pardon of me, my lord? on what grounds?" - -"For my behavior towards you these six years." - -"Have I ever complained?" she asked, eyeing him in profound -astonishment. - -"No, because you are an angel." - -Despite herself her eyes were veiled and tears welled out. - -"You weep, Andrea," exclaimed Charny. - -"Excuse me, my lord," she sobbed, "but I am not used to being thus -spoken to. Oh, heavens!" She sank on an easy chair, hiding her face in -her hands for a space but then withdrawing them, she said: - -"Really, I must be going mad." - -She stopped--while she had her eyes hid, Charny had fallen on his knees -to her. - -"Oh, you, on your knees to me?" she said. - -"Did I not say I must ask your forgiveness?" - -"What can this mean?" she muttered. - -"Andrea, it means that I love you," he answered in his sweetest voice. - -Laying her hand on her heart, she uttered a cry. Springing upright as -though impelled by a spring under her feet, she pressed her temples -between her hands and cried: - -"He loves me? this cannot be." - -"Say that it is impossible you should love me, but not that I should -love you." - -She lowered her gaze on the speaker to see if he spoke truly and his -eyes said more than his tongue: though she might doubt the words she -could not the glance. - -"Oh, God, in all the world is there a being more unfortunate than me?" -she cried. - -"Andrea, tell me that you love me," continued Charny, "or at least that -you do not hate me?" - -"I, hate you?" she said, with a double flash from the calm eyes usually -so limpid and serene. "Oh, my lord, it would be very wrong to take for -hate the feeling you inspire." - -"But if not hate or love, what is it?" - -"It is not love because I am not allowed to love you; but did you not -hear me call myself the unhappiest of God's creatures?" - -"Why are you not allowed to love me when I love you with all the -strength of my soul?" - -"Oh, that I cannot, dare not, must not tell you," replied she, wringing -her hands. - -"But if another should tell me what you cannot, dare not, must not -tell?" he demanded. - -"Heaven!" she gasped, leaning her hands on his shoulder. - -"Suppose I know? and that, considering you the more worthy because of -the noble way you have borne that woe, it was that terrible secret which -determined me upon telling you that I loved you?" - -"If you did this, you would be the noblest and most generous of men." - -"Andrea, I love you," cried he, three times. - -"Oh, God, I knew not that there could be such bliss in this world," she -said, lifting her arms heavenward. - -"Now, in your turn, tell me that you love me." - -"Oh, no, that I dare not, but you may read that letter," said Andrea. - -While she covered her face with her hands, he sharply broke the letter -seal, and exclaimed when he had read the first lines; parting her hands -and with the same movement drawing her upon his heart, he said: "How -shall I love you enough, saintly creature, to make you forget what you -have undergone in these six years!" - -"Oh, God, if this be a dream, let me never awake, or die on awakening," -prayed Andrea, bending like a reed beneath the weight of so much -happiness. - -And now, let us forget these who are happy to return to those who hate, -suffer or are struggling, and perhaps their evil fate will forget them, -too. - - - - -CHAPTER XXV. - -CORRECTING THE PETITION. - - -On the Field of Mars the Altar of the Country still stood, set up for -the anniversary of the Bastile Capture, a skeleton of the past. On -this sixteenth of July, it was used as a table on which was spread -a petition to the Assembly, which considered that the King had -practically abdicated by his flight, and that he ought to be replaced by -"Constitutional methods." This was a cunning way to propose the Duke of -Orleans as Regent. - -Politics is a fine veil, but the people see through it if they are given -time. - -There was some discussion by the persons called on to sign over these -very words. But they might have been glossed over by the man in charge -of the paper, the pen and the ink, but for a man of the people, judging -by his manners and dress, who, with a frankness next to roughness, -stopped the secretary abruptly. - -"Halt, this is cheating the people," said he. - -"What do you mean?" - -"This stuff about replacing the abdicated King by 'constitutional -means.' You want to give us King Stock instead of King Log. You want to -rig up royalty again and that is just what we don't want any more of." - -"No, no more Kings--enough of royalty?" shouted most of the lookers on. - -The secretary was Brissot, a Jacobin, and strange thing, here were the -arch-revolutionists, the Jacobins defending royalty! - -"Have a care, gentlemen," cried he and his supporters, "with no royalty, -no king; the Republic would come, and we are not ripe for anything of -that kind." - -"Not ripe?" jeered the Commoner: "a few such suns as shone on Varennes -when we nabbed the skulking King, will ripen us." - -"Let's vote on this petition." - -"Vote," shouted those who had clamored for no more royalty. - -"Let those who do not want Louis XVI. or any other king, put up their -hand," cried the plebeian in a lusty voice. - -Such a powerful number held up their hands that the Ayes had it beyond a -necessity of farther trial. - -"Good," said the stranger; "to-morrow is Sunday, the seventeenth; let -all the boys come out here to sign the petition as amended to our -liking. I, Billet, will get the right sort ready." - -At this name everybody recognized Farmer Billet, the Taker of the -Bastile, the hero of the people, the volunteer envoy who had accompanied -Lafayette's dandy aid to Varennes where he arrested the King whom he had -brought back to Paris. - -Thus, at the first start, the boldest of the politicians had been -surpassed by--a man of the people, the embodied instincts of the masses! -The other leaders said that a storm would be raised and that they had -best get permission of the Mayor to hold this meeting on the morrow. - -"Very well," said Billet, "obtain leave, and if refused you, I will -wrest it from them." - -Mayor Bailly was absent when Brissot and Desmoulins called for the -leave: his deputy verbally granted it, but sent word to the House what -he had done. - -The House was caught napping, for it had done nothing in fixing the -status of the King after his flight. As if from an enemy of the rulers, -the decree was passed that "The suspension of the executive power will -last until the King shall have accepted and signed the Constitutional -Act." Thus he was as much of a king as before; the popular petition -became useless. - -Whoever claimed the dethronement of a monarch who was constitutionally -maintained by the House, so long as the King agreed to accomplish -this condition, was a rebel, of course. The decree was to be posted -throughout the town next morning at eight. - -Prudent politicians went out of the town. The Jacobins retired, and -their vulgar member, Santerre, the great brewer of the working quarter, -was chosen to go and withdraw the petition from the Altar of the -Country. - -But those meant to attend, spite of governmental warning, who are like -the wolves and vultures who flock to the battlefields. - -Marat was confined to his cellar by his monomania, but he yelled for the -Assembly to be butchered and cried for a general massacre out of which -he would wade a universal dictator. - -Verriere, the abominable hunchback, careered about on a horse like the -spectre of the Apocalypse, and stopped at every crossroad to invite the -masses to meet on the Field of Mars. - -So the thousands went to the rendezvous, to sign the paper, sing and -dance and shout "The Nation Forever!" - -The sun rose magnificently. All the petty tradesfolk who cater to the -multitude swarmed on the parade-ground where the Altar of the Country -stood up in the middle like a grand catafalque. - -By half past four a hundred and fifty thousand souls were present. Those -who rise early are usually bad sleepers, and who has not slept well is -commonly in a bad humor. - -In the midst of the chatter a woman's scream was heard. On the crowd -flocking round her, she complained of having been stabbed in the ankle -while leaning against the altar. Indeed the point of a gimlet was seen -sticking through the boards. In a twinkling the planks were torn down -and two men were unearthed in the hollow. They were old cronies, sots -who had taken a keg of liquor with them and eatables, and stolen a march -on the crowd by hiding here overnight. - -But unfortunately the mob at the woman's cue thought they made peepholes -for a mean purpose and cried that the keg contained powder to blow up -the signers of the petition. They forgot that these new Guido Fawkes -hardly looked the sort to blow themselves up with their victims. - -Be this as it may, they were taken to the police court where the -magistrates laughingly released them; but the washer-women, great -sticklers for women not to be probed in the ankle by gimlets, gave them -a beating with the paddles used in thumping linen. This was not all: the -cry that powder was found getting spread, they were taken from the women -and slain. A few minutes after, their heads were cut off and the ready -pikes were there to receive them on their points. - -The news was perverted on its way to the Assembly where the heads were -stated to be of two friends of order who had lost them while preaching -respect to the law. - -The Assembly at once voted the City to be under martial law. - -Santerre, sent by the Jacobin Club to withdraw their petition before -Billet transformed it, found that worthy the centre of the immense -gathering. He did not know how to write but he had let some one guide -his hand when he "put his fist" to it. - -The brewer went up the steps of the altar, announced that the Assembly -proclaimed any one a rebel who dared demand the dethronement of the -King, and said he was sent to call in the petition. - -Billet went down three steps to face the brewer. The two members of the -lower orders looked at each other, examining the symbols of the two -forces ruling France, the town and the country. - -They had fought together to take the Bastile and acknowledged that they -were brothers. - -"All right," said Billet, "we do not want your petition; take yours back -to the Jacobins; we will start another." - -"And fetch it along to my brewery in the St. Antoine Suburb, where I -will sign it and get my men and friends to do the same." - -He held out his broad hand in which Billet clapped his. - -At sight of this powerful alliance, the mob cheered. - -They began to know the worth of the brewer, too. He went away with one -of those gestures expressive of meeting again, which the lower classes -understood. - -"Now, look here," said Billet, "the Jacobins are afraid. They have a -right to back out with their petition, but we are not afraid and we have -the right to draw up another." - -"Hurrah for another petition! all be on hand to-morrow." - -"But why not to-day?" cried Billet: "who knows what may happen -to-morrow?" - -"He's right," called out many; "to-day--at once!" - -A group of enlightened men flocked round Billet; they were members of -the Invisibles like him, and, besides, strength has the loadstone's -power to attract. - -Roland and his celebrated wife with Dr. Gilbert, wrote the petition, -which was read in silence, while all bared their head to this document -dictated by the people. It declared that the King had abdicated the -throne by his flight and called for a fresh House to "proceed in a truly -national manner to try the guilty ruler and organize a new executive -power." - -It answered to everybody's wish so that it was applauded at the last -phrase. Numbered sheets were served out for the signatures to be written -on them by the many who sought to sign, all over the place. - -During this work, which was so quietly done that women were strolling -about the groups with their children, Lafayette arrived with his special -guard, who were paid troops. - -But he could not see any cause to intervene and marched away. It is true -that on the road he had to take one barricade set up by the gang who had -slaughtered the two Peeping Toms of the Altar of the Country. One of his -aids had been fired at in this scuffle; and the report ran to the House -that in a severe action Lafayette had been shot and his officers -wounded. - -The house sent a deputation to inquire. - -This party of three found the multitude still signing, and signing a -document so harmless that they personally said they would put their own -names to it if they were not in an official position. - -In the conflict of no importance between the mob and the National Guards -two prisoners had been made by the latter. As usual in such cases they -had nothing to do with the riot. - -The principal petitioners asked their release. - -"We can do nothing in the matter," replied the deputation; "but send a -committee to the City Hall and the liberation will be given." - -Billet was unanimously chosen chairman of a party of twelve. They were -kept waiting an hour before the Mayor Bailly came to receive them. -Bailly was pale but determined; he knew he was unjust but he had the -Assembly's order at his back and he would carry it out to the end. - -But Billet walked straight up to him, saying, in his firm tone: - -"Mayor, we have been kept waiting an hour." - -"Who are you and what have you to say to me?" - -"I am surprised you should ask who I am, Mayor Bailly but those who turn -off the right road do not always get back on the track. I am Farmer -Billet." - -Bailly was reminded of one of the Takers of the Bastile, who had tried -to save the objects of public wrath from the slaughterers; the man who -had given the King the tricolor cockade; who had aroused Lafayette on -the night when the Royal Family were nearly murdered; the leader who had -not shrank from making the King and the Queen prisoners. - -"As for what I have to say," continued he, "we are the messengers of the -people assembled on the parade-ground: we demand the fulfillment of the -promise of your three envoys--that the two citizens unjustly accused and -whose innocence we guarantee, shall be set free straightway." - -"Nonsense, whoever heard of promises being kept that were made to -rioters?" returned Bailly, trying to go by. - -The committee looked astonished at one another and Billet frowned. - -"Rioters? so we are rioters now, eh?" - -"Yes, factious folk, among whom I will restore peace by going to the -place." - -Billet laughed roughly in that way which is a menace on some lips. - -"Restore peace? Your friend Lafayette has been there, and your three -delegates, and they will say it is calmer than the City Hall Square." - -At this juncture a captain of militia came running up in fright to tell -the Mayor that there was fighting on the Field of Mars, "where fifty -thousand ragamuffins were making ready to march on the Assembly." - -Scarce had he got the words out before he felt Billet's heavy hand on -his shoulder. - -"Who says this?" demanded the farmer. - -"The Assembly." - -"Then the Assembly lies." The captain drew his sword on him, which he -seized by the hilt and the point and wrenched from his grasp. - -"Enough, gentlemen," said Bailly; "we will ourselves see into this. -Farmer Billet, return the sword, and if you have influence over those -you come from, hasten back, to make them disperse." - -Billet threw the sabre at the officer's feet. - -"Disperse be hanged! the right to petition is recognized by decree and -till another revokes it, nobody can prevent citizens expressing their -wishes--mayor, or National Guards commander, or others. Come to the -place--we will be there before you." - -Those around expected Bailly to give orders for the arrest of this bold -speaker, but he knew that this was the voice of the people, so loud and -lofty. He made a sign and Billet and his friends passed out. - -When they arrived on the parade-ground, the crowd was a third larger, -say, sixty thousand, all old, women and men. There was a rush for the -news. - -"The two citizens are not released: the mayor will not answer except -that we are all rioters." - -The "rioters" laughed at this title and went on signing the petition, -which had some five thousand names down: by night it would be fifty -thousand, and the Assembly would be forced to bow to such unanimity. - -Suddenly the arrival of the military was shouted. Bailly and the city -officials were leading the National Guards hither. - -When the bayonets were seen, many proposed retiring. - -"Brothers, what are you talking of?" said Billet, on the Altar of the -Country, "why this fear? either martial law is aimed at us, or not. If -not, why should we run? if it is, the riot act must be read and that -will give time to get away." - -"Yes, yes," said many voices, "we are lawfully here. Wait for the -summons to disperse. Stand your ground." - -The drums were heard and the soldiers appeared at three entrances into -the ground. The crowd fell back towards the Altar which resembled a -pyramid of human bodies. One corps was composed of four thousand men -from the working quarter and Lafayette, who did not trust them, had -added a battalion of his paid Guards to them. They were old soldiers, -Fayettists, who had heard of their god being fired on and were burning -to avenge the insult. - -So, when Bailly was received by the "booing" of the boys, and one shot -was heard from the mob in that part, which sent a bullet to slightly -wound a dragoon, the Mayor ordered a volley, but of blank cartridge from -those soldiers around him. - -But the Fayettists, also obeyed the command and fired on the mass at the -Altar, a most inoffensive crowd. - -A dreadful scream arose there, and the fugitives were seen leaving -corpses behind them, with the wounded dragging themselves in trails -of blood! Amid the smoke and dust the cavalry rushed in chase of the -running figures. - -The broad expanse presented a lamentable aspect, for women and children -had mostly been shot and cut down. - -An aid galloped up to the East-end battalions and ordered them to march -on their side and sweep the mob away till they had formed a junction -with the other corps. But these workingmen pointed their guns at him and -the cavalry running down the fugitives and made them recoil before the -patriotic bayonets. All who ran in this direction found protection. - -Who gave the order to fire? none will ever know. It remains one of -those historical mysteries inexplicable despite the most conscientious -investigations. Neither the chivalric Lafayette nor the honest Bailly -liked bloodshed, and this stain clung to them to the end. In vain were -they congratulated by the Assembly; in vain their press organs called -this slaughter a constitutional victory; this triumph was branded like -all those days when the slain were given no chance to fight. The people -who always fit the cap to the right head, call it "The Massacre of the -Champ de Mars." - - - - -CHAPTER XXVI. - -CAGLIOSTRO'S COUNSEL. - - -Paris had heard the fusillade and quivered, feeling that she had been -wounded and the blood was flowing. - -The Queen had sent her confidential valet Weber to the spot to get the -latest news. To be just to her and comprehend the hatred she felt for -the French, she had not only so suffered during the flight to Varennes, -that her hair had turned white, but also after her return. - -It was a popular idea, shared in by her own retinue, that she was a -witch. A Medea able to go out of window in a flying car. - -But if she kept her jailers on the alert, they also frightened her. She -had a dream of scenes of violence, for they had always turned against -her. - -She waited with anxiety for her envoy's return, for the mobs might have -overturned this old, decrepit, trimming Assembly of which Barnave had -promised the help, and which might now want help itself. - -The door opened: she turned her eyes swiftly thither, but instead of her -foster-brother, it was Dr. Gilbert, with his stern face. - -She did not like this royalist whose constitutional ideas made him a -republican almost; but she felt respect for him; she would not have sent -him in any strait, but she submitted to his influence when by. - -"You, doctor?" she said with a shiver. - -"It is I, madam. I bring you more precise news than those you expect by -Weber. He was on the side of the Seine where no blood was spilt, while -I was where the slaughter was committed. A great misfortune has taken -place--the court party has triumphed." - -"Oh, _you_ would call this a misfortune, doctor!" - -"Because the triumph is one of those which exhaust the victor and lay -him beside the dead. Lafayette and Bailly have shot down the people, so -that they will never be able to serve you again; they have lost their -popularity." - -"What were the people doing when shot down?" - -"Signing a petition demanding the removal of the King." - -"And you think they were wrong to fire on men doing that?" returned the -sovereign, with kindling eye. - -"I believe it better to argue with them than shoot them." - -"Argue about what?" - -"The King's sincerity." - -"But the King is sincere!" - -"Excuse me, madam: three days ago, I spent the evening trying to -convince the King that his worst enemies were his brothers and the -fugitive nobles abroad. On my knees I entreated him to break off -dealings with them and frankly adopt the Constitution, with revision -of the impracticable articles. I thought the King persuaded, for he -kindly promised that all was ended between him and the nobles who fled: -but behind my back he signed, and induced you to sign, a letter which -charged his brother to get the aid of Prussia and Austria." - -The Queen blushed like a schoolboy caught in fault; but such a one would -have hung his head--she only held hers the stiffer and higher. - -"Have our enemies spied in our private rooms?" she asked. - -"Yes, madam," tranquilly replied the doctor, "which is what makes such -double-dealing on the King's part so dangerous." - -"But, sir, this letter was written wholly by the royal hand, after I -signed it, too, the King sealed it up and handed it to the messenger." - -"It has been read none the less." - -"Are we surrounded by traitors?" - -"All men are not Charnys." - -"What do you mean?" - -"Alas, Madam! that one of the fatal tokens foretelling the doom of -Kings is their driving away from them those very men whom they ought to -'grapple to them by hooks of steel.'" - -"I have not driven Count Charny away," said the Queen bitterly, "he went -of his own free will. When monarchs become unfortunate, their friends -fall off." - -"Do not slander Count Charny," said Gilbert mildly, "or the blood of -his brothers will cry from their graves that the Queen of France is an -ingrate. Oh, you know I speak the truth, madam: that on the day when -unmistakable danger impends, the Count of Charny will be at his post and -that the most perilous." - -"But I suppose you have not come to talk about Count Charny," said she -testily, though she lowered her head. - -"No, madam; but ideas are like events, they are attached by invisible -links and thus are drawn forth from darkness. No, I come to speak to -the Queen and I beg pardon if I addressed the woman: but I am ready to -repair the error. I wish to say that you are staking the woe or good -of the world on one game: you lost the first round on the sixth of -October, you win the second, in the courtiers' eyes, on this sad day; -and to-morrow you will begin what is called the rub. If you lose, with -it go throne, liberty and life." - -"Do you believe that this prospect makes us recede?" queried the proud -one, quickly rising. - -"I know the King is brave and the Queen heroic; so I never try to do -anything with them but reason; unfortunately I can never pass my belief -into their minds." - -"Why trouble about what you believe useless?" - -"Because it is my duty. It is sweet in such times to feel, though the -result is unfruitful, that one has done his duty." - -She looked him in the face and asked: - -"Do you think it possible to save the King and the throne?" - -"I believe for him and hope for the other." - -"Then you are happier than I," she responded with a sad sigh: "I believe -both are lost and I fight merely to salve my conscience." - -"Yes, I understand that you want a despotic monarchy and the King an -absolute one: like the miser who will not cast away a portion of his -gold in a shipwreck so that he may swim to shore with the rest, you will -go down with all. No, cut loose of all burdens and swim towards the -future." - -"To throw the past into a gulf is to break with all the crowned heads of -Europe." - -"Yes, but it is to join hands with the French people." - -"Our enemies," returned Marie Antoinette. - -"Because you taught them to doubt you." - -"They cannot struggle against an European Coalition." - -"Suppose a Constitutional King at their head and they will make the -conquest of Europe." - -"They would need a million of armed men for that." - -"Millions do not conquer Europe--an idea will. Europe will be conquered -when over the Alps and across the Rhine advance the flags bearing the -mottoes: 'Death to tyranny!' and 'Freedom to all!'" - -"Really, sir, there are times when I am inclined to think the wise are -madmen." - -"Ah, you know not that France is the Madonna of Liberty, for whose -coming the peoples await around her borders. She is not merely a nation, -as she advances with her hands full of freedom--but immutable Justice -and eternal Reason. But if you do not profit by all not yet committed -to violence, if you dally too long, these hands will be turned to rend -herself. - -"Besides, none of these kings whose help you seek is able to make war. -Two empires, or rather an empress and a minister, deeply hate us but -they are powerless! Catherine of Russia and William Pitt. Your envoy to -Pitt, the Princess Lamballe, can get him to do much to prevent France -becoming a republic, but he hates the monarch and will not promise to -save him. Is not Louis the Constitutional King, the crowned philosopher, -who disputed the East Indies with him and helped America to wrest -herself from the Briton's grasp? He desires only that the French will -have a pendant to his Charles the Beheaded." - -"Oh, who can reveal such things to you?" gasped the Queen. - -"The same who tell me what is in the letters you secretly write." - -"Have we not even a thought that is our own?" - -"I tell you that the Kings of Europe are enmeshed in an unseen net -where they write in vain. Do not you resist, madam: but put yourself at -the head of ideas which will otherwise spurn you if you take the lead, -and this net will be your defense when you are outside of it and the -daggers threatening you will be turned towards the other monarchs." - -"But you forgot that the kings are our brothers, not enemies, as you -style them." - -"But, Madam, if the French are called your sons you will see how little -are your brothers according to politics and diplomacy. Besides, do you -not perceive that all these monarchs are tottering towards the gulf, -to suicide, while you, if you liked, might be marching towards the -universal monarchy, the empire of the world!" - -"Why do you not talk thus to the King?" said the Queen, shaken. - -"I have, but like yourself, he has evil geniuses who undo what I have -done. You have ruined Mirabeau and Barnave, and will treat me the -same--whereupon the last word will be spoken." - -"Dr. Gilbert, await me here!" said she: "I will see the King for a while -and will return." - -He had been waiting a quarter of an hour when another door opened than -that she had left by, and a servant in the royal livery entered. He -looked around warily, approached Gilbert, making a masonic sign of -caution, handed him a letter and glided away. - -Opening the letter, Gilbert read: - - "GILBERT: You waste your time. At this moment, the King and - the Queen are listening to Lord Breteuil fresh from Vienna, who - brings this plan of policy: 'Treat Barnave as you did Mirabeau; - gain time, swear to the Constitution and execute it to the letter - to prove that it is unworkable. France will cool and be bored, as - the French have a fanciful head and will want novelty, so that the - mania for liberty will pass. If it do not, we shall gain a year and - by that time we shall be ready for war.' - - "Leave these two condemned beings, still called King and - Queen in mockery, and hasten to the Groscaillou Hospital, where an - injured man is in a dying state, but not so hopeless as they: he - may be saved, while they are not only lost but will drag you down - to perdition with them!" - -The note had no signature, but the reader knew the hand of Cagliostro. - -Madam Campan entered from the Queen's apartments; she brought a note to -the effect that the King would be glad to have Dr. Gilbert's proposition -in writing, while the Queen could not return from being called away on -important business. - -"Lunatics," he said after musing. "Here, take them this as my answer." - -And he gave the lady Cagliostro's warning, as he went out. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVII. - -THE SQUEEZED LEMON. - - -On the day after the Constituent Assembly dissolved, that is, the second -of October, at Barnave's usual hour for seeing the Queen, he was ushered -into the Grand Study. - -On the day of the King taking the oath to the Constitution, Lafayette's -aids and soldiers had been withdrawn from the palace and the King had -become less hampered if not more powerful. - -It was slender satisfaction for the humiliations they had lately -undergone. In the street, when out for carriage exercise, as some voices -shouted "Long live the King!" a roughly dressed man, walking beside the -coach and laying his unwashed hand on the window ledge, kept repeating -in a loud voice: - -"Do not believe them. The only cry is, 'The Nation Forever!'" - -The Queen had been applauded at the Opera where the "house was packed," -but the same precaution could not be adopted at the Italians, where the -pit was taken in advance. When the hirelings in the gallery hailed the -Queen, they were hushed by the pit. - -Looking into the pit to see who these were who so detested her, the -Queen saw that the leader was the Arch-Revolutionist, Cagliostro, the -man who had pursued from her youth. Once her eyes were fastened on his, -she could not turn hers aloof, for he exercised the fascination of the -serpent on the bird. - -The play commenced and she managed to tear her gaze aloof for a time, -but ever and anon it had to go back again, from the potent magnetism. It -was fatal possession, as by a nightmare. - -Besides, the house was full of electricity; two clouds surcharged were -floating about, restless to thunder at each other: a spark would send -forth the double flame. - -Madam Dugazon had a song to sing with the tenor in this opera of Gretry, -"Unforeseen Events." She had the line to sing: - - "Oh, how I love my mistress!" - -The Queen divined that the storm was to burst, and involuntarily she -glanced towards the man controlling her. It seemed to her that he gave a -signal to the audience, and from all sides was hurled the cry: - -"No more mistresses--no more masters! away with kings and queens!" - -She screamed and hid her eyes, unable to look longer on this demon -of destruction who ruled the disorder. Pursued by the roar: "No more -masters, no more kings and queens!" she was borne fainting to her -carriage. - -She received the orator standing, though she knew the respect he -cherished for her and saw that he was paler and sadder than ever. - -"Well," she said, "I suppose you are satisfied, since the King has -followed your advice and sworn to the Constitution?" - -"You are very kind to say my advice has been followed," returned -Barnave, bowing, "but if it had not been the same as that from Emperor -Leopold and Prince von Kaunitz, perhaps his Majesty would have put -greater hesitation in doing the act, though the only one to save the -King if the King----" - -"Can be saved, do you imply?" questioned she, taking the dilemma by the -horns with the courage, or rashness peculiar to her. - -"Lord preserve me from being the prophet of such miseries! And yet I do -not want to dispirit your Majesty too much or leave too many deceptions -as I depart from Paris to dwell afar from the throne." - -"Going away from town and me?" - -"The work of the Assembly of which I am a member has terminated, and I -have no motive to stay here." - -"Not even to be useful to us?" - -"Not even that." He smiled sadly. "For indeed I cannot be useful to you -in any way now. My strength lay in my influence over the House and at -the Jacobin club, in my painfully acquired popularity, in short; but -the House is dissolved, the Jacobins are broke up, and my popularity is -lost." - -He smiled more mournfully than before. - -She looked at him with a strange glare which resembled the glow of -triumph. - -"You see, sir, that popularity may be lost," she said. - -By his sigh, she felt that she had perpetrated one of those pieces of -petty cruelty which were habitual to her. - -Indeed, if he had lost it in a month, was it not for her, the angel of -death, like Mary Stuart, to those who tried to serve her? - -"But you will not go?" she said. - -"If ordered to remain by the Queen, I will stay, like a soldier who has -his furlough but remains for the battle; but if I do so, I become more -than weak, a traitor." - -"Explain: I do not understand," she said, slightly hurt. - -"Perhaps the Queen takes the dissolved Assembly as her enemy?" - -"Let us define matters; in that body were friends of mine. You will not -deny that the majority were hostile." - -"It never passed but one bill really an act of hostility to your Majesty -and the King; that was the decree that none of its members could belong -to the Legislative. That snatched the buckler from your friends' arms." - -"But also the sword from our foemen's hand, methinks." - -"Alas, you are wrong. The blow comes from Robespierre and is dreadful -like all from that man. As things were we knew whom we had to meet; -with all uncertainty we strike in the fog. Robespierre wishes to force -France to take the rulers from the class above us or beneath. Above us -there is nothing, the aristocracy having fled; but anyway the electors -would not seek representatives among the noble. The people will choose -deputies from below us and the next House will be democratic, with -slight variations." - -The Queen began to be alarmed from following this statement. - -"I have studied the new-comers: particularly those from the South," went -on Barnave; "they are nameless men eager to acquire fame, the more as -they are all young. They are to be feared as their orders are to make -war on the priests and nobles; nothing is said as to the King, but if he -will be merely the executive, he may be forgiven the past." - -"How? they will forgive him? I thought it lay in the King to pardon?" -exclaimed insulted majesty. - -"There it is--we shall never agree. These new-comers, as you will -unhappily have the proof, will not handle the matter in gloves. For -them the King is an enemy, the nucleus, willingly or otherwise, of all -the external and internal foes. They think they have made a discovery -though, alas! they are only saying aloud what your ardent adversaries -have whispered all the time." - -"But, the King the enemy of the people?" repeated the lady. - -"Oh, M. Barnave, this is something you will never induce me to admit, -for I cannot understand it." - -"Still it is the fact. Did not the King accept the Constitution the -other day? well, he flew into a passion when he returned within the -palace and wrote that night to the Emperor." - -"How can you expect us to bear such humiliations?" - -"Ah, you see, madam! he is the born enemy and so by his character. He -was brought up by the chief of the Jesuits, and his heart is always -in the hands of the priests, those opponents of free government, -involuntarily but inevitably counter to Revolution. Without his quitting -Paris he is with the princes at Coblentz, with the clergy in Lavendee, -with his allies in Vienna and Prussia. I admit that the King does -nothing, but his name cloaks the plots; in the cabin, the pulpit and -the castle, the poor, good, saintly King is prated about, so that the -revolution of pity is opposed to that of Freedom." - -"Is it really you who cast this up, M. Barnave, when you were the first -to be sorry for us." - -"I am sorry for you still, lady; but there is this difference, that I -was sorry in order to save you while these others want to ruin you." - -"But, in short, have these new-comers, who have vowed a war of -extermination on us, any settled plan?" - -"No, madam, I can only catch a few vague ideas: to suppress the title -of Majesty in the opening address, and set a plain arm-chair beside the -Speaker's instead of throne-chair. The dreadful thing is that Bailly and -Lafayette will be done away with." - -"I shall not regret that," quickly said the Queen. - -"You are wrong, madam, for they are your friends----" - -She smiled bitterly. - -"Your last friends, perhaps. Cherish them, and use what power they have: -their popularity will fly, like mine." - -"This amounts to your leading me to the brink of the crater and making -me measure the depth without telling me I may avoid the eruption." - -"Oh, that you had not been stopped on the road to Montmedy!" sighed -Barnave after being mute for a spell. - -"Here we have M. Barnave approving of the flight to Varennes!" - -"I do not approve of it: but the present state is its natural -consequence, and so I deplore its not having succeeded--not as the -member of the House, but as Barnave your humble servant, ready to give -his life, which is all he possesses." - -"Thank you," replied the Queen: "your tone proves you are the man to -hold to your word, but I hope no such sacrifice will be required of -you." - -"So much the worse for me, for if I must fall, I would wish it were in a -death-struggle. The end will overtake me in my retreat. Your friends are -sure to be hunted out; I will be taken, imprisoned and condemned: yet -perhaps my obscure death will be unheard of by you. But should the news -reach you, I shall have been so little a support to you that you will -have forgotten the few hours of my use." - -"M. Barnave," said Marie Antoinette with dignity, "I am completely -ignorant what fate the future reserves to the King, and myself, but I -do know that the names of those to whom we are beholden are written on -our memory, and nothing ill or good that may befall them will cease to -interest us. Meanwhile, is there anything we can do for you?" - -"Only, give me your hand to kiss." - -A tear stood in her dry eyes as she extended to the young man the -cold white hand which had at a year's interval been kissed by the two -leaders, Mirabeau and Barnave. - -"Madam," said he, rising, "I cannot say, 'I save the monarchy!' but he -who has this favor will say 'If lost, he went down with it.'" - -She sighed as he went forth, but her words were: - -"Poor squeezed lemon, they did not take much time to leave nothing of -you but the peel!" - - - - -CHAPTER XXVIII. - -THE FIELD OF BLOOD. - - -Lugubrious was the scene which met the eye of a young man who trod the -Champ de Mars, after the tragedy of which Bailly and Lafayette were the -principal actors. - -It was illumined by the moon two-thirds full, rolling among huge black -clouds in which it was lost now and then. - -It had the semblance of a battle field, covered with maimed and dead, -amid which wandered like shades the men charged to throw the lifeless -into the River Seine and load up the wounded to be transported to the -Groscaillou Hospital. - -The young man was dressed like a captain of the National Guards. He -paused on the way over the Field, and muttered as he clasped his hands -with unaffected terror: - -"Lord help us, the matter is worse than they gave me to understand." - -After looking for a while on the weird work in operation, he approached -two men who were carrying a corpse towards the water, and asked: - -"Citizens, do you mind telling me what you are going to do with that -man?" - -"Follow us, and you will know all about it," replied one. - -He followed them. On reaching the wooden bridge, they swung the body -between them as they counted: "One, two, three, and it's off!" and slung -it into the tide. - -The young officer uttered a cry of terror. - -"Why, what are you about, citizens?" he demanded. - -"Can't you see, officer," replied one, "we are clearing up the ground." - -"And you have orders to act thus?" - -"It looks so, does it not?" - -"From whom?" - -"From the Municipality." - -"Oh," ejaculated the young man, stupefied. "Have you cast many bodies -into the stream?" he inquired, after a little pause during which they -had returned upon the place. - -"Half a dozen or so," was the man's answer. - -"I beg your pardon, citizens," went on the captain, "but I have a great -interest in the question I am about to put. Among those bodies did you -notice one of a man of forty-five or so, six feet high but looking -less from his being strongly built; he would have the appearance of a -countryman." - -"Faith, we have only one thing to notice," said the man, "it is whether -the men are alive or dead: if dead, we just fling them over board; if -alive, we send them on to the hospital." - -"Ah," said the captain: "the fact is that one of my friends, not having -come home and having gone out here, as I learnt, I am greatly afeared -that he may be among the hurt or killed." - -"If he came here," said one of the undertakers, shaking a body while his -mate held up a lantern, "he is likely to be here still; if he has not -gone home, the chances are he has gone to his last long one." Redoubling -the shaking, to the body lying at his feet, he shouted: "Hey, you! are -you dead or alive? if you are not dead, make haste to tell us." - -"Oh, he is stiff enough," rejoined his associate; "he has a bullet clean -through him." - -"In that case, into the river with him." - -They lifted the body and retook the way to the bridge. - -"Citizens," said the young officer, "you don't need your lamp to throw -the man into the water; so be kind enough to lend it me for a minute: -while you are on your errand, I will seek my friend." - -The carriers of the dead consented to this request; and the lantern -passed into the young man's hands, whereupon he commenced his search -with care and an expression denoting that he had not entitled the lost -one his friend merely from the lips but out of his heart. - -Ten or more persons, supplied like him with lights, were engaged -likewise in the ghastly scrutiny. From time to time, in the midst of -stillness--for the awful solemnity of the picture seemed to hush the -voice of the living amid the dead--a name spoken in a loud tone, would -cross the space. - -Sometimes a cry, a moan, or groan would reply to the call; but most -often, the answer was gruesome silence. - -After having hesitated for a time as though his voice was chained by -awe, the young officer imitated the example set him, and three times -called out: - -"Farmer Billet!" - -No voice responded. - -"For sure he is dead," groaned he, wiping with his sleeve the tears -flowing from his eyes: "Poor Farmer Billet!" - -At this moment, two men came along, bearing a corpse towards the river. - -"Mild, I fancy our stiff one gave a sigh," said the one who held the -upper part of the body and was consequently nearer the head. - -"Pooh," laughed the other: "if we were to listen to all these fellows -say, there would not be one dead!" - -"Citizens, for mercy's sake," interrupted the young officer, "let me see -the man you are carrying." - -"Oh, willingly, officer," said the men. - -They placed the dead in a sitting posture for him to examine it. -Bringing the lantern to it, he uttered a cry. In spite of the terrible -wound disfiguring the face, he believed it was the man he was seeking. - -But was he alive or dead? - -This wretch who had gone half way to the watery grave, had his skull -cloven by a sword stroke. The wound was dreadful, as stated: it had -severed the left whisker and left the cheekbone bare; the temporal -artery had been cut, so that the skull and body were flooded with gore. -On the wounded side the unfortunate man was unrecognizable. - -The lantern-bearer swung the light round to the other side. - -"Oh, citizens," he cried, "it is he, the man I seek: Farmer Billet." - -"The deuce it is--he seems to have his billet for the other world--ha, -ha, ha!" said one of the men. "He is pretty badly hammered." - -"Did you not say he heaved a sigh?" - -"I think so, anyhow." - -"Then do me a kindness," and he fumbled in his pocket for a silver coin. - -"What is it?" asked the porter full of willingness on seeing the money. - -"Run to the river and bring me some water." - -"In a jiffy." - -While the fellow ran to the river the officer took his place and held up -the wounded one. - -In five minutes he had returned. - -"Throw the water in his face," said the captain. - -The man obeyed by dipping his hand in his hat, which was his pitcher, -and sprinkling the slashed face. - -"He shivered," exclaimed the young man holding the dying one: "he is not -dead. Oh, dear M. Billet, what a blessing I came here." - -"In faith, it is a blessing," said the two men; "another twenty paces -and your friend would have come to his senses in the nets at St. Cloud." - -"Throw some more on him." - -Renewing the operation, the wounded man shuddered and uttered a sigh. - -"Come, come, he certainly ain't dead," said the man. - -"Well, what shall we do with him?" inquired his companion. - -"Help me to carry him to St. Honore Street, to Dr. Gilbert's house, if -you would like good reward," said the young captain. - -"We cannot do that. Our orders are to heave the dead over, or to hand -the hurt to the carriers for the hospital. Since this chap makes out he -is not dead, why, he must be taken to the hospital." - -"Well, carry him there," said the young man, "and as soon as possible. -Where is the hospital?" he asked, looking round. - -"Close to the Military Academy, about three hundred paces." - -"Then it is over yonder?" - -"You have it right." - -"The whole of the place to cross?" - -"And the long way too." - -"Have you not a hand-barrow?" - -"Well, if it comes to that, such a thing can be found, like the water, -if a crownpiece or two----" - -"Quite right," said the captain; "you shall not lose by your kindness. -Here is more money--only, get the litter." - -Ten minutes after the litter was found. - -The wounded man was laid on a pallet; the two fellows took up the shafts -and the mournful party proceeded towards the military hospital escorted -by the young officer, the lantern in hand, by the disfigured head. - -A dreadful thing was this night marching over the blood-stained ground, -among the stiffened and motionless remains, against which one stumbled -at every step, or wounded wretches who rose only to fall anew and called -for succor. - -In a quarter of an hour they crossed the hospital threshold. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIX. - -IN THE HOSPITAL. - - -Gilbert had obeyed Cagliostro's injunction to go to the Groscaillou -Hospital to attend to a patient. - -At this period hospitals were far from being organized as at present, -particularly military ones like this which was receiving the injured in -the massacre, while the dead were bundled into the river to save burial -expenses and hide the extent of the crime of Lafayette and Bailly. - -Gilbert was welcomed by the overworked surgeons amid the disorder which -opposed their desires being fulfilled. - -Suddenly in the maze, he heard a voice which he knew but had not -expected there. - -"Ange Pitou," he exclaimed, seeing the peasant in National Guards -uniform by a bed; "what about Billet?" - -"He is here," was the answer, as he showed a motionless body. "His head -is split to the jaw." - -"It is a serious wound," said Gilbert, examining the hurt. "You must -find me a private room; this is a friend of mine," he added to the male -nurses. - -There were no private rooms but they gave up the laundry to Dr. -Gilbert's special patient. Billet groaned as they carried him thither. - -"Ah," said the doctor, "never did an exclamation of pleasure give me -such joy as that wrung by pain; he lives--that is the main point." - -It was not till he had finished the dressing that he asked the news of -Pitou. - -The matter was simple. Since the disappearance of Catherine, whom -Isidore Charny had had transported to Paris with her babe, and the -departure of Billet to town also, Mother Billet, whom we have never -presented as a strong-minded woman, fell into an increasing state of -idiocy. Dr. Raynal said that nothing would rouse her from this torpor -but the sight of her daughter. - -Without waiting for the cue, Pitou started to Paris. He seemed -predestined to arrive there at great events. - -The first time, he was in time to take a hand in the storming of the -Bastile; the next, to help the Federation of 1790; and now he arrived -for the Massacre of the Champ de Mars. He heard that it had all come -about over a petition drawn up by Dr. Gilbert and presented by Billet to -the signers. - -Pitou learnt at the doctor's house that he had come home, but there were -no tidings of the farmer. - -On going to the scene of blood, Pitou happened on the nearly lifeless -body which would have been hurled in the river but for his -interposition. - -It was thus that Pitou hailed the doctor in the hospital and the wounded -man had his chances improved by being in such skillful hands as his -friend Gilbert's. - -As Billet could not be taken to his wife's bedside, Catherine was more -than ever to be desired there. Where was she? The only way to reach her -would be through the Charny family. - -Happily Ange had been so warmly greeted by her when he took Sebastian to -her house that he did not hesitate to call again. - -He went there with the doctor in the latter's carriage; but the house -was dark and dismal. The count and countess had gone to their country -seat at Boursonnes. - -"Excuse me, my friend," said the doctor to the janitor who had received -the National Guards captain with no friendliness, "but can you not give -me a piece of information in your master's absence?" - -"I beg pardon, sir," said the porter recognizing the tone of a superior -in this blandness and politeness. - -He opened the door and in his nightcap and undress came to take the -orders of the carriage-gentleman. - -"My friend, do you know anything about a young woman from the country in -whom the count and countess are taking interest?" - -"Miss Catherine?" asked the porter. - -"The same," replied Gilbert. - -"Yes, sir; my lord and my lady sent me twice to see her and learn if -she stood in need of anything, but the poor girl, whom I do not believe -to be well off, no more than her dear little child, said she wanted for -nothing." - -Pitou sighed heavily at the mention of the dear little child. - -"Well, my friend," continued the doctor, "poor Catherine's father was -wounded on the Field of Mars, and her mother, Mrs. Billet, is dying out -at Villers Cotterets, which sad news we want to break to her. Will you -kindly give us her address?" - -"Oh, poor girl, may heaven assist her. She was unhappy enough before. -She is living at Villedavray, your honor, in the main street. I cannot -give you the number, but it is in front of the public well." - -"That is straight enough," said Pitou; "I can find it." - -"Thanks, my friend," said Gilbert, slipping a silver piece into the -man's hand. - -"There was no need of that, sir, for Christians ought to do a good -turn amongst themselves," said the janitor, doffing his nightcap and -returning indoors. - -"I am off for Villedavray," said Pitou. - -He was always ready to go anywhere on a kind errand. - -"Do you know the way?" - -"No; but somebody will tell me." - -"You have a golden heart and steel muscles," said the doctor laughing; -"but you want rest and had better start to-morrow." - -"But it is a pressing matter----" - -"On neither side is there urgency," corrected the doctor; "Billet's -state is serious but not mortal unless by mischance. Mother Billet may -linger ten days yet." - -"She don't look it, but, of course, you know best." - -"We may as well leave poor Catherine another night of repose and -ignorance; a night's rest is of importance to the unfortunate, Pitou." - -"Then, where are we going, doctor?" asked the peasant, yielding to the -argument. - -"I shall give you a room you have slept in before; and to-morrow at six, -my horses shall be put to the carriage to take you to Villedavray." - -"Lord, is it fifty leagues off?" - -"Nay, it is only two or three." - -"Then I can cover it in an hour or two--I can lick it up like an egg." - -"Yes, but Catherine can lick up like an egg the distance from -Villedavray to Paris and the eighteen leagues from Paris to Villers -Cotterets?" - -"True: excuse me, doctor, for being a fool. Talking of fools--no, I mean -the other way about--how is Sebastian?" - -"Wonderfully well, you shall see him to-morrow." - -"Still at college? I shall be downright glad." - -"And so shall he, for he loves you with all his heart." - -At six, he started in the carriage and by seven was at Catherine's door. -She opened it and shrieked on seeing Pitou: - -"I know--my mother is dead!" - -She turned pale and leaned against the wall. - -"No; but you will have to hasten to see her before she goes," replied -the messenger. - -This brief exchange of words said so much in little that Catherine was -at once placed face to face with her affliction. - -"That is not all," added the peasant. - -"What's the other misfortune?" queried Catherine, in the sharp tone of -one who has exhausted the measure of human ails and has no fear of an -overflow. - -"Master Billet was dangerously wounded on the parade-grounds." - -"Ah," said she, much less affected by this news than the other. - -"So I says to myself, and Dr. Gilbert bears me out: 'Miss Catherine -will pay a visit to her father at the hospital on the way down to her -mother's.'" - -"But you, Pitou?" queried the girl. - -"While you go by stage-coach to help Mother Billet to make her long -journey, I will stay by the farmer. You understand that I must stick to -him who has never a soul to look after him, see?" - -Pitou spoke the words with that angelic simplicity of his, with no idea -that he was painting his whole devoted nature. - -"You have a kind heart, Ange," said she, giving him her hand. "Come and -kiss my little Isidore." - -She walked into the house, prettier than ever, though she was clad in -black, which drew another sigh from Pitou. - -She had one little room, overlooking the garden, its furniture a bed for -the mother and a cradle for the infant. It was sleeping. - -She pulled a muslin curtain aside for him to see it. - -"Oh, the sweet little angel!" exclaimed Pitou. - -He knelt as it were to an angel, and kissed the tiny hand. He was -speedily rewarded for his devotion for he felt Catherine's tresses on -his head and her lips on his forehead. The mother was returning the -caress given her son. - -"Thank you, good Pitou," she said; "since the last kiss he had from his -father, I alone have fondled the pet." - -"Oh, Miss Catherine!" muttered Pitou, dazzled and thrilled by the kiss -as by an electrical shock. - -And yet it was purely what a mother's caress may contain of the holy and -grateful. - -Ten minutes afterwards, Catherine, little Isidore and Pitou were rolling -in the doctor's carriage towards the hospital, where she handed the -child to the peasant with as much or more trust as she would have had in -a brother, and walked in at the door. - -Dr. Gilbert was by his patient's side. Little change had taken place. -Despite the beginning of fever, the face was still deadly pale from the -great loss of blood and one eye and the left cheek were swelling. - -Catherine dropped on her knees by the bedside, and said as she raised -her hands to heaven, - -"O my God, Thou knowest that my utmost wish has been for my father's -life to be spared." - -This was as much as could be expected from the girl whose lover's life -had been attempted by her father. - -The patient shuddered at this voice, and his breathing was more hurried; -he opened his eyes and his glance, wandering for a space over the room, -was fixed on the woman. His hand made a move to repulse this figure -which he doubtless took to be a vision. Their glances met, and Gilbert -was horrified to see the hatred which shot towards each, rather than -affection. - -She rose and went to find Pitou by the door. He was on all fours, -playing with the babe. - -She caught up her boy with a roughness more like a lioness than a woman, -and pressed it to her bosom, crying, - -"My child, oh, my child!" - -In the outburst were all the mother's anguish, the widow's wails, and -the woman's pangs. - -Pitou proposed seeing her to the stage, but she repulsed him, saying: - -"Your place is here." - -Pitou knew nothing but to obey when Catherine commanded. - - - - -CHAPTER XXX. - -THE MOTHER'S BLESSING. - - -It was six o'clock in the afternoon, broad day, when Catherine arrived -home. - -Had Isidore been alive and she were coming to visit her mother in -health, she would have got down from the stage at the end of the village -and slipped round upon her father's farm, without going through. But -a widow and a mother, she did not give a thought to rustic jests; she -alighted without fear; it seemed to her that scorn and insult ought to -be warded off from her by her child and her sorrow, the dark and the -bright angel. - -At the first she was not recognized; she was so pale and so changed that -she did not seem the same woman; and what set her apart from her class -was the lofty air which she had already caught from community with an -elegant man. - -One person knew her again but not till she had passed by. - -This was Pitou's aunt Angelique. She was gossiping at the townhouse door -with some cronies about the oath required of the clergy, declaring that -she had heard Father Fortier say that he would never vow allegiance to -the Revolution, preferring to submit to martyrdom than bend his head to -the democratic yoke. - -"Bless us and save us!" she broke forth, in the midst of her speech, "if -here ain't Billet's daughter and her fondling a-stepping down off the -coach." - -"Catherine?" cried several voices. - -"Yes, but look at her running away, down the lane." - -Aunt Angelique was making a mistake: Catherine was not running away and -she took the sideway simply because she was in haste to see her mother. - -At the cry the children scampered after her, and as she was fond of them -always, and more than ever at present, she gave them some small change -with which they returned. - -"What is that?" asked the gossips. - -"It is Miss Catherine; she asked how her mother was and when we said the -doctor says she is good for a week yet, she thanked us and gave us some -money." - -"Hem! then, she seems to have taken her pigs to a good market in Paris," -sneered Angelique, "to be able to give silver to the urchins who run at -her heels." - -She did not like Catherine because the latter was young and sweet and -Angelique was old and sour; Catherine was tall and well made while the -other was short and limped. Besides, when Angelique turned her nephew -Ange out of doors, it was on Billet's farm that he took refuge. - -Again, it was Billet who had lugged Father Fortier out of his rectory to -say the mass for the country on the day of the Declaration of the Rights -of Man. - -All these were ample reasons for Angelique to hate Catherine, joined to -her natural asperity, in particular, and the Billet's in general. And -when she hated it was thorough, as becomes a prude and a devotee. - -She ran to the priest's to tell him and his sister the fresh scandal of -Billet's daughter returning home with her child. - -"Indeed," said Fortier, "I should have thought she would drop it into -the box at the Foundling Hospital." - -"The proper thing to do, for then the thing would not have to blush for -his mother." - -"That is a new point from which to regard that institution! But what has -she come after here?" - -"It looks as if to see her mother, who might not have been living -still." - -"Stay, a woman who does not come to confess, methinks?" said the abbe, -with a wicked smile. - -"Oh, that is not her fault!" said the old maid, "but she has had -softening of the brain lately; up to the time when her daughter threw -this grief upon her, she was a pious soul who feared God and paid for -two chairs when she came to church, one to sit in, the other to put her -feet upon." - -"But how many chairs did her husband pay for, Billet, the Hero of the -Mobs, the Conqueror of the Bastile?" cried the priest, his little eyes -sparkling with spite. - -"I do not know," returned Angelique simply, "for he never comes to -church, while his good wife----" - -"Very well, we will settle accounts with him on the day of his good -wife's funeral." - -In the meantime Catherine continued her way, one long series of memories -of him who was no more, unless his arms were around the little boy whom -she carried on her bosom. - -What would the neighbors say of her shame and dishonor? So handsome a -boy would be a shame and disgrace to a peasant! - -But she entered the farm without fear though rapidly. - -A huge dog barked as she came up, but suddenly recognizing his young -mistress, he neared her to the stretch of his chain, and stood up with -his forepaws in the air to utter little joyous yelps. - -At the dog's barking a man ran out to see the cause. - -"Miss Catherine," he exclaimed. - -"Father Clovis," she said. - -"Welcome, dear young mistress--the house much needs you, by heaven!" - -"And my poor mother?" - -"Sorry to say she is just the same, neither worse nor better--she is -dying out like an oilless lamp, poor dear!" - -"Where is she?" - -"In her own room." - -"Alone?" - -"No, no, no! I would not have allowed that. You must excuse me, Miss -Catherine, coming out as the master here, but your having stopped at my -house before you went to town made me one of the family, I thought, in a -manner of speaking, and I was very fond of you and poor Master Isidore." - -"So you know?" said Catherine, wiping away her tears. - -"Yes, yes, killed for the Queen's sake, like his brother. But he has -left something behind him, a lovely boy, so while we mourn for the -father we must smile for the son." - -"Thank you, Clovis," said she, giving her hand: "but my mother?" - -"I had Mother Clement the nurse to sit with her, the same who attended -to you----" - -"Has my mother her senses yet?" asked the girl hesitating. - -"Sometimes I think so, when your name is spoken. That was the great -means of stirring her, but since yesterday she has not showed any signs -even when you are spoken of." - -He opened the bedroom door and she could glance in. - -Mother Clement was dozing in a large armchair, while her patient seemed -to be asleep: she was not much changed but her complexion was like ivory -in pallor. - -"Mother, my dear mother," exclaimed Catherine, rushing into the room. - -The dying one opened her eyes and tried to turn her head, as a gleam -of intelligence sparkled in her look; but, babbling, her movement was -abortive, and her arm sank inert on the head of the girl, kneeling by -her side. - -From the lethargy of the father and the mother had shot two opposite -feelings: hate from the former, love from the latter. - -The girl's arrival caused excitement on the farm, where Billet was -expected, not his daughter. She related the accident to the farmer, and -how he was as near death's door as his wife at home, only he was moving -from it on the right side. - -She went into her own room, where there were many tears evoked by the -memories where she had passed in the bright dreams of childhood, and the -girl's burning passions, and returned with the widow's broken heart. - -At once she resumed the sway over that house in disorder which her -father had delegated to her to the detriment of her mother. - -Father Clovis, thanked and rewarded, retook the road to his "earth," as -his hut was called. - -When Dr. Raynal came next day on his tri-weekly visit, he was glad to -see the girl. - -He broached the great question which he had not dared debate with -Billet, whether the poor woman should receive the Last Sacrament. -Billet was a rabid Voltairian, while the doctor was a scientist. But he -believed it his duty in such cases to warn the family of the dying and -let them settle it. - -Catherine was pious and attached little importance to the wrangles -between her father and the priest. - -But the abbe was one of the sombre school, who would have been an -inquisitor in Spain. When he found the sufferer unconscious, he said -that he could not give absolution to those unable to confess, and went -out again. - -There was no use applying elsewhere as he was monarch over this parish. - -Catherine accepted the refusal as still another grief and went on with -her cares as daughter and mother for eight or nine days and nights. - -As she was watching by her mother, frail bark sinking deeper and deeper -on Eternity's sea, the door opened, and Pitou appeared on the sill. - -He came from Paris that morning. Catherine shuddered to see him, fearing -that her father was dead. But his countenance, without being what you -would call gay, was not that of the bearer of bad news. Indeed, Billet -was mending; since a few days the doctor had answered for him: that -morning he had been moved from the hospital to the doctor's house. - -Pitou feared for Catherine, now. His opinion was that the moment Billet -learned what he was sure to ask, how his wife was, he would start for -home. - -What would it be if he found Catherine there? - -It was Gilbert who had therefore sent Pitou down into the country. -But when Pitou expressed their fears about their meeting, Catherine -declared that she would not leave her mother's pillow although her -father slew her there. - -Pitou groaned at such a determination but he did not combat it. - -So he stayed there to intervene, if he might. - -During two days and nights, Mother Billet's life seemed going, breath by -breath. It was a wonder how a body lived with so little breath, but how -slightly it lived! - -During the night, when all animation seemed extinct, the patient awoke -as it were, and she stared at Catherine, who ran to bring her boy. - -The eyes were bright when she returned, a sound was heard, and the arms -were held out. - -Catherine fell on her knees beside the bed. - -A strange phenomenon took place: Mother Billet rose on her pillow, -slowly held out her arms over the girl's head and the boy, and with a -mighty effort, said: - -"Bless you, my children!" - -She fell back, dead. Her eyes remained open, as though she longed to see -her daughter from beyond the grave from not having seen enough of her -before. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXI. - -FORTIER EXECUTES HIS THREAT. - - -Catherine piously closed her mother's eyes, with her hand and then -with her lips, while Mother Clement lit the candles and arranged other -paraphernalia. - -Pitou took charge of the other details. Reluctant to visit Father -Fortier, with whom he stood on delicate ground, he ordered the -mortuary mass of the sacristan, and engaged the gravedigger and the -coffin-bearers. - -Then he went over to Haramont to have his company of militia notified -that the wife of the Hero of the People would be buried at eleven on -the morrow. It was not an official order but an invitation. But it -was too well known what Billet had done for this Revolution which was -turning all heads and enflaming all hearts; what danger Billet was even -then running for the sake of the masses--for this invitation not to be -regarded as an order: all the volunteer soldiers promised their captain -that they would be punctual. - -Pitou brought the joiner with him, who carried the coffin. He had all -the heartfelt delicacy rare in the lowborn, and hid the man and his bier -in the outhouse so Catherine should not see it, and to spare her from -hearing the sound of the hammering of the nails, he entered the dwelling -alone. - -Catherine was still praying by the dead, which had been shrouded by two -neighbors. - -Pitou suggested that she should go out for a change of air; then for the -child's sake, upon which she proposed he should take the little one. She -must have had great confidence in Pitou to trust her boy to him for a -time. - -"He won't come," reported Pitou, presently. "He is crying." - -She kissed her mother, took her child by the hand and walked away with -Pitou. The joiner carried in the coffin when she was gone. - -He took her out on the road to Boursonnes, where she went half a league -without saying a word to Pitou, listening to the voices of the woodland -which talked to her heart. - -When she got home, the work was done, and she understood why Ange had -insisted on her going out. She thanked him with an eloquent look. She -prayed for a long while by the coffin, understanding now that she had -but one of the two friends, left, her mother and Pitou, when Isidore -died. - -"You must come away," said the peasant, "or I must go and hire a nurse -for Master Isidore." - -"You are right, Pitou," she said. "My God, how good Thou art to me--and -how I love you, Pitou!" - -He reeled and nearly fell over backwards. He leaned up against the wall, -choking, for Catherine had said that she loved him! He did not deceive -himself about the kind of love, but any kind was a great deal for him. - -Finishing her prayer, she rose and went with a slow step to lean on his -shoulder. He put his arm round her to sustain her; she allowed this. -Turning at the door, she breathed: "Farewell, mother!" and went forth. - -Pitou stopped her at her own door. She began to understand Pitou. - -"Why, Miss Catherine," he stammered, "do you not think it is a good time -to leave the farm?" - -"I shall only leave when my mother shall no longer be here," she -replied. - -She spoke with such firmness that he saw it was an irrevocable resolve. - -"When you do go, you know you have two homes, Father Clovis' and my -house." - -Pitou's "house" was his sitting room and bedroom. - -"I thank you," she replied, her smile and nod meaning that she accepted -both offers. - -She went into her room without troubling about the young man, who had -the knack of finding some burrow. - -At ten next day all the farmers for miles around flocked to the farm. -The Mayor came, too. At half after ten up marched the Haramont National -Guards, with colors tied up in black, without a man being missing. -Catherine, dressed in black, with her boy in mourning, welcomed all -comers and it must be said that there was no feeling for her but of -respect. - -At eleven, some three hundred persons were gathered at the farm. The -priest and his attendants alone were absent. Pitou knew Father Fortier -and he guessed that he who had refused the sacraments to the dying -woman, would withhold the funeral service under the pretext that she had -died unconscious. These reflections, confided to Mayor Longpre, produced -a doleful impression. While they were looking at each other in silence, -Maniquet, whose opinions were anti-religious, called out: - -"If Abbe Fortier does not like to say mass, we will get on without it." - -But it was evidently a bold act, although Voltaire and Rousseau were in -the ascendancy. - -"Gentlemen," suggested the mayor, "let us proceed to Villers Cotterets -where we will have an explanation." - -The procession moved slowly past Catherine and her little boy, and was -going down the road, when the rear guards heard a voice behind them. It -was a call and they turned. - -A man on a horse was riding from the side of Paris. - -Part of the rider's face was covered with black bandages; he waved his -hat in his hand and signalled that he wanted the party to stop. - -Pitou had turned like the others. - -"Why, it is Billet," he said, "good! I should not like to be in Father -Fortier's skin." - -At the name everybody halted. He advanced rapidly and as he neared all -were able to recognize him as Pitou had done. - -On reaching the head of the line, Billet jumped off his horse, threw the -bridle on its neck, and, after saying a lusty: "Good day and thank ye, -citizens!" he took his proper place which Pitou had in his absence held -to lead the mourners. - -A stable boy took away the horse. - -Everybody looked curiously at the farmer. He had grown thinner and much -paler. Part of his face and around his left eye had retained the black -and blue tint of extravasated blood. His clenched teeth and frowning -brows indicated sullen rage which waited the time for a vent. - -"Do you know what has happened?" inquired Pitou. - -"I know all," was the reply. - -As soon as Gilbert had told his patient of the state of his wife, he had -taken a cabriolet as far as Nanteuil. As the horse could go no farther, -though Billet was weak, he had mounted a post horse and with a change at -Levignan, he reached his farm as we know. - -In two words Mother Clement had told the story. He remounted the horse -and stopped the procession which he descried on turning a wall. - -Silent and moody before, the party became more so since this figure of -hate led the way. - -At Villers Cotterets a waiting party fell into the line. As the cortege -went up the street, men, women and children flowed out of the dwellings, -saluted Billet, who nodded, and incorporated themselves in the ranks. - -It numbered five hundred when it reached the church. It was shut, as -Pitou had anticipated. They halted at the door. - -Billet had become livid; his expression had grown more and more -threatening. - -The church and the town hall adjoined. The player of the bassoon in -the holy building was also janitor at the mayor's, so that he belonged -under the secular and the clerical arm. Questioned by Mayor Longpre, he -answered that Father Fortier had forbidden any retainer of the church to -lend his aid to the funeral. The mayor asked where the keys were, and -was told the beadle had them. - -"Go and get the keys," said Billet to Pitou, who opened out his long -compass-like legs and, having been gone five minutes, returned to say: - -"Abbe Fortier had the keys taken to his house to be sure the church -should not be opened." - -"We must go straight to the priest for them," suggested Maniquet, the -promoter of extreme measures. - -"Let us go to the abbe's," cried the crowd. - -"It would take too long," remarked Billet: "and when death knocks at a -door, it does not like to wait." - -He looked round him. Opposite the church, a house was being built. Some -carpenters had been squaring a joist. Billet walked up and ran his arm -round the beam, which rested on trestles. With one effort he raised it. -But he had reckoned on absent strength. Under the great burden the giant -reeled and it was thought for an instant that he would fall. It was but -a flash; he recovered his balance and smiled terribly; and forward he -walked, with the beam under his arm, with a firm step albeit slow. - -He seemed one of those antique battering-rams with which the Caesars -overthrow walls. - -He planted himself, with legs set apart, before the door and the -formidable machine began to work. The door was oak with iron fastenings; -but at the third shove, bolts, bars and lock had flown off; the oaken -panels yawned, too. - -Billet let the beam drop. It took four men to carry it back to its -place, and not easily. - -"Now, mayor, have my poor wife's coffin carried to the midst of the -choir--she never did harm to anybody--and you, Pitou, collect the -beadle, the choirboys and the chanters, while I bring the priest." - -Several wished to follow Billet to Father Fortier's house. - -"Let me go alone," said he: "maybe what I do is serious and I should -bear my own burden." - -This was the second time that the revolutionist had come into conflict -with the son of the church, at a year's interval. Remembering what had -happened before, a similar scene was anticipated. - -The rectory door was sealed up like that of the church. Billet looked -round for some beam to be used like the other, but there was nothing of -the sort. The only thing was a stone post, a boundary mark, with which -the children had played so long at "over-ing" that it was loose in the -socket like an old tooth. - -The farmer stepped up to it, shook it violently to enlarge its orbit, -and tore it clean out. Then raising it like a Highlander "putting the -stone," he hurled it at the door which flew into shivers. - -At the same time as this breach was made, the upper window opened and -Father Fortier appeared, calling on his parishioners with all the power -of his lungs. But the voice of the pastor fell lost, as the flock did -not care to interfere between him and the wolf. - -It took Billet some time to break all the doors down between him and his -prey, but in ten minutes, more or less, that was done. - -At the end of that time, loud shrieks were heard and by the abbe's most -expressive gestures it was to be surmised that the danger was drawing -nearer and nearer him. - -In fact, suddenly was seen to rise behind the priest Billet's pale face, -as his hand launched out and grabbed him by the shoulder. - -The priest clutched the window sill; he was of proverbial strength and -it would not be easy for Hercules to make him relax his grip. - -Billet passed his arm around the priest as a girdle; straightened -himself on both legs, and with a pull which would uproot an oak, he tore -him away with the snapped wood between his hands. - -Farmer and priest, they disappeared within the room, where in the depths -were heard the wailings of the priest, dying away like the bellowing of -a bull carried off by a lion. - -In the meanwhile, Pitou had gathered up the trembling church staff, who -hastened to don the vestments, light the candles and incense and prepare -all things for the death mass. - -Billet was seen coming, dragging the priest with him at as smart a pace, -though he still made resistance, as if he were alone. - -This was not a man, but one of the forces of nature: something like a -torrent or an avalanche; nothing human could withstand him and it took -an element to combat with him. - -About a hundred steps from the church, the poor abbe ceased to kick, -completely overpowered. - -All stood aside to let the pair go by. - -The abbe cast a frightened glance on the door, shivered like a pane of -glass and seeing all his men at their stands whom he had forbidden to -enter the place, he shook his head like one who acknowledges that some -resistless power weighed on the church's ministers if not on itself. - -He entered the sacristy and came forth in his robes, with the sacrament -in his hand. - -But as he was mounting the altar Billet stretched out his hand. - -"Enough, you faulty servant of God," he thundered: "I only attempted to -check your pride, that is all: but I want it known that a sainted woman -like my wife can dispense with the prayers of a hateful and fanatical -priest like you." - -As a loud murmur rose under the vaulted ceiling of the fane, he said: - -"If this be sacrilege, let it fall on my head." - -Turning to the crowd he added: "Citizens, to the cemetery!" - -"To the cemetery," cried the concourse which filled not the church alone -but the square in front. - -The four bearers passed their muskets under the bier lifting the body -and as they had come without ecclesiastical pomp, such as religion has -devised to accompany man to the grave, they went forth. Billet conducted -the mourners, with six hundred persons following the remains, to the -burial-ground, situated at the end of a lane near Aunt Angelique's -house. - -The cemetery-gates were closed but Billet respected the dead; he sent -for the gravedigger who had the key, and Pitou brought it with two -spades. - -Fortier had proscribed the dead as unfit for consecrated ground, which -the gravedigger had been ordered not to break for her. - -At this last evidence of the priest's hatred for the farmer, a shiver -of menace ran through the gathering: if Billet had had a little of the -gall which the Tartuffes hold, to the amazement of Boileau, he had but -a word to say and the Abbe Fortier would have had that satisfaction of -martyrdom for which he had howled on the day when he refused to say mass -on the Altar of the Country. - -But Billet's wrath was that of the people and the lion; he did not -retrace his steps to tear. - -He thanked Pitou with a nod, took the key, opened the gates, passed the -coffin in, and following it, was followed by the procession, recruited -by all that could walk. - -Arrived where the grave had been marked out before the sexton had the -order not to open the earth, Billet held out his hand to Pitou for one -of the spades. - -Thereupon, with uncovered head, Pitou and Billet, amid the citizens -bareheaded likewise, under the devouring July sun dug the resting-place -for this poor creature who, pious and resigned throughout life, would -have been greatly astonished in her lifetime if told what a sensation -her death would cause. - -The task lasted an hour without either worker thinking of being -relieved. Meanwhile rope was sought for and was ready. - -It was still Billet and Pitou who lowered the coffin into the pit. They -did all so naturally that nobody thought of offering help. It would have -been a sacrilege to have stayed them from carrying out all to the end. -Only at the first clods falling on the coffin, Billet ran his hand over -his eyes and Pitou his sleeve. Then they resolutely shoveled the earth -in. When they had finished, Billet flung the spade far from him and -gripped Pitou by the hand. - -"God is my witness," said he, "that I hold in hand all the simple -and grandest virtues on earth: charity, devotion, abnegation, -brotherhood--and that I dedicate my life to these virtues." He held out -his hand over the grave, saying: "God be again my witness that I swear -eternal war against the King who tried to have me murdered; to the -nobles who defamed my daughter; to the priests who refused sepulture to -my wife!" - -Turning towards the spectators full of sympathy with this adjuration, he -said: - -"Brothers, a new assembly is to be convoked in place of the traitors now -in session; select me to represent you in this new parliament, and you -will see how I keep my oath." - -A shout of universal adhesion hailed this suggestion, and at once -over his wife's grave, terrible altar, worthy of the dread vow, the -candidature of Billet was proposed, seconded and carried. After this, -he thanked his fellow citizens for their sympathy in his affliction, -his friendship and his hatred, and each, citizen, countryman, peasant -and forester, went home, carrying in heart that spirit of revolutionary -propaganda to which in their blindness the most deadly weapons were -afforded by those who were to be destroyed by them--priests, nobles and -King! - -How Billet kept his oath, with other circumstances which are linked with -his return to Paris in the new Legislative Assembly, will be recorded in -the sequel entitled "THE COUNTESS OF CHARNY." - - - - -_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! 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." - -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. - - -TERMS TO AGENTS. - -_Sample copy by mail, postpaid, 15 Cents._ - -_Less than 100 Copies_, _12 Cents per Copy._ -_One Hundred or more Copies_, _10 Cents per Copy._ - -The above prices do not include freight or express charges. -_Terms cash with order._ Address, - -J. S. 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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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 15 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 colt; 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 house-flies, 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 Hunting and Trapping -of all kinds of Animals. It gives the right season for trapping; how to -make, set and bait all kinds of traps; traps for minks, weasels, skunks, -hawks, owls, gophers, birds, squirrels, musk-rats, foxes, rabbits, -raccoons, etc.; how to make and use bird lime. It gives the English -secrets for catching alive all kinds of birds; it tells how to know the -true value of skins, as well as how to skin all animals; deodorize, -stretch, and cure them; to dress and tan skins, furs and leather; to tan -with or 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. 190 pages -bound in paper, 25 cents. - -No more valuable books 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. - -=PALLISER'S AMERICAN ARCHITECTURE=; or, EVERY MAN A COMPLETE BUILDER. -The Latest and Best Publication on Modern Artistic Dwellings and other -Buildings of Low Cost. This is a new book just published, and there is -not a Builder or any one intending to Build or otherwise interested in -building that can afford to be without it. It is a practical work and -everybody buys it. The best, cheapest and most popular work of the kind -ever issued. Nearly four hundred drawings. A $5 book in size and style, -but we have determined to make it meet the popular demand, to suit the -times, so that it can be easily reached by all. - -This book contains 104 pages, 11x14 inches in size, and consists 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 $4,500; also Barns, Stables, School House, Town -Hall, Churches and other public buildings, together with specifications, -form of contract, etc., etc., and a large amount of information on the -erection of buildings, selection of site, employment of Architects, -etc., etc. - -This book of 104 pages, as described above, will be sent by mail, -postpaid to any address on receipt of price. Price, heavy paper cover, -$1; handsomely bound in cloth, $2. - -=SECRETS FOR FARMERS.=--This book tells how to restore rancid butter -to its original flavor and purity; a new way of coloring butter; how -largely to increase the milk of cows; a sure cure for kicking cows; how -to make Thorley's celebrated condimental food for cattle; how to make -hens lay every day in the year; it gives an effectual remedy for the -Canada thistle; to save mice-girdled trees; a certain plan to destroy -the curculio and peach-borer; how to convert dead animals and bones into -manure; Barnet's certain preventive for the potato rot, worth $50 to -any farmer; remedy for smut in wheat; to cure blight in fruit trees; to -destroy potato bug; to prevent mildew and rust in wheat; to destroy the -cut-worm; home-made stump machine, as good as any sold; to keep cellars -from freezing, etc., etc. - -It is impossible to give the full contents of this valuable book here; -space will not allow. Price, 25 cents. - -=SIDNEY'S STUMP SPEAKER.=--Price, 15 cents. - -A collection of Yankee, Dutch, French, Irish and Ethiopian Stump -Speeches and Recitations, Burlesque Orations, Laughable Scenes, Humorous -Lectures, Button-bursting Witticisms, Ridiculous Drolleries. Funny -Stories, etc., etc. - -=SUNNYSIDE COLLECTION OF READINGS AND RECITATIONS, NO 1.=--Compiled -by J. S. Ogilvie. 12mo, 192 pages, paper cover, 25 cents. This book -contains a choice collection of Readings and Recitations, which have -been selected with great care, and are especially adapted for Day -and Sabbath Schools, all adult and juvenile Organizations, Young -People's Associations, Reading Clubs, Temperance Societies, and Parlor -Entertainments. They comprise Prose and Poetry--Serious, Humorous, -Pathetic, Comic, Temperance, Patriotic. All those who are interested in -providing an entertainment should have this collection. - -=THE SUNNYSIDE COOK BOOK.=--12mo, 250 pages. Paper cover, 25 cents; -bound in cloth, 75 cents. This book is offered as one of the best and -most complete books of the kind published. Not only are all the recipes -practical, but they are economical and such as come within the reach -of families of moderate income. It also contains valuable information -in relation to home matters not found in any other publication. It -also gives plain and easily understood directions for preparing and -cooking, with the greatest economy, every kind of dish, with complete -instruction for serving the same. This book is just the thing for a -young housekeeper. - -=HOW TO GET MARRIED ALTHOUGH A WOMAN=; OR, THE ART OF PLEASING MEN. By -"A Young Widow." A new book that every woman will buy! The following -table of contents indicates the character of the work and will also -insure a large demand for it: Girls and Matrimony, The Girls Whom Men -Like, The Girl Who Wins, The Girl Who Fails, Some Unfailing Methods, A -Word of Warning, The Secret of the Widow's Power, Lady Beauty, The Loved -Wife, etc., etc. - -Every unmarried woman, and, indeed, every woman, will be interested in -reading this book. It will be sent by mail, postpaid, to any address on -receipt of 25 cents. - -=DO YOU EVER DREAM?= And would you like to know the meaning of any or -all of your dreams? If so, you ought to buy the OLD WITCHES' DREAM -BOOK AND COMPLETE FORTUNE TELLER, which contains the full and correct -interpretations of all dreams and their lucky numbers. Also Fortune -Telling by cards, by the grounds in the coffee cup, how to discover a -thief, to know whether a woman shall have the man she wishes, to know -what fortune your future husband shall have, to see your future wife or -husband. The Dumb Cake, together with charms, incantations etc., etc. - -This is a book that every one that wishes to know what is going to -happen ought to buy. It will be sent by mail, postpaid, to any address -on receipt of 25 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] - -[Illustration] - -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] - -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._ - -[Illustration: - -AYER'S -CHERRY PECTORAL -CURES COLDS COUGHS -Throat and Lung Diseases] - - - * * * * * - -Transcriber's notes: - -Both US and British spellings of words are used throughout the text. The -prevalent spelling of individual words determined which were retained -and which were corrected. Non-standard spellings of common words have -been retained if used consistently. Generally, compound words such as -"musketbarrels" and "churchdoor" have been split. Archaic and French -spellings have been retained when appropriate to the sense of the text. -Inconsistent spellings of proper nouns have been regularized to agree -with the most prevalent spelling. - -Punctuation errors affecting the flow of the prose appear to be -typesetter's errors and have been corrected. These include missing -periods, missing open or closed quote marks, colons used where -semicolons were more appropriate, and inappropriate placement of -punctuation. - -Obvious typesetters' errors, such as repeated words, have been -corrected. Occasionally a missing word has been supplied when the sense -was obvious, such as in the phrase. "Thrusting their heads out of [the] -window, they saw the town in confusion..." - -The translation contains countless French-like phrase constructions that -sound awkward in English, such as: - - "Meanwhile four o'clock struck without any courier with - intelligence." - - "At half-past nine they reached Clermont, four leagues - covered." - - "Unfortunately Charny was not to the fore." - - "We renounce describing what passed in an instant in her heart - of Queen and loving woman..." - - "Just then a man leaped out of the crowd, who could not stop - him." - - "In the adjoining room, a cheer burst at the words." - - "And away galloped he on the track of the King." - -In all cases they have been left as found. - -The following words have been corrected (page numbers are refer to the -original hardcopy): - -P6: mainroom changed to main room -P8: provences changed to provinces -P9: dirtcarts changed to dirt carts -P10: fron changed to from -P10: cooly changed to coolly -P14: ghastlily changed to ghastly -P15: self-acknowleged changed to self-acknowledged -P17: foul changed to fowl -P17: attaching changed to attacking -P22: eatabless changed to eatables -P22: seconed changed to second -P25: basilic changed to basilica -P26: griefs changed to grief -P26: whomesoever changed to whomsoever -P30: 1890 changed to 1790 -P31: hight changed to height -P37: worshippers changed to worshipers -P39: bellpull changed to bell pull -P40: deuse changed to deuce -P40: Plebs changed to Plebes -P41: marrow changed to morrow -P42: obiivion changed to oblivion -P42: is inserted between it and so -P43: vitalism changed to vitality -P44: you inserted between whenever and arrived -P46: stilettes changed to stilettos -P46: Couldron changed to cauldron -P47: decide changed to decided -P51: spick changed to spic (and span) -P52: listenes changed to listens -P53: spectres changed to specters -P53: CHAPTER X changed to CHAPTER IX -P57: premaces changed to premises -P58: Choseul changed to Choiseul -P58: picklock changed to pick-lock -P59: kinglike changed to king-like -P61: wizzed changed to whizzed -P64: ridingcoat chnged to riding coat -P64: broadbrimmed changed to broad brimmed -P65: saddlehorse changed to saddle horse -P67: mesures changed to measures -P70: banted changed to bantered -P72: postilions changed to postillions -P73: forefelt changed to fore-felt -P73: new comer changed to new-comer -P73: stableyard changed to stable yard -P78: churchtower changed to church tower -P79: thunderpeal changed to thunder peal -P85: road changed to rode -P85: to changed to two -P85: musketbarrels changed to musket barrels -P86: gunbarrels changed to gun barrels -P90: bobwig changed to bob wig -P91: "the" added to text (out of [the] window) -P92: fieldpieces changed to field pieces -P93: sabers changed to sabres -P96: tranquillity changed to tranquility -P102: spunge changed to sponge -P103: new changed to knew -P103: defalter changed to defaulter -P104: gentelman changed to gentleman -P107: energetical changed to energetic -P108: fanciedly chabged to fancied -P109: reperuse changed to re-peruse -P114: carriagewheels changed to carriage wheels -P115: fairplay changed to fair play -P117: flunkey changed to flunky -P118: gallopped cchanged to galloped -P118: despatched changed to dispatched -P118: spunging changed to sponging -P119: backgarden changed to back garden -P125: townsofficer changed to towns officer -P126: comprehened changed to comprehended -P127: audactiy changed to audacity -P132: livelily chamged to lively -P133: churchdoor changed to church door -P135: righthand changed to right hand -P137: turn-up changed to turned-up -P137: dullist changed to duelist -P137: saltmeadow changed to salt meadow -P143: nobeman changed to nobleman -P148: worshipped changed to worshiped -P148: splendrous changed to splendorous -P150, 154: catastrophies changed to catastrophes -P182: rashess changed to rashness -P187: Hay changed to Hey -P189: deuse changed to deuce -P192: ain changed to again -P201: pllow changed to pillow -P146, 178: perillous changed to perilous -P148: deathsman changed to deaths-man -P152: smoe changed to some -P152: appeales changed to appeals -P154: pepole changed to people -P154: cruellest changed to cruelest -P156, 203: sittingroom changed to sitting room -P159: mantleshelf changed to mantle shelf -P163: deathcries changed to death cries -P164: Chount changed to Count -P169: Ays changed to Ayes -P175: battallions changed to battalions -P178: unmistakeable changed to unmistakable -P181: Constituant changed to Constituent -P181: Italiens changed to Italians -P204: posthorse changed to post horse -P205: townhall changed to town hall -PP48, 62, 102: etiquet changed to etiquette, which is more prevalent - 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