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diff --git a/42757-8.txt b/42757-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 737e386..0000000 --- a/42757-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,9995 +0,0 @@ -Project Gutenberg's The Countess of Charny, by Alexandre 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 - - -Title: The Countess of Charny - or, The Execution of King Louis XVI - -Author: Alexandre Dumas (pere) - -Translator: Henry Llewellyn Williams - -Release Date: May 21, 2013 [EBook #42757] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE COUNTESS OF CHARNY *** - - - - -Produced by Veronika Redfern, Juliet Sutherland and the -Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - - - - PRICE, 25 CENTS. - THE SUNSET SERIES. - By Subscription, per Year, Nine Dollars. March 12, 1891 - Entered at the New York Post Office as second-class matter. - - Copyright 1891, by J. S. OGILVIE. - - - - - THE COUNTESS OF CHARNY. - - BY - Alex. Dumas. - - NEW YORK: - J. S. OGILVIE PUBLISHING COMPANY, - 57 ROSE STREET. - - - - -A GREAT OFFER! - - -[Illustration: Book Collection] - -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 COUNTESS OF CHARNY; - OR, - THE EXECUTION OF KING LOUIS XVI. - - A HISTORICAL NOVEL OF LOVE AND - LOYALTY. - - BY ALEX. DUMAS - AUTHOR OF "MONTE CRISTO," "BALSAMO THE MAGICIAN," "THE - THREE MUSKETEERS," "CHICOT THE JESTER," "THE KNIGHT - OF REDCASTLE," ETC., ETC. - - TRANSLATED FROM THE LATEST PARIS EDITION - BY - HENRY LLEWELLYN WILLIAMS. - - NEW YORK: - J. S. OGILVIE PUBLISHING COMPANY, - 57 ROSE STREET. - - - - -CONTENTS. - - - Chapter Page - I. THE NEW MEN AT THE WHEEL. 4 - II. GILBERT'S CANDIDATE. 17 - III. POWERFUL, PERHAPS; HAPPY, NEVER. 24 - IV. THE FOES FACE TO FACE. 38 - V. THE UNINVITED VISITORS. 42 - VI. "THE COUNTRY IS IN DANGER!" 56 - VII. THE MEN FROM MARSEILLES. 63 - VIII. THE FRIEND IN NEED. 66 - IX. CHARNY ON GUARD. 71 - X. BILLET AND PITOU. 76 - XI. IN THE MORNING. 82 - XII. THE FIRST MASSACRE. 88 - XIII. THE REPULSE. 92 - XIV. THE LAST OF THE CHARNYS. 99 - XV. THE BLOOD-STAINS. 109 - XVI. THE WIDOW. 117 - XVII. WHAT ANDREA WANTED OF GILBERT. 126 - XVIII. THE ASSEMBLY AND THE COMMUNE. 131 - XIX. CAPTAIN BEAUSIRE APPEARS AGAIN. 136 - XX. THE EMETIC. 142 - XXI. BEAUSIRE'S BRAVADO. 148 - XXII. SET UPON DYING. 153 - XXIII. THE DEATH OF THE COUNTESS. 162 - XXIV. THE ROYAL MARTYR. 167 - XXV. MASTER GAMAIN TURNS UP. 174 - XXVI. THE TRIAL OF THE KING. 178 - XXVII. THE PARALLEL TO CHARLES I. 185 - XXVIII. CAGLIOSTRO'S ADVICE. 190 - XXIX. THE CROWN OF ANGE'S LOVE. 195 - XXX. THE EFFECT OF HAPPY NEWS. 201 - XXXI. THE EASY-CHAIR. 206 - XXXII. WHAT PITOU DID WITH THE FIND. 210 - ADVERTISEMENTS. 215 - - - - -THE COUNTESS OF CHARNY. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -THE NEW MEN AT THE WHEEL. - - -It was on the first of October, 1791, that the new Legislative Assembly -was to be inaugurated over France. - -King Louis XVI., captured with Queen Marie Antoinette and the royal -family, while attempting to escape from the kingdom and join his -brothers and the other princes abroad, was held in a kind of detention, -like imprisonment without hard labor, in the Tuileries Palace in Paris. - -His fate hung on the members of the new House of Representatives. Let -us hasten to see what they were. - -The Congress was composed of seven hundred and forty-five members: four -hundred lawyers of one kind or another; some seventy literary men; -seventy priests who had taken the oath to abide by the Constitution, -not yet framed, but to which the king had subscribed on the sketch. The -remaining two hundred odd were landholders, farming their own estates -or hiring them out to others. - -Among these was François Billet, a robust peasant of forty-five, -distinguished by the people of Paris and France as a hero, from having -been mainly instrumental in the taking of the Bastile, regarded as the -embodiment of the ancient tyranny, now almost leveled with the dust. - -Billet had suffered two wrongs at the hands of the king's men and the -nobles, which he had sworn to avenge as well on the classes as on the -individuals. - -His farm-house had been pillaged by Paris policemen acting under a -blank warrant signed by the king and issued at the request of Andrea -de Taverney, Countess of Charny, the queen's favorite, as her husband -the count was reckoned, too. She had a spite against Billet's friend, -Dr. Honore Gilbert, a noted patriot and politician. In his youth, this -afterward distinguished physician had taken advantage of her senses -being steeped in a mesmeric swoon, to lower her pride. Thanks to this -trance and from his overruling love, he was the progenitor of her son, -Sebastian Emile Gilbert; but with all the pride of this paternity, he -was haunted by unceasing remorse. Andrea could not forgive this crime, -all the more as it was a thorn in her side since her marriage. - -It was a marriage enforced on her, as the Count of Charny had been -caught by the king on his knees to the queen; and to prevent the -stupid monarch being convinced by this scene that there was truth in -the tattle at court that Count Charny was Marie Antoinette's paramour, -she had explained that he merely was suing for the hand of her friend -Andrea. The king's consent given, this marriage took place, but for -six years the couple dwelt apart; not that mutual love did not prevail -between them, but neither was aware of the affection each had inspired -in the other at first sight. - -The new countess thought that Charny's affection for the queen was a -guilty and durable one; while he, believing his wife, by compulsion, -a saint on earth, dared not presume on the position which fate and -devotion to their sovereign had imposed on them both. - -This devotion was confirmed on the count's part, cemented by blood; -for his two brothers, Valence and Isidore, had lost their lives in -defending the king and queen from the revolutionists. - -Andrea had a brother, Philip, who also loved the queen, but he had been -offended by her amour with Charny; and, being touched by an American -republican fever while fighting with Lafayette for the liberation of -the thirteen colonies, he had quitted the court of France. - -On his way he had wounded Gilbert, whom he learned to be his sister's -wronger, as well as having stolen away her infant son; but although -the wound would have been mortal under other treatment, it had been -healed by the wondrous medicaments of Joseph Balsamo, _alias_ Count -Cagliostro, the celebrated head of the Invisibles, a branch of the -Orient Freemasons, dedicated to overthrow the monarchy and set up a -republic, after the United States model, in France, if not in Europe. - -Gilbert and Cagliostro were therefore fast friends, to say nothing of -the latter's regret that he should have set temptation in the young -man's way; it was he who had plunged Andrea into the magnetic slumber -from which she had awakened a maid no longer. - -But some recompense had come to the proud lady, after the six -years' wedded life to the very man she adored, though fate and -misunderstanding had estranged them. On learning what a martyr she -had been through the unconscious motherhood, Count George had more -than forgiven her--he worshiped her; and in their country seat at -Boursonnes, eighteen miles from Paris, he was forgetting, in her lovely -arms the demands of his queen, his king, and his caste, to use his -influence in the political arena. - -This silence on his part led to the candidature of Farmer Billet being -unimpeded. - -Besides, Charny would hardly have moved in opposition to the latter, -as one cause of the enmity of the peasant was his daughter's ruin by -Viscount Isidore Charny. The death of the latter, not being by Billet's -hand, had not appeased the grudge. He was a stern, unrelenting man; and -just as he would not forgive his daughter Catherine for her dishonor, -or even look upon her son, he stood out uncompromisingly against the -nobles and the priests. - -Charny had stolen his daughter; the clergy, in the person of his parish -priest, Father Fortier, had refused burial to his wife. - -On her grave he had vowed eternal hostility to the nobles and the -clericals. - -The farmers had great power at election time, as they employed ten, -twenty, or thirty hands; and though the suffrage was divided into two -classes at the period, the result depended on the rural vote. - -As each man quitted Billet at the grave, he shook him by the hand, -saying: - -"It is a sure thing, brother." - -Billet had gone home to his lonely farm, easy on this score; for the -first time he saw a plain way of returning the noble class and royalty -all the harm they had done him. He felt, but did not reason, and his -thirst for vengeance was as blind as the blows he had received. - -His daughter had come home to nurse her mother, and receive at the last -gasp her blessing and for her son, born in shame; but Billet had said -never a word to her; none could tell if he were aware of her flitting -through the farm. Since a year he had not uttered her name, and it was -the same as if she had never existed. - -Her only friend was Ange Pitou, a poor peasant lad whom Billet had -harbored when he was driven from home by his Aunt Angelique. - -As Catherine was really the ruler of the roast on the farm, it was but -natural that Pitou should offer her some part of the gratitude Billet -had earned. This excellent feeling expanded into love; but there was -little chance for the peasant when the girl had been captivated by the -elegant young lord, although the elevation common during revolution had -exalted Ange into a captaincy of the National Guards. - -But Pitou had never swerved in his love for the deluded girl. He had a -heart of gold; he was deeply sorry that Catherine had not loved him, -but on comparing himself with young Charny, he acknowledged that she -must prefer him. He envied Isidore, but he bore Catherine no ill-will; -quite otherwise, he still loved her with profound and entire devotion. - -To say this dedication was completely exempt from anguish, is going too -far; but the pangs which made Pitou's heart ache at each new token of -Catherine's love for her dead lover, showed his ineffable goodness. - -All his feeling for Catherine when Isidore was slain at Varennes, -where Billet arrested the king in his flight, was of utter pity. -Quite contrary to Billet, he did justice to the young noble in the -way of grace, generosity, and kindness, though he was his rival -without knowing it. Like Catherine, he knew that the barriers of caste -were insurmountable, and that the viscount could not have made his -sweetheart his wife. - -The consequence was that Pitou perhaps more loved the widow in her -sorrow than when she was the coquettish girl, but it came to pass that -he almost loved the little orphan boy like his own. - -Let none be astonished, therefore, that after taking leave of Billet -like the others, Ange went toward Haramont instead of Billet's farm, -which might also be his home. - -But he had lodgings at Haramont village, where he was born, and he was -chief of the National Guards there. - -They were so accustomed to his sudden departures and unexpected -returns, that nobody was worried at them. When he went away, they said -to one another: "He has gone to town to confer with General Lafayette," -for the French lieutenant of General Washington was the friend, here as -there, of Dr. Gilbert, who was their fellow-peasants' patron, and had -furnished the funds to equip the Haramont company of volunteers. - -On their commander's return they asked news of the capital; and as -he could give the freshest and truest, thanks to Dr. Gilbert, who was -an honorary physician to the king as well as friend of Cagliostro--in -other words, the communicator between the two Leyden jars of the -revolution--Pitou's predictions were sure to be realized in a few days, -so that all continued to show him blind trust, as well as military -captain as political prophet. - -On his part, Gilbert knew all that was good and self-sacrificing in -the peasant; he felt that he was a man to whom he might at the scratch -intrust his life or Sebastian's--a treasure or a commission, anything -confided to strength and loyalty. Every time Pitou came to Paris, the -doctor would ask him if he stood in need of anything, without the young -man coloring up; and while he would always say, "Nothing, thank you, -Doctor Gilbert," this did not prevent the physician giving him some -money, which Pitou ingulfed in his pocket. - -A few gold pieces, with what he picked up in the game shot or trapped -in the Duke of Orleans' woods, were a fortune; so, rarely did he find -himself at the end of his resources when he met the doctor and had his -supply renewed. - -Knowing, then, how friendly Pitou was with Catherine and her baby, it -will be understood that he hastily separated from Billet, to know how -his cast-off daughter was getting on. - -His road to Haramont took him past a hut in the woods where lived a -veteran of the wars, who, on a pension and the privilege of killing a -hare or a rabbit each day, lived a happy hermit's life, remote from -man. Father Clovis, as this old soldier was called, was a great friend -of Pitou. He had taught the boy to go gunning, and also the military -drill by which he had trained the Haramont Guards to be the envy of the -county. When Catherine was banished from her father's, after Billet had -tried to shoot Isidore, his hut sheltered her till after the birth of -her son. On her applying once more for the like hospitality, he had -not hesitated; and when Pitou came along, she was sitting on the bed, -with tears on her cheek at the revival of sad memories, and her boy in -her arms. - -On seeing the new-comer, Catherine set down the child and offered -her forehead for Pitou's kiss; he gladly took her two hands, kissed -her, and the child was sheltered by the arch formed with his stooping -figure. Dropping on his knees to her and kissing the baby's little -hands, he exclaimed: - -"Never mind, I am rich; Master Isidore shall never come to want." - -Pitou had twenty-five gold louis, which he reckoned to make him rich. -Keen of wit and kind of heart, Catherine appreciated all that is good. - -"Thank you, Captain Pitou," she said; "I believe you, and I am happy in -so believing, for you are my only friend, and if you were to cast me -off, we should stand alone in the world; but you never will, will you?" - -"Oh, don't talk like that," cried Pitou, sobbing; "you will make me -pour out all the tears in my body." - -"I was wrong; excuse me," she said. - -"No, no, you are right; I am a fool to blubber." - -"Captain Pitou," said Catherine, "I should like an airing. Give me your -arm for a stroll under the trees. I fancy it will do me good." - -"I feel as if I were smothering myself," added Pitou. - -The child had no need of air, nothing but sleep; so he was laid abed, -and Catherine walked out with Pitou. - -Five minutes after they were in the natural temple, under the huge -trees. - -Without being a philosopher on a level with Voltaire or Rousseau, -Pitou understood that he and Catherine were atoms carried on by the -whirlwind. But these atoms had their joy and grief just like the other -atoms called king, queen, nobles; the mill of God, held by fatality, -ground crowns and thrones to dust at the same time, and crushed -Catherine's happiness no less harshly than if she wore a diadem. - -Two years and a half before, Pitou was a poor peasant lad, hunted from -home by his Aunt Angelique, received by Billet, feasted by Catherine, -and "cut out" by Isidore. - -At present, Ange Pitou was a power; he wore a sword by his side -and epaulets on his shoulders; he was called a captain, and he was -protecting the widow and son of the slain Viscount Isidore. - -Relatively to Pitou the expression was exact of Danton, who, when asked -why he was making the revolution, replied: "To put on high what was -undermost, and send the highest below all." - -But though these ideas danced in his head, he was not the one to profit -by them, and the good and modest fellow went on his knees to beg -Catherine to let him shield her and the boy. - -Like all suffering hearts, Catherine had a finer appreciation in grief -than in joy. Pitou, who was in her happy days a lad of no consequence, -became the holy creature he really was; in other words, a man of -goodness, candor, and devotion. The result was that, unfortunate and -in want of a friend, she understood that Pitou was just the friend she -wished; and so, always received by Catherine with one hand held out to -him, and a witching smile, Pitou began to lead a life of bliss of which -he never had had the idea even in dreams of paradise. - -During this time, Billet, still mute as regarded his daughter, pursued -his idea of being nominated for the House while getting in his harvest. -Only one man could have beaten him, if he had the same ambition; but, -entirely absorbed in his love and happiness, the Count of Charny, the -world forgetting, believed himself forgotten by the world. He did not -think of the matter, enjoying his unexpected felicity. - -Hence, nothing opposed Billet's election in Villers Cotterets district, -and he was elected by an immense majority. - -As soon as chosen, he began to turn everything into money; it had been -a good year. He set aside his landlord's share, reserved his own, put -aside the grain for sowing, and the fodder for his live stock, and the -cash to keep the work-folks going, and one morning sent for Pitou. - -Now and then Pitou paid him a visit. Billet always welcomed him with -open hand, made him take meals, if anything was on the board, or wine -or cider, if it was the right time for drinks. But never had Billet -sent for Pitou. Hence, it was not without disquiet that the young man -proceeded to the farm. - -Billet was always grave; nobody could say that he had seen a smile pass -over his lips since his daughter had left the farm. This time he was -graver than usual. - -Still he held out his hand in the old manner to Pitou, shook his with -more vigor than usual, and kept it in his, while the other looked at -him with wonder. - -"Pitou, you are an honest fellow," said the farmer. - -"Faith, I believe I am," replied Pitou. - -"I am sure of it." - -"You are very good, Master Billet." - -"It follows that, as I am going away, I shall leave you at the head of -my farm." - -"Impossible! There are a lot of petty matters for which a woman's eye -is indispensable." - -"I know it," replied Billet; "you can select the woman to share the -superintendence with you. I shall not ask her name; I don't want to -know it; and when I come down to the farm, I shall notify you a week -ahead, so she will have time to get out of the way if she ought not to -see me or I see her." - -"Very well, Master Billet," said the new steward. - -"Now, in the granary is the grain for sowing; also the hay and other -fodder for the cattle, and in this drawer you see the cash to pay the -hands." He opened a drawer full of hard money. - -"Stop a bit, master. How much is in this drawer?" - -"I do not know," rejoined Billet, locking the drawer and giving the key -to Pitou, with the words; "When you want more, ask for it." - -Pitou felt all the trust in this speech and put out his hand to grasp -the other's, but was checked by his humility. - -"Nonsense," said Billet; "why should not honest men grasp hands?" - -"If you should want me in town?" - -"Rest easy; I shall not forget you. It is two o'clock; I shall start -for Paris at five. At six, you might be here with the woman you choose -to second you." - -"Right; but then, there is no time to lose," said Pitou. "I hope we -shall soon meet again, dear Master Billet." - -Billet watched him hurrying away as long as he could see him, and when -he disappeared, he said: "Now, why did not Catherine fall in love with -an honest chap like that, rather than one of those noble vermin who -leaves her a mother without being a wife, and a widow without her being -wed." - -It is needless to say that Billet got upon the Villers Cotterets stage -to ride to Paris at five, and that at six Catherine and little Isidore -re-entered the farm. - -Billet found himself among young men in the House, not merely -representatives, but fighters; for it was felt that they had to wrestle -with the unknown. - -They were armed against two enemies, the clergy and the nobility. If -these resisted, the orders were for them to be overcome. - -The king was pitied, and the members were left free to treat him as -occasion dictated. It was hoped that he might escape the threefold -power of the queen, the clergy, and the aristocracy; if they upheld -him, they would all be broken to pieces with him. They moved that the -title of majesty should be suppressed. - -"What shall we call the executive power, then?" asked a voice. - -"Call him 'the King of the French,'" shouted Billet. "It is a pretty -title enough for Capet to be satisfied with." - -Moreover, instead of a throne, the King of the French had to content -himself with a plain arm-chair, and that was placed on the left of the -speaker's, so that the monarch should be subordinated. - -In the absence of the king, the Constitution was sworn to by the sad, -cold House, all aware that the impotent laws would not endure a year. - -As these motions were equivalent to saying, "there is no longer a -king." Money, as usual, took fright; down went the stocks dreadfully, -and the bankers took alarm. - -There was a revulsion in favor of the king, and his speech in the House -was so applauded that he went to the theater that evening in high glee. -That night he wrote to the powers of Europe that he had subscribed to -the Constitution. - -So far, the House had been tolerant, mild to the refractory priests, -and paying pensions to the princes and nobles who had fled abroad. - -We shall see how the nobles recompensed this mildness. - -When they were debating on paying the old and infirm priests, though -they might be opposed to the Reformation, news came from Avignon of -a massacre of revolutionists by the religious fanatics, and a bloody -reprisal of the other party. - -As for the runaway nobles, still drawing revenue from their country, -this is what they were doing. - -They reconciled Austria with Prussia, making friends of two enemies. -They induced Russia to forbid the French embassador going about the St. -Petersburg streets, and sent a minister to the refugees at Coblentz. -They made Berne punish a town for singing the "It shall go on." -They led the kings to act roughly; Russia and Sweden sent back with -unbroken seals Louis XVI.'s dispatches announcing his adhesion to the -Constitution. - -Spain refused to receive it, and a French revolutionist would have been -burned by the Inquisition only for his committing suicide. - -Venice threw on St. Mark's Place the corpse of a man strangled in the -night by the Council of Ten, with the plain inscription: "This was a -Freemason." - -The Emperor and the King of Prussia did answer, but it was by a threat: -"We trust we shall not have to take precautions against the repetition -of events promising such sad auguries." - -Hence there was a religious war in La Vendee and in the south, with -prospective war abroad. - -At present the intention of the crowned heads was to stifle the -revolution rather than cut its throat. - -The defiance of aristocratic Europe was accepted, and instead of -waiting for the attack, the orator of the House cried for France to -begin the movement. - -The absentee princes were summoned home on penalty of losing all rights -to the succession; the nobles' property was seized, unless they took -the oath of allegiance to the country. The priests were granted a week -to take the oath, or to be imprisoned, and no churches could be used -for worship unless by the sworn clergy. - -Lafayette's party wished the king to oppose his veto to these acts, -but the queen so hated Lafayette that she induced the Court party to -support Petion instead of the general for the post of mayor of Paris. -Strange blindness, in favor of Petion, her rude jailer, who had brought -her back from the flight to Varennes. - -On the nineteenth of December the king vetoed the bill against the -priests. - -That night, at the Jacobin Club, the debate was hot. Virchaux, a -Swiss, offered the society a sword for the first general who should -vanquish the enemies of freedom. Isnard, the wrath of the House, a -southerner, drew the sword, and leaped up into the rostrum, crying: - -"Behold the sword of the exterminating angel! It will be victorious! -France will give a loud call, and all the people will respond; the -earth will then be covered with warriors, and the foes of liberty will -be wiped out from the list of men!" - -Ezekiel could not have spoken better. This drawn sword was not to be -sheathed, for war broke out within and without. The Switzer's sword was -first to smite the King of France, the foreign sovereigns afterward. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -GILBERT'S CANDIDATE. - - -Dr. Gilbert had not seen the queen for six months, since he had let her -know that he was informed by Cagliostro that she was deceiving him. - -He was therefore astonished to see the king's valet enter his room -one morning. He thought the king was sick and had sent for him, but -the messenger reassured him. He was wanted in the palace, whither he -hastened to go. - -He was profoundly attached to the king; he pitied Marie Antoinette more -as a woman than a queen. It was profound pity, for she inspired neither -love nor devotion. - -The lady waiting to greet Gilbert was the Princess Elizabeth. Neither -king nor queen, after his showing them he saw they were playing him -false, had dared to send directly to him; they put Lady Elizabeth -forward. - -Her first words proved to the doctor that he was not mistaken in his -surmise. - -"Doctor Gilbert," said she, "I do not know whether others have -forgotten the tokens of interest you showed my brother on our return -from Versailles, and those you showed my sister on our return from -Varennes, but I remember." - -"Madame," returned Gilbert, bowing, "God, in His wisdom, hath decided -that you should have all the merits, memory included--a scarce virtue -in our days, and particularly so among royal personages." - -"I hope you are not referring to my brother, who often speaks of you, -and praises your experience." - -"As a medical adviser," remarked Gilbert, smiling. - -"Yes; but he thinks you can be a physician to the realm as well as to -the ruler." - -"Very kind of the king. For which case is he calling me in at present?" - -"It is not the king who calls you, sir, but I," responded the lady, -blushing; for her chaste heart knew not how to lie. - -"You? Your health worries me the least; your pallor arises from fatigue -and disquiet, not from bad health." - -"You are right; I am not trembling for myself, but my brother, who -makes me fret." - -"So he does me, madame." - -"Oh, our uneasiness does not probably spring from the same cause, as I -am concerned about his health. I do not mean that he is unwell, but he -is downcast and disheartened. Some ten days ago--I am counting the days -now--he ceased speaking, except to me, and in his favorite pastime of -backgammon he only utters the necessary terms of the game." - -"It is eleven days since he went to the House to present his veto. Why -was he not mute that day instead of the next?" - -"Is it your opinion that he should have sanctioned that impious -decree?" demanded the princess, quickly. - -"My opinion is, that to put the king in front of the priests in the -coming tide, the rising storm, is to have priests and king broken by -the same wave." - -"What would you do in my poor brother's place, doctor?" - -"A party is growing, like those genii of the Arabian Nights, which -becomes a hundred cubits high an hour after release from the -imprisoning bottle." - -"You allude to the Jacobins?" - -Gilbert shook his head. - -"No; I mean the Girondists, who wish for war, a national desire." - -"But war with whom? With the emperor, our brother? The King of Spain, -our nephew? Our enemies, Doctor Gilbert, are at home, and not outside -of France, in proof of which--" She hesitated, but he besought her to -speak. - -"I really do not know that I can tell you, though it is the reason of -my asking you here." - -"You may speak freely to one who is devoted and ready to give his life -to the king." - -"Do you believe there is any counterbane?" she inquired. - -"Universal?" queried Gilbert, smiling. "No, madame; each venomous -substance has its antidote, though they are of little avail generally." - -"What a pity!" - -"There are two kinds of poisons, mineral and vegetable--of what sort -would you speak?" - -"Doctor, I am going to tell you a great secret. One of our cooks, who -left the royal kitchen to set up a bakery of his own, has returned to -our service, with the intention of murdering the king. This red-hot -Jacobin has been heard crying that France would be relieved if the king -were put out of the way." - -"In general, men fit for such a crime do not go about bragging -beforehand. But I suppose you take precautions?" - -"Yes; it is settled that the king shall live on roast meat, with a -trusty hand to supply the bread and wine. As the king is fond of -pastry, Madame Campan orders what he likes, as though for herself. We -are warned especially against powdered sugar." - -"In which arsenic might be mixed unnoticed?" - -"Exactly. It was the queen's habit to use it for her lemonade, but we -have entirely given up the use of it. The king, the queen, and I take -meals together, ringing for what we want. Madame Campan brings us what -we like, secretly, and hides it under the table; we pretend to eat the -usual things while the servants are in the room. This is how we live, -sir; and yet the queen and I tremble every instant lest the king should -turn pale and cry out he was in pain." - -"Let me say at once, madame," returned the doctor, "that I do not -believe in these threats of poisoning; but in any event, I am under -his majesty's orders. What does the king desire? That I should have -lodgings in the palace? I will stay here in such a way as to be at hand -until the fears are over." - -"Oh, my brother is not afraid!" the princess hastened to say. - -"I did not mean that. Until your fears are over. I have some practice -in poisonings and their remedies. I am ready to baffle them in whatever -shape they are presented; but allow me to say, madame, that all fears -for the king might be removed if he were willing." - -"Oh, what must be done for that?" intervened a voice, not the Lady -Elizabeth's, and which, by its emphatic and ringing tone, made Gilbert -turn. - -It was the queen, and he bowed. - -"Has the queen doubted the sincerity of my offers?" - -"Oh, sir, so many heads and hearts have turned in this tempestuous -wind, that one knows not whom to trust." - -"Which is why your majesty receives from the Feuillants Club a Premier -shaped by the Baroness de Stael?" - -"You know that?" cried the royal lady, starting. - -"I know your majesty is pledged to take Count Louis de Narbonne." - -"And, of course, you blame me?" - -"No; it is a trial like others. When the king shall have tried all, he -may finish by the one with whom he should have commenced." - -"You know Madame de Stael? What do you think of her?" - -"Physically, she is not altogether attractive." - -The queen smiled; as a woman, she was not sorry to hear another woman -decried who just then was widely talked about. - -"But her talent, her parts, her merits?" - -"She is good and generous, madame; none of her enemies would remain so -after a quarter of an hour's conversation." - -"I speak of her genius, sir; politics are not managed by the heart." - -"Madame, the heart spoils nothing, not even in politics; but let us -not use the word genius rashly. Madame de Stael has great and immense -talent, but it does not rise to genius; she is as iron to the steel of -her master, Rousseau. As a politician, she is given more heed than she -deserves. Her drawing-room is the meeting-place of the English party. -Coming of the middle class as she does, and that the money-worshiping -middle class, she has the weakness of loving a lord; she admires -the English from thinking that they are an aristocratic people. -Being ignorant of the history of England, and the mechanism of its -government, she takes for the descendants of the Norman Conquerors the -baronets created yesterday. With old material, other people make a new -stock; with the new, England often makes the old." - -"Do you see in this why Baroness de Stael proposes De Narbonne to us?" - -"Hem! This time, madame, two likings are combined: that for the -aristocracy and the aristocrat." - -"Do you imagine that she loves Louis de Narbonne on account of his -descent?" - -(Louis de Narbonne was supposed to be an incestuous son of King Louis -XV.) - -"It is not on account of any ability, I reckon?" - -"But nobody is less well-born than Louis de Narbonne; his father is not -even known." - -"Only because one dares not look at the sun." - -"So you do not believe that De Narbonne is the outcome of the Swedish -Embassy, as the Jacobins assert, with Robespierre at the head?" - -"Yes; only he comes from the wife's boudoir, not the lord's study. To -suppose Lord de Stael has a hand in it, is to suppose he is master in -his own house. Goodness, no; this is not an embassador's treachery, -but a loving woman's weakness. Nothing but Love, the great, eternal -magician, could impel a woman to put the gigantic sword of the -revolution in that frivolous rake's hands." - -"Do you allude to the demagogue Isnard kissed at the Jacobin Club?" - -"Alas, madame, I speak of the one suspended over your head." - -"Therefore, it is your opinion that we are wrong to accept De Narbonne -as Minister of War?" - -"You would do better to take at once his successor, Dumouriez." - -"A soldier of fortune?" - -"Ha! the worst word is spoken; and it is unfair any way." - -"Was not Dumouriez a private soldier?" - -"I am well aware that Dumouriez is not of that court nobility to which -everything is sacrificed. Of the rustic nobility, unable to obtain -a rank, he enlisted as a common soldier. At twenty years he fought -five or six troopers, though hacked badly, and despite this proof of -courage, he languished in the ranks." - -"He sharpened his wits by serving Louis XV. as spy." - -"Why do you call that spying in him which you rate diplomacy in others? -I know that he carried on correspondence with the king without the -knowledge of the ministers; but what noble of the court does not do the -same?" - -"But, doctor, this man whom you recommend is essentially a most immoral -one," exclaimed the queen, betraying her deep knowledge of politics -by the details into which she went. "He has no principles--no idea of -honor. The Duke of Choiseul told me that he laid before him two plans -about Corsica--one to set her free, the other to subdue her." - -"Quite true; but Choiseul failed to say that the former was preferred, -and that Dumouriez fought bravely for its success." - -"The day when we accept him for minister it will be equivalent to a -declaration of war to all Europe." - -"Why, madame, this declaration is already made in all hearts," retorted -Gilbert. "Do you know how many names are down in this district as -volunteers to start for the campaign? Six hundred thousand. In the -Jura, the women have proposed all the men shall march, as they, with -pikes, will guard their homes." - -"You have spoken a word which makes me shudder--pikes! Oh, the pikes -of '89! I can ever see the heads of my Life Guardsmen carried on the -pikes' point." - -"Nevertheless, it was a woman, a mother, who suggested a national -subscription to manufacture pikes." - -"Was it also a woman who suggested your Jacobins adopting the red cap -of liberty, the color of blood?" - -"Your majesty is in error on that point," said Gilbert, although he -did not care to enlighten the queen wholly on the ancient head-gear. -"A symbol was wanted of equality, and as all Frenchmen could not well -dress alike, a part of a dress was alone adopted: the cap such as the -poor peasant wears. The red color was preferred, not as it happens to -be that of blood, but because gay, bright, and a favorite with the -masses." - -"All very fine, doctor," sneered the queen. "I do not despair of seeing -such a partisan of novelties coming some day to feel the king's pulse, -with the red cap on your head and a pike in your hand." - -Seeing that she could not win with such a man, the queen retired, half -jesting, half bitter. - -Princess Elizabeth was about to do the same, when Gilbert appealed to -her: - -"You love your brother, do you not?" - -"Love? The feeling is of adoration." - -"Then you are ready to transmit good advice to him, coming from a -friend?" - -"Then, speak, speak!" - -"When his Feuillant Ministry falls, which will not take long, let him -take a ministry with all the members wearing this red cap, though it so -alarms the queen." And profoundly bowing, he went out. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -POWERFUL, PERHAPS; HAPPY, NEVER. - - -The Narbonne Ministry lasted three months. A speech of Vergniaud -blasted it. On the news that the Empress of Russia had made a treaty -with Turkey, and Austria and Prussia had signed an alliance, offensive -and defensive, he sprung into the rostrum and cried: - -"I see the palace from here where this counter-revolution is scheming -those plots which aim to deliver us to Austria. The day has come when -you must put an end to so much audacity, and confound the plotters. Out -of that palace have issued panic and terror in olden times, in the -name of despotism--let them now rush into it in the name of the law!" - -Dread and terror did indeed enter the Tuileries, whence De Narbonne, -wafted thither by a breath of love, was expelled by a gust of storm. -This downfall occurred at the beginning of March, 1792. - -Scarce three months after the interview of Gilbert and the queen, a -small, active, nervy little man, with flaming eyes blazing in a bright -face, was ushered into King Louis' presence. He was aged fifty-six, but -appeared ten years younger, though his cheek was brown with camp-fire -smoke; he wore the uniform of a camp-marshal. - -The king cast a dull and heavy glance on the little man, whom he had -never met; but it was not without observation. The other fixed on him a -scrutinizing eye full of fire and distrust. - -"You are General Dumouriez? Count de Narbonne, I believe, called you to -Paris?" - -"To announce that he gave me a division in the army in Alsace." - -"But you did not join, it appears?" - -"Sire, I accepted; but I felt that I ought to point out that as war -impended"--Louis started visibly--"and threatened to become general," -went on the soldier, without appearing to remark the emotion, "I deemed -it good to occupy the south, where an attack might come unawares; -consequently, it seemed urgent to me that a plan for movements there -should be drawn up, and a general and army sent thither." - -"Yes; and you gave this plan to Count de Narbonne, after showing it to -members of the Gironde?" - -"They are friends of mine, as I believe they are of your majesty." - -"Then I am dealing with a Girondist?" queried the monarch, smiling. - -"With a patriot, and faithful subject of his king." - -Louis bit his thick lips. - -"Was it to serve the king and the country the more efficaciously that -you refused to be foreign minister for a time?" - -"Sire, I replied that I preferred, to being any kind of minister, the -command promised me. I am a soldier, not a statesman." - -"I have been assured, on the contrary, that you are both," observed the -sovereign. - -"I am praised too highly, sire." - -"It was on that assurance that I insisted." - -"Yes, sire; but in spite of my great regret, I was obliged to persist -in refusing." - -"Why refuse?" - -"Because it is a crisis. It has upset De Narbonne and compromises -Lessart. Any man has the right to keep out of employment or be -employed, according to what he thinks he is fitted for. Now, my liege, -I am good for something or for nothing. If the latter, leave me in my -obscurity. Who knows for what fate you draw me forth? If I am good for -something, do not give me power for an instant, the premier of a day, -but place some solid footing under me that I may be your support at -another day. Our affairs--your majesty will pardon me already regarding -his business as mine--our affairs are in too great disfavor abroad for -courts to deal with an _ad interim_ ministry; this interregnum--you -will excuse the frankness of an old soldier"--no one was less frank -than Dumouriez, but he wanted to appear so at times--"this interval -will be a blunder against which the House will revolt, and it will make -me disliked there; more, I must say that it will injure the king, who -will seem still to cling to his former Cabinet, and only be waiting for -a chance to bring it back." - -"Were that my intention, do you not believe it possible, sir?" - -"I believe, sire, that it is full time to drop the past." - -"And make myself a Jacobin, as you have said to my valet, Laporte?" - -"Forsooth, did your majesty this, it would perplex all the parties, and -the Jacobins most of all." - -"Why not straightway advise me to don the red cap?" - -"I wish I saw you in it," said Dumouriez. - -For an instant the king eyed with distrust the man who had thus replied -to him; and then he resumed: - -"So you want a permanent office?" - -"I am wishing nothing at all, only ready to receive the king's orders; -still, I should prefer them to send me to the frontier to retaining me -in town." - -"But if I give you the order to stay, and the foreign office portfolio -in permanency, what will you say?" - -"That your majesty has dispelled your prejudices against me," returned -the general, with a smile. - -"Well, yes, entirely, general; you are my premier." - -"Sire, I am devoted to your service; but--" - -"Restrictions?" - -"Explanations, sire. The first minister's place is not what it was. -Without ceasing to be your majesty's faithful servant on entering the -post, I become the man of the nation. From this day, do not expect -the language my predecessors used; I must speak according to the -Constitution and liberty. Confined to my duties, I shall not play the -courtier; I shall not have the time, and I drop all etiquette so as to -better serve the king. I shall only work with you in private or at the -council--and I warn you that it will be hard work." - -"Hard work--why?" - -"Why, it is plain; almost all your diplomatic corps are -anti-revolutionists. I must urge you to change them, cross your tastes -on the new choice, propose officials of whom your majesty never so much -as heard the names, and others who will displease." - -"In which case?" quickly interrupted Louis. - -"Then I shall obey when your majesty's repugnance is too strong and -well-founded, as you are the master; but if your choice is suggested -by your surroundings, and is clearly made to get me into trouble, I -shall entreat your majesty to find a successor for me. Sire, think of -the dreadful dangers besieging your throne, and that one must have the -public confidence in support; sire, this depends on you." - -"Let me stay you a moment; I have long pondered over these dangers." -He stretched out his hand to the portrait of Charles I. of England, -by Vandyke, and continued, while wiping his forehead with his -handkerchief: "This would remind me, if I were to forget them. It is -the same situation, with similar dangers; perhaps the scaffold of -Whitehall is erecting on City Hall Place." - -"You are looking too far ahead, my lord." - -"Only to the horizon. In this event, I shall march to the scaffold -as Charles I. did, not perhaps as knightly, but at least as like a -Christian. Proceed, general." - -Dumouriez was checked by this firmness, which he had not expected. - -"Sire, allow me to change the subject." - -"As you like; I only wish to show that I am not daunted by the prospect -they try to frighten me with, but that I am prepared for even this -emergency." - -"If I am still regarded as your Minister of Foreign Affairs, I will -bring four dispatches to the first consul. I notify your majesty that -they will not resemble those of previous issue in style or principles; -they will suit the circumstances. If this first piece of work suits -your majesty, I will continue; if not, my carriage will be waiting to -carry me to serve king and country on the border; and, whatever may be -said about my diplomatic ability," added Dumouriez, "war is my true -element, and the object of my labors these thirty-six years." - -"Wait," said the other, as he bowed before going out; "we agree on one -point, but there are six more to settle." - -"My colleagues?" - -"Yes; I do not want you to say that you are hampered by such a one. -Choose your Cabinet, sir." - -"Sire, you are fixing grave responsibility on me." - -"I believe I am meeting your wishes by putting it on you." - -"Sire, I know nobody at Paris save one, Lacoste, whom I propose for the -navy office." - -"Lacoste? A clerk in the naval stores, I believe?" questioned the king. - -"Who resigned rather than connive at some foul play." - -"That's a good recommendation. What about the others?'" - -"I must consult Petion, Brissot, Condorcet--" - -"The Girondists, in short?" - -"Yes, sire." - -"Let the Gironde pass; we shall see if they will get us out of the -ditch better than the other parties." - -"We have still to learn if the four dispatches will suit." - -"We might learn that this evening; we can hold an extraordinary -council, composed of yourself, Grave, and Gerville--Duport has -resigned. But do not go yet; I want to commit you." - -He had hardly spoken before the queen and Princess Elizabeth stood in -the room, holding prayer-books. - -"Ladies," said the king, "this is General Dumouriez, who promises to -serve us well, and will arrange a new Cabinet with us this evening." - -Dumouriez bowed, while the queen looked hard at the little man who was -to exercise so much influence over the affairs of France. - -"Do you know Doctor Gilbert?" she asked. "If not, make his acquaintance -as an excellent prophet. Three months ago he foretold that you would -be Count de Narbonne's successor." - -The main doors opened, for the king was going to mass. Behind him -Dumouriez went out; but the courtiers shunned him as though he had the -leprosy. - -"I told you I should get you committed," whispered the monarch. - -"Committed to you, but not to the aristocracy," returned the warrior; -"it is a fresh favor the king grants me." Whereupon he retired. - -At the appointed hour he returned with the four dispatches -promised--for Spain, Prussia, England, and Austria. He read them to -the king and Messieurs Grave and Gerville, but he guessed that he had -another auditor behind the tapestry by its shaking. - -The new ruler spoke in the king's name, but in the sense of the -Constitution, without threats, but also without weakness. He discussed -the true interests of each power relatively to the French Revolution. -As each had complained of the Jacobin pamphlets, he ascribed the -despicable insults to the freedom of the press, a sun which made weeds -to grow as well as good grain to flourish. Lastly, he demanded peace -in the name of a free nation, of which the king was the hereditary -representative. - -The listening king lent fresh interest to each paper. - -"I never heard the like, general," he said, when the reading was over. - -"That is how ministers should speak and write in the name of rulers," -observed Gerville. - -"Well, give me the papers; they shall go off to-morrow," the king said. - -"Sire, the messengers are waiting in the palace yard," said Dumouriez. - -"I wanted to have a duplicate made to show the queen," objected the -king, with marked hesitation. - -"I foresaw the wish, and have copies here," replied Dumouriez. - -"Send off the dispatches," rejoined the king. - -The general took them to the door, behind which an aid was waiting. -Immediately the gallop of several horses was heard leaving the -Tuileries together. - -"Be it so," said the king, replying to his mind, as the meaning sounds -died away. "Now, about your Cabinet?" - -"Monsieur Gerville pleads that his health will not allow him to remain, -and Monsieur Grave, stung by a criticism of Madame Roland, wishes to -hold office until his successor is found. I therefore pray your majesty -to receive Colonel Servan, an honest man in the full acceptation of the -words, of a solid material, pure manners, philosophical austerity, and -a heart like a woman's, withal an enlightened patriot, a courageous -soldier, and a vigilant statesman." - -"Colonel Servan is taken. So we have three ministers: Dumouriez for the -Foreign Office, Servan for War, and Lacoste for the Navy. Who shall be -in the Treasury?" - -"Clavieres, if you will. He is a man with great financial friends and -supreme skill in handling money." - -"Be it so. As for the Law lord?" - -"A lawyer of Bordeaux has been recommended to me--Duranthon." - -"Belonging to the Gironde party, of course?" - -"Yes, sire, but enlightened, upright, a very good citizen, though slow -and feeble; we will infuse fire into him and be strong enough for all -of us." - -"The Home Department remains." - -"The general opinion is that this will be fitted to Roland." - -"You mean Madame Roland?" - -"To the Roland couple. I do not know them, but I am assured that the -one resembles a character of Plutarch and the other a woman from Livy." - -"Do you know that your Cabinet is already called the Breechless -Ministry?" - -"I accept the nickname, with the hope that it will be found without -_breaches_." - -"We will hold the council with them the day after to-morrow." - -General Dumouriez was going away with his colleagues, when a valet -called him aside and said that the king had something more to say to -him. - -"The king or the queen?" he questioned. - -"It is the queen, sir; but she thought there was no need for those -gentlemen to know that." - -And Weber--for this was the Austrian foster-brother of Marie -Antoinette--conducted the general to the queen's apartments, where he -introduced him as the person sent for. - -Dumouriez entered, with his heart beating more violently than when he -led a charge or mounted the deadly breach. He fully understood that he -had never stood in worse danger. The road he traveled was strewn with -corpses, and he might stumble over the dead reputations of premiers, -from Calonne to Lafayette. - -The queen was walking up and down, with a very red face. She advanced -with a majestic and irritated air as he stopped on the sill where the -door had been closed behind him. - -"Sir, you are all-powerful at this juncture," she said, breaking the -ice with her customary vivacity. "But it is by favor of the populace, -who soon shatter their idols. You are said to have much talent. Have -the wit, to begin with, to understand that the king and I will not -suffer novelties. Your constitution is a pneumatic machine; royalty -stifles in it for want of air. So I have sent for you to learn, before -you go further, whether you side with us or with the Jacobins." - -"Madame," responded Dumouriez, "I am pained by this confidence, -although I expected it, from the impression that your majesty was -behind the tapestry." - -"Which means that you have your reply ready?" - -"It is that I stand between king and country, but before all I belong -to the country." - -"The country?" sneered the queen. "Is the king no longer anything, that -everybody belongs to the country and none to him?" - -"Excuse me, lady; the king is always the king, but he has taken oath -to the Constitution, and from that day he should be one of the first -slaves of the Constitution." - -"A compulsory oath, and in no way binding, sir!" - -Dumouriez held his tongue for a space, and, being a consummate actor, -he regarded the speaker with deep pity. - -"Madame," he said, at length, "allow me to say that your safety, the -king's, your children's, all, are attached to this Constitution which -you deride, and which will save you, if you consent to be saved by it. -I should serve you badly, as well as the king, if I spoke otherwise to -you." - -The queen interrupted him with an imperious gesture. - -"Oh, sir, sir, I assure you that you are on the wrong path!" she -said; adding, with an indescribable accent of threat: "Take heed for -yourself!" - -"Madame," replied Dumouriez, in a perfectly calm tone, "I am over fifty -years of age; my life has been traversed with perils, and on taking the -ministry I said to myself that ministerial responsibility was not the -slightest danger I ever ran." - -"Fy, sir!" returned the queen, slapping her hands together; "you have -nothing more to do than to slander me?" - -"Slander you, madame?" - -"Yes; do you want me to explain the meaning of the words I used? It is -that I am capable of having you assassinated. For shame, sir!" - -Tears escaped from her eyes. Dumouriez had gone as far as she wanted; -he knew that some sensitive fiber remained in that indurated heart. - -"Lord forbid I should so insult my queen!" he cried. "The nature of -your majesty is too grand and noble for the worst of her enemies to be -inspired with such an idea, she has given heroic proofs which I have -admired, and which attached me to her." - -"Then excuse me, and lend me your arm. I am so weak that I often fear I -shall fall in a swoon." - -Turning pale, she indeed drooped her head backward. Was it reality, or -only one of the wiles in which this fearful Medea was so skilled? Keen -though the general was, he was deceived; or else, more cunning than the -enchantress, he feigned to be caught. - -"Believe me, madame," he said, "that I have no interest in cheating -you. I abhor anarchy and crime as much as yourself. Believe, too, -that I have experience, and am better placed than your majesty to see -events. What is transpiring is not an intrigue of the Duke of Orleans, -as you are led to think; not the effect of Pitt's hatred, as you have -supposed; not even the outcome of popular impulse, but the almost -unanimous insurrection of a great nation against inveterate abuses. -I grant that there is in all this great hates which fan the flames. -Leave the lunatics and the villains on one side; let us see nothing in -this revolution in progress but the king and the nation, all tending -to separate them brings about their mutual ruin. I come, my lady, to -work my utmost to reunite them; aid me, instead of thwarting me. You -mistrust me? Am I an obstacle to your anti-revolutionary projects? Tell -me so, madame, I will forthwith hand my resignation to the king, and go -and wail the fate of my country and its ruler in some nook." - -"No, no," said the queen; "remain, and excuse me." - -"Do you ask me to excuse you? Oh, madame, I entreat you not to humble -yourself thus." - -"Why should I not be humble? Am I still a queen? am I yet treated like -a woman?" - -Going to the window, she opened it in spite of the evening coolness; -the moon silvered the leafless trees of the palace gardens. - -"Are not the air and the sunshine free to all? Well, these are refused -to me; I dare not put my head out of window, either on the street or -the gardens. Yesterday I did look out on the yard, when a Guards gunner -hailed me with an insulting nickname, and said: 'How I should like to -carry your head on a bayonet-point.' This morning, I opened the garden -window. A man standing on a chair was reading infamous stuff against -me; a priest was dragged to a fountain to be ducked; and meanwhile, -as though such scenes were matters of course, children were sailing -their balloons and couples were strolling tranquilly. What times we are -living in--what a place to live in--what a people! And would you have -me still believe myself a queen, and even feel like a woman?" - -She threw herself on a sofa, and hid her face in her hands. - -Dumouriez dropped on one knee, and taking up the hem of her dress -respectfully, he kissed it. - -"Lady," he said, "from the time when I undertake this struggle, you -will become the mighty queen and the happy woman once more, or I shall -leave my life on the battle-field." - -Rising, he saluted the lady and hurried out. She watched him go with a -hopeless look, repeating: - -"The mighty queen? Perhaps, thanks to your sword--for it is possible; -but the happy woman--never, never, never!" - -She let her head fall between the sofa cushions, muttering the name -dearer every day and more painful: - -"Charny!" - -The Dumouriez Cabinet might be called one of war. - -On the first of March, the Emperor Leopold died in the midst of his -Italian harem, slain by self-compounded aphrodisiacs. The queen, who -had read in some lampoon that a penny pie would settle the monarchy, -and who had called Dr. Gilbert in to get an antidote, cried aloud that -her brother was poisoned. With him passed all the halting policy of -Austria. - -Francis II., who mounted the throne, was of mixed Italian and German -blood. An Austrian born at Florence, he was weak, violent, and tricky. -The priests reckoned him an honest man; his hard and bigoted soul -hid its duplicity under a rosy face of dreadful sameness. He walked -like a stage ghost; he gave his daughter to a conqueror rather than -part with his estate, and then stabbed him in the back at his first -retreating step in the snows. Francis II. remains in history the tyrant -of the Leads of Venice and the Spitzberg dungeons, and the torturer of -Andryane and Silvio Pellico. - -This was the protector of the French fugitives, the ally of Prussia -and the enemy of France. He held Embassador Noailles as a prisoner at -Vienna. - -The French embassador to Berlin, Segur, was preceded by a rumor that he -expected to gain the secrets of the King of Prussia by making love to -his mistresses--this King of Prussia was a lady-killer! Segur presented -himself at the same time as the envoy from the self-exiled princes at -Coblentz. - -The king turned his back on the French representative, and asked -pointedly after the health of the Prince of Artois. - -These were the two ostensible foes; the hidden ones were Spain, Russia, -and England. The chief of the coalition was to be the King of Sweden, -that dwarf in giant's armor whom Catherine II. held up in her hand. - -With the ascension of Francis, the diplomatic note came: Austria was to -rule in France, Avignon was to be restored to the pope, and things in -France were to go back to where they stood in June, 1789. - -This note evidently agreed with the secret wishes of the king and the -queen. Dumouriez laughed at it. But he took it to the king. - -As much as Marie Antoinette, the woman for extreme measures, desired -a war which she believed one of deliverance for her, the king feared -it, as the man for the medium, slowness, wavering, and crooked policy. -Indeed, suppose a victory in the war, he would be at the mercy of the -victorious general; suppose a defeat, and the people would hold him -responsible, cry treason, and rush on the palace! - -In short, should the enemy penetrate to Paris, what would it bring? -The king's brother, Count Provence, who aimed to be regent of the -realm. The result of the return of the runaway princes would be the -king deposed, Marie Antoinette pronounced an adulteress, and the royal -children proclaimed, perhaps, illegitimate. - -The king trusted foreigners, but not the princes of his own blood and -kingdom. - -On reading the note, he comprehended that the hour to draw the sword -for France had come, and that there was no receding. - -Who was to bear the flag of the revolution? Lafayette, who had lost his -fame by massacring the populace on the Paris parade-ground; Luckner, -who was known only by the mischief he wrought in the Seven Years' War, -and old Rochambeau, the French naval hero in the American Revolution, -who was for defensive war, and was vexed to see Dumouriez promote young -blood over his head without benefiting by his experience. - -It was expected that Lafayette would be victorious in the north; when -he would be commander-in-chief, Dumouriez would be the Minister of War; -they would cast down the red cap and crush Jacobins and Girondists with -the two hands. - -The counter-revolution was ready. - -But what were Robespierre and the Invisibles doing--that great secret -society which held the agitators in its grasp as Jove holds the -writhing thunder-bolts? Robespierre was in the shade, and many asserted -that he was bribed by the royal family. - -At the outset all went well for the Royalists; Lafayette's lieutenants, -two Royalists, Dillon and Biron, headed a rout before Lille; the -scouts, dragoons, still the most aristocratic arm of the service, -turned tail and started a panic. The runaways accused the captains of -treachery, and murdered Dillon and other officers. The Gironde accused -the queen and Court party of organizing the flight. - -The popular clamor compelled Marie Antoinette to let the Constitutional -Guard be abolished--another name for a royal life-guard--and it was -superseded by the Paris National Guards. - -Oh! Charny, Charny, where were you?--you who, at Varennes, nearly -rescued the queen with but three hundred horsemen--what would you not -have done at Paris with six thousand desperadoes? - -Charny was happy, forgetting everything in the arms of his countess. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -THE FOES FACE TO FACE. - - -While the queen was looking from the palace to see the Austrians -coming, another was watching in her little reception-rooms. One was -revolution embodied, the other its opponents intensified; that was -Madame Roland, this the queen from Austria. - -The real war at this period was between this pair. - -A singular thing, both had such influence over their husbands as to -lead them to death, although by different roads. - -Dumouriez had thrown a sop to the Jacobins without knowing who the -Colonel Servan was whom he took for Minister of War. He was a favorite -of Madame Roland. Like all the Girondists, of whom she was the light, -the fire, the egeria, he was inspired by that valiant spirit. - -But he and Roland were neutralized at the council by Dumouriez. They -had forced the Royalist Constitutional Guards to disband, but they had -merely changed their uniform for that of the Swiss Guards, the sworn -defenders of royalty, and swaggered about the streets more insolently -than before. - -Madame Roland suggested that, on the occasion of the July festivals, -a camp of twenty thousand volunteers should be established in Paris. -Servan was to present this as a citizen, apart from his being a -minister. In the same way, Roland was to punish the rebellious priests -who were preaching from the pulpits that taxpayers would be damned, by -ordering their exile. - -Dumouriez supported the volunteer proposition at the council, in the -hope that the new-comers would be Jacobins; that is, the Invisibles, by -whom neither the Girondists nor the Feuillants would profit. - -"If your majesty vetoes it," he said, firmly, "instead of the twenty -thousand authorized, we shall have forty thousand unruly spirits in -town, who may with one rush upset Constitution, Assembly, and the -throne. Had we been vanquishers--But we must give in--I say accept." - -But the queen urged the king to stand firm. As we know, she would -rather be lost than be saved by Lafayette. - -As for the decree against the priests, it was another matter. The king -said that he wavered in temporal questions as he judged them with his -mind, which was fallible; but he tried religious matters with his -conscience, which was infallible! - -But they could not dispense with Dumouriez at this juncture. - -"Accept the volunteer act," said the queen, at last; "let the camp be -at Soissons, where the general says he will gradually draft them off -out of the way; and--well, we will see about the decree aimed at the -priests. Dumouriez has your promise, but there must be some way of -evading the issue when you are the Jesuits' pupil!" - -Roland, Servan, and Clavieres resigned, and the Assembly applauded -their act as deserving the thanks of the country. - -Hearing of this, and that Dumouriez was badly compromised, the pupil of -Vauguyon agreed to the Volunteer Camp Bill, but pleading conscientious -scruples, deferred signing the decree banishing the refractory -priests. This made the new ministers wince, and Dumouriez went away -sore at heart. The king had almost succeeded in baffling him, the -fine diplomatist, sharp politician, and the general whose courage was -doubled by intrigue! - -He found at home the spies' reports that the Invisibles were holding -meetings in the working quarters, and openly at Santerre's brewery. He -wrote to warn the king, whose answer was: - -"Do not believe that I can be bullied; my mind is made up." - -Dumouriez replied, asking for an audience, and requested his successor -to be sought for. It was clear that the anti-revolutionist party felt -strong. - -Indeed, they were reckoning on the following forces: - -The Constitutional Guards, six thousand strong, disbanded, but ready -to fly to arms at the first call; seven or eight thousand Knights of -the Order of St. Louis, whose red ribbon was the rallying token; three -battalions of Switzers, sixteen hundred men, picked soldiers, unshaken -as the old Helvetic rocks. - -Better than all, Lafayette had written: "Persist, sire; fortified with -the authority the National Assembly has delegated to you, you will find -all good citizens on your side!" - -The plan was to gather all the forces at a given signal, seize the -cannon of each section of Paris, shut up the Jacobin's Club-house and -the Assembly, add all the Royalists in the National Guard, say, a -contingent of fifteen thousand men, and wait for Lafayette, who might -march up in three days. - -The misfortune was that the queen would not hear of Lafayette. -Lafayette was merely the Revolution moderated, and might prolong it and -lead to a republic like that he had brought round in America; while the -Jacobins' outrageous rule would sicken the people and could not endure. - -Oh, had Charny been at hand! But it was not even known where he was; -and were it known, it would be too low an abasement for the woman, if -not the queen, to have recourse to him. - -The night passed tumultuously at the palace, where they had the means -of defense and attack, but not a hand strong enough to grasp and hurl -them. - -Dumouriez and his colleagues came to resign. They affirmed they were -willing to die for the king, but to do this for the clergy would only -precipitate the downfall of the monarchy. - -"Sire," pleaded Dumouriez, "your conscience is misled; you are beguiled -into civil war. Without strength, you must succumb, and history, while -sorrowing for you, will blame you for causing the woes of France." - -"Heaven be my witness that I wished but her happiness!" - -"I do not doubt that; but one must account to the King of kings not -only for purity of intentions, but the enlightened use of intentions. -You suppose you are saving religion, but you will destroy it; your -priests will be massacred; your broken crown will roll in your blood, -the queen's, your children's, perhaps--oh, my king, my king!" - -Choking, he applied his lips to the royal hand. With perfect serenity, -and a majesty of which he might not be believed capable, Louis replied. - -"You are right, general. I expect death, and forgive my murderers -beforehand. You have well served me; I esteem you, and am affected by -your sympathy. Farewell, sir!" - -With Dumouriez going, royalty had parted with its last stay. The king -threw off the mask, and stood with uncovered face before the people. - -Let us see what the people were doing on their side. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -THE UNINVITED VISITORS. - - -All day long a man in general's uniform was riding about the St. -Antoine suburb, on a large Flanders horse, shaking hands right and -left, kissing the girls and treating the men to drink. This was one of -Lafayette's half dozen heirs, the small-change of the commander of the -National Guard--Battalion Commander Santerre. - -Beside him rode, on a fiery charger, like an aid next his general, a -stout man who might by his dress be taken to be a well-to-do farmer. A -scar tracked his brow, and he had as gloomy an eye and scowling a face -as the battalion commander had an open countenance and frank smile. - -"Get ready, my good friends; watch over the nation, against which -traitors are plotting. But we are on guard," Santerre kept saying. - -"What are we to do, friend Santerre?" asked the working-men. "You know -that we are all your own. Where are the traitors? Lead us at them!" - -"Wait; the proper time has not come." - -"When will it strike?" - -Santerre did not know a word about it; so he replied at a hazard, "Keep -ready; we'll let you know." - -But the man who rode by his knee, bending down over the horse's neck, -would make signs to some men, and whisper: - -"June twenty." - -Whereupon these men would call groups of twenty or so around each, and -repeat the date to them, so that it would be circulated. Nobody knew -what would be done on the twentieth of June, but all felt sure that -something would happen on that day. - -By whom was this mob moved, stirred, and excited? By a man of powerful -build, leonine mane, and roaring voice, whom Santerre was to find -waiting in his brewery office--Danton. - -None better than this terrible wizard of the Revolution could evoke -terror from the slums and hurl it into the old palace of Catherine di -Medicis. Danton was the gong of riots; the blow he received he imparted -vibratingly to all the multitude around him. Through Hebert he was -linked to the populace, as by the Duke of Orleans he was affixed to the -throne. - -Whence came his power, doomed to be so fatal to royalty? To the queen, -the spiteful Austrian who had not liked Lafayette to be mayor of Paris, -but preferred Petion, the Republican, who had no sooner brought back -the fugitive king to the Tuileries than he set to watch him closely. - -Petion had made his two friends, Manuel and Danton, the Public -Prosecutor and the Vice, respectively. - -On the twentieth of June, under the pretext of presenting a petition to -the king and raising a liberty pole, the palace was to be stormed. - -The adepts alone knew that France was to be saved from the Lafayettes -and the Moderates, and a warning to be given to the incorrigible -monarch that there are some political tempests in which a vessel may -be swamped with all hands aboard; that is, a king be overwhelmed with -throne and family as in the oceanic abysses. - -Billet knew more than Santerre when he accompanied him on his tour, -after presenting himself as from the committee. - -Danton called on the brewer to arrange for the meeting of the popular -leaders that night at Charenton for the march on the morrow, presumably -to the House, but really to the Tuileries. - -The watchword was, "Have done with the palace!" but the way remained -vague. - -On the evening of the nineteenth, the queen saw a woman clad in -scarlet, with a belt full of pistols, gallop, bold and terrible, along -the main streets. It was Theroigne Mericourt, the beauty of Liege, who -had gone back to her native country to help its rebellion; but the -Austrians had caught her and kept her imprisoned for eighteen months. - -She returned mysteriously to be at the bloody feast of the coming day. -The courtesan of opulence, she was now the beloved of the people; from -her noble lovers had come the funds for her costly weapons, which were -not all for show. Hence the mob hailed her with cheers. - -From the Tuileries garret, where the queen had climbed on hearing the -uproar, she saw tables set out in the public squares and wine broached; -patriotic songs were sung and at every toast fists were shaken at the -palace. - -Who were the guests? The Federals of Marseilles, led by Barbaroux, who -brought with them the song worth an army--"the Marseillaise Hymn of -Liberty." - -Day breaks early in June. At five o'clock the battalions were -marshaled, for the insurrection was regularized by this time and had a -military aspect. The mob had chiefs, submitted to discipline, and fell -into assigned places under flags. - -Santerre was on horseback, with his staff of men from the working -district. Billet did not leave him, for the occult power of the -Invisibles charged him to watch over him. - -Of the three corps into which the forces were divided, Santerre -commanded the first, St. Huruge the second, and Theroigne the last. - -About eleven, on an order brought by an unknown man, the immense mass -started out. It numbered some twenty thousand when it left the Bastile -Square. - -It had a wild, odd, and horrible look. - -Santerre's battalion was the most regular, having many in uniform, and -muskets and bayonets among the weapons. But the other two were armed -mobs, haggard, thin, and in rags from three years of revolutions and -four of famine. - -Neither had uniforms nor muskets, but tattered coats and smocks; quaint -arms snatched up in the first impulse of self-defense and anger: pikes, -cooking-spits, jagged spears, hiltless swords, knives lashed to long -poles, broad-axes, stone-masons' hammers and curriers' knives. - -For standards, a gallows with a dangling doll, meant for the queen; a -bull's head, with an obscene card stuck on the horns; a calf's heart -on a spit, with the motto: "An Aristocrat's;" while flags showed the -legends: "Sanction the decrees, or death!"--"Recall the patriotic -ministers!"--"Tremble, tyrant; your hour has come!" - -At every crossing and from each by-way the army was swollen. - -The mass was silent, save now and then when a cheer burst from the -midst, or a snatch of the "It shall go on" was sung, or cries went up -of "The nation forever!"--"Long live the Breechless!"--"Down with Old -Veto and Madame Veto!" - -They came out for sport--to frighten the king and queen, and did not -mean murdering. They demanded to march past the Assembly through -the Hall, and for three hours they defiled under the eyes of their -representatives. - -It was three o'clock. The mob had obtained half their programme, the -placing of their petition before the Assembly. The next thing was to -call on the king for his sanction to the decree. - -As the Assembly had received them, how could the king refuse? Surely he -was not a greater potentate than the Speaker of the House, whose chair -was like his and in the grander place? - -In fact, the king assented to receiving their deputation of twenty. - -As the common people had never entered the palace, they merely expected -their representatives would be received while they marched by under the -windows. They would show the king their banners with the odd devices -and the gory standards. - -All the palace garden gates were closed; in the yards and gardens -were soldiers with four field-pieces. Seeing this apparently ample -protection, the royal family might be tranquil. - -Still without any evil idea, the crowd asked for the gates to be opened -which allowed entrance on the Feuillants Terrace. - -Three municipal officers went in and got leave from the king for -passage to be given over the terrace and out by the stable doors. - -Everybody wanted to go in as soon as the gates were open, and the -throng spread over the lawn; it was forgotten to open the outlet by the -stables, and the crush began to be severe. They streamed before the -National Guards in a row along the palace wall to the Carrousel gates, -by which they might have resumed the homeward route. They were locked -and guarded. - -Sweltering, crushed, and turned about, the mob began to be irritated. -Before its growls the gates were opened and the men spread over the -capacious square. - -There they remembered what the main affair was--to petition the king -to revoke his veto. Instead of continuing the road, they waited in the -square for an hour, when they grew impatient. - -They might have gone away, but that was not the aim of the agitators, -who went from group to group, saying: - -"Stay; what do you want to sneak away for? The king is going to give -his sanction; if we were to go home without that, we should have all -our work to do over again." - -The level-headed thought this sensible advice, but at the same time -that the sanction was a long time coming. They were getting hungry, and -that was the general cry. - -Bread was not so dear as it had been, but there was no work going on, -and however cheap bread may be, it is not made for nothing. - -Everybody had risen at five, workmen and their wives, with their -children, and come to the palace with the idea that they had but to get -the royal sanction to have hard times end. But the king did not seem to -be at all eager to give his sanction. - -It was hot, and thirst began to be felt. Hunger, thirst, and heat drive -dogs mad; yet the poor people waited and kept patient. But those next -to the railings set to shaking them. A municipal officer made a speech -to them: - -"Citizens, this is the king's residence, and to enter with arms is to -violate it. The king is quite ready to receive your petition, but only -from twenty deputies bearing it." - -What! had not their deputation, sent in an hour ago, been attended to -yet? - -Suddenly loud shouts were heard on the streets. It was Santerre, -Billet, and Huruge on their horses, and Theroigne riding on her cannon. - -"What are you fellows hanging round this gate for?" queried Huruge. -"Why do you not go right in?" - -"Just so; why haven't we?" said the thousands. - -"Can't you see it is fast?" cried several voices. - -Theroigne jumped off her cannon, saying: - -"The barker is full to the muzzle; let's blow the old gate open." - -"Wait! wait!" shouted two municipal officers; "no roughness. It shall -be opened to you." - -Indeed, by pressing on the spring-catch they released the two gates, -which drew aside, and the mass rushed through. - -Along with them came the cannon, which crossed the yard with them, -mounted the steps, and reached the head of the stairs in their company. -Here stood the city officials in their scarfs of office. - -"What do you intend doing with a piece of artillery?" they challenged. -"Great guns in the royal apartments! Do you believe anything is to be -gained by such violence?" - -"Quite right," said the ringleaders, astonished themselves to see the -gun there; and they turned it round to get it down-stairs. The hub -caught on the jamb, and the muzzle gaped on the crowd. - -"Why, hang them all, they have got cannon all over the palace!" -commented the new-comers, not knowing their own artillery. - -Police-Magistrate Mouchet, a deformed dwarf, ordered the men to chop -the wheel clear, and they managed to hack the door-jamb away so as -to free the piece, which was taken down to the yard. This led to the -report that the mob were smashing all the doors in. - -Some two hundred noblemen ran to the palace, not with the hope of -defending it, but to die with the king, whose life they deemed menaced. -Prominent among these was a man in black, who had previously offered -his breast to the assassin's bullet, and who always leaped like a last -Life-Guard between danger and the king, from whom he had tried to -conjure it. This was Gilbert. - -After being excited by the frightful tumult, the king and queen became -used to it. - -It was half past three, and it was hoped that the day would close with -no more harm done. - -Suddenly, the sound of the ax blows was heard above the noise of -clamor, like the howling of a coming tempest. A man darted into the -king's sleeping-room and called out: - -"Sire, let me stand by you, and I will answer for all." - -It was Dr. Gilbert, seen at almost periodical intervals, and in all the -"striking situations" of the tragedy in play. - -"Oh, doctor, is this you? What is it?" King and queen spoke together. - -"The palace is surrounded, and the people are making this uproar in -wanting to see you." - -"We shall not leave you, sire," said the queen and Princess Elizabeth. - -"Will the king kindly allow me for an hour such power as a captain has -over his ship?" asked Gilbert. - -"I grant it," replied the monarch. "Madame, hearken to Doctor Gilbert's -advice, and obey his orders, if needs must." He turned to the doctor: -"Will you answer to me for the queen and the dauphin?" - -"I do, or I shall die with them; it is all a pilot can say in the -tempest!" - -The queen wished to make a last effort, but Gilbert barred the way with -his arms. - -"Madame," he said, "it is you and not the king who run the real -danger. Rightly or wrongly, they accuse you of the king's resistance, -so that your presence will expose him without defending him. Be the -lightning-conductor--divert the bolt, if you can!" - -"Then let it fall on me, but save my children!" - -"I have answered for you and them to the king. Follow me." - -He said the same to Princess Lamballe, who had returned lately from -London, and the other ladies, and guided them to the Council Hall, -where he placed them in a window recess, with the heavy table before -them. - -The queen stood behind her children--Innocence protecting Unpopularity, -although she wished it to be the other way. - -"All is well thus," said Gilbert, in the tone of a general commanding a -decisive operation; "do not stir." - -There came a pounding at the door, which he threw open with both folds, -and as he knew there were many women in the crowd, he cried: - -"Walk in, citizenesses; the queen and her children await you." - -The crowd burst in as through a broken dam. - -"Where is the Austrian? where is the Lady Veto?" demanded five hundred -voices. - -It was the critical moment. - -"Be calm," said Gilbert to the queen, knowing that all was in Heaven's -hand, and man was as nothing. "I need not recommend you to be kind." - -Preceding the others was a woman with her hair down, who brandished a -saber; she was flushed with rage--perhaps from hunger. - -"Where is the Austrian cat? She shall die by no hand but mine!" she -screamed. - -"This is she," said Gilbert, taking her by the hand and leading her up -to the queen. - -"Have I ever done you a personal wrong?" demanded the latter, in her -sweetest voice. - -"I can not say you have," faltered the woman of the people, amazed at -the majesty and gentleness of Marie Antoinette. - -"Then why should you wish to kill me?" - -"Folks told me that you were the ruin of the nation," faltered the -abashed young woman, lowering the point of her saber to the floor. - -"Then you were told wrong. I married your King of France, and am -mother of the prince whom you see here. I am a French woman, one who -will nevermore see the land where she was born; in France alone I must -dwell, happy or unhappy. Alas! I was happy when you loved me." And she -sighed. - -The girl dropped the sword, and wept. - -"Beg your pardon, madame, but I did not know what you were like. I see -you are a good sort, after all." - -"Keep on like that," prompted Gilbert, "and not only will you be saved, -but all these people will be at your feet in an hour." - -Intrusting her to some National Guardsmen and the War Minister, who -came in with the mob, he ran to the king. - -Louis had gone through a similar experience. On hastening toward the -crowd, as he opened the Bull's-eye Room, the door panels were dashed -in, and pikes, bayonets, and axes showed their points and edges. - -"Open the doors!" cried the king. - -Servants heaped up chairs before him, and four grenadiers stood in -front, but he made them put up their swords, as the flash of steel -might seem a provocation. - -A ragged fellow, with a knife-blade set in a pole, darted at the king, -yelling: - -"Take that for your veto!" - -One grenadier, who had not yet sheathed his sword, struck down the -stick with the blade. But it was the king who, entirely recovering -self-command, put the soldier aside with his hand, and said: - -"Let me stand forward, sir. What have I to fear amid my people?" - -Taking a forward step, Louis XVI., with a majesty not expected in him, -and a courage strange heretofore in him, offered his breast to the -weapons of all sorts directed against him. - -"Hold your noise!" thundered a stentorian voice in the midst of the -awful din. "I want a word in here." - -A cannon might have vainly sought to be heard in this clamor, but at -this voice all the vociferation ceased. This was the butcher Legendre. -He went up almost to touching the king, while they formed a ring round -the two. - -Just then, on the outer edge of the circle, a man made his appearance, -and behind the dread double of Danton, the king recognized Gilbert, -pale and serene of face. The questioning glance implying: "What have -you done with the queen?" was answered by the doctor's smile to the -effect that she was in safety. He thanked him with a nod. - -"Sirrah," began Legendre. - -This expression, which seemed to indicate that the sovereign was -already deposed, made the latter turn as if a snake had stung him. - -"Yes, sir, I am talking to you, Veto," went on Legendre. "Just listen -to us, for it is our turn to have you hear us. You are a double-dealer, -who have always cheated us, and would try it again, so look out for -yourself. The measure is full, and the people are tired of being your -plaything and victim." - -"Well, I am listening to you, sir," rejoined the king. - -"And a good thing, too. Do you know what we have come here for? To ask -the sanction of the decrees and the recall of the ministers. Here is -our petition--see!" - -Taking a paper from his pocket, he unfolded it, and read the same -menacing lines which had been heard in the House. With his eyes fixed -on the speaker, the king listened, and said, when it was ended, without -the least apparent emotion: - -"Sir, I shall do what the laws and the Constitution order me to do!" - -"Gammon!" broke in a voice; "the Constitution is your high horse, which -lets you block the road of the whole country, to keep France in-doors, -for fear of being trampled on, and wait till the Austrians come up to -cut her throat." - -The king turned toward this fresh voice, comprehending that it was a -worse danger. Gilbert also made a movement and laid his hand on the -speaker's shoulder. - -"I have seen you somewhere before, friend," remarked the king. "Who are -you?" - -He looked with more curiosity than fear, though this man wore a front -of terrible resolution. - -"Ay, you have seen me before, sire. Three times: once, when you were -brought back from Versailles; next at Varennes; and the last time, -here. Sire, bear my name in mind, for it is of ill omen. It is Billet." - -At this the shouting was renewed, and a man with a lance tried to stab -the king; but Billet seized the weapon, tore it from the wielder's -grip, and snapped it across his knee. - -"No foul play," he said; "only one kind of steel has the right to touch -this man: the ax of the executioner! I hear that a King of England had -his head cut off by the people whom he betrayed--you ought to know his -name, Louis. Don't you forget it." - -"'Sh, Billet!" muttered Gilbert. - -"Oh, you may say what you like," returned Billet, shaking his head; -"this man is going to be tried and doomed as a traitor." - -"Yes, a traitor!" yelled a hundred voices; "traitor, traitor!" - -Gilbert threw himself in between. - -"Fear nothing, sire, and try by some material token to give -satisfaction to these mad men." - -Taking the physician's hand, the king laid it on his heart. - -"You see that I fear nothing," he said; "I received the sacraments this -morning. Let them do what they like with me. As for the material sign -which you suggest I should display--are you satisfied?" - -Taking the red cap from a by-stander, he set it on his own head. The -multitude burst into applause. - -"Hurrah for the king!" shouted all the voices. - -A fellow broke through the crowd and held up a bottle. - -"If fat old Veto loves the people as much as he says, prove it by -drinking our health." - -"Do not drink," whispered a voice. "It may be poisoned." - -"Drink, sire, I answer for the honesty," said Gilbert. - -The king took the bottle, and saying, "To the health of the people," he -drank. Fresh cheers for the king resounded. - -"Sire, you have nothing to fear," said Gilbert; "allow me to return to -the queen." - -"Go," said the other, gripping his hand. - -More tranquil, the doctor hastened to the Council Hall, where he -breathed still easier after one glance. The queen stood in the same -spot; the little prince, like his father, was wearing the red cap. - -In the next room was a great hubbub; it was the reception of Santerre, -who rolled into the hall. - -"Where is this Austrian wench?" demanded he. - -Gilbert cut slanting across the hall to intercept him. - -"Halloo, Doctor Gilbert!" said he, quite joyfully. - -"Who has not forgotten that you were one of those who opened the -Bastile doors to me," replied the doctor. "Let me present you to the -queen." - -"Present me to the queen?" growled the brewer. - -"You will not refuse, will you?" - -"Faith, I'll not. I was going to introduce myself; but as you are in -the way--" - -"Monsieur Santerre needs no introduction," interposed the queen. "I -know how at the famine time he fed at his sole expense half the St. -Antoine suburb." - -Santerre stopped, astonished; then, his glance happening to fall, -embarrassed, on the dauphin, whose perspiration was running down his -cheeks, he roared: - -"Here, take that sweater off the boy--don't you see he is smothering?" - -The queen thanked him with a look. He leaned on the table, and bending -toward her, he said in an under-tone: - -"You have a lot of clumsy friends, madame. I could tell you of some who -would serve you better." - -An hour afterward all the mob had flowed away, and the king, -accompanied by his sister, entered the room where the queen and his -children awaited him. - -She ran to him and threw herself at his feet, while the children -seized his hands, and all acted as though they had been saved from a -shipwreck. It was only then that the king noticed that he was wearing -the red cap. - -"Faugh!" he said; "I had forgotten!" - -Snatching it off with both hands, he flung it far from him with disgust. - -The evacuation of the palace was as dull and dumb as the taking had -been gleeful and noisy. Astonished at the little result, the mob said: - -"We have not made anything; we shall have to come again." - -In fact, it was too much for a threat, and not enough for an attempt on -the king's life. - -Louis had been judged on his reputation, and recalling his flight to -Varennes, disguised as a serving-man, they had thought that he would -hide under a table at the first noise, and might be done to death in -the scuffle, like Polonius behind the arras. - -Things had happened otherwise; never had the monarch been calmer, never -so grand. In the height of the threats and the insults he had not -ceased to say: "Behold your king!" - -The Royalists were delighted, for, to tell the truth, they had carried -the day. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -"THE COUNTRY IS IN DANGER!" - - -The king wrote to the Assembly to complain of the violation of his -residence, and he issued a proclamation to "his people." So it appeared -there were two peoples--the king's, and those he complained of. - -On the twenty-fourth, the king and queen were cheered by the National -Guards, whom they were reviewing, and on this same day, the Paris -Directory suspended Mayor Petion, who had told the king to his face -that the city was not riotous. - -Whence sprung such audacity? - -Three days after, the murder was out. - -Lafayette came to beard the Assembly in its House, taunted by a member, -who had said, when he wrote to encourage the king in his opposition and -to daunt the representatives: - -"He is very saucy in the midst of his army; let us see if he would talk -as big if he stood among us." - -He escaped censure by a nominal majority--a victory worse than a defeat. - -Lafayette had again sacrificed his popularity for the Royalists. - -He cherished a last hope. With the enthusiasm to be kindled among -the National Guards by the king and their old commander, he proposed -to march on the Assembly and put down the Opposition, while in the -confusion the king should gain the camp at Maubeuge. - -It was a bold scheme, but was almost sure in the state of minds. - -Unfortunately, Danton ran to Petion at three in the morning with the -news, and the review was countermanded. - -Who had betrayed the king and the general? The queen, who had said she -would rather be lost than owe safety to Lafayette. - -She was helping fate, for she was doomed to be slain by Danton. - -But supposing she had less spite, and the Girondists might have been -crushed. They were determined not to be caught napping another time. - -It was necessary to restore the revolutionary current to its old -course, for it had been checked and was running up-stream. - -The soul of the party, Mme. Roland, hoped to do this by rousing the -Assembly. She chose the orator Vergniaud to make the appeal, and -in a splendid speech, he shouted from the rostrum what was already -circulating in an under-tone: - -"The country is in danger!" - -The effect was like a waterspout; the whole House, even to the -Royalists, spectators, officials, all were enveloped and carried away -by this mighty cyclone; all roared with enthusiasm. - -That same evening Barbaroux wrote to his friend Rebecqui, at Marseilles: - -"Send me five hundred men eager to die." - -On the eleventh of July, the Assembly declared the country to be in -danger, but the king withheld his authorization until the twenty-first, -late at night. Indeed, this call to arms was an admission that the -ruler was impotent, for the nation would not be asked to help herself -unless the king could or would do nothing. - -Great terror made the palace quiver in the interval, as a plot was -expected to break out on the fourteenth, the anniversary of the taking -of the Bastile--a holiday. - -Robespierre had sent an address out from the Jacobin Club which -suggested regicide. - -So persuaded was the Court party, that the king was induced to wear a -shirt of mail to protect him against the assassin's knife, and Mme. -Campan had another for the queen, who refused to don it. - -"I should be only too happy if they would slay me," she observed, in -a low voice. "Oh, God, they would do me a greater kindness than Thou -didst in giving me life! they would relieve me of a burden!" - -Mme. Campan went out, choking. The king, who was in the corridor, took -her by the hand and led her into the lobby between his rooms and his -son's, and stopping, groped for a secret spring; it opened a press, -perfectly hidden in the wall, with the edges guarded by the moldings. -A large portfolio of papers was in the closet, with gold coin on the -shelves. - -The case of papers was so heavy that the lady could not lift it, and -the king carried it to her rooms, saying that the queen would tell her -how to dispose of it. She thrust it between the bed and the mattress, -and went to the queen, who said: - -"Campan, those are documents fatal to the king if he were placed on -trial, which the Lord forbid. Particularly--which is why, no doubt, he -confides it all to you--there is a report of a council, in which the -king gave his opinion against war; he made all the ministers sign it, -and reckons on this document being as beneficial in event of a trial as -the others may be hurtful." - -The July festival arrived. The idea was to celebrate the triumph of -Petion over the king--that of murdering the latter not being probably -entertained. - -Suspended in his functions by the Assembly, Petion was restored to them -on the eve of the rejoicings. - -At eleven in the morning, the king came down the grand staircase with -the queen and the royal children. Three or four thousand troops, of -unknown tendencies, escorted them. In vain did the queen seek on their -faces some marks of sympathy; the kindest averted their faces. - -There was no mistaking the feeling of the crowd, for cheers for Petion -rose on all sides. As if, too, to give the ovation a more durable stamp -than momentary enthusiasm, the king and the queen could read on all -hats a lettered ribbon: "Petion forever!" - -The queen was pale and trembling. Convinced that a plot was aimed at -her husband's life, she started at every instant, fancying she saw a -hand thrust out to bring down a dagger or level a pistol. - -On the parade-ground, the monarch alighted, took a place on the left of -the Speaker of the House, and with him walked up to the Altar of the -Country. The queen had to separate from her lord here to go into the -grand stand with her children; she stopped, refusing to go any further -until she saw how he got on, and kept her eyes on him. - -At the foot of the altar, one of those rushes came which is common to -great gatherings. The king disappeared as though submerged. - -The queen shrieked, and made as if to rush to him; but he rose into -view anew, climbing the steps of the altar. - -Among the ordinary symbols figuring in these feasts, such as justice, -power, liberty, etc., one glittered mysteriously and dreadfully under -black crape, carried by a man clad in black and crowned with cypress. -This weird emblem particularly caught the queen's eyes. She was riveted -to the spot, and, while encouraged a little by the king's fate, she -could not take her gaze from this somber apparition. Making an effort -to speak, she gasped, without addressing any one specially: - -"Who is that man dressed in mourning?" - -"The death's-man," replied a voice which made her shudder. - -"And what has he under the veil?" continued she. - -"The ax which chopped off the head of King Charles I." - -The queen turned round, losing color, for she thought she recognized -the voice. She was not mistaken; the speaker was the magician who had -shown her the awful future in a glass at Taverney, and warned her at -Sèvres and on her return from Varennes--Cagliostro, in fact. - -She screamed, and fell fainting into Princess Elizabeth's arms. - -One week subsequently, on the twenty-second, at six in the morning, all -Paris was aroused by the first of a series of minute guns. The terrible -booming went on all through the day. - -At day-break the six legions of the National Guards were collected at -the City Hall. Two processions were formed throughout the town and -suburbs to spread the proclamation that the country was in danger. - -Danton had the idea of this dreadful show, and he had intrusted the -details to Sergent, the engraver, an immense stage-manager. - -Each party left the Hall at six o'clock. - -First marched a cavalry squadron, with the mounted band playing -a funeral march, specially composed. Next, six field-pieces, -abreast where the road-way was wide enough, or in pairs. -Then four heralds on horseback, bearing ensigns labeled -"Liberty"--"Equality"--"Constitution"--"Our Country." Then came twelve -city officials, with swords by the sides and their scarfs on. Then, -all alone, isolated like France herself, a National Guardsman, in the -saddle of a black horse, holding a large tri-color flag, on which was -lettered: - - "CITIZENS, THE COUNTRY IS IN DANGER!" - -In the same order as the preceding, rolled six guns with weighty -jolting and heavy rumbling, National Guards and cavalry at the rear. - -On every bridge, crossing, and square, the party halted, and silence -was commanded by the ruffling of the drums. The banners were waved, and -when no sound was heard and the crowd held their peace, the grave voice -of the municipal crier arose, reading the proclamation, and adding: - -"The country is in danger!" - -This last line was dreadful, and rang in all hearts. It was the shriek -of the nation, of the motherland, of France. It was the parent calling -on her offspring to help her. - -And ever and anon the guns kept thundering. - -On all the large open places platforms were run up for the voluntary -enlistments. With the intoxication of patriotism, the men rushed to put -their names down. Some were too old, but lied to be inscribed; some too -young, but stood on tiptoe and swore they were full sixteen. - -Those who were accepted leaped to the ground, waving their enrollment -papers, and cheering or singing the "Let it go on," and kissing the -cannon's mouth. - -It was the betrothal of the French to war--this war of twenty odd -years, which will result in the freedom of Europe, although it may not -altogether be in our time. - -The excitement was so great that the Assembly was appalled by its own -work; it sent men through the town to cry out: "Brothers, for the sake -of the country, no rioting! The court wishes disorder as an excuse for -taking the king out of the city, so give it no pretext. The king should -stay among us." - -These dread sowers of words added in a deep voice: - -"He must be punished." - -They mentioned nobody by name, but all knew who was meant. - -Every cannon-report had an echo in the heart of the palace. Those -were the king's rooms where the queen and the rest of the family were -gathered. They kept together all day, from feeling that their fate was -decided this time, so grand and solemn. They did not separate until -midnight, when the last cannon was fired. - -On the following night Mme. Campan was aroused; she had slept in the -queen's bedroom since a fellow had been caught there with a knife, who -might have been a murderer. - -"Is your majesty ill?" she asked, hearing a moan. - -"I am always in pain, Campan, but I trust to have it over soon now. -Yes," and she held out her pale hand in the moonbeam, making it seem -all the whiter, "in a month this same moonlight will see us free and -disengaged from our chains." - -"Oh, you have accepted Lafayette's offers," said the lady, "and you -will flee?" - -"Lafayette's help? Thank God, no," said the queen, with repugnance -there was no mistaking; "no, but in a month, my nephew, Francis, will -be in Paris." - -"Is your majesty quite sure?" asked the royal governess, alarmed. - -"Yes, all is settled," returned the sovereign; "alliance is made -between Austria and Prussia, two powers who will march upon Paris in -combination. We have the route of the French princes and their allied -armies, and we can surely say that on such and such a day they will be -here or there." - -"But do you not fear--" - -"Murder?" The queen finished the phrase. "I know that might befall; but -they may hold us as hostages for their necks when vengeance impends. -However, nothing venture, nothing win." - -"And when do the allied sovereigns expect to be in Paris?" inquired -Mme. Campan. - -"Between the fifteenth and twentieth of August," was the reply. - -"God grant it!" said the lady. - -But the prayer was not granted; or, if heard, Heaven sent France the -succor she had not dreamed of--the Marseillaise Hymn of Liberty. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -THE MEN FROM MARSEILLES. - - -We have said that Barbaroux had written to a friend in the south to -send him five hundred men willing to die. - -Who was the man who could write such lines? and what influence had he -over his friends? - -Charles Barbaroux was a very handsome young man of barely twenty-five, -who was reproached for his beauty, and considered by Mme. Roland as -frivolous and too generally amorous. On the contrary, he loved his -country alone, or must have loved her best, for he died for her. - -Son of a hardy sea-faring man, he was a poet and orator when quite -young--at the breaking out of trouble in his native town during the -election of Mirabeau. He was then appointed secretary to the Marseilles -town board. Riots at Arles drew him into them; but the seething caldron -of Paris claimed him; the immense furnace which needed perfume, the -huge crucible hissing for purest metal. - -He was Roland's correspondent at the south, and Mme. Roland had -pictured from his regular, precise, and wise letters, a man of forty, -with his head bald from much thinking, and his forehead wrinkled -with vigils. The reality of her dream was a young man, gay, merry, -light, fond of her sex, the type of the rich and brilliant generation -flourishing in '92, to be cut down in '93. - -It was in this head, esteemed too frivolous by Mme. Roland, that the -first thought of the tenth of August was conceived, perhaps. - -The storm was in the air, but the clouds were tossing about in all -directions for Barbaroux to give them a direction and pile them up over -the Tuileries. - -When nobody had a settled plan, he wrote for five hundred determined -men. - -The true ruler of France was the man who could write for such men and -be sure of their coming. - -Rebecqui chose them himself out of the revolutionists who had fought -in the last two years' popular affrays, in Avignon and the other fiery -towns; they were used to blood; they did not know what fatigue was by -name. - -On the appointed day they set out on the two hundred league tramp, as -if it were a day's strolling. Why not? They were hardy seamen, rugged -peasants, sunburned by the African simoom or the mountain gale, with -hands callous from the spade or tough with tar. - -Wherever they passed along they were hailed as brigands. - -In a halt they received the words and music of Rouget de l'Isle's "Hymn -to Liberty," sent as a viaticum by Barbaroux to shorten the road. The -lips of the Marseilles men made it change in character, while the words -were altered by their new emphasis. The song of brotherhood became one -of death and extermination--forever "the Marseillaise." - -Barbaroux had planned to head with the Marseilles men some forty -thousand volunteers Santerre was to have ready to meet them, overwhelm -the City Hall and the House, and then storm the palace. But Santerre -went to greet them with only two hundred men, not liking to let the -strangers have the glory of such a rush. - -With ardent eyes, swart visages, and shrill voices, the little band -strode through all Paris to the Champs Elysées, singing the thrilling -song. They camped there, awaiting the banquet on the morrow. - -It took place, but some grenadiers were arrayed close to the spot, a -Royalist guard set as a rampart between them and the palace. - -They divined they were enemies, and commencing by insults, they went -on to exchanging fisticuffs. At the first blood the Marseillaise -shouted "To arms!" raided the stacks of muskets, and sent the -grenadiers flying with their own bayonets. Luckily, they had the -Tuileries at their backs and got over the draw-bridge, finding shelter -in the royal apartments. There is a legend that the queen bound up the -wounds of one soldier. - -The Federals numbered five thousand--Marseilles men, Bretons, and -Dauphinois. They were a power, not from their number, but their faith. -The spirit of the revolution was in them. - -They had fire-arms but no ammunition; they called for cartridges, but -none were supplied. Two of them went to the mayor and demanded powder, -or they would kill themselves in the office. - -Two municipal officers were on duty--Sergent, Danton's man, and Panis, -Robespierre's. - -Sergent had artistic imagination and a French heart; he felt that the -young men spoke with the voice of the country. - -"Look out, Panis," he said; "if these youths kill themselves, the blood -will fall on our heads." - -"But if we deliver the powder without authorization, we risk our necks." - -"Never mind. I believe the time has come to risk our necks. In that -case, everybody for himself," replied Sergent. "Here goes for mine; you -can do as you like." - -He signed the delivery note, and Panis put his name to it. - -Things were easier now; when the Marseilles men had powder and shot -they would not let themselves be butchered without hitting back. - -As soon as they were armed, the Assembly received their petition, and -allowed them to attend the session. The Assembly was in great fear, so -much so as to debate whether it ought not to transfer the meetings to -the country. For everybody stood in doubt, feeling the ground to quake -underfoot and fearing to be swallowed. - -This wavering chafed the southerners. No little disheartened, Barbaroux -talked of founding a republic in the south. - -He turned to Robespierre, to see if he would help to set the ball -rolling. But the Incorruptible's conditions gave him suspicions, and he -left him, saying: - -"We will no more have a dictator than a king." - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -THE FRIEND IN NEED. - - -The very thing encouraging the Tuileries party was what awed the rebels. - -The palace had become a formidable fortress, with a dreadful garrison. - -During the night of the fourth of August, the Swiss battalions had been -drawn from out of town into the palace. A few companies were left at -Gaillon, where the king might take refuge. - -Three reliable leaders were beside the queen: Maillardet with his -Switzers, Hervilly with the St. Louis Knights and the Constitutional -Guard, and Mandat, who, as National Guard commander, promised twenty -thousand devoted and resolute fighting men. - -On the evening of the eighth a man penetrated the fort; everybody knew -him, so that he had no difficulty in passing to the queen's rooms, -where they announced "Doctor Gilbert." - -"Ah, welcome, welcome, doctor!" said the royal lady, in a feverish -voice, "I am happy to see you." - -He looked sharply at her, for on the whole of her face was such -gladness and satisfaction that it made him shudder. He would sooner -have seen her pale and disheartened. - -"I fear I have arrived too late," he said. - -"It is just the other way, doctor," she replied, with a smile, an -expression her lips had almost forgotten how to make; "you come at the -right time, and you are welcome. You are going to see what I have long -yearned to show you--a king really royal." - -"I am afraid, madame, that you are deceiving yourself," he returned, -"and that you will exhibit rather the commandant of a fort." - -"Perhaps, Doctor Gilbert, we can never come to a closer understanding -on the symbolical character of royalty than on other matters. For me a -king is not solely a man who may say, 'I do not wish,' but one who can -say, 'Thus I will.'" - -She alluded to the famous veto which led to this crisis. - -"Yes, madame," said Gilbert, "and for your majesty, a king is a ruler -who takes revenge." - -"Who defends himself," she retorted; "for you know we are openly -threatened, and are to be attacked by an armed force. We are assured -that five hundred desperadoes from Marseilles, headed by one Barbaroux, -took an oath on the ruins of the Bastile, not to go home until they had -camped on the ruins of the Tuileries." - -"Indeed, I have heard something of the kind," remarked Gilbert. - -"Which only makes you laugh?" - -"It alarms me for the king and yourself, madame." - -"So that you come to propose that we should resign, and place ourselves -at the mercy of Messieurs Barbaroux and his Marseilles bullies?" - -"I only wish the king could abdicate and guarantee, by the sacrifice of -his crown, his life and yours, and the safety of your children." - -"Is this the advice you give us, doctor?" - -"It is; and I humbly beseech you to follow it." - -"Monsieur Gilbert, let me say that you are not consistent in your -opinions." - -"My opinions are always the same, madame. Devoted to king and country, -I wished him to be in accord with the Constitution; from this desire -springs the different pieces of counsel which I have submitted." - -"What is the one you fit to this juncture?" - -"One that you have never had such a good chance to follow. I say, get -away." - -"Flee?" - -"Ah, you well know that it is possible, and never could be carried -out with greater facility. You have nearly three thousand men in the -palace." - -"Nearer five thousand," said the queen, with a smile of satisfaction, -"with double to rise at the first signal we give." - -"You have no need to give a signal, which may be intercepted; the five -thousand will suffice." - -"What do you think we ought to do with them?" - -"Set yourself in their midst, with the king and your august children; -dash out when least expected; at a couple of leagues out, take to horse -and ride into Normandy, to Gaillon, where you are looked for." - -"You mean, place ourselves under the thumb of General Lafayette?" - -"At least, he has proved that he is devoted to you." - -"No, sir, no! With my five thousand in hand, and as many more ready to -come at the call, I like another course better--to crush this revolt -once for all." - -"Oh, madame, how right he was who said you were doomed." - -"Who was that, sir?" - -"A man whose name I dare not repeat to you; but he has spoken three -times to you." - -"Silence!" said the queen, turning pale; "we will try to give the lie -to this prophet of evil." - -"Madame, I am very much afraid that you are blinded." - -"You think that they will venture to attack us?" - -"The public spirit turns to this quarter." - -"And they reckon on walking in here as easily as they did in June?" - -"This is not a stronghold." - -"Nay; but if you will come with me, I will show you that we can hold -out some time." - -With joy and pride she showed him all the defensive measures of the -military engineers and the number of the garrison whom she believed -faithful. - -"That is a comfort, madame," he said, "but it is not security." - -"You frown on everything, let me tell you, doctor." - -"Your majesty has taken me round where you like; will you let me take -you to your own rooms, now?" - -"Willingly, doctor, for I am tired. Give me your arm." - -Gilbert bowed to have this high favor, most rarely granted by the -sovereign, even to her intimate friends, especially since her -misfortune. - -When they were in her sitting-room he dropped on one knee to her as she -took a seat in an arm-chair. - -"Madame," said he, "let me adjure you, in the name of your august -husband, your dear ones, your own safety, to make use of the forces -about you, to flee and not to fight." - -"Sir," was the reply, "since the fourteenth of July, I have been -aspiring for the king to have his revenge; I believe the time has -come. We will save royalty, or bury ourselves under the ruins of the -Tuileries." - -"Can nothing turn you from this fatal resolve?" - -"Nothing." - -She held out her hand to him, half to help him to rise, half to send -him away. He kissed her hand respectfully, and rising, said: - -"Will your majesty permit me to write a few lines which I regard as so -urgent that I do not wish to delay one instant?" - -"Do so, sir," she said, pointing to a writing-table, where he sat down -and wrote these lines: - - "MY LORD,--Come! the queen is in danger of death, if a - friend does not persuade her to flee, and I believe you are the - only one who can have that influence over her." - -"May I ask whom you are writing to, without being too curious?" -demanded the lady. - -"To the Count of Charny, madame," was Gilbert's reply. - -"And why do you apply to him?" - -"For him to obtain from your majesty what I fail to do." - -"Count Charny is too happy to think of his unfortunate friends; he will -not come," said the queen. - -The door opened, and an usher appeared. - -"The Right Honorable, the Count of Charny," he announced, "desiring to -learn if he may present his respects to your majesty." - -The queen had been pale, and now became corpse-like, as she stammered -some unintelligible words. - -"Let him enter," said Gilbert; "Heaven hath sent him." - -Charny appeared at the door in naval officer's uniform. - -"Oh, come in, sir; I was writing for you," said the physician, handing -him the note. - -"Hearing of the danger her majesty was incurring, I came," said the -nobleman, bowing. - -"Madame, for Heaven's sake, hear and heed what Count Charny says," said -Gilbert; "his voice will be that of France." - -Respectfully saluting the lord and the royal lady, Gilbert went out, -still cherishing a last hope. - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -CHARNY ON GUARD. - - -On the night of the ninth of August, the royal family supped as usual; -nothing could disturb the king in his meals. But while Princess -Elizabeth and Lady Lamballe wept and prayed, the queen prayed without -weeping. The king withdrew to go to confession. - -At this time the doors opened, and Count Charny walked in, pale, but -perfectly calm. - -"May I have speech with the king?" he asked, as he bowed. - -"At present I am the king," answered Marie Antoinette. - -Charny knew this as well as anybody, but he persisted. - -"You may go up to the king's rooms, count, but I protest that you will -very much disturb him." - -"I understand; he is with Mayor Petion." - -"The king is with his ghostly counselor," replied the lady, with an -indescribable expression. - -"Then I must make my report to your majesty as major-general of the -castle," said the count. - -"Yes, if you will kindly do so." - -"I have the honor to set forth the effective strength of our forces. -The heavy horse-guards, under Rulhieres and Verdiere, to the number -of six hundred, are in battle array on the Louvre grand square; the -Paris City foot-guards are barracked in the stables; a hundred and -fifty are drawn from them to guard at Toulouse House, at need, the -Treasury and the discount and extra cash offices; the Paris Mounted -Patrol, only thirty men, are posted in the princes' yard, at the foot -of the king's back stairs; two hundred officers and men of the old Life -Guards, a hundred young Royalists, as many noblemen, making some four -hundred combatants, are in the Bull's-eye Hall and adjoining rooms; -two or three hundred National Guards are scattered in the gardens -and court-yards; and lastly, fifteen hundred Swiss, the backbone of -resistance, are taking position under the grand vestibule and the -staircases which they are charged to defend." - -"Do not all these measures set you at ease, my lord?" inquired the -queen. - -"Nothing can set me at ease when your majesty's safety is at stake," -returned the count. - -"Then your advice is still for flight?" - -"My advice, madame, is that you ought, with the king and the royal -children, be in the midst of us." - -The queen shook her head. - -"Your majesty dislikes Lafayette? Be it so. But you have confidence -in the Duke of Liancourt, who is in Rouen, in the house of an English -gentleman of the name of Canning. The commander of the troops in that -province has made them swear allegiance to the king; the Salis-Chamade -Swiss regiment is echeloned across the road, and it may be relied on. -All is still quiet. Let us get out over the swing-bridge, and reach -the Etoille bars, where three hundred of the horse-guards await us. At -Versailles, we can readily get together fifteen hundred noblemen. With -four thousand, I answer for taking you wherever you like to go." - -"I thank you, Lord Charny. I appreciate the devotion which made you -leave those dear to you, to offer your services to a foreigner." - -"The queen is unjust toward me," replied Charny. "My sovereign's -existence is always the most precious of all in my eyes, as duty is -always the dearest of virtues." - -"Duty--yes, my lord," murmured the queen; "but I believe I understand -my own when everybody is bent on doing theirs. It is to maintain -royalty grand and noble, and to have it fall worthily, like the -ancient gladiators, who studied how to die with grace." - -"Is this your majesty's last word?" - -"It is--above all, my last desire." - -Charny bowed, and as he met Mme. Campan by the door, he said to her: - -"Suggest to the princesses that they should put all their valuables -in their pockets, as they may have to quit the palace without further -warning." - -While the governess went to speak to the ladies, he returned to the -queen, and said: - -"Madame, it is impossible that you should not have some hope beyond the -reliance on material forces. Confide in me, for you will please bear in -mind that at such a strait, I will have to give an account to the Maker -and to man for what will have happened." - -"Well, my lord," said the queen, "an agent is to pay Petion two hundred -thousand francs, and Danton fifty thousand, for which sums the latter -is to stay at home and the other is to come to the palace." - -"Are you sure of the go-betweens?" - -"You said that Petion had come, which is something toward it." - -"Hardly enough; as I understood that he had to be sent for three times." - -"The token is, in speaking to the king, he is to touch his right -eyebrow with his forefinger--" - -"But if not arranged?" - -"He will be our prisoner, and I have given the most positive orders -that he is not to be let quit the palace." - -The ringing of a bell was heard. - -"What is that?" inquired the queen. - -"The general alarm," rejoined Charny. - -The princesses rose in alarm. - -"What is the matter?" exclaimed the queen. "The tocsin is always the -trumpet of rebellion." - -"Madame," said Charny, more affected by the sinister sound than the -queen, "I had better go and learn whether the alarm means anything -grave." - -"But we shall see you again?" asked she, quickly. - -"I came to take your majesty's orders, and I shall not leave you until -you are out of danger." - -Bowing, he went out. The queen stood pensive for a space, murmuring: "I -suppose we had better see if the king has got through confessing." - -While she was going out, Princess Elizabeth took some garments off a -sofa in order to lie down with more comfort; from her fichu she removed -a cornelian brooch, which she showed to Mme. Campan; the engraved -stone had a bunch of lilies and the motto: "Forget offenses, forgive -injuries." - -"I fear that this will have little influence over our enemies," she -remarked; "but it ought not be the less dear to us." - -As she was finishing the words, a gunshot was heard in the yard. - -The ladies screamed. - -"There goes the first shot," said Lady Elizabeth. "Alas! it will not be -the last." - -Mayor Petion had come into the palace under the following -circumstances. He arrived about half past ten. He was not made to -wait, as had happened before, but was told that the king was ready to -see him; but to arrive, he had to walk through a double row of Swiss -guards, National Guards, and those volunteer royalists called Knights -of the Dagger. Still, as they knew he had been sent for, they merely -cast the epithets of "traitor" and "Judas" in his face as he went up -the stairs. - -Petion smiled as he went in at the door of the room, for here the king -had given him the lie on the twentieth of June; he was going to have -ample revenge. - -The king was impatiently awaiting. - -"Ah! so you have come, Mayor Petion?" he said. "What is the good word -from Paris?" - -Petion furnished the account of the state of matters--or, at least, an -account. - -"Have you nothing more to tell me?" demanded the ruler. - -"No," replied Petion, wondering why the other stared at him. Louis -watched for the signal that the mayor had accepted the bribe. - -It was clear that the king had been cheated; some swindler had pocketed -the money. The queen came in as the question was put to Petion. - -"How does our friend stand?" she whispered. - -"He has not made any sign," rejoined the king. - -"Then he is our prisoner," said she. - -"Can I retire?" inquired the mayor. - -"For God's sake, do not let him go!" interposed the queen. - -"Not yet, sir; I have something yet to say to you," responded the king, -raising his voice. "Pray step into this closet." - -This implied to those in the inner room that Petion was intrusted to -them, and was not to be allowed to go. - -Those in the room understood perfectly, and surrounded Petion, who felt -that he was a prisoner. He was the thirtieth in a room where there was -not elbow-room for four. - -"Why, gentlemen, we are smothering here," he said; "I propose a change -of air." - -It was a sentiment all agreed with, and they followed him out of the -first door he opened, and down into the walled-in garden, where he was -as much confined as in the closet. To kill time, he picked up a pebble -or two and tossed them over the walls. - -While he was playing thus, and chatting with Roederer, attorney of the -province, the message came twice that the king wanted to see him. - -"No," replied Petion; "it is too hot quarters up there. I remember the -closet, and I have no eagerness to be in it again. Besides, I have an -appointment with somebody on the Feuillants' Quay." - -He went on playing at clearing the wall with stones. - -"With whom have you an appointment?" asked Roederer. - -At this instant the Assembly door on the Feuillants' Quay opened. - -"I fancy this is just what I was waiting for," remarked the mayor. - -"Order to let Mayor Petion pass forth," said a voice; "the Assembly -demands his presence at the bar of the House, to give an account of the -state of the city." - -"Just the thing," muttered Petion. "Here I am," he replied, in a loud -voice; "I am ready to respond to the quips of my enemies." - -The National Guards, imagining that Petion was to be berated, let him -out. - -It was nearly three in the morning; the day was breaking. A singular -thing, the aurora was the hue of blood. - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -BILLET AND PITOU. - - -On being called by the king, Petion had foreseen that he might more -easily get into the palace than out, so he went up to a hard-faced man -marred by a scar on the brow. - -"Farmer Billet," said he, "what was your report about the House?" - -"That it would hold an all-night sitting." - -"Very good; and what did you say you saw on the New Bridge?" - -"Cannon and Guards, placed by order of Colonel Mandat." - -"And you also stated that a considerable force was collected under St. -John's Arcade, near the opening of St. Antoine Street?" - -"Yes; again, by order of Colonel Mandat." - -"Well, will you listen to me? Here you have an order to Manuel and -Danton to send back to barracks the troops at St. John's Arcade, and -to remove the guns from the bridge; at any cost, you will understand, -these orders must be obeyed." - -"I will hand it to Danton myself." - -"Good. You are living in St. Honore Street?" - -"Yes, mayor." - -"When you have given Danton the order, get home and snatch a bit of -rest. About two o'clock, go out to the Feuillants' Quay, where you -will stand by the wall. If you see or hear stones falling over from -the other side of the wall, it will mean that I am a prisoner in the -Tuileries, and detained by violence." - -"I understand." - -"Present yourself at the bar of the House, and ask my colleagues to -claim me. You understand, Farmer Billet, I am placing my life in your -hands." - -"I will answer for it," replied the bluff farmer; "take it easy." - -Petion had therefore gone into the lion's den, relying on Billet's -patriotism. - -The latter had spoken the more firmly, as Pitou had come to town. He -dispatched the young peasant to Danton, with the word for him not to -return without him. Lazy as the orator was, Pitou had a prevailing way, -and he brought Danton with him. - -Danton had seen the cannon on the bridge, and the National Guards at -the end of the popular quarter, and he understood the urgency of not -leaving such forces on the rear of the people's army. With Petion's -order in hand, he and Manuel sent the Guards away and removed the guns. - -This cleared the road for the Revolution. - -In the meantime, Billet and Pitou had gone to their old lodging in St. -Honore Street, to which Pitou bobbed his head as to an old friend. The -farmer sat down, and signified the young man was to do the same. - -"Thank you, but I am not tired," returned Pitou; but the other -insisted, and he gave way. - -"Pitou, I sent for you to join me," said the farmer. - -"And you see I have not kept you waiting," retorted the National Guards -captain, with his own frank smile, showing all his thirty-two teeth. - -"No. You must have guessed that something serious is afoot." - -"I suspected as much. But, I say, friend Billet, I do not see anything -of Mayor Bailly or General Lafayette." - -"Bailly is a traitor, who nearly murdered the lot of us on the -parade-ground." - -"Yes, I know that, as I picked you up there, almost swimming in your -own blood." - -"And Lafayette is another traitor, who wanted to take away the king." - -"I did not know that. Lafayette a traitor, eh? I never would have -thought of that. And the king?" - -"He is the biggest traitor of the lot, Pitou." - -"I can not say I am surprised at that," said Pitou. - -"He conspires with the foreigner, and wants to deliver France to the -enemy. The Tuileries is the center of the conspiracy, and we have -decided to take possession of the Tuileries. Do you understand this, -Pitou?" - -"Of course I understand. But, look here, Master Billet; we took the -Bastile, and this will not be so hard a job." - -"That's where you are out." - -"What, more difficult, when the walls are not so high?" - -"That's so; but they are better guarded. The Bastile had but a hundred -old soldiers to guard it, while the palace has three or four thousand -men; this is saying nothing of the Bastile having been carried by -surprise, while the Tuileries folk must know we mean to attack, and -will be on the lookout." - -"They will defend it, will they?" queried Pitou. - -"Yes," replied Billet--"all the more as the defense is trusted to Count -Charny, they say." - -"Indeed. He did leave Boursonnes with his lady by the post," observed -Pitou. "Lor', is he a traitor, too?" - -"No; he is an aristocrat, that is all. He has always been for the -court, so that he is no traitor to the people; he never asked us to put -any faith in him." - -"So it looks as though we will have a tussle with Lord Charny?" - -"It is likely, friend Ange." - -"What a queer thing it is, neighbors clapper-clawing!" - -"Yes--what is called civil war, Pitou; but you are not obliged to fight -unless you like." - -"Excuse me, farmer, but it suits me from the time when it is to your -taste." - -"But I should even like it better if you did not fight." - -"Why did you send for me, Master Billet?" - -"I sent for you to give you this paper," replied Billet, with his face -clouding. - -"What is this all about?" - -"It is the draft of my will." - -"Your will?" cried Pitou, laughing. "Hang me, if you look like a man -about to die!" - -"No; but I may be a man who will get killed," returned the -revolutionist, pointing to his gun and cartridge-box hanging on the -wall. - -"That's a fact," said Ange Pitou; "we are all mortal." - -"So that I have come to place my will in your hands as the sole -legatee." - -"No, I thank you. But you are only saying this for a joke?" - -"I am telling you a fact." - -"But it can not be. When a man has rightful heirs he can not give away -his property to outsiders." - -"You are wrong, Pitou; he can." - -"Then he ought not." - -"I have no heirs," replied Billet, with a dark cloud passing over his -face. - -"No heirs? How about heiresses, then? What do you call Miss Catherine?" - -"I do not know anybody of that name, Pitou." - -"Come, come, farmer, do not say such things; you make me sad." - -"Pitou, from the time when something is mine, it is mine to give away; -in the same way, should I die, what I leave to you will be yours, to -deal with as you please, to be given away as freely." - -"Ha! Good--yes," exclaimed the young man, who began to understand; -"then, if anything bad happens to you--But how stupid I am; nothing bad -could happen to you." - -"You yourself said just now that we are all mortal." - -"So I did; but--well, I do not know but that you are right. I take the -will, Master Billet; but is it true that if I fall heir, I can do as I -please with the property?" - -"No doubt, since it will be yours. And, you understand, you are a sound -patriot, Pitou; they will not stand you off from it, as they might folk -who have connived with the aristocrats." - -"It's a bargain," said Pitou, who was getting it into his brain; "I -accept." - -"Then that is all I have to say to you. Put the paper in your pocket -and go to sleep." - -"What for?" - -"Because we shall have some work to do to-morrow--no, this day, for it -is two in the morning." - -"Are you going out, Master Billet?" - -"Only as far as the river." - -"You are sure you do not want me?" - -"On the other hand, you would be in my way." - -"I suppose I might have a bite and a sup, then?" - -"Of course. I forgot to ask if you might not be hungry." - -"Because you know I am always hungry," said Pitou, laughing. - -"I need not tell you where the larder is." - -"No, no, master; do not worry about me. But you are going to come back -here?" - -"I shall return." - -"Or else tell me where we are to meet?" - -"It is useless, for I shall be home in an hour." - -Pitou went in search of the eatables with an appetite which in him, as -in the case of the king, no events could alter, however serious they -might be, while Billet proceeded to the water-side to do what we know. - -He had hardly arrived on the spot before a pebble fell, followed by -another, and some more, teaching him that what Petion apprehended -had come to pass, and that he was a prisoner to the Royalists. So he -had flown, according to his instructions, to the Assembly, which had -claimed the mayor, as we have described. - -Petion, liberated, had only to walk through the House to get back to -the mayor's office, leaving his carriage in the Tuileries yard to -represent him. - -For his part, Billet went home, and found Ange finishing his supper. - -"Any news?" asked he. - -"Nothing, except that day is breaking and the sky is the color of -blood." - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - -IN THE MORNING. - - -The early sunbeams shone on two horsemen riding at a walking pace along -the deserted water-side by the Tuileries. They were Colonel Mandat and -his aid. - -At one A. M. he was summoned to the City Hall, and refused to -go; but on the order being renewed more peremptorily at two, Attorney -Roederer said to him: - -"Mark, colonel, that under the law the commander of the National Guard -is to obey the City Government." - -He decided to go, ignorant of two things. - -In the first place, forty-seven sections of the forty-eight had joined -to the town rulers each three commissioners, with orders to work with -the officials and "save the country." Mandat expected to see the old -board as before, and not at all to behold a hundred and forty-one fresh -faces. Again, he had no idea of the order from this same board to -clear the New Bridge of cannon and vacate St. John's Arcade, an order -so important that Danton and Manuel personally had superintended its -execution. - -Consequently, on reaching the Pont Neuf, Mandat was stupefied to find -it utterly deserted. He stopped and sent his aid to scout. In ten -minutes this officer returned with the word that he saw no guns or -National Guards, while the neighborhood was as lonesome as the bridge. - -Mandat continued his way, though he perhaps ought to have gone back -to the palace; but men, like things, must wend whither their destiny -impels. - -Proportionably to his approach to the City Hall, he seemed to enter -into liveliness. In the same way as the blood in some organizations -leaves the extremities cold and pale on rushing back to fortify the -heart, so all the movement and heat--the Revolution, in short--was -around the City Hall, the seat of popular life, the heart of that great -body, Paris. - -He stopped to send his officer to the Arcade; but the National Guard -had been withdrawn from there, too. He wanted to retrace his steps; but -the crowd had packed in behind him, and he was carried, like a waif on -the wave, up the Hall steps. - -"Stay here," he said to his follower, "and if evil befalls me, run and -tell them at the palace." - -Mandat yielded to the mob, and was floated into the grand hall, where -he met strange and stern faces. It was the insurrection complete, -demanding an account of the conduct of this man, who had not only tried -to crush it in its development, but to strangle it in its birth. - -One of the members of the Commune, the dread body which was to stifle -the Assembly and struggle with the Convention, advanced and in the -general's name asked: - -"By whose order did you double the palace guard?" - -"The Mayor of Paris'." - -"Show that order." - -"I left it at the Tuileries, so that it might be carried out during my -absence." - -"Why did you order out the cannon?" - -"Because I set the battalion on the march, and the field-pieces move -with the regiment." - -"Where is Petion?" - -"He was at the palace when I last saw him." - -"A prisoner?" - -"No; he was strolling about the gardens." - -The interrogation was interrupted here by a new member bringing an -unsealed letter, of which he asked leave to make communication. Mandat -had no need to do more than cast a glance on this note to acknowledge -that he was lost; he recognized his own writing. It was his order -to the commanding officer at St. John's Arcade, sent at one in the -morning, for him to attack in the rear the mob making for the palace, -while the battalion on New Bridge attacked it in flank. This order had -fallen into the Commune's hands after the dismissal of the soldiers. - -The examination was over; for what could be more damning than this -letter in any admissions of the accused? - -The council decided that Mandat should be imprisoned in the abbey. -The tale goes that the chairman of the board, in saying, "Remove the -prisoner," made a sweep of the hand, edge downward, like chopping with -an ax. As the guillotine was not in use then, it must have been an -arranged sign--perhaps by the Invisibles, whose Grand Copt had divined -that instrument. - -At all events, the result showed that the sign was taken to imply death. - -Hardly had Mandat gone down three of the City Hall steps before a -pistol-shot shattered his skull, at the very instant when his son ran -toward him. Three years before, the same reception had met Flesselles. - -Mandat was only wounded, but as he rose, he fell again with a score of -pike-wounds. The boy held out his hands and wailed for his father, but -none paid any heed to him. Presently, in the bloody ring, where bare -arms plunged amid flashing pikes and swords, a head was seen to surge -up, detached from the trunk. - -The boy swooned. - -The aid-de-camp galloped back to the Tuileries to report what he had -witnessed. - -The murderers went off in two gangs: one took the body to the river, to -throw it in, the other carried the head through the streets. - -This was going on at four in the morning. - -Let us precede the aid to the Tuileries, and see what was happening. - -Having confessed, and made easy about matters since his conscience was -tranquilized, the king, unable to resist the cravings of nature, went -to bed. But we must say that he lay down dressed. - -On the alarm-bells ringing more loudly, and the roll of the drums -beating the reveille, he was roused. - -Colonel Chesnaye, to whom Mandat had left his powers, awoke the monarch -to have him address the National Guards, and by his presence and some -timely words revive their enthusiasm. - -The king rose, but half awake, dull and staggering. He was wearing a -powdered wig, and he had flattened all the side he had lain upon. The -hair-dresser could not be found, so he had to go out with the wig out -of trim. - -Notified that the king was going to show himself to the defenders, the -queen ran out from the council hall where she was. - -In contrast with the poor sovereign, whose dim sight sought no -one's glance, whose mouth-muscles were flabby and palpitating with -involuntary twitches, while his violet coat suggested he was wearing -mourning for majesty, the queen was burning with fever, although pale. -Her eyes were red, though dry. - -She kept close to this phantom of monarchy, who came out in the day -instead of midnight, with owlish, blinking eyes. She hoped to inspire -him with her overflow of life, strength, and courage. - -All went well enough while this exhibition was in the rooms, though the -National Guards, mixed in with the noblemen, seeing their ruler close -to this poor, flaccid, heavy man, who had so badly failed on a similar -occasion at Varennes, wondered if this really was the monarch whose -poetical legend the women and the priests were already beginning to -weave. - -This was not the one they had expected to see. - -The aged Duke of Mailly--with one of those good intentions destined to -be another paving-stone for down below--drew his rapier, and sinking -down at the foot of the king, vowed in a quavering voice to die, he -and the old nobility which he represented, for the grandson of Henry -IV. Here were two blunders: the National Guards had no great sympathy -for the old nobility, and they were not here to defend the descendant -of Henry IV., but the constitutional king. - -So, in reply to a few shouts of "Hail to the king!" cheers for the -nation burst forth on all sides. - -Something to make up for this coolness was sought. The king was urged -to go down into the royal yard. Alas! the poor potentate had no will -of his own. Disturbed at his meals, and cheated, with only one hour's -sleep instead of seven, he was but an automaton, receiving impetus from -outside its material nature. - -Who gave this impetus? The queen, a woman of nerve, who had neither -slept nor eaten. - -Some unhappy characters fail in all they undertake, when circumstances -are beyond their level. Instead of attracting dissenters, Louis XVI., -in going up to them, seemed expressly made to show how little glamour -majesty can lend a man who has no genius or strength of mind. - -Here, as in the rooms, when the Royalists managed to get up a shout of -"Long live the king!" an immense hurrah for the nation replied to them. - -The Royalists being dull enough to persist, the patriots overwhelmed -them with "No, no, no; no other ruler than the nation!" - -And the king, almost supplicating, added: "Yes, my sons, the nation and -the monarch make but one henceforward." - -"Bring the prince," whispered Marie Antoinette to Princess Elizabeth; -"perhaps the sight of a child may touch them." - -While they were looking for the dauphin, the king continued the sad -review. The bad idea struck him to appeal to the artillerists, who -were mainly Republicans. If the king had the gift of speech-making, -he might have forced the men to listen to him, though their belief led -them astray, for it would have been a daring step, and it might have -helped him to face the cannon; but there was nothing exhilarating in -his words or gesture; he stammered. - -The Royalists tried to cover his stammerings with the luckless hail of -"Long live the king!" already twice a failure, and it nearly brought -about a collision. - -Some cannoniers left their places and rushed over to the king, -threatening him with their fists, and saying: - -"Do you think that we will shoot down our brothers to defend a traitor -like you?" - -The queen drew the king back. - -"Here comes the dauphin!" called out voices. "Long live the hope of the -realm!" - -Nobody took up the cry. The poor boy had come in at the wrong time; as -theatrical language says, he had missed his cue. - -The king went back into the palace, a downright retreat--almost a -flight. When he got to his private rooms he dropped, puffing and -blowing, into an easy-chair. - -Stopping by the door, the queen looked around for some support. She -spied Charny standing up by the door of her own rooms, and she went -over to him. - -"Ah, all is lost!" she moaned. - -"I am afraid so, my lady," replied the Life Guardsman. - -"Can we not still flee?" - -"It is too late." - -"What is left for us to do, then?" - -"We can but die," responded Charny, bowing. - -The queen heaved a sigh, and went into her own rooms. - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - -THE FIRST MASSACRE. - - -Mandat had hardly been slain, before the Commune nominated Santerre -as commanding general in his stead, and he ordered the drums to beat -in all the town and the bells to be rung harder than ever in all the -steeples. He sent out patrols to scour the ways, and particularly to -scout around the Assembly. - -Some twenty prowlers were made prisoners, of whom half escaped before -morning, leaving eleven in the Feuillants' guard-house. In their midst -was a dandified young gentleman in the National Guard uniform, the -newness of which, the superiority of his weapons, and the elegance of -his style, made them suspect he was an aristocrat. He was quite calm. -He said that he went to the palace on an order, which he showed the -examining committee of the Feuillants' ward. It ran: - - "The National Guard, bearer of this paper, will go to the palace - to learn what the state of affairs is, and return to report to the - Attorney-and-Syndic-General of the Department. - - (Signed) "BOIRIE, - "LEROULX, - "Municipal Officers." - -The order was plain enough, but it was thought that the signatures were -forged, and it was sent to the City Hall by a messenger to have them -verified. - -This last arrest had brought a large crowd around the place, and some -such voices as are always to be heard at popular gatherings yelled for -the prisoner's death. - -An official saw that this desire must not spread, and was making a -speech, to which the mob was yielding, when the messenger came back -from the Hall to say the order was genuine, and they ought to set at -liberty the prisoner named Suleau. - -At this name, a woman in the mob raised her head and uttered a scream -of rage. - -"Suleau?" she cried. "Suleau, the editor of the 'Acts of the Apostles' -newspaper, one of the slayers of Liege independence? Let me at this -Suleau! I call for the death of Suleau!" - -The crowd parted to let this little, wiry woman go through. She wore -a riding-habit of the national colors, and was carrying a sword in a -cross-belt. She went up to the city official and forced him to give her -the place on the stand. Her head was barely above the concourse, before -they all roared: - -"Bravo, Theroigne!" - -Indeed, Theroigne was a most popular woman, so that Suleau had made -a hit when he said she was the bride of Citizen Populus, as well as -referring to her free-and-easy morals. - -Besides, he had published at Brussels the "Alarm for Kings," and thus -helped the Belgian outbreak, and to replace under the Austrian cane and -the priestly miter a noble people wishing to be free and join France. - -At this very epoch Theroigne was writing her memoirs, and had read the -part about her arrest there to the Jacobin Club. - -She claimed the death of the ten other prisoners along with Suleau. - -Through the door he heard her ringing voice, amid applause. He called -the captain of the guard to him, and asked to be turned loose to the -mob, that by his sacrifice he might save his fellow-prisoners. They did -not believe he meant it. They refused to open the door to him, and he -tried to jump out of the window, but they pulled him back. They did not -think that they would be handed over to the slaughterers in cold blood; -they were mistaken. - -Intimidated by the yells, Chairman Bonjour yielded to Theroigne's -demand, and bid the National Guardsman stand aloof from resisting the -popular will. They stepped aside, and the door was left free. The mob -burst into the jail and grabbed the first prisoner to hand. - -It was a priest, Bonyon, a playwright noted for his failures and his -epigrams. He was a large-built man, and fought desperately with the -butchers, who tore him from the arms of the commissioner who tried to -save him; though he had no weapon but his naked fists, he laid out two -or three of the ruffians. A bayonet pinned him to the wall, so that he -expired without being able to hit with his last blows. - -Two of the prisoners managed to escape in the scuffle. - -The next to the priest was an old Royal Guardsman, whose defense was -not less vigorous; his death was but the more cruel. A third was cut to -pieces before Suleau's turn came. - -"There is your Suleau," said a woman to Theroigne. - -She did not know him by sight; she thought he was a priest, and scoffed -at him as the Abbe Suleau. Like a wild cat, she sprung at his throat. -He was young, brave, and lusty; with a fist blow he sent her ten paces -off, shook off the men who had seized him, and wrenching a saber from a -hand, felled a couple of the assassins. - -Then commenced a horrible conflict. Gaining ground toward the door, -Suleau cut himself three times free; but he was obliged to turn round -to get the cursed door open, and in that instant twenty blades ran -through his body. He fell at the feet of Theroigne, who had the cruel -joy of inflicting his last wound. - -Another escaped, another stoutly resisted, but the rest were butchered -like sheep. All the bodies were dragged to Vendome Place, where their -heads were struck off and set on poles for a march through the town. - -Thus, before the action, blood was spilled in two places; on the City -Hall steps and in Feuillants' yard. We shall presently see it flow in -the Tuileries; the brook after the rain-drops, the river after the -brook. - -While this massacre was being perpetrated, about nine A. M., -some eleven thousand National Guards, gathered by the alarm-bell of -Barbaroux and the drum-beat of Santerre, marched down the St. Antoine -ward and came out on the Strand. They wanted the order to assail the -Tuileries. - -Made to wait for an hour, two stories beguiled them: either concessions -were hoped from the court, or the St. Marceau ward was not ready, and -they could not fall on without them. - -A thousand pikemen waxed restless; as ever, the worst armed wanted to -begin the fray. They broke through the ranks of the Guard, saying that -they were going to do without them and take the palace. - -Some of the Marseilles Federals and a few French Guards--of the same -regiments which had stormed the Bastile three years before--took the -lead and were acclaimed as chiefs. These were the vanguard of the -insurrection. - -In the meanwhile, the aid who had seen Mandat murdered had raced back -to the Tuileries; but it was not till after the king and the queen had -returned from the fiasco of a review that he announced the ghastly news. - -The sound of a disturbance mounted to the first floor and entered by -the open windows. - -The City and the National Guards and the artillerists--the patriots, in -short--had taunted the grenadiers with being the king's tools, saying -that they were bought up by the court; and as they were ignorant of -their commander's murder by the mob, a grenadier shouted: - -"It looks as though that shuffler Mandat had sent few aristocrats here." - -Mandat's eldest son was in the Guards' ranks--we know where the other -boy was, uselessly trying to defend his father on the City Hall steps. -At this insult to his absent sire, the young man sprung out of the -line with his sword flourished. Three or four gunners rushed to meet -him. Weber, the queen's attendant, was among the St. Roch district -grenadiers, dressed as a National Guardsman. He flew to the young man's -help. The clash of steel was heard as the quarrel spread between the -two parties. - -Drawn to the window by the noise, the queen perceived her -foster-brother, and she sent the king's valet to bring him to her. - -Weber came up and told what was happening, whereupon she acquainted him -with the death of Mandat. - -The uproar went on beneath the windows. - -"The cannoniers are leaving their pieces," said Weber, looking out; -"they have no spikes, but they have driven balls home without powder, -so that they are rendered useless!" - -"What do you think of all this?" - -"I think your majesty had better consult Syndic Roederer, who seems the -most honest man in the palace." - -Roederer was brought before the queen in her private apartment as the -clock struck nine. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - -THE REPULSE. - - -At this point, Captain Durler, of the Switzers, went up to the king to -get orders from him or the major-general. The latter perceived the good -captain as he was looking for some usher to introduce him. - -"What do you want, captain?" he inquired. - -"You, my Lord Charny, as you are the garrison commander. I want the -final orders, as the head of the insurrectionary column appears on the -Carrousel." - -"You are not to let them force their way through, the king having -decided to die in the midst of us." - -"Rely on us, major-general," briefly replied Captain Durler, going back -to his men with this order, which was their death-sentence. - -As he said, the van of the rebels was in sight. It was the thousand -pikemen, at the head of whom marched some twenty Marseilles men and -fifteen French Guardsmen; in the ranks of the latter gleamed the -bullion epaulets of a National Guards captain. This young officer was -Ange Pitou, who had been recommended by Billet, and was charged with a -mission of which we shall hear more. - -Behind these, at a quarter-mile distance, came a considerable body of -National Guards and Federals, preceded by a twelve-gun battery. - -When the garrison commandant's order was transmitted to them, the Swiss -fell silently into line and resolutely stood, with cold and gloomy -firmness. - -Less severely disciplined, the National Guards took up their post more -disorderly and noisily, but with equal resolution. - -The nobles, badly marshaled, and armed with striking weapons only, as -swords or short-range pistols, and aware that the combat would be to -the death, saw the moment approach with feverish glee when they could -grapple with their ancient adversary, the people, the eternal athlete -always thrown, but growing the stronger during eight centuries. - -While the besieged were taking places, knocking was heard at the royal -court-yard gate, and many voices shouting: "A flag of truce!" Over the -wall at this spot was seen a white handkerchief tied to the tip of a -pike-staff. - -Roederer was on his way to the king when he saw this at the gate and -ordered it to be opened. The janitor did so, and then ran off as fast -as he could. Roederer confronted the foremost of the revolutionists. - -"My friends," said he, "you wanted the gates open to a flag of truce, -and not to an army. Who wants to hold the parley?" - -"I am your man," said Pitou, with his sweet voice and bland smile. - -"Who are you?" - -"Captain Ange Pitou, of the Haramont Federal Volunteers." - -Roederer did not know who the Haramont Federals were, but he judged it -not worth while to inquire when time was so precious. - -"What are you wanting?" - -"I want way through for myself and my friends." - -Pitou's friends, who were in rags, brandished their pikes, and looked -with their savage eyes like dangerous enemies indeed. - -"What do you want to go through here for?" - -"To go and surround the Assembly. We have twelve guns, but shall not -use e'er a one if you do as we wish." - -"What do you wish?" - -"The dethronement of the king." - -"This is a grave question, sir," observed Roederer. - -"Very grave," replied Pitou, with his customary politeness. - -"It calls for some debate." - -"That is only fair," returned Ange. "It is going on ten o'clock, less -the quarter," said he; "if we do not have an answer by ten as it -strikes, we shall begin our striking, too." - -"Meanwhile, I suppose you will let us shut the door?" - -Pitou ordered his crowd back; and the door was closed; but through -the momentarily open door the besiegers had caught a glimpse of the -formidable preparations made to receive them. - -As soon as the door was closed, Pitou's followers had a keen desire to -keep on parleying. - -Some were hoisted upon their comrades' shoulders, so that they could -bestride the wall, where they began to chat with the National Guardsmen -inside. These shook hands with them, and they were merry together as -the quarter of an hour passed. - -Then a man came from the palace with the word that they were to be let -in. - -The invaders believed that they had their request granted, and they -flocked in as soon as the doors were opened, like men who had been -kept waiting--all in a heap. They stuck their caps on their pikes and -whooped "Hurrah for the nation!"--"Long live the National Guard!"--"The -Swiss forever!" - -The National Guard echoed the shout of the nation, but the Swiss kept a -gloomy and sinister muteness. - -The inrush only ceased when the intruders were up to the cannon -muzzles, where they stopped to look around. - -The main vestibule was crammed with Swiss, three deep; on each step was -a rank, so that six could fire at once. - -Some of the invaders, including Pitou, began to consider, although it -was rather late to reflect. - -But though seeing the danger, the mob did not think of running away; -it tried to turn it by jesting with the soldiers. The Guards took the -joking as it was made, but the Swiss looked glum, for something had -happened five minutes before the insurrectionary column marched up. - -In the quarrel between the Guards and the grenadiers over the insult -to Mandat, the former had parted from the Royalist guards, and as they -went off they said good-bye to the Swiss, whom they wanted to go away -with them. - -They said that they would receive in their own homes as brothers any of -the Swiss who would come with them. - -Two from the Waldenses--that is, French Swiss--replied to the appeal -made in their own tongue, and took the French by the hand. At the same -instant two shots were fired up at the palace windows, and bullets -struck the deserters in the very arms of those who decoyed them away. - -Excellent marksmen as chamois-hunters, the Swiss officers had nipped -the mutiny thus in the bud. It is plain now why the other Swiss were -mute. - -The men who had rushed into the yard were such as always oddly -run before all outbreaks. They were armed with new pikes and old -fire-arms--that is, worse than unarmed. - -The cannoniers had come over to their side, as well as the National -Guards, and they wanted to induce the Switzers to do the same. - -They did not notice that time was passing and that the quarter of an -hour Pitou had given Roederer had doubled; it was now a quarter past -ten. They were having a good time; why should they worry? - -One tatterdemalion had not a sword or a pike, but a pruning-hook, and -he said to his next neighbor: - -"Suppose I were to fish for a Swiss?" - -"Good idea! Try your luck," said the other. - -So he hooked a Swiss by the belt and drew him toward him, the soldier -resisting just enough to make out that he was dragged. - -"I have got a bite," said the fisher for men. - -"Then, haul him in, but go gently," said his mate. - -The man with the hook drew softly indeed, and the guardsman was drawn -out of the entrance into the yard, like a fish from the pond onto the -bank. Up rose loud whoops and roars of laughter. - -"Try for another," said the crowd. - -The fisherman hooked another, and jerked him out like the first. And so -it went on to the fourth and the fifth, and the whole regiment might -have melted away but for the order, "Make ready--take aim!" - -On seeing the muskets leveled with the regular sound and precise -movement marking evolutions of regular troops, one of the -assailants--there is always some crazy-head to give the signal for -slaughter under such circumstances--fired a pistol at the palace -windows. - -During the short space separating "Make ready" and "Fire" in the -command, Pitou guessed what was going to happen. - -"Flat on your faces!" he shouted to his men; "down flat, or you are all -dead men!" - -Suiting the action to the word, he flung himself on the ground. - -Before there was time for his advice to be generally followed, the word -"Fire!" rang in the entrance-way, which was filled with a crashing -noise and smoke, while a hail of lead was spit forth as from one huge -blunderbuss. - -The compact mass--for perhaps half the column had entered the -yard--swayed like the wheat-field before the gust, then like the same -cropped by the scythe, reeled and fell down. Hardly a third was left -alive. - -These few fled, passing under the fire from two lines of guns and the -barracks firing at close range. The musketeers would have killed each -other but for the thick screen of fugitives between. - -This curtain was ripped in wide places; four hundred men were stretched -on the ground pavement, three hundred slain outright. - -The hundred, more or less badly injured, groaned and tried to rise, but -falling, gave part of the field of corpses a movement like the ocean -swell, frightful to behold. - -But gradually all died out, and apart from a few obstinate fellows who -persisted in living, all fell into immobility. - -The fugitives scattered over the Carrousel Square, and flowed out on -the water-side on one hand and on the street by the other, yelling, -"Murder--help! we were drawn into a death-trap." - -On the New Bridge, they fell in with the main body. The bulk was -commanded by two men on horseback, closely attended by one on foot, who -seemed to have a share in the command. - -"Help, Citizen Santerre!" shouted the flyers, recognizing in one of -the riders the big brewer of St. Antoine, by his colossal stature, for -which his huge Flemish horse was but a pedestal in keeping; "help! they -are slaughtering our brothers." - -"Who are?" demanded the brewer-general. - -"The Swiss--they shot us down while we were cheek by jowl with them, -a-kissing them." - -"What do you think of this?" asked Santerre of the second horseman. - -"Vaith, me dink of dot milidary broverb which it say: 'De soldier ought -to march to where he hear dot gun-firing going on,'" replied the other -rider, who was a small, fair man, with his hair cropped short, speaking -with a strong German accent. "Zubbose we go where de goons go off, eh?" - -"Hi! you had a young officer with you," called out the leader on foot -to one of the runaways; "I don't see anything of him." - -"He was the first to be dropped, citizen representative; and the more's -the pity, for he was a brave young chap." - -"Yes, he was a brave young man," replied, with a slight loss of color, -the man addressed as a member of the House, "and he shall be bravely -avenged. On you go, Citizen Santerre!" - -"I believe, my dear Billet," said the brewer, "that in such a pinch we -must call experience into play as well as courage." - -"As you like." - -"In consequence, I propose to place the command in the hands of Citizen -Westerman--a real general and a friend of Danton--offering to obey him -like a common soldier." - -"I do not care what you do if you will only march right straight -ahead," said the farmer. - -"Do you accept the command, Citizen Westerman?" asked Santerre. - -"I do," said the Russian, laconically. - -"In that case give your orders." - -"Vorwarts!" shouted Westerman, and the immense column, only halted for -a breathing-spell, resumed the route. - -As its pioneers entered at the same time the Carrousel by all gates, -eleven struck on the Tuileries clocks. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. - -THE LAST OF THE CHARNYS. - - -When Roederer entered the queen's apartments behind Weber, that lady -was seated by the fire-place, with her back to the door; but she turned -round on hearing it open. - -"Well, sir?" she asked, without being very pointed in her inquiry. - -"The honor has been done me of a call," replied Roederer. - -"Yes, sir; you are one of the principal magistrates of the town, -and your presence here is a shield for royalty. I wish to ask you, -therefore, whether we have most to hope or to fear?" - -"Little to hope, madame, and everything to fear." - -"The mob is really marching upon the palace?" - -"The front of the column is in the Carrousel, parleying with the Swiss -Guards." - -"Parleying? but I gave the Swiss the express order to meet brute force -with force. Are they disobeying?" - -"Nay, madame; the Swiss will die at their posts." - -"And we at ours. The same as the Swiss are soldiers at the service of -kings, kings are the soldiers at the beck of royalty." - -Roederer held his peace. - -"Have I the misfortune to entertain an opinion not agreeing with yours, -sir?" asked the queen. - -"Madame, I have no opinion unless I am asked for it." - -"I do ask for it, sir." - -"Then I shall state with the frankness of a believer. My opinion is -that the king is ruined if he stays in the Tuileries." - -"But if we do not stay here, where shall we go?" cried the queen, -rising in high alarm. - -"At present, there is no longer but one place of shelter for the royal -family," responded the attorney-syndic. - -"Name it, sir." - -"The National Assembly." - -"What do you say, sir?" demanded the queen, snapping her eyes and -questioning like one who had not understood. - -He repeated what he had said. - -"Do you believe, sir, that I would ask a favor of those fellows?" - -He was silent again. - -"If we must meet enemies, I like those better who attack us in the -broad day and in front, than those who wish to destroy us in the dark -and from behind." - -"Well, madame, it is for you to decide; either go and meet the people, -or beat a retreat into the Assembly Hall." - -"Beat a retreat? Are we so deprived of defenders that we must retreat -before we have tried the exchange of shots?" - -"Perhaps you will take the report, before you come to a conclusion, of -some competent authority who knows the forces you have to dispose of?" - -"Weber, bring me one of the principal officers--Maillardet, or -Chesnaye, or--" she stopped on the point of saying "the Count of -Charny." - -Weber went out. - -"If your majesty were to step up to the window, you would be able to -judge for yourself." - -With visible repugnance the lady took the few steps to the window, and, -parting the curtains, saw the Carrousel Square, and the royal yard as -well, crowded with ragged men bearing pikes. - -"Good God! what are those fellows doing in here?" she exclaimed. - -"I told your majesty--they are parleying." - -"But they have entered the inner yards?" - -"I thought I had better gain the time somehow for your majesty to come -to a resolution." - -The door opened. - -"Come, come," cried the queen, without knowing that it would be Charny -who appeared. - -"I am here, madame," he said. - -"Oh, is it you? Then I have nothing to say, as you told me a while ago -what you thought should be done." - -"Then the gentleman thought that the only course was--" said Roederer. - -"To die," returned the queen. - -"You see that what I propose is preferable, madame." - -"Oh! on my soul, I do not know whether it is or not," groaned the queen. - -"What does the gentleman suggest?" - -"To take the king under the wing of the House." - -"That is not death, but shame," said Charny. - -"You hear that, sir?" cried the lady. - -"Come, come," said the lawyer; "may there not be some middle course?" - -Weber stepped forward. - -"I am of very little account," he said, "and I know that it is very -bold of me to speak in such company; but my devotion may inspire me. -Suppose that your majesty only requested a deputation to watch over the -safety of the king?" - -"Well, I will consent to that. Lord Charny, if you approve of this -suggestion, will you pray submit it to the king?" - -Charny bowed and went out. - -"Follow the count, Weber, and bring me the king's answer." - -Weber went out after the nobleman. - -Charny's presence, cold, stern and devoted, was so cruel a reproach -to her as a woman, if not as a sovereign, that she shuddered in it. -Perhaps she had some terrible forewarning of what was to happen. - -Weber came back to say that the king accepted the idea. - -"Two gentlemen are going to take his majesty's request to the Assembly." - -"But look what they are doing!" exclaimed the queen. - -The besiegers were busy fishing for Switzers. - -Roederer looked out; but he had not the time to see what was in -progress before a pistol-shot was followed by the formidable discharge. -The building shook as though smitten to its foundations. - -The queen screamed and fell back a step, but returned to the window, -drawn by curiosity. - -"Oh, see, see!" she cried, with flaring eyes, "they fly! they are -routed! Why did you say, that we had no resource but in the Assembly?" - -"Will your majesty be good enough to come with me," said the official. - -"See, see," continued the queen, "there go the Swiss, making a sortie, -and pursuing them! Oh, the Carrousel is swept free! Victory, victory!" - -"In pity for yourself, madame, follow me," persisted Roederer. - -Returning to her senses, she went with the attorney-syndic to the -Louvre gallery, where he learned the king was, and which suited his -purpose. - -The queen had not an idea of it. - -The gallery was barricaded half down, and it was cut through at a third -of the way, where a temporary bridge was thrown across the gap; the -foot of a fugitive might send it down, and so prevent the pursuers -following into the Tuileries. - -The king was in a window recess with his captains and some courtiers, -and he held a spy-glass in his hand. - -The queen had no need for it as she ran to the balcony. - -The army of the insurrection was approaching, long and dense, covering -the whole of the wide street along the riverside, and extending as far -as the eye could reach. - -Over the New Bridge, the southern districts effected a junction with -the others. - -All the church-bells of the town were frenziedly swinging out the -tocsin, while the big bell of Notre Dame Cathedral overawed all the -metallic vibrations with its bronze boom. - -A burning sun sparkled in myriad points from the steel of gun-barrels -and lance-points. - -Like the rumblings of a storm, cannon was heard rolling on the pavement. - -"What now, madame?" said Roederer. - -Some fifty persons had gathered round the king. - -The queen cast a long look on the group to see how much devotion -lingered. Then, mute, not knowing to whom to turn, the poor creature -took up her son and showed him to the officers of the court and army -and National Guard, no longer the sovereign asking the throne for her -heir, but the mother suing for protection for her boy. - -During this time, the king was speaking in a low voice with the Commune -attorney, or rather, the latter was repeating what he had said to the -queen. - -Two very distinct groups formed around the two sovereigns. The king's -was cold and grave, and was composed of counselors who appeared of -Roederer's opinion. The queen's was ardent, numerous, and enthusiastic -young military men, who waved their hats, flourished their swords, -raised their hands to the dauphin, kissed the hem of the queen's robe, -and swore to die for both of them. - -Marie Antoinette found some hope in this enthusiasm. - -The king's party melted into the queen's, and with his usual -impassibility, the monarch found himself the center of the two -commingled. His unconcern might be courage. - -The queen snatched a pair of pistols from Colonel Maillardet. - -"Come, sire," she cried; "this is the time for you to show yourself and -die in the midst of your friends!" - -This action had carried enthusiasm to its height, and everybody waited -for the king's reply, with parted lips and breath held in suspense. - -A young, brave, and handsome king, who had sprung forward with blazing -eye and quivering lip, to rush with the pistols in hand into the thick -of the fight, might have recalled fortune to his crown. - -They waited and they hoped. - -Taking the pistols from the queen's hands, the king returned them to -the owner. - -"Monsieur Roederer," he said, "you were observing that I had better go -over to the House?" - -"Such is my advice," answered the legal agent of the Commune, bowing. - -"Come away, gentlemen; there is nothing more to be done here," said the -king. - -Uttering a sigh, the queen took up her son in her arms, and said to her -ladies: - -"Come, ladies, since it is the king's desire," which was as much as to -say to the others, "Expect nothing more from me." - -In the corridor where she would have to pass through, Mme. Campan was -waiting. She whispered to her: "How I wish I dwelt in a tower by the -sea!" - -The abandoned attendants looked at each other and seemed to say, "Is -this the monarch for whom we came here to die?" - -Colonel Chesnaye understood this mute inquiry, for he answered: - -"No, gentlemen, it was for royalty. The wearer of the crown is mortal, -but the principle imperishable." - -The queen's ladies were terrified. They looked like so many marble -statues standing in the corners and along the lobbies. - -At last the king condescended to remember those he was casting off. At -the foot of the stairs, he halted. - -"But what will befall all those I leave behind?" he inquired. - -"Sire," replied Roederer, "it will be easy enough for them to follow -you out. As they are in plain dress, they can slip out through the -gardens." - -"Alas," said the queen, seeing Count Charny waiting for her by the -garden gate, with his drawn sword, "I would I had heeded you when you -advised me to flee." - -The queen's Life Guardsman did not respond, but he went up to the king, -and said: - -"Sire, will you please exchange hats, lest yours single out your -majesty?" - -"Oh, you are right, on account of the white feather," said Louis. -"Thank you, my lord." And he took the count's hat instead of his own. - -"Does the king run any risk in this crossing?" inquired the queen. - -"You see, madame, that if so, I have done all I could to turn the -danger aside from the threatened one." - -"Is your majesty ready?" asked the Swiss captain charged to escort the -king across the gardens. - -The king advanced between two rows of Swiss, keeping step with him, -till suddenly they heard loud shouting on the left. - -The door near the Flora restaurant had been burst through by the mob, -and they rushed in, knowing that the king was going to the Assembly. - -The leader of the band carried a head on a pole as the ensign. - -The Swiss captain ordered a halt and called his men to get their guns -ready. - -"My Lord Charny," said the queen, "if you see me on the point of -falling into those ruffians' hands, you will kill me, will you not?" - -"I can not promise you that, for I shall be dead before they touch you." - -"Bless us," said the king; "this is the head of our poor Colonel -Mandat. I know it again." - -The band of assassins did not dare to come too near, but they -overwhelmed the royal pair with insults. Five or six shots were fired, -and two Swiss fell--one dead. - -"Do not fire," said Charny; "or not one of us will reach the House -alive." - -"That is so," observed the captain; "carry arms." - -The soldiers shouldered their guns and all continued crossing -diagonally. The first heats of the year had yellowed the -chestnut-trees, and dry leaves were strewing the earth. The little -prince found some sport in heaping them up with his foot and kicking -them on his sister's. - -"The leaves are falling early this year," observed the king. - -"Did not one of those men write that royalty will not outlast the fall -of the leaf?" questioned the queen. - -"Yes, my lady," replied Charny. - -"What was the name of this cunning prophet?" - -"Manuel." - -A new obstacle rose in the path of the royal family: a numerous -crowd of men and women, who were waiting with menacing gestures and -brandished weapons on the steps and the terrace which had to be gone -over to reach the riding-school. - -The danger was the worse from the Swiss being unable to keep in rank. -The captain tried in vain to get through, and he showed so much rage -that Roederer cried: - -"Be careful, sir--you will lead to the king being killed." - -They had to halt, but a messenger was sent to the Assembly to plead -that the king wanted asylum. - -The House sent a deputation, at the sight of whom the mob's fury was -redoubled. - -Nothing was to be heard but these shouts yelled with wrath: - -"Down with Veto!"--"Over with the Austrian!"--"Dethronement or death!" - -Understanding that it was in particular their mother who was -threatened, the two children huddled up to her. The little dauphin -asked: - -"Lord Charny, why do these naughty people want to hurt my mamma?" - -A gigantic man, armed with a pike, and roaring louder than the rest, -"Down with Veto--death to the Austrian!" kept trying to stab the king -and the queen. - -The Swiss escort had gradually been forced away, so that the royal -family had by them only the six noblemen who had left the palace with -them, Charny, and the Assembly deputation. - -There were still some thirty paces to go in the thick crowd. - -It was evident that the lives of the pair were aimed at, and chiefly -the queen's. - -The struggle began at the staircase foot. - -"If you do not sheathe your sword," said Roederer, "I will answer for -nothing." - -Without uttering a word, Charny put up his sword. - -The party was lifted by the press as a skiff is tossed in a gale by the -waves, and drawn toward the Assembly. The king was obliged to push away -a ruffian who stuck his fist in his face. The little dauphin, almost -smothered, screamed and held out his hands for help. - -A man dashed forward and snatched him out of his mother's arms. - -"My Lord Charny, my son!" she shrieked; "in Heaven's name, save my boy!" - -Charny took a couple of steps in chase of the fellow with the prince, -but as soon as he unmasked the queen, two or three hands dragged her -toward them, and one clutched the neckerchief on her bosom. She sent up -a scream. - -Charny forgot Roederer's advice, and his sword disappeared its full -length in the body of the wretch who had dared to lay hands on the -queen. - -The gang howled with rage on seeing one of their number slain, and -rushed all the more fiercely on the group. - -Highest of all the women yelled: "Why don't you kill the -Austrian?"--"Give her to us to have her throat slit!"--"Death to -her--death!" - -Twenty naked arms were stretched out to seize her. Maddened by grief, -thinking nothing of her own danger, she never ceased to cry: - -"My son--save my son!" - -They touched the portals of the Assembly, but the mob doubled their -efforts for fear their prey would escape. - -Charny was so closely pressed that he could only ply the handle of -his sword. Among the clinched and menacing fists, he saw one holding -a pistol and trying to get a shot at the queen. He dropped his sword, -grasped the pistol by both hands, wrenched it from the holder, and -discharged it into the body of the nearest assailant. The man fell as -though blasted by lightning. - -Charny stooped in the gap to regain his rapier. - -At this moment, the queen entered the Assembly vestibule in the retinue -of the king. - -Charny's sword was already in a hand that had struck at her. - -He flew at the murderer, but at this the doors were slammed, and on the -step he dropped, at the same time felled by an iron bar on his head and -a spear right through his heart. - -"As fell my brothers," he muttered. "My poor Andrea!" - -The fate of the Charnys was accomplished with the last one, as in the -case of Valence and Isidore. That of the queen, for whom their lives -were laid down, was yet to be fulfilled. - -At this time, a dreadful discharge of great guns announced that the -besiegers and the garrison were hard at work. - - - - -CHAPTER XV. - -THE BLOOD-STAINS. - - -For a space, the Swiss might believe that they had dealt with an army -and wiped it off the earth. They had slain nearly four hundred men in -the royal yard, and almost two hundred in the Carrousel; seven guns -were the spoils. - -As far as they could see, no foes were in sight. - -One small isolated battery, planted on the terrace of a house facing -the Swiss guard-house, continued its fire without their being able to -silence it. As they believed they had suppressed the insurrection, they -were taking measures to finish with this battery at any cost, when they -heard on the water-side the rolling of drums and the much more awful -rolling of artillery over the stones. - -This was the army which the king was watching through his spy-glass -from the Louvre gallery. - -At the same time the rumor spread that the king had quitted the palace -and had taken refuge in the House of Representatives. - -It is hard to tell the effect produced by this news, even on the most -firm adherents. - -The monarch, who had promised to die at his royal post, deserting -it and passing over to the enemy, or at least surrendering without -striking a blow! - -Thereupon the National Guards regarded themselves as released from -their oath, and almost all withdrew. - -Several noblemen followed them, thinking it foolish to die for a cause -which acknowledged itself lost. - -Alone the Swiss remained, somber and silent, the slaves of discipline. - -From the top of the Flora terrace and the Louvre gallery windows, could -be seen coming those heroic working-men whom no army had ever resisted, -and who had in one day brought low the Bastile, though it had been -taking root during four centuries. - -These assailants had their plan; believing the king in his castle, they -sought to encompass him so as to take him in it. - -The column on the left bank had orders to get in by the river gates; -that coming down St. Honore Street to break in the Feuillants' gates, -while the column on the right bank were to attack in front, led by -Westerman, with Santerre and Billet under his orders. - -The last suddenly poured in by all the small entrances on the -Carrousel, singing the "It shall go on." - -The Marseilles men were in the lead, dragging in their midst two -four-pounders loaded with grape-shot. - -About two hundred Swiss were ranged in order of battle on Carrousel -Square. - -Straight to them marched the insurgents, and as the Swiss leveled their -muskets, they opened their ranks and fired the pieces. - -The soldiers discharged their guns, but they immediately fell back to -the palace, leaving some thirty dead and wounded on the pavement. - -Thereupon, the rebels, headed by the Breton and Marseilles Federals, -rushed on the Tuileries, capturing the two yards--the royal, in the -center, where there were so many dead, and the princes', near the river -and the Flora restaurant. - -Billet had wished to fight where Pitou fell, with a hope that he might -be only wounded, so that he might do him the good turn he owed for -picking him up on the parade-ground. - -So he was one of the first to enter the center court. Such was the reek -of blood that one might believe one was in the shambles; it rose from -the heap of corpses, visible as a smoke in some places. - -This sight and stench exasperated the attackers, who hurled themselves -on the palace. - -Besides, they could not have hung back had they wished, for they were -shoved ahead by the masses incessantly spouted forth by the narrow -doors of the Carrousel. - -But we hasten to say that, though the front of the pile resembled a -frame of fire-works in a display, none had the idea of flight. - -Nevertheless, once inside the central yard, the insurgents, like those -in whose gore they slipped, were caught between two fires: that from -the clock entrance and from the double row of barracks. - -The first thing to do was stop the latter. - -The Marseillais threw themselves at the buildings like mad dogs on a -brasier, but they could not demolish a wall with hands; they called for -picks and crows. - -Billet asked for torpedoes. Westerman knew that his lieutenant had -the right idea, and he had petards made. At the risk of having these -cannon-cartridges fired in their hands, the Marseilles men carried -them with the matches lighted and flung them into the apertures. The -woodwork was soon set aflame by these grenades, and the defenders were -obliged to take refuge under the stairs. - -Here the fighting went on with steel to steel and shot for shot. - -Suddenly Billet felt hands from behind seize him, and he wheeled round, -thinking he had an enemy to grapple: but he uttered a cry of delight. -It was Pitou; but he was pretty hard to identify, for he was smothered -in blood from head to foot; but he was safe and sound and without a -single wound. - -When he saw the Swiss muskets leveled, he had called out for all to -drop flat, and he had set the example. - -But his followers had not time to act like him. Like a monstrous -scythe, the fusillade had swept along at breast-high, and laid two -thirds of the human field, another volley bending and breaking the -remainder. - -Pitou was literally buried beneath the swathe, and bathed by the warm -and nauseating stream. Despite the profoundly disagreeable feeling, -Pitou resolved not to make any move, while bathed in the blood of the -bodies stifling him, and to wait for a favorable time to show tokens of -life. - -He had to wait for over an hour, and every minute seemed an hour. But -he judged he had the right cue when he heard his side's shouts of -victory, and Billet's voice, among the many, calling him. - -Thereupon, like the Titan under the mountain, he shook off the mound -of carcasses covering him, and ran to press Billet to his heart, on -recognizing him, without thinking that he might soil his clothes, -whichever way he took him. - -A Swiss volley, which sent a dozen men to the ground, recalled them to -the gravity of the situation. - -Two thousand yards of buildings were burning on the sides of the -central court. It was sultry weather, without the least breath; -like a dome of lead the smoke of the fire and powder pressed on the -combatants; the smoke filled up the palace entrances. Each window -flamed, but the front was sheeted in smoke; no one could tell who -delivered death or who received it. - -Pitou and Billet, with the Marseillais at the fore, pushed through the -vapor into the vestibule. Here they met a wall of bayonets--the Swiss. - -The Swiss commenced their retreat, a heroic one, leaving a rank of dead -on each step, and the battalion most slowly retiring. - -Forty-eight dead were counted that evening on those stairs. - -Suddenly the cry rang through the rooms and corridors: - -"Order of the king--the Swiss will cease firing." - -It was two in the afternoon. - -The following had happened in the House to lead to the order proclaimed -in the Tuileries; one with the double advantage of lessening the -assailants' exasperation and covering the vanquished with honor. - -As the doors were closing behind the queen, but still while she could -catch a glimpse of the bars, bayonets, and pikes menacing Charny, she -had screamed and held her hands out toward the opening; but dragged -away by her companions, at the same time by her maternal instinct, she -had to enter the Assembly Hall. - -There she had the great relief afforded her of seeing her son seated on -the speaker's desk; the man who had carried him there waved his red cap -triumphantly over the boy's head and shouted gladly: - -"I have saved the son of my master--long live the dauphin!" - -But a sudden revulsion of feeling made Marie Antoinette recur to Charny. - -"Gentlemen," she said, "one of my bravest officers, most devoted of -followers, has been left outside the door, in danger of death. I beg -succor for him." - -Five or six members sprung away at the appeal. - -The king, the queen, and the rest of the royal family, with their -attendants, proceeded to the seats intended for the cabinet officers, -and took places there. - -The Assembly received them standing, not from etiquette, but the -respect misfortune compelled. - -Before sitting down, the king held up his hand to intimate that he -wished to speak. - -"I came here to prevent a great crime," he said, in the silence; "I -thought I could not be in safety anywhere else." - -"Sire," returned Vergniaud, who presided, "you may rely on the firmness -of the National Assembly; its members are sworn to die in defending the -people's rights and the constitutional authorities." - -As the king was taking his seat, a frightful musketry discharge -resounded at the doors. It was the National Guards firing, intermingled -with the insurgents, from the Feuillants' terrace, on the Swiss -officers and soldiers forming the royal escort. - -An officer of the National Guard, probably out of his senses, ran in in -alarm, and only stopped by the bar, cried: "The Swiss--the Swiss are -coming--they have forced past us!" - -For an instant the House believed that the Swiss had overcome the -outbreak and were coming to recover their master; for at the time Louis -XVI. was much more the king to the Swiss than to any others. - -With one spontaneous movement the House rose, all of a mind, and the -representatives, spectators, officials, and guards, raising their -hands, shouted, "Come what may, we vow to live and die free men!" - -In such an oath the royals could take no part, so they remained seated, -as the shout passed like a whirlwind over their heads from three -thousand mouths. The error did not last long, but it was sublime. - -In another quarter of an hour the cry was: "The palace is overrun--the -insurgents are coming here to take the king!" - -Thereupon the same men who had sworn to die free in their hatred of -royalty, rose with the same spontaneity to swear they would defend the -king to the death. The Swiss captain, Durler, was summoned outside to -lay down his arms. - -"I serve the king and not the House," he said. "Where is the royal -order?" - -They brought him into the Assembly by force; he was black with powder -and red with blood. - -"Sire," he said, "they want me to lay down arms. Is it the king's -order?" - -"Yes," said Louis; "hand your weapons to the National Guard. I do not -want such brave men to perish." - -Durler lowered his head with a sigh, but he insisted on a written -order. The king scribbled on a paper: "The king orders the Swiss to lay -down their arms and return into barracks." - -This was what voices were crying throughout the Tuileries, on the -stairs, and in the rooms and halls. As this order restored some quiet -to the House, the speaker rang his bell and called for the debating to -be resumed. - -A member rose and pointed out that an article of the Constitution -forbade debates in the king's presence. - -"Quite so," said the king; "but where are you going to put us?" - -"Sire," said the speaker, "we can give you the room and box of the -'Logographe,' which is vacant owing to the sheet having ceased to -appear." - -The ushers hastened to show the party where to go, and they had to -retrace some of the path they had used to enter. - -"What is this on the floor?" asked the queen. "It looks like blood!" - -The servants said nothing; for while the spots might be blood, they -were ignorant where they came from. - -Strange to say, the stains grew larger and nearer together as they -approached the box. To spare her the sight, the king quickened the -pace, and opening the box door himself, he bid her enter. - -The queen sprung forward; but even as she set foot on the sill, she -uttered a scream of horror and drew back, with her hands covering her -eyes. The presence of the blood-spots was explained, for a dead body -had been placed in the room. - -It was her almost stepping upon this which had caused her to leap back. - -"Bless us," said the king, "it is poor Count Charny's body!" in the -same tone as he had said to the gory relic on the pike, "This is poor -Mandat's head." - -Indeed, the deputies had snatched the body from the cutthroats, and -ordered it to be taken into the empty room, without the least idea -that the royal family would be consigned to this room in the next ten -minutes. It was now carried out and the guests installed. They talked -of cleaning up, but the queen shook her head in opposition, and was the -first to take a place over the blood-stains. No one noticed that she -burst her shoe-laces and dabbled her foot in the red, still warm blood. - -"Oh, Charny, Charny!" she murmured; "why does not my life-blood ooze -out here to the last drop to mingle with yours unto all eternity?" - -Three P. M. struck. - -The last of her Life Guards was no more, for in and about her palace -nearly a thousand nobles and Swiss had fallen. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI. - -THE WIDOW. - - -During the slaying of the last of his adherents, what was the monarch -doing? Being hungry, he called for his dinner. - -Bread and wine, cold fowl, and meat, and fruit were brought him. He set -to eating as if he were at a hunting-party, without noticing how he was -stared at. - -Among the eyes fixed on him was a pair burning because tears would not -come. They were the queen's. It seemed to her that she could stay there -forever, with her feet in her beloved's blood, living like a flower on -the grave, with no nourishment but such as death affords. - -She had suffered much lately, but never so as to see the king eating, -for the position of affairs was serious enough to take away a man's -appetite. - -The Assembly, rather than protect him, had need of protection for -itself. It was threatened by a formidable multitude roaring for the -dethronement, and they obeyed by a decree. It proposed a National -Convention, the head of the executive power being temporarily suspended -from his functions. The Civil List was not to be paid. The king and -family were to remain with the Assembly until order was restored; then -they were to be placed in the Luxembourg Palace. Vergniaud told the -deposed sovereign that it was the only way to save his neck. - -This decree was proclaimed by torch-light that night. - -The lights at the Tuileries fell on the ghastly scenes of the -searchers and the mourners among the dead. Three thousand five hundred -insurgents--to omit two hundred thieves shot by the rioters--had -perished. This supposes as many wounded at the least. As the tumbrels -rolled with the corpses to the working quarters, a chorus of curses -went up against the king, the queen, their foreign _camerilla_, the -nobles who had counseled them. Some swore revenge, and they had it in -the coming massacres; others took up weapons and ran to the palace to -vent their spite on the dead Swiss; others again crowded round the -Assembly and the abbey where were prisoners, shouting "Vengeance." - -The Tuileries presented an awful sight: smoking and bloody, deserted -by all except the military posts which watched lest, under pretense of -finding their dead, pillagers robbed the poor royal residence with its -broken doors and smashed windows. - -The post under the great clock, the main stairs, was commanded by a -young captain of the National Guard, who was no doubt inspired by deep -pity by the disaster, if one might judge by the expression of his -countenance as each cart-load of dead was removed. - -But the dreadful events did not seem to affect him a whit more than -they had the deposed king. For, about eleven at night, he was busy in -satisfying a monstrous appetite at the expense of a quartern loaf held -under his left arm, while his knife-armed right hand unceasingly sliced -off hunks of goodly size, which he inserted into a mouth opening to -suit the dimensions of the piece. - -Leaning against a vestibule pillar, he was watching the silent -procession go by, like shades of mothers, wives and daughters, in the -glare of torches set up here and there; they were asking of the extinct -crater for the remains of their dear ones. - -Suddenly the young officer started at the sight of one veiled phantom. - -"It is the Countess of Charny," he muttered. - -The shadow passed without seeing or hearing him. - -The captain beckoned to his lieutenant. - -"Desire," he said to him, on coming up, "yonder goes a poor lady of -Doctor Gilbert's acquaintance, who is no doubt looking for her husband -among the dead. I think of following her, in case she should need help -and advice. I leave the command to you; keep good guard for both of us." - -"Hang me if Doctor Gilbert's acquaintance has not a deucedly -aristocratic bearing," remarked Lieutenant Desire Maniquet. - -"Because she is an aristocrat--she is a countess," replied the officer. - -"Go along; I will look out." - -The Countess of Charny had already turned the first corner of the -stairs, when the captain, detaching himself from his men, began to -follow her at the respectful distance of fifteen paces. He was not -mistaken. Poor Andrea was looking for her husband, not with the anxious -thrill of doubt, but with the dull conviction of despair. - -When Charny had been aroused in the midst of his joy and happiness by -the echo of deeds in Paris, he had come, pale but resolute, to say to -his wife: - -"Dear Andrea, the King of France runs the risk of his life, and needs -all his defenders. What ought I do?" - -"Go where duty calls you, my dear George," she had replied, "and die -for the king if you must." - -"But how about you?" he asked. - -"Do not be uneasy about me," she said. "As I live but in you, God may -allow that we shall die together." - -That settled all between those great hearts; they did not exchange a -word further. When the post-horses came to the door, they set out, and -were in town in five hours. - -That same evening, we have seen Charny present himself for duty in his -naval uniform at the same time that Dr. Gilbert was going to send for -him. - -Since that hour we know that he never quitted the queen. - -Andrea had remained alone, shut in, praying; for a space she -entertained the idea of imitating her husband, and claiming her -station beside the queen, as he had beside the king; but she had not -the courage. - -The day of the ninth passed for her in anguish, but without anything -positive. At nine in the morning next day she heard the cannon; it is -needless to say that each echo of the war-like thunder thrilled her to -the inmost fiber of her heart. The firing died out about two o'clock. - -Were the people defeated, or the victors? she questioned, and was told -that the people had won the day. - -What had become of Charny in this terrible fray? She was sure that he -had taken a leading part. On making inquiries again, she was told that -the Swiss were slain, but most of the noblemen had got away. - -But the night passed without his coming. In August, night comes late. - -Not till ten o'clock did Andrea lose hope, when she drew a veil over -her face and went out. - -All along the road she met clusters of women wringing their hands and -bands of men howling for revenge. She passed among them, protected -by the grief of one and the rage of the other; besides, they were -man-hunting that night, and not for women. - -The women of both parties were weeping. - -Arriving on the Carrousel, Andrea heard the proclamation that the -rulers were deposed and safe under the wing of the Assembly, which was -all she understood. - -Seeing some carts go by, she asked what they carried, and was told the -dead from the palace yards. Only the dead were being removed; the turn -of the wounded would come later. - -She thought that Charny would have fallen at the door of the rooms of -the king or the queen, so she entered the palace. It was at the moment -when Pitou, commanding the main entrance as the captain, saw, and, -recognizing her, followed. - -It is not possible to give an idea of the devastation in the Tuileries. - -Blood poured out of the rooms and spouted like cascades down the -stairs. In some of the chambers the bodies yet lay. - -Like the other searchers, Andrea took a torch and looked at body after -body. Thus she made her way to the royal rooms. Pitou still followed -her. - -Here, as in the other rooms, she sought in vain; she paused, undecided -whither to turn. Seeing her embarrassment, the soldier went up to her. - -"Alas, I suspect what your ladyship is seeking!" he said. - -"Captain Pitou?" Andrea exclaimed. - -"At your service." - -"Yes, yes, I have great need of you," she said. Going to him, she took -both his hands, and continued: "Do you know what has become of the -Count of Charny?" - -"I do not, my lady; but I can help you to look for him." - -"There is one person who can tell us whether he is dead or alive, and -where he is in either case," observed Andrea. - -"Who is that, my lady?" queried the peasant. - -"The queen," muttered Andrea. - -"Do you know where she is?" inquired Pitou. - -"I believe she is in the House, and I have still the hope that my Lord -Charny is with her." - -"Why, yes, yes," said Pitou, snatching at the hope for the mourner's -sake; "would you like to go into the House?" - -"But they may refuse me admission." - -"I'll undertake to get the doors to open." - -"Come, then." - -Andrea flung the flambeau from her at the risk of setting fire to the -place, for what mattered the Tuileries to her in such desperation? so -deep that she could not find tears. - -From having lived in the palace as the queen's attendant, she knew all -the ways, and she led them back by short cuts to the grand entrance -where Maniquet was on the lookout. - -"How is your countess getting on?" he inquired. - -"She hopes to find her lord in the House, where we are going. As we may -find him," he added, in a low voice, "but dead, send me four stout lads -to the Feuillants' gate, whom I may rely on to defend the body of an -aristocrat as well as though a good patriot's." - -"All right; go ahead with your countess; I will send the men." - -Andrea was waiting at the garden end, where a sentry was posted; but as -that was done by Pitou, he naturally let his captain pass. - -The palace gardens were lighted by lamps set mostly on the statue -pedestals. As it was almost as warm as in the heat of the day, and the -slight breeze barely ruffled the leaves, the lamp-flames rose straight, -like spear-heads, and lighted up the corpses strewn under the trees. - -But Andrea felt so convinced that she should find her husband where the -queen had taken refuge, that she walked on, without looking to either -right or left. Thus they reached the Feuillants' gate. - -The royal family had been gone an hour, and were in the record office, -for the time. To reach them, there were two obstacles to pass: the -guards and the royal attendants. - -Pitou, as commanding the Tuileries, had the password, and could -therefore conduct the lady up to the line of gentlemen. - -The former favorite of the queen had but to use her name to take the -next step. - -On entering the little room reserved for her, the queen had thrown -herself on the bed, and bit the pillow amid sobs and tears. - -Certainly, one who had lost a throne and liberty, and perhaps would -lose her life, had lost enough for no one to chaffer about the degree -of her despair, and not to seek behind her deep abasement if some -keener sorrow still did not draw these tears from her eyes and sobs -from her bosom. - -Owing to the respect inspired by this supreme grief, she had been left -alone at the first. - -She heard the room door open, but as it might be that from the king's, -she did not turn; though she heard steps approaching her pillow, she -did not lift her head from it. - -But suddenly she sprung up, as though a serpent had stung her. - -A well-known voice had simply uttered the single word, "Madame." - -"Andrea?" cried Marie Antoinette, rising on her elbow. "What do you -want?" - -"I want the answer God demanded of Cain when He said, 'What have you -done with your brother'?" - -"With this difference," returned the queen, "That Cain had killed his -brother; whereas I--so gladly--would give not only my existence, but -ten lives, to save his dear one." - -Andrea staggered; a cold sweat burst out on her forehead, and her teeth -chattered. - -"Then he was killed?" she faltered, making a great effort. - -"Do you think I am wailing for my crown?" demanded the fallen -majesty, looking hard at her. "Do you believe that if this blood were -mine"--here she showed her dyed foot--"I should not have washed it off?" - -Andrea became lividly pale. - -"Then you know where his body is?" she said. - -"I could take you to it, if I were allowed to go forth," said the -prisoner. - -Andrea went out at the door by which Pitou was waiting. - -"Captain," she said, "one of my friends, a lady of the queen's, offers -to take me where the count's body is. May she go out with me?" - -"On condition that you bring her back whence she came," said the -officer. - -"That will do." - -"Comrade," said Pitou to his sentry, "one of the queen's women wants to -go out to help us find the body of a brave officer of whom this lady is -the widow. I will answer for her with my head." - -"That is good enough for me, captain," was the reply. - -The anteroom door opened and the queen appeared, but she had a veil -wound round her head. They went down the stairs, the queen leading. - -After a twenty-seven hours' session, the House had adjourned, and -the immense hall, where so much noise and so many events had been -compressed, was dumb, void, and somber as a sepulcher. - -The queen called for a light. Pitou picked up an extinguished link, -lighted it at a lantern, and handed it to her, and she resumed the -march. As they passed the entrance door, the queen pointed to it. - -"He was killed there," she said. - -Andrea did not reply; she seemed a specter haunting one who had called -her up. - -The queen lowered the torch to the floor in the lobby, saying: "Behold -his blood." - -Andrea remained mute. - -The conductress went straight to a closet attached to the "Logographe" -box, pulled the door open, and said, as she held up the light to -illumine the interior: - -"Here is his body." - -Andrea entered the room, knelt down, and taking the head upon her knee, -she said: - -"Madame, I thank you; this is all I wanted of you." - -"But I have something to ask you--won't you forgive me?" - -There fell a short silence, as though Andrea were reflecting. - -"Yes," she replied, at length, "for I shall be with him on the morrow." - -The queen drew a pair of scissors from her bosom, where they were -hidden like a weapon to be used in an extremity. - -"Then would you kindly--" She spoke almost supplicatingly, as she held -out the joined blades to the mourner. - -Andrea cut a lock of hair from the corpse's brow, and handed it and -the instrument to the other. She caught her hand and kissed it, but -Andrea snatched away hers, as though the lips of her royal mistress had -scorched her. - -"Ah!" muttered the queen, throwing a last glance on the remains, "who -can tell which of us loved him the most?" - -"Oh, my darling George," retorted Andrea, in the same low tone, "I -trust that you at least know now that I loved you the best!" - -The queen went back on the way to her prison, leaving Andrea with the -remains of her husband, on which a pale moonbeam fell through a small -grated window, like the gaze of a friend. - -Without knowing who she was, Pitou conducted Marie Antoinette, and saw -her safely lodged. Relieved of his responsibility toward the soldier on -guard, he went out on the terrace to see if the squad he had asked of -Maniquet had arrived. The four were waiting. - -"Come in," said Pitou. - -Using the torch which he had taken from the queen's hands, he led his -men to the room where Andrea was still gazing on her husband's white -but still handsome face in the moonshine. The torch-light made her look -up. - -"What do you want?" she challenged of the Guards, as though she thought -they came to rob her of the dead. - -"My lady," said Pitou, "we come to carry the body of Count Charny to -his house in Coq-Heron Street." - -"Will you swear to me that it is purely for that?" Andrea asked. - -Pitou held out his hand over the dead body with a dignity of which he -might be believed incapable. - -"Then I owe you apology, and I will pray God," said Andrea, "in my last -moments, to spare you and yours such woe as He hath afflicted me with." - -The four men took up the warrior on their muskets, and Pitou, with his -drawn sword, placed himself at the head of the funeral party. Andrea -walked beside the corpse, holding the cold and rigid hand in her own. -They put the body on the countess's bed, when that lady said to the -National Guardsmen: - -"Receive the blessings of one who will pray to God for you to-morrow -before Him. Captain Pitou," she added, "I owe you more than I ever can -repay you. May I rely on you for a final service?" - -"Order me, madame." - -"Arrange that Doctor Gilbert shall be here at eight o'clock in the -morning." - -Pitou bowed and went out. Turning his head as he did so, he saw Andrea -kneel at the bed as at an altar. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII. - -WHAT ANDREA WANTED OF GILBERT. - - -At eight precisely next day, Gilbert knocked at the house-door of the -Countess of Charny. - -On hearing of her request made to Pitou, he had asked him for full -particulars of the occurrence, and he had pondered over them. - -As he went out in the morning, he sent for Pitou to go to the college -where his son and Andrea's, Sebastian, was being educated, and bring -him to Coq-Heron Street. He was to wait at the door there for the -physician to come out. - -No doubt the old janitor had been informed of the doctor's visit, for -he showed him at once into the sitting-room. - -Andrea was waiting, clad in full mourning. It was clear that she had -neither slept nor wept all the night through; her face was pale and her -eyes dry. Never had the lines of her countenance, always indicative of -willfulness carried to the degree of stubbornness, been more firmly -fixed. - -It was hard to tell what resolution that loving heart had settled on, -but it was plain that it had come to one. This was comprehended by -Gilbert at a first glance, as he was a skilled observer and a reasoning -physician. - -He bowed and waited. - -"I asked you to come because I want a favor done, and it must be put to -one who can not refuse it me." - -"You are right, madame; not, perhaps, in what you are about to ask, but -in what you have done; for you have the right to claim of me anything, -even to my life." - -She smiled bitterly. - -"Your life, sir, is one of those so precious to mankind that I should -be the first to pray God to prolong it and make it happy, far from -wishing it abridged. But acknowledge that yours is placed under happy -influences, as there are others seemingly doomed beneath a fatal star." - -Gilbert was silent. - -"Mine, for instance," went on Andrea; "what do you say about mine? Let -me recall it briefly," she said, as Gilbert lowered his eyes. "I was -born poor. My father was a ruined spendthrift before I was born. My -childhood was sad and lonesome. You knew what my father was, as you -were born on his estate and grew up in our house, and you can measure -the little affection he had for me. - -"Two persons, one of whom was bound to be a stranger to me, while the -other was unknown, exercised a fatal and mysterious sway over me, in -which my will went for naught. One disposed of my soul, the other of my -body. I became a mother without ceasing to be a virgin. By this horrid -event I nearly lost the love of the only being who ever loved me--my -brother Philip. - -"I took refuge in the idea of motherhood, and that my babe would love -me; but it was snatched from me within an hour of its birth. I was -therefore a wife without a husband, a mother without a child. - -"A queen's friendship consoled me. - -"One day chance sent me in a public vehicle with the queen and a -handsome young gallant, whom fatality caused me to love, though I had -never loved a soul. - -"He fell in love with the queen. I became the confidante in this amour. -As I believe you have loved without return, Doctor Gilbert, you can -understand what I suffered. Yet this was not enough. It happened on a -day that the queen came to me to say: 'Andrea, save my life; more than -life--my honor!' It was necessary that I should become the bride of the -man I had loved three years without becoming his wife. I agreed. Five -years I dwelt beside that man, flame within, but ice without; a statue -with a burning heart. Doctor, as a doctor, can you understand what my -heart went through? - -"One day--day of unspeakable bliss--my self-sacrifice, silence, and -devotion touched that man. For six years I loved him without letting -him suspect it by a look, when he came all of a quiver to throw himself -at my feet and cry: 'I know all, and I love you!' - -"Willing to recompense me, God, in giving me my husband, restored me my -child. A year flew by like a day--nay, an hour, a minute. This year is -all I call my life. - -"Four days ago the lightning fell at my feet. The count's honor bid him -go to Paris, to die there. I did not make any remark, did not shed a -tear; I went with him. Hardly had we arrived before he parted from me. -Last night I found him, slain. There he rests, in the next room. - -"Do you think I am too ambitious to crave to lie in the same grave? Do -you believe you can refuse the request I make to you? - -"Doctor Gilbert, you are a learned physician and a skillful chemist. -You have been guilty of great wrongs to me, and you have much to -expiate as regards me. Well, give me a swift sure poison, and I shall -not merely forgive you all, but die with a heart full of gratitude to -you." - -"Madame," replied Gilbert, "as you say, your life has been one long, -dolorous trial, and for it all glory be yours, since you have borne it -nobly and saintly, like a martyr." - -She gave an impatient toss of the head, as if she wanted a direct -answer. - -"Now you say to your torturer: 'You made my life a misery; give me -a sweet death.' You have the right to do this, and there is reason -in your adding: 'You must do it, for you have no right to refuse me -anything,' Do you still want the poison?" - -"I entreat you to be friend enough to give it me." - -"Is life so heavy to you that it is impossible for you to support it?" - -"Death is the sweetest boon man can give me; the greatest blessing God -may grant me." - -"In ten minutes you shall have your wish, madame," responded Gilbert, -bowing and taking a step toward the door. - -"Ah!" said the lady, holding out her hand to him, "you do me more -kindness in an instant than you did harm in all your life. God bless -you, Gilbert!" - -He hurried out. At the door he found Pitou and Sebastian, waiting in a -hack. - -"Sebastian," he said to the youth, drawing a small vial attached to a -gold chain from inside his clothes at his breast, "take this flask of -liquor to the Countess of Charny." - -"How long am I to stay with her?" - -"As long as you like." - -"Where am I to find you?" - -"I shall be waiting here." - -Taking the small bottle, the young man went in-doors. In a quarter of -an hour he came forth. Gilbert cast on him a rapid glance. He brought -back the tiny flask untouched. - -"What did she say?" asked Gilbert. - -"'Not from your hand, my child!'" - -"What did she do then?" - -"She fell a-weeping." - -"She is saved," said Gilbert. "Come, my boy," and he embraced him more -tenderly than ever before. In clasping him to his heart, he heard the -crackling of paper. - -"What is that?" he asked, with a nervous laugh of joy. "Do you by -chance carry your compositions in your breast-pocket?" - -"There, I had forgotten," said the youth, taking a parchment from his -pocket. "The countess gave it me, and says it is to be deposited in the -proper registry." - -The doctor examined the paper. It was a document which empowered, in -default of heirs male, to the titles of Philip de Taverney, Knight of -Redcastle, Sebastian Emile Gilbert, son of Andrea Taverney, Countess -of Charny, to wear that title honorarily until the king should make it -good to him by favor of his mother's service to the Crown, and perhaps -award him the estates to maintain the dignity. - -"Keep it," said Gilbert, with a melancholy smile; "as well date it -from the Greek kalends! The king, I fear, will nevermore dispose of -more than six-feet-by-three of landed property in his once kingdom of -France." - -Gilbert could jest, for he believed Andrea saved. - -He had reckoned without Marat. A week after, he learned that the -scoundrel had denounced the favorite of the queen, and that the widowed -Countess of Charny had been arrested and lodged in the old Abbey Prison. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII. - -THE ASSEMBLY AND THE COMMUNE. - - -It was the Commune which had caused the attack on the palace, which the -king must have seen, for he took refuge in the House, and not in the -City Hall. The Commune wanted to smother the wolf--the she-wolf and the -whelps--between two blankets in their den. - -This shelter to the royals converted the Assembly into Royalists. It -was asserted that the Luxembourg Palace, assigned to the king as a -residence, had a secret communication with those catacombs which burrow -under Paris, so that he might get away at any hour. - -The Assembly did not want to quarrel with the Commune over such a -trifle, and allowed it to choose the royal house of detention. - -The city pitched on the temple. It was not a palace, but a prison, -under the town's hand; an old, lonely tower, strong, heavy, lugubrious. -In it Philip the Fair broke up the Middle Ages revolting against him, -and was royalty to be broken down in it now? - -All the houses in the neighborhood were illuminated as the royal -captives were taken hither to the part called "the palace," from Count -Artois making it his city residence. They were happy to hold in -bondage the king no more, but the friend of the foreign foe, the great -enemy of the Revolution, and the ally of the nobles and the clergy. - -The royal servants looked at the lodgings with stupefaction. In their -tearful eyes were still the splendors of the kingly dwellings, while -this was not even a prison into which was flung their master, but a -kennel! Misfortune was not to have any majesty. - -But, through strength of mind or dullness, the king remained -unaffected, and slept on the poverty-stricken bed as tranquilly as in -his palace, perhaps more so. - -At this time, the king would have been the happiest man in the world -had he been given a country cottage with ten acres, a forge, a chapel -and a chaplain, and a library of travel-books, with his wife and -children. But it was altogether different with the queen. - -The proud lioness did not rage at the sight of her cage, but that was -because so sharp a sorrow ached in her heart that she was blind and -insensible to all around her. - -The men who had done the fighting in the capture of the Royalist -stronghold were willing that the prisoners, Swiss and gentlemen, should -be tried by court-martial. But Marat shrieked for massacre, as making -shorter work than even a drum-head court. - -Danton yielded to him. Before the snake the lion was cowed, and slunk -away, trying to act the fox. - -The city wards pressed the Assembly to create an extraordinary -tribunal. It was established on the twentieth, and condemned a Royalist -to death. The execution took place by torch-light, with such horrible -effect, that the executioner, in the act of holding up the lopped-off -head to the mob, yelled and fell dead off upon the pavement. - -The Revolution of 1789, with Necker, Bailly, and Sieyes, ended in -1790; that of Barnave, Lafayette, and Mirabeau in 1792, while the -Red Revolution, the bloody one of Danton, Marat, and Robespierre, was -commencing. - -Lafayette, repulsed instinctively by the army, which he had called upon -in an address to march on Paris and restore the king, had fled abroad. - -Meanwhile, the Austrians, whom the queen had prayed to see in the -moonlight from her palace windows, had captured Longwy. The other -extremity of France, La Vendee, had risen on the eve of this surrender. - -To meet this condition of affairs, the Assembly assigned Dumouriez to -the command of the Army of the East; ordered the arrest of Lafayette; -decreed the razing of Longwy when it should be retaken; banished -all priests who would not take the oath of allegiance; authorized -house-to-house visits for aristocrats and weapons, and sold all the -property of fugitives. - -The Commune, with Marat as its prophet, set up the guillotine on -Carrousel Square, with an apology that it could only send one victim a -day, owing to the trouble of obtaining convictions. - -On the 28th of August, the Assembly passed the law on domiciliary -visits. The rumor spread that the Austrian and Prussian armies had -effected their junction, and that Longwy had fallen. - -It followed that the enemy, so long prayed for by the king, the nobles, -and the priests, was marching upon Paris, and might be here in six -stages, if nothing stopped him. - -What would happen then to this boiling crater from which the shocks had -made the Old World quake the last three years? - -The insolent jest of Bouille would be realized, that not one stone -would be left upon another. - -It was considered a sure thing that a general, terrible, and inexorable -doom was to fall on the Parisians after their city was destroyed. A -letter found in the Tuileries had said: - -"In the rear of the army will travel the courts, informed on the -journey by the fugitives of the misdeeds and their authors, so that no -time will be lost in trying the Jacobins in the Prussian king's camp, -and getting their halters ready." - -The stories also came of the Uhlans seizing Republican local worthies -and cropping their ears. If they acted thus on the threshold, what -would they do when within the gates? - -It was no longer a secret. - -A great throne would be erected before the heap of ruins which was -Paris. All the population would be dragged and beaten into passing -before it; the good and the bad would be sifted apart as on the -last judgment day. The good--in other words, the religious and the -Royalists--would pass to the right, and France would be turned over to -them for them to work their pleasure; the bad, the rebels, would be -sent to the left, where would be waiting the guillotine, invented by -the Revolution, which would perish by it. - -But to face the foreign invader, had this poor people any self-support? -Those whom they had worshiped, enriched, and paid to defend her, would -they stand up for her now? No. - -The king conspired with the enemy, and from the temple, where he was -confined, continued to correspond with the Prussians and Austrians: the -nobility marched against France, and were formed in battle array by her -princes; her priests made the peasants revolt. From their prison cells, -the Royalist prisoners cheered over the defeats of the French by the -Prussians, and the Prussians at Longwy were hailed by the captives in -the abbey and the temple. - -In consequence, Danton, the man for extremes, rushed into the rostrum. - -"When the country is in danger, everything belongs to the country," he -said. - -All the dwellings were searched, and three thousand persons arrested; -two thousand guns were taken. - -Terror was needed; they obtained it. The worst mischief from the search -was one not foreseen; the mob had entered rich houses, and the sight -of luxuries had redoubled their hatred, though not inciting them to -pillage. There was so little robbery that Beaumarchais, then in jail, -said that the crowd nearly drowned a woman who plucked a rose in his -gardens. - -On this general search day, the Commune summoned before its bar a -Girondist editor, Girey-Dupre, who took refuge at the War Ministry, -from not having time to get to the House. Insulted by one of its -members, the Girondists summoned the Commune's president, Huguenin, -before its bar for having allowed the Ministry to take Girey by force. - -Huguenin would not come, and he was ordered to be arrested by main -force, while a fresh election for a Commune was decreed. - -The present one determined to hold office, and thus was civil war -set going. No longer the mob against the king, citizens against -aristocrats, the cottage against the castle; but hovels against houses, -ward against ward, pike to pike, and mob to mob. - -Marat called for the massacre of the Assembly; that was nothing, -as people were used to his shrieks for wholesale slaughter. But -Robespierre, the prudent, wary, vague, and double-meaning denunciator, -came out boldly for all to fly to arms, not merely to defend, but to -attack. He must have judged the Commune was very strong to do this. - -The physician who might have his fingers on the pulse of France at this -period must have felt the circulation run up at every beat. - -The Assembly feared the working-men, who had broken in the Tuileries -gates and might dash in the Assembly doors. It feared, too, that if it -took up arms against the Commune, it would not only be abandoned by the -Revolutionists, but be bolstered up by the moderate Royalists. In that -case it would be utterly lost. - -It was felt that any event, however slight, might lead this disturbance -to colossal proportions. The event, related by one of our characters, -who has dropped from sight for some time, and who took a share in it, -occurred in the Chatelet Prison. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX. - -CAPTAIN BEAUSIRE APPEARS AGAIN. - - -After the capture of the Tuileries, a special court was instituted -to try cases of theft committed at the palace. Two or three hundred -thieves, caught red-handed, had been shot off-hand, but there were as -many more who had contrived to hide their acts. - -Among the number of these sly depredators was "Captain" Beausire, a -corporal of the French Guards once on a time, but more conspicuous as -a card-sharper and for his hand in the plot of robbers by which the -court jewelers were nearly defrauded of the celebrated set of diamonds -which we have written about under their historic name of "The Queen's -Necklace." - -This Beausire had entered the palace, but in the rear of the -conquerors. He was too full of sense to be among the first where danger -lay in taking the lead. - -It was not his political opinions that carried him into the king's -home, to weep over the fall of monarchy or to applaud the triumph of -the people; bless your innocence, no! Captain Beausire came as a mere -sight-seer, soaring above those human weaknesses known as opinions, and -having but one aim in view, to wit, to ascertain whether those who lost -a throne might not have lost at the same time some article of value -rather more portable and easy to put out of sight. - -To be in harmony with the situation, Beausire had clapped on an -enormous red cap, was armed with the largest-sized saber, and had -splashed his shirt-front and hands with blood from the first quite dead -man he stumbled upon. Like the wolf skulking round the edge and the -vulture hovering over the battle-field, perhaps taken for having helped -in the slaughter, some believed he had been one of the vanquishers. - -The most did so accept him as they heard him bellow "Death to the -aristocrats!" and saw him poke under beds, dash open cupboards, and -even bureau drawers, in order to make sure that no aristocrat had -hidden there. - -However, for the discomfiture of Captain Beausire, at this time, a -man was present who did not peep under beds or open drawers, but who, -having entered while the firing was hot, though he carried no arms -with the conquerors, though he did no conquering, walked about with -his hands behind his back, as he might have done in a public park on a -holiday. Cold and calm in his threadbare but well-brushed black suit, -he was content to raise his voice from time to time to say: - -"Do not forget, citizens, that you are not to kill women and not to -touch the jewels." - -He did not seem to feel any right to censure those who were killing men -and throwing the furniture out of the windows. - -At the first glance he had distinguished that Captain Beausire was not -one of the storming-parties. - -The consequence was that, about half past nine, Pitou, who had the -post of honor, as we know, guarding the main entrance, saw a sort of -woe-begone and slender giant stalk toward him from the interior of the -palace, who said to him with politeness, but also with firmness, as if -his mission was to modify disorder with order and temper vengeance -with justice: - -"Captain, you will see a fellow swagger down the stairs presently, -wearing a red cap, swinging a saber and making broad gestures. Arrest -him and have your men search him, for he has picked up a case of -diamonds." - -"Yes, Master Maillard," replied Pitou, touching his cap. - -"Aha! so you know me, my friend?" said the ex-usher of the Chatelet -Prison. - -"I rather think I do know you," exclaimed Pitou. "Don't you remember -me, Master Maillard? We took the Bastile together." - -"That's very likely." - -"We also marched to Versailles together in October." - -"I did go there at that time." - -"Of course you did; and the proof is that you shielded the ladies who -went to call on the queen, and you had a duel with a janitor who would -not let you go in." - -"Then, for old acquaintance' sake, you will do what I say, eh?" - -"That, and anything else--all you order. You are a regular patriot, you -are." - -"I pride myself on it," replied Maillard, "and that is why I can not -permit the name we bear to be sullied. Attention! this is our man." - -In fact, at this time, Beausire stamped down the grand stairs, waving -his large sword and shouting: "The nation forever!" - -Pitou made a sign to Maniquet and another, who placed themselves at the -door without any parade, and he went to wait for the sham rioter at the -foot of the stairs. - -With a glance, the suspicious character noticed the movements, and as -they no doubt disquieted him, he stopped, and made a turn to go back, -as if he had forgotten something. - -"Beg pardon, citizen," said Pitou; "this is the way out." - -"Oh, is it?" - -"And as the order is to vacate the Tuileries, out you go, if you -please." - -Beausire lifted his head and continued his descent. - -At the last step he touched his hand to his red cap, and in an -emphasized military tone, said: - -"I say, brother-officer, can a comrade go out or not?" - -"You are going out," returned Pitou; "only, in the first place, you -must submit to a little formality." - -"Hem! what is it, my handsome captain?" - -"You will have to be searched." - -"Search a patriot, a capturer of the tyrants' den, a man who has been -exterminating aristocrats?" - -"That's the order; so, comrade, since you are a fellow-soldier," said -the National Guardsman, "stick your big toad-sticker in its sheath, -now that all the aristos are slain, and let the search be done in good -part, or, if not, I shall be driven to employ force." - -"Force?" said Beausire. "Ha! you talk in this strain because you have -twenty men at your back, my pretty captain; but if you and I were alone -together--" - -"If we were alone together, citizen," returned the man from the -country, "I'd show you what I should do. In this way, I should seize -your left wrist with my right hand; with my left, I should wrench your -saber from your grasp, like this, and I should snap it under my foot, -just like this, as being no longer worthy of handling by an honest man -after a thief." - -Putting into practice the theory he announced, Pitou disarmed the sham -patriot, and breaking the sword, tossed the hilt afar. - -"A thief? I, Captain de Beausire, a thief?" thundered the conqueror in -the red cap. - -"Search Captain Beausire with the _de_," said Pitou, pushing the -card-sharper into the midst of his men. - -"Well, go ahead with your search," replied the victim of suspicion, -meekly dropping his arms. - -They had not needed his permission to proceed with the ferreting; -but to the great astonishment of Pitou, and especially of Maillard, -all their searching was in vain. Whether they turned the pockets -inside out, or examined the hems and linings, all they found on the -ex-corporal was a pack of playing-cards so old that the faces were -hardly to be told from the backs, as well as the sum of eleven cents. - -Pitou looked at Maillard, who shrugged his shoulders as much as to say, -"I have missed it somehow, but I do not know what I can do about it -now." - -"Go through him again," said Pitou, one of whose principal traits was -patience. - -They tried it again, but the second search was as unfruitful as the -former; they only found the same pack of cards and eleven cents. - -"Well," taunted Beausire, triumphantly, "is a sword still disgraced by -having been handled by me?" - -"No," replied Pitou; "and to prove it, if you are not satisfied with -the excuses I tender you, one of my men shall lend you his, and I will -give you any other satisfaction you may like." - -"Thanks, no, young sir," said the other, drawing himself up to his full -height; "you acted under orders, and an old veteran like me knows that -an order is sacred. Now I beg to remark that Madame de Beausire must be -anxious about my long absence, and if I am allowed to retire--" - -"Go, sir," responded Pitou; "you are free." - -Beausire saluted in a free-and-easy style and took himself out of the -palace. Pitou looked round for Maillard, but he was not by. - -"I fancy I saw him go up the stairs," said one of the Haramont men. - -"You saw clearly, for he is coming down," observed Pitou. - -Maillard was in fact descending, and as his long legs took the steps -two by two, he was soon on the landing. - -"Well, did you find anything?" he inquired. - -"No," rejoined the captain. - -"Then, I have been luckier than you, for I lighted on the case." - -"So we were wrong, eh?" - -"No; we were right." - -Maillard opened the case and showed the old setting from which had been -prized all the stones. - -"Why, what does this mean?" Pitou wanted to know. - -"That the scamp guessed what might happen, picked out the diamonds, and -as he thought the setting would be in his way, he threw it with the -case into the closet where I found it." - -"That's clear enough. But what has become of the stones?" - -"He found some means of juggling them away." - -"The trickster!" - -"Has he been long gone?" inquired Maillard. - -"As you came down, he was passing through the middle yard." - -"Which way did he take?" - -"He went toward the water-side." - -"Good-bye, captain." - -"Are you going after him, Master Maillard?" - -"I want to make a thorough job of it," returned the ex-usher. - -And unfolding his long legs like a pair of compasses, he set off in -pursuit of Captain Beausire. - -Pitou was thinking the matter over when he recognized the Countess of -Charny, and the events occurred which we have related in their proper -time and place. Not to mix them up with this present matter, we think, -falls into line here. - - - - -CHAPTER XX. - -THE EMETIC. - - -Rapid as was Maillard's gait, he could not catch up with his quarry, -who had three things in his favor, namely: ten minutes' start, the -darkness, and the number of passengers on the Carrousel, in the thick -of whom he disappeared. - -But when he got out upon the Tuileries quay, the ex-usher kept on, for -he lived in the working-quarter, and it was not out of his way home to -keep to the water-side. - -A great concourse was upon the bridges, flocking to the open space -before the Palace of Justice, where the dead were laid out for -identification, and people sought for their dear ones, with hope, or, -rather, fear. - -Maillard followed the crowd. - -At a corner there he had a friend in a druggist, or apothecary, as -they said in those days. He dropped in there, sat down, and chatted of -what had gone on, while the surgeons rushed in and about to get the -materials they wanted for the injured; for among the corpses a moan, -a scream, or palpable breathing showed that some wretch still lived, -and he was hauled out and carried to the great hospital, after rough -dressing. - -So there was a great hubbub in the worthy chemist's store; but Maillard -was not in the way; on such occasions they were delighted to see a -patriot of the degree of a hero of the Bastile, who was balm itself to -the lovers of liberty. - -He had been there upward of a quarter of an hour, with his long legs -tucked well under him and taking up as little room as possible, when -a woman, of the age of thirty-eight or so, came in. Under the garb of -most abject poverty, she preserved a vestige of former opulence, and a -bearing of studied aristocracy, if not natural. - -But what particularly struck Maillard was her marked likeness to the -queen; he would have cried out with amaze but for his having great -presence of mind. She held a little boy by the hand, and came up to the -counter with an odd timidity, veiling the wretchedness of her garments -as much as she could, though that was the more manifest from her taking -extreme care of her face and her hands. - -For some time it was impossible for her to make herself heard owing to -the uproar; but at last she addressed the master of the establishment, -saying: - -"Please, sir, I want an emetic for my husband, who is ill." - -"What sort do you want, citizeness?" asked the dispenser of drugs. - -"Any sort, as long as it does not cost more than eleven cents." - -This exact amount struck Maillard, for it will be remembered that -eleven coppers were the findings in Beausire's pockets. - -"Why should it not cost more than that?" inquired the chemist. - -"Because that is all the small change my man could give me." - -"Put up some tartar emetic," said the apothecary to an assistant, "and -give it to the citizeness." - -He turned to attend to other demands while the assistant made up the -powder. But Maillard, who had nothing to do to distract his attention, -concentrated all his wits on the woman who had but eleven cents. - -"There you are, citizeness; here's your physic," said the drug clerk. - -"Now, then, Toussaint," said the woman, with a drawl habitual to her, -"give the gentleman the eleven cents, my boy." - -"There it is," replied the boy, putting the pile of coppers on the -counter. "Come home quick, Mamma Oliva, for papa is waiting." - -He tried to drag her away, repeating, "Why don't you come quick? Papa -is in such a hurry." - -"Hi! hold on, citizeness!" cried the budding druggist; "you have only -given me nine cents." - -"What do you mean by only nine?" exclaimed the woman. - -"Why, look here; you can reckon for yourself." - -The woman did so, and saw there were just nine. - -"What have you done with the other two coins, you wicked boy?" she -asked. - -"Me not know nothing about 'em," whimpered the child. "Do come home, -Mamma Oliva!" - -"You must know, for I let you carry the money." - -"I must have lost 'em. But come along home," whined the boy. - -"You have a bewitching little fellow there, citizeness," remarked -Maillard; "he appears sharp-witted, but you will have to take care lest -he become a thief." - -"How dare you, sir!--a thief?" cried the woman called Oliva. "Why do -you say such a thing, I should like to know?" - -"Only because he has not lost the two cents, but hid them in his shoe." - -"Me?" retorted the boy. "What a lie!" - -"In the left shoe, citizeness--in the left," said Maillard. - -In spite of the yell of young Toussaint, Mme. Oliva took off his left -shoe and found the coppers in it. She handed them to the apothecary's -clerk, and dragged away the urchin with threats of punishment which -would have appeared terrible to the by-standers, if they had not -been accompanied by soft words which no doubt sprung from maternal -affection. Unimportant as the incident was in itself, it certainly -would have passed without comment amid the surrounding grave -circumstances, if the resemblance of the heroine to the queen had not -impressed the witness. The result of his pondering over this was that -he went up to his friend in drugs, and said to him, in a respite from -trade: - -"Did you not notice the likeness of that woman who just went out to--" - -"The queen?" said the other, laughing. - -"Yes; so you remarked it the same as I?" - -"Oh, ever so long ago. It is a matter of history." - -"I do not understand." - -"Do you not remember the celebrated trial of 'The Queen's Necklace'?" - -"Oh, you must not put such a question to an usher of the law courts--he -could not forget that." - -"Well, you must recall one Nicole Legay, _alias_ Oliva." - -"Oh, of course; you are right. She played herself as the queen upon the -Prince Cardinal Rohan." - -"While she was living with a discharged soldier, a bully and -card-cheat, a spy and recruiter, named Beausire." - -"What do you say?" broke out Maillard, as though snake-bitten. - -"A rogue named Beausire," repeated the druggist. - -"Is it he whom she styles her husband?" asked Maillard. - -"Yes." - -"And for whom she came to get the physic?" - -"The rascal has been drinking too hard." - -"An emetic?" continued Maillard, as one on the track of an important -secret and did not wish to be turned astray. - -"A vomitory--yes." - -"By Jupiter, I have nailed my man!" exclaimed the visitor. - -"What man?" - -"The man who had only eleven cents--Captain de Beausire, in short. That -is, if I knew where he lives." - -"Well, I know if you do not; it is close by, No. 6 Juiverie Street." - -"Then I am not astonished at young Beausire stealing two cents from his -mother, for he is the son of the cheat." - -"No cheat there--his living likeness." - -"A chip of the old block. My dear friend," continued Maillard, -"straight as a die, how long does your dose take to operate?" - -"Immediately after taking; but these fellows fight shy of medicine. He -will play fast and loose before he takes it, and his wife will have to -make a cup of soup to wash the taste out of his mouth." - -"You mean I may have time to do what I have to do?" - -"I hope so; you seem to feel great interest in our Captain Beausire?" - -"So much so that, for fear he will be very bad, I am going to get a -couple of male nurses for him." - -Leaving the drug store with a silent laugh, the only one he indulged -in, Maillard hurried back to the Tuileries. - -Pitou was absent, for we know he was attending on the Countess of -Charny, but Lieutenant Maniquet was guarding the post. They recognized -each other. - -"Well, Citizen Maillard, did you overtake the fellow?" asked Maniquet. - -"No; but I am on his track." - -"Faith, it is a blessing; for though we did not find the diamonds on -the knave, somehow I am ready to bet that he has them." - -"Make the bet, citizen, and you will win," said the usher. - -"Good; and can we help you catch him?" - -"You can." - -"In what way, Citizen Maillard? We are under your orders." - -"I want a couple of honest men." - -"You can take at random, then. Boulanger and Molicar, step out this -way." - -That was all the usher desired; and with the two soldiers of Haramont -he proceeded at the double-quick to the residence of Beausire. - -In the house they were guided by the cries of young Toussaint, still -suffering from a correction, not maternal, as Papa Beausire, on account -of the gravity of the misdemeanor, had deemed it his duty to intervene -and add some cuffs from his hard hand to the gentle slap which Oliva -had administered much against her will with her softer one to her -beloved offspring. - -The door was locked. - -"In the name of the law, open!" called out Maillard. - -A conversation in a low voice ensued, during which young Toussaint was -hushed, as he thought that the abstraction of the two cents from his -mother was a heinous crime for which Justice had risen in her wrath; -while Beausire, who attributed it to the domiciliary visits, tried -to tranquilize Oliva, though he was not wholly at his ease. He had, -moreover, gulped down the tartar as soon as he had chastised his son. - -Mme. Beausire had to take her course, and she opened the door just as -Maillard was going to knock for a second time. - -The three men entered, to the great terror of Oliva and Master -Toussaint, who ran to hide under a ragged straw-bottomed chair. - -Beausire had thrown himself on the bed, and Maillard had the -satisfaction of seeing by the light of a cheap candle smoking in -an iron holder that the physic paper was flat and empty on the -night-table. The potion was swallowed, and they had only to abide the -effects. - -On the march, Maillard had related to the volunteers what had happened, -so that they were fully cognizant of the state of matters. - -"Citizens," he restricted himself to saying, "Captain Beausire is -exactly like that princess in the Arabian Nights' Entertainment, -who never spoke unless compelled, but who, whenever she opened her -mouth, let fall a diamond. Do not, therefore, let Beausire spit out -a word unless learning what it contains. I will wait for you at the -Municipality offices. When the gentleman has nothing more to say to -you, take him to the Chatelet Prison, where you will say Citizen -Maillard sent him for safe keeping, and you will join me at the City -Hall with what he shall have delivered." - -The National Guards nodded in token of passive obedience, and placed -themselves with Beausire between them. The apothecary had given good -measure for eleven cents, and the effect of the emetic was most -satisfactory. - -About three in the morning, Maillard saw his two soldiers coming to -him. They brought a hundred thousand francs' worth of diamonds of the -purest water, wrapped in a copy of the prison register, stating that -Beausire was under ward and lock. In his name and the two Haramontese, -Maillard placed the gems in charge of the Commune attorney, who gave -them a certificate that they had deserved the thanks of the country. - - - - -CHAPTER XXI. - -BEAUSIRE'S BRAVADO. - - -Imprisoned in the Chatelet, Beausire was brought before the jury -specially charged to deal with thefts committed in the taking of the -Tuileries. He could not deny what was only too clearly brought forth, -so he most humbly confessed his deed and sued for clemency. - -His antecedents being looked up, they so little edified the court on -his moral character, that he was condemned to five years in the hulks -and transportation to the plantations. - -In vain did he allege that he had been led into crime by the most -commendable feelings, namely, to provide a peaceful future for his -wife and child; nothing could alter the doom, and as the court was one -without appeal, and the sentences active, it was likely to be executed -immediately. - -Better for him had it not been deferred for a day. Fate would have it -that one of his old associates was put in prison with him on the eve of -his sentence being carried out. They renewed acquaintance and exchanged -confidences. - -The new-comer was, he said, concerned in a well-matured plot which was -to burst on Strand Place or before the Justice Hall. The conspirators -were to gather in a considerable number, as if to see the executions -taking place at either spot, and, raising shouts of "Long live the -king!" "The Prussians are coming, hurrah!" "Death to the nation!" they -were to storm the City Hall, call to their help the National Guards, -two thirds Royalist, or at least Constitutional, maintain the abolition -of the Commune, and, in short, accomplish the loyal counter-revolution. - -The mischief was that Beausire's old partner was the very man who was -to give the signal. The others in the plot, ignorant of his arrest, -would hie to the place of execution, and the rising would fall to the -ground from nobody being there to start the cries. - -This was the more lamentable, added the friend, from there never being -a better arranged plot, and one that promised a more certain result. - -His arrest was the more regrettable still as, in the turmoil, the -prisoner would most certainly be rescued and get away, so that he would -elude the branding-iron and the galleys. - -Though Captain Beausire had no settled opinions, he leaned toward -royalty, so he began to deplore the check to the scheme, in the first -place for the king's sake, and then for his own. - -All at once he struck his brow, for he was illumined with a bright idea. - -"Why, this first execution is to be mine!" he said. - -"Of course, and it would have been a rich streak of luck for you." - -"But you say that it will not matter who gives the cue, for the plot -will burst out?" - -"Yes. But who will do this, when I am caged, and can not communicate -with the lads outside?" - -"I," replied Beausire in lofty, tragic tones. "Will I not be on the -spot, since it is I whom they are to put in the pillory? So I am the -man who will cry out the arranged shouts; it is not so very hard a -task, methinks." - -"I always said you were a genius," remarked the captain's friend, after -being wonder-struck. - -Beausire bowed. - -"If you do this," continued the Royalist plotter, "you will not only -be delivered and pardoned, but still further, when I proclaim that -the success of the outbreak is due to you, you can shake hands with -yourself beforehand on the great reward you will earn." - -"I am not going to do the deed for anything like lucre," said the -adventurer, with the most disinterested of manners. - -"We all know that," rejoined the friend; "but when the reward comes -along, I advise you not to refuse it." - -"Oh, if you think I ought to take it--" faltered the gambler. - -"I press you to, and if I had any power over you, I should order you," -resumed the companion, majestically. - -"I give in," said Beausire. - -"Well, to-morrow we will breakfast together, for the governor of the -jail will not refuse this favor to two old 'pals,' and we will crack a -jolly good bottle of the rosy to the success of this plot." - -Though Beausire may have had his doubts on the kindness of prison -governors, the request was granted, to his great satisfaction. It was -not one bottle they drained, but several. At the fourth, Beausire -was a red-hot Royalist. Luckily, the warders came to take him to the -Strand before he emptied the fifth. He stepped into the cart as into a -triumphal chariot, disdainfully surveying the throng for whom he was -storing up such a startling surprise. - -On Notre Dame Bridge, a woman and a little boy were waiting for him to -come along. He recognized poor Oliva, in tears, and young Toussaint, -who, on beholding his father among the soldiers, said: - -"Serves him right; what did he beat me for?" - -The proud father smiled protectingly, and would have waved a blessing -but his hands were tied behind his back. - -The City Hall Square was crammed with people. They knew that this felon -had robbed in the palace, and they had no pity for him. Hence, the -Guards had their work cut out to keep them back when the cart stopped -at the pillory foot. - -Beausire looked on at the uproar and scuffling, as much as to say: "You -shall see some fun in awhile; this is nothing to the joker I have up my -sleeve!" - -When he appeared on the pillory platform, there was general hooting; -but at the supreme moment, when the executioner opened the culprit's -shirt and pulled down the sleeve to bare the shoulder, and then stooped -down to take the red-hot brand, that happened which always does--all -was silent before the majesty of the law. - -Beausire snatched at this lull, and gathering all his powers, he -shouted in a full, ringing and sonorous voice: - -"Long live the king! Hurrah for the Prussians! Down with the nation!" - -However great a tumult the prisoner may have expected, the one this -raised much exceeded it; the protest was not in shouts, but howls. The -whole gathering uttered an immense roar and rushed on the pillory. - -This time the guards were insufficient to protect their man. Their -ranks were broken, the scaffold swarmed upon, the executioner thrown -over, and the condemned one torn from the stand and flung into the -surging mob. - -He would have been flayed, dismembered, and torn to pieces but for one -man, arrayed in his scarf as a town officer, who luckily saw it all -from the City Hall steps. - -It was the Commune attorney, Manuel. He had strongly humane feelings, -which he often had to keep hidden, but they moved him at such times. - -With great difficulty he fought his way to Beausire, and laying hold of -him, said in a loud voice: - -"In the name of the law, I claim this man!" - -There was hesitation; he unloosed his scarf, floating it like a flag, -and called for all good citizens to assist him. - -A score clustered round him and drew Beausire, half dead, from the -crowd. Manuel had him carried into the Hall, which was seriously -threatened, so deep was the exasperation. Manuel came out on the -balcony. - -"This man is guilty," he said, "but of a crime for which he has not -been tried. Let us select a jury from among us to assemble in a room of -the City Hall. Whatever the sentence, it shall be executed; but let us -have a legal sentence." - -Is it not curious that such language should be used on the eve of -the massacre of the prisoners, by one of the men accused of having -organized it, at the peril of his life? - -This pledge appeased the mob. Beausire was dragged before the -improvised jury. He tried to defend himself, but his second crime was -as patent as the first; only in the popular eye it was much graver. - -Was it not a dreadful crime and deserving of condign punishment to -cheer the king who was put in prison as a traitor, to hurrah for the -Prussians who had captured a French town, and to wish death to the -nation, in agony on a bed of pain? - -So the jury decided not only that the culprit deserved the capital -penalty, but that to mark the shame which the law had sought to define -by substituting the guillotine for the gallows, that he should be -hanged, and on the spot where he committed the offense. - -Consequently the headsman of Paris had his orders to erect a gibbet on -the pillory stand. - -The view of this work and the certainty that the prisoner could not -escape them, pacified the multitude. - -This was the matter which the Assembly was busied with. It saw that -everything tended to a massacre--a means of spreading terror and -perpetuating the Commune. The end was that they voted that the Commune -had acted to merit the gratitude of the country, and Robespierre, after -praising it, asserted that the House had lost the public confidence, -and that the only way for the people to save themselves was to retake -their powers. - -So the masses were to be without check, but with a heart full of -vengeance, and charged to continue the August massacre of those who had -fought for the palace on the tenth, by following them into the prisons. - -It was the first of September, and a storm seemed to oppress everybody -with its suspended lightning. - - - - -CHAPTER XXII. - -SET UPON DYING. - - -Thus stood matters, when Dr. Gilbert's "officiator"--the word servant -was abolished as non-republican--announced at nine in the evening that -his carriage was at the door. - -He donned his hat, buttoned up his outer coat, and was going out, when -he saw the door-way blocked by a man in a cloak and a slouch hat. -Gilbert recoiled a step, for all was hostile that came in the dark at -such a period. - -"It is I, Gilbert," said a kindly voice. - -"Cagliostro!" exclaimed the doctor. - -"Good; there you are forgetting again that I am no longer under that -name, but bear that of Baron Zannone. At the same time, Gilbert, for -you I am changed in neither name nor heart, and am ever your Joseph -Balsamo, I hope." - -"Yes; and the proof is that I was going to find you." - -"I suspected as much, and that is what has brought me," said the -magician. "For you can imagine that in such times I do not go into the -country, as Robespierre is doing." - -"That is why I feared that I should not find you at home, and I am -happy to meet you. But come in, I beg." - -"Well, here I am. Say your wish," said Cagliostro, following the master -into the most retired room. - -"Do you know what is going on?" asked the host, as soon as both were -seated. - -"You mean what is going to happen; for at present nothing is doing," -observed the other. - -"No, you are right; but something dreadful is brewing, eh?" - -"Dreadful, in sooth; but such is sometimes needful." - -"Master, you make me shudder," said Gilbert, "when you utter such -sayings with your inexorable coolness." - -"I can not help it. I am but the echo of fate." - -Gilbert hung his head. - -"Do you recall what I told you when I warned you of the fate of Marquis -Favras?" - -The physician started; strong in facing most men, he felt weak as a -child before this mysterious character. - -"I told you," went on the enigma, "that if the king had a grain of -common sense, which I hoped he had not, he would exercise the wish for -self-preservation to flee." - -"He did so." - -"Yes; but I meant while it was in good time; it was, you know, too late -when he went. I added, you may remember, that if he and the queen and -the nobles remained, I would bring on the Revolution." - -"You are right again, for the Revolution rules," said Gilbert, with a -sigh. - -"Not completely, but it is getting on. Do you further recall that -I showed you an instrument invented by a friend of mine, Doctor -Guillotin? Well, that beheading machine, which I exhibited in a -drinking-glass to the future queen at Taverney Manor, you will -remember, though you were but a boy at the time--no higher than -that--yet already courting Nicole--the same Nicole whose husband, -Beausire, by the way, is being hung at the present speaking--not before -he deserved it! Well, that machine is hard at work." - -"Too slowly, since swords and pikes have to be supplementing its -blade," said Gilbert. - -"Listen," said Cagliostro; "you must grant that we have a most -block-headed crew to deal with. We gave the aristocrats, the court, and -the monarchs all sorts of warnings without their profiting or being -advised by them. We took the Bastile, their persons from Versailles, -their palace in Paris; we shut up their king in the temple, and the -aristocrats in the other prisons; and all serves for no end. The king, -under lock and bolt, rejoices at the Prussians taking his towns, and -the lords in the abbey cheer the Germans. They drink wine under the -noses of poor people who can not get wholesome water, and eat truffle -pies before beggars who can not get bread. On King Wilhelm of Prussia -being notified that if he passes Longwy into French territory, as -it will be the warrant for the king's death, he replies: 'However -imbittered may be the fate of the royal family, our armies must not -retrograde. I hope with all my heart to arrive in time to save the King -of France, but my duty before all is to save Europe.' And he marches -forward to Verdun. It is fairly time to end this nonsense." - -"End with whom?" cried Gilbert. - -"With the king, the queen, and their following." - -"Would you murder a king and a queen?" - -"Oh, no; that would be a bad blunder. They must be publicly tried, -condemned, and executed, as we have the example set by the execution of -Charles I. But, one way or another, doctor, we must get rid of them, -and the sooner the better." - -"Who has decided this?" protested Gilbert. "Let me hear. Is it the -intelligence, the honor, and the conscience of the people of whom you -speak? When genius, loyalty, and justice were represented by Mirabeau, -Lafayette, and Vergniaud, if you had said 'Louis must die,' in the -name of those three I should still have shuddered, but I should doubt. -In whose name do you pronounce now? Hissed actors, paltry editors, -hot-heads like Marat, who have to be bled to cool them when they shriek -for thousands of heads. Leave these failures who think they are wonders -because they can undo in a stroke the work which it has taken nature a -few score years, for they are villains, master, and you ought not to -associate with such burlesques of men." - -"My dear Gilbert, you are mistaken again," said the prime mover; "they -are not villains; you misuse the word. They are mere instruments." - -"Of destruction." - -"Ay; but for the benefit of an idea. The enfranchisement of the people, -Gilbert; liberty, the Republic--not merely French--God forbid me having -so selfish an idea! but universal, the federation of the free world. -No, these men have not genius, or honor, or conscience, but something -stronger, more inexorable, less resistible--they have instinct." - -"Like Attila's." - -"You have hit it. Of Attila, who called himself the Scourge of God, and -came with the barbaric blood of the north to redeem Roman civilization, -corrupted by the feasting, debauched emperors." - -"But, in brief, to sum up instead of generalizing, whither will tend a -massacre?" asked Gilbert. - -"To a plain issue. We will compromise the Assembly and Commune and the -people of Paris. We must soak Paris in blood; for you understand that -Paris is the brain of France, or of Europe, so that Paris, feeling that -there is no forgiveness possible for her, will rise like one man, urge -France before her, and hurl the enemy off the sacred soil." - -"But you are not a Frenchman; what odds is it to you?" asked Gilbert. - -"You were not an American, but you were glad to have the rebel Paul -Jones take you to America and aid the rebels to free the Colonies from -the British yoke. How can a man of superior mettle and intelligence -say to another: 'Do not meddle with us, for you are not French?' Are -not the affairs of France those of the world? Is France working solely -for herself now, think you? Hark you, Gilbert; I have debated all -these points with a mind far stronger than yours--the man or devil -named Althotas; and one day he made a calculation of the quantity of -blood which must be shed before the sun rises on the free world. His -reasonings did not shake my conviction. I marched on, I march on, and -on I shall march, overturning all that stands in my path, and saying to -myself, in a calm voice, as I look around with a serene look: Woe to -the obstacle, for this is the future which is coming! Now you have the -pardon of some one to ask? I grant it beforehand. Tell me the name of -the man or the woman?" - -"I wish to save a woman whom neither of us, master, can allow to die." - -"The Countess of Charny?" - -"The mother of Sebastian Gilbert." - -"You know that it is Danton who, as Minister of Justice, has the prison -keys." - -"Yes; but I also know that the chief of the Invisibles can say to -Danton, 'Open or shut that door.'" - -Cagliostro rose, and going over to a writing-desk, wrote a cabalistic -sign on a small square of paper. Presenting this to Gilbert, he said: - -"Go and find Danton, and ask him anything you like." Gilbert rose. - -"What are you going to do when the king's turn comes?" - -"I intend to be elected to the convention, so as to vote with all my -power against his death." - -"Be it so; I can understand that," said the leader. "Act as your -conscience dictates, but promise me one thing." - -"What is it?" - -"There was a time when you would have promised without a condition, -Gilbert." - -"At that time you would not have told me that a nation could heal -itself by murdering, or a people gain by massacre." - -"Have it your own way. Only promise me that, when the king shall be -executed, you will follow the advice I give you." - -"Any advice from the master will be precious," he said, holding out his -hand. - -"And will be followed?" persisted Cagliostro. - -"I swear, if not hurtful to my conscience." - -"Gilbert, you are unjust. I have offered you much; have I ever required -aught of you?" - -"No, master," was Gilbert's reply; "and now, furthermore, you give me a -life dearer than mine own." - -"Go," said the arch-revolutionist, "and may the genius of France, one -of whose noblest sons you are, ever guide you." - -The count went out, and Gilbert followed him, stepping into the -carriage still waiting, to be driven to the Minister of Justice. - -Danton was waiting for one of two things: if he turned to the Commune, -he and Marat and Robespierre would rule, and he wanted neither of them. -Unfortunately, the Assembly would not have him, and its support to rule -alone was the other alternative. - -When Gilbert came, he had been wrestling with his wife, who guessed -that the massacre was determined upon. He had told her that she talked -like a woman in asking him to die rather than let the red tide flow on. - -"You say that you will die of the stain, and that my sons will blush -for me. No; they will be men some day, and if true Dantons, they will -carry their heads high; if weak, let them deny me. If I let them -commence the massacre by me, for opposing it, do you know what will -become of the revolution between that blood-thirsty maniac, Marat, and -that sham utopist, Robespierre? I will stay the bloodshed if I can, and -if not, I will take all the guilt on my shoulders. The burden will not -prevent me marching to my goal, only I shall be the more terrible." - -Gilbert entered. - -"Come, Doctor Gilbert, I have a word for you." - -Opening a little study door, he led the visitor into it. - -"How can I be useful to you?" he asked. - -Gilbert took out the paper the Invisible had given him and presented it -to Danton. - -"Ha! you come on _his_ account, do you? What do you desire?" - -"The liberation of a woman prisoned in the abbey." - -"The name?" - -"The Countess of Charny." - -Danton took a sheet of paper and wrote the release. - -"There it is," he said; "are there others you would wish to save? -Speak; I should like to save some of the unfortunates." - -"I have all my desire," said Gilbert, bowing. - -"Go, doctor," said the minister; "and when you need anything of me, -apply direct. I am happy to do anything for you, man to man. Ah," -he muttered at the door, in showing him out, "if I had only your -reputation, doctor, as an honorable man!" - -Bearer of the precious paper which assured Andrea's life, the father -of her son hastened to the abbey. Though nearly midnight, threatening -groups still hung round the door. Gilbert passed through the midst of -them and knocked at it. The gloomy panel in the low arched way was -opened. Gilbert shuddered as he went through--it was to be the way to -the tomb. - -The order, presented to the warden, stated that instant release was to -be given to the person whom Dr. Gilbert should point out. He named the -Countess of Charny, and the governor ordered a turnkey to lead Gilbert -to the prisoner's cell. - -The doctor followed the man up three flights of a spiral staircase, -where he entered a cell lighted by a lamp. - -Pale as marble, in mourning, a woman sat at a table bearing the lamp, -reading a shagreen prayer-book adorned with a silver cross. A brand -of fire burned in the fire-place. In spite of the sound of the door -opening, she did not lift her eyes; the steps approaching did not move -her; she appeared absorbed in her book, but it was absence of mind, -for Gilbert stood several minutes without her turning a leaf. - -The warder had closed the door, with himself on the outer side. - -"My lady the countess," ventured Gilbert, after awhile. - -Raising her eyes, Andrea looked without perceiving at first; the veil -of her mind was between her and the speaker, but it was gradually -withdrawn. - -"Ah, and is it you, Doctor Gilbert--what do you want?" she inquired. - -"Madame, very ugly rumors are afloat about what is going to happen in -the prisons." - -"Yes; it is said that the prisoners are to be slaughtered," rejoined -Andrea; "but you know, Doctor Gilbert, that I am ready to die." - -"I come to take you away madame," he continued, bowing. - -"Whither would you take me, doctor?" she asked, in surprise. - -"Wherever you like, madame; you are free." - -He showed her the release order signed by Danton, which she read; but -instead of returning it, she kept it in her hand. - -"I might have suspected this," she observed, trying to smile, but she -had forgotten the way. "You were sure to try to prevent me dying." - -"Madame, there is but one existence which would be dearer to me than my -parents', had I ever known my parents--it is yours." - -"Yes; and that is why you broke your promise to me." - -"I did not, madame, for I sent you the poison." - -"By my son?" - -"I did not tell you by what hand I should send it." - -"In short, you have thought of me, Gilbert. So you entered the lion's -den for my sake, and came forthwith the talisman which unseals doors?" - -"I told you, madame, that as long as I lived you should not die." - -"Nay, Doctor Gilbert, I believe that this time I hold death by the -hand," said Andrea, with something more like a smile than her previous -attempt. - -"Madame, I declare to you that I will stay you from dying, even though -I have to employ force." - -Without replying, Andrea tore the order into pieces and tossed them -into the fire. - -"Try it," she said. - -Gilbert uttered an outcry. - -"Doctor Gilbert," said she, "I have given up the idea of suicide, but -not of dying. I long for death." - -Gilbert let a groan escape him. - -"All that I ask of you is that you will save my body from outrage after -death--it has not escaped it in life. Count Charny rests in the family -vault at Boursonnes. There I spent the happiest days of my life, and I -wish to repose by him." - -"Oh, in Heaven's name, I implore you--" - -"And I implore you in the name of my sorrow--" - -"It is well, lady; you were right in saying that I am bound to obey you -in all points. I go, but I am not vanquished." - -"Do not forget my last wish." - -"If I do not save you in spite of yourself, it shall be accomplished," -replied Gilbert. - -Saluting her for the last time, he went forth, and the door banged to -with that lugubrious sound peculiar to prison doors. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII. - -THE DEATH OF THE COUNTESS. - - -In the night, while Gilbert was vainly trying to save Andrea, the -Commune, unable to secure Danton's help, formed a committee of -vigilance, including Marat, though he was not a member of the Commune. -But his name enthroned murder, and showed the frightful development of -his power. - -The first order of this committee was to have twenty-four prisoners -removed from the abbey, and brought before them at the mayor's -offices--now the police prefecture building. - -It was expected that they would be set upon in the streets, and the -butchery there begun would be introduced into the prisons. - -Marat's "barkers," as they were called, in vain, however, shouted as -the hacks went along: - -"Look at the traitors--the accomplices of the Prussians! There they go -who are surrendering our towns, slaying our wives and babes, and will -do it here if you leave them in the rear when you march to the border." - -But, as Danton said, massacres are a scarce bird, and the incitement -only brought out more uproar. - -Fortune came to the ruffians' assistance. - -At a crossing was a stage run up for the voluntary enlistments. The -cabs had to stop. A man pushed through the escort and plunged his sword -several times inside a carriage, drawing it out dripping with blood. A -prisoner had a cane, and trying to parry the steel, he struck one of -the guards. - -"Why, you brigands," said the struck man, "we are protecting you and -you strike us! Lay on, friends!" - -Twenty scoundrels, who only waited for the call, sprung out of the -throng, armed with knives tied to poles in the way of spears, and -stabbed through the carriage windows. The screams arose from inside -the conveyances, and the blood trickled out and left a track on the -road-way. - -Blood calls for blood, and the massacre commenced which was to last -four days. - -It was regularized by Maillard, who wanted to have every act done in -legal style. His registry exists, where his clear, steady handwriting -is perfectly calm and legible in the two notes and the signature. -"Executed by the judgment of the people," or "Acquitted by the people," -and "Maillard." - -The latter note appears forty-three times, so that he saved that number. - -After the fourth of September he disappeared, swallowed up in the sea -of blood. - -Meanwhile, he presided over the court. He had set up a table and called -for a blank book; he chose a jury, or rather assistant judges, to the -number of twelve, who sat six on either side of him. - -He called out the prisoner's name from a register; while the turnkeys -went for the person, he stated the case, and looked for a decision -from his associates as soon as the accused appeared. If condemned, he -said: "To Laforce!" which seemed to mean the prison of that name; but -the grim pun, understood, was that he was to be handed over to "brute -force." - -Beyond the outer door the wretch fell under the blows of the butchers. - -If the prisoner was absolved, the black phantom rose, laid his hand on -the person's head, and said, "Put him out!" and the prisoner was freed. - -When Maillard arrived at the Abbey Prison, a man, also in black, who -was waiting by the wall, stepped forward to meet him. On the first -words exchanged between them, Maillard recognized this man, and bowed -his tall figure to him in condescension, if not submission. He brought -him into the prison, and when the tribunal was arranged, he said: - -"Stand you there, and when the person comes out in whom you are -interested, make me a sign." - -The man rested his elbow against the wall and stood mute, attentive, -and motionless as when outside. - -It was Honore Gilbert, who had sworn that he would not let Andrea die, -and was still trying to fulfill his oath. - -Between four and six in the morning, the judges and butchers took a -rest, and at six had breakfast. - -At half past the horrid work was resumed. - -In that interval such of the prisoners as could see the slaughter out -of a window reported by which mode death came swiftest and with the -least suffering; they concluded it was by a stab to the heart. - -Thereupon, some took turn after turn with a pocket-knife to cheat the -slaughterers. - -In the midst of this dreadful ante-chamber of death, one woman in deep -mourning was kneeling in prayer and smiling. - -It was the Countess of Charny. - -Two hours yet passed before she was called as "Citizeness Andrea of -Taverney, previously known as the Countess of Charny." - -At the name, Gilbert felt his legs yield under him and his heart weaken. - -A life, more important than his own, was to be debated, tried, and -doomed or spared. - -"Citizens," said Maillard, "the person about to appear before you is -a poor woman who was devoted formerly to the Austrian, but with truly -royal ingratitude, she paid her with sorrow; to that friendship she -gave all--her property and her husband. You will see her come in, -dressed in mourning, which she owes to the prisoner in the temple. -Citizens, I ask you for the life of this woman." - -The bench of judges nodded; but one said the prisoner ought to appear -before them. - -"Then, look," said the chief. - -The door opening, they saw in the corridor depths a woman clad wholly -in black, with her head crowned with a black veil, who walked forward -alone without support, with a steady step. She seemed an apparition -from another world, at the sight of which even those justices -shuddered. - -Arriving at the table, she lifted her veil. Never had beauty less -disputable but none more pale met the eyes of man; it was a goddess in -marble. - -All eyes were fixed upon her, while Gilbert panted. - -"Citizen"--she addressed Maillard in a voice as sweet as firm--"you are -the president?" - -"Yes, citizeness," replied the judge, startled at his being questioned. - -"I am the Countess of Charny, wife of the count of that house, killed -on the infamous tenth of August; an aristocrat and the bosom friend of -the queen, I have deserved death, and I come to seek it." - -The judges uttered a cry of surprise, and Gilbert turned pale and -shrunk as far as he could back into the angle by the door to escape -Andrea's gaze. - -"Citizens," said Maillard, who saw the doctor's plight, "this creature -has gone mad through the death of her husband; let us pity her, and let -her senses have a chance to come back. The justice of the people does -not fall on the insane." - -He rose and was going to lay his hands on Andrea's head as he did when -he pronounced those innocent; but she pushed aside his hand. - -"I have my full reason," she said; "and if you want to pardon any one, -let it be one who craves it and merits it, but not I, who deserve it -not and reject it." - -Maillard turned to Gilbert and saw that he was wringing his clasped -hands. - -"This woman is plainly mad," he said; "put her out." - -He waved his hand to a member of the court, who shoved the countess -toward the door of safety. - -"Innocent," he called out; "let her go out." - -They who had the weapons ready parted before Andrea, lowered them unto -this image of mourning. But, after having gone ten paces, and while -Gilbert, clinging to the window bars, saw her going forth, she stopped. - -"God save the king!" she cried. "Long live the queen, and shame on the -tenth of August!" - -Gilbert uttered a shriek and darted out into the yard. For he had seen -a sword glitter, and swift as a lightning flash, the blade disappeared -in Andrea's bosom. He arrived in time to catch her in his arms, and as -she turned on him her dying gaze she recognized him. - -"I told you that I would die in spite of you," she muttered. "Love -Sebastian for both of us," she added, in a barely intelligible voice, -and still more faintly continued: "You will have me laid to rest by -him--next my George, my husband, for time everlasting?" - -And she expired. - -Gilbert raised her up in his arms, while fifty blood-smeared hands -menaced him all at once. - -But Maillard appeared behind him and said, as he spread his hands over -his head: - -"Make way for the true citizen Gilbert, carrying out the body of a poor -crazed woman slain by mistake." - -They stepped aside, and carrying the corpse of Andrea, the man who -had first loved her, even to committing crime to triumph over her, -passed amid the murderers without one thinking of barring the way, so -sovereign was Maillard's words over the multitude. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV. - -THE ROYAL MARTYR. - - -Let us return to the somber edifice confining a king become mere man, -a queen still a queen, a maid who would be a martyr, and two poor -children innocent, from age if not by birth. - -The king was in the temple, not the temple tower, but the palace of -the Knights Templars, which had been used by Artois as a pleasure -resort. - -The Assembly had not haggled about his keep, but awarded a handsome sum -for the table of one who was a hearty eater, like all the Bourbons. -Not only did the judges reprimand him for his untimely gluttony during -his trial, but they had a note made of the fact to be on record to our -times. - -In the temple he had three servants and thirteen attendants connected -with the table. Each day's dinner was composed of four _entrées_--six -varieties of roast meat, four fancy dishes, three kinds of stews, three -dishes of fruit, and Bordeaux, Madeira, and Malvoisie wine. - -He and his son alone drank wine, as the queen and the princesses used -water. - -On the material side, he had nothing to complain of; but he lacked air, -exercise, sunshine, and shady trees. - -Habituated by hunting in the royal forests to glade and covert, he -had to content himself with a green yard, where a few withered trees -scattered prematurely blighted leaves on four parterres of yellowed -grass. - -Every day at four, the royal family were "walked out" here, as if they -were so many head of stall-fed cattle. - -This was mean, unkind, ferocious in its cruelty; but less cruel and -ferocious than the cells of the pope's dungeons where they had tried -to drive Cagliostro to death, or the leads of Venice, or the Spielberg -dungeons. - -We are not excusing the Commune, and not excusing kings; we are bound -to say that the temple was a retaliation, terrible and fatal, but -clumsy, for it was making a prosecution a persecution and a criminal a -martyr. - -What did they look like now--those whom we have seen in their glory? - -The king, with his weak eyes, flabby cheeks, hanging lips, and heavy, -carefully poised step, seemed a good farmer upset by a great disaster; -his melancholy was that of an agriculturist whose barn had been burned -by lightning or his fields swept by a cyclone. The queen's attitude was -as usual, stiff, proud, and dreadfully irritating. Marie Antoinette had -inspired love of grandeur in her time; in her decline, she inspired -devotion, but never pity; that springs from sympathy, and she was never -one for fellow-feeling. - -The guardian angel of the family was Princess Elizabeth, in her -white dress, symbol of her purity of body and soul; her fair hair -was the handsomer from the disuse of powder. The princess royal, -notwithstanding the charm of youth, little interested any one; a -thorough Austrian like her mother, her look had already the scorn and -arrogance of vultures and royal races. The little dauphin was more -winning from his sickly white complexion and golden hair; but his eye -was a hard raw blue, with an expression at times older than his age. -He understood things too well, caught the idea from a glance of his -mother's eye, and showed politic cunning which sometimes wrung tears -from those who tormented him. - -The Commune were cruel and imprudent; they changed the watchers -daily, and sent spies, under the guise of town officers. These went -in sworn enemies to the king and came out enemies to the death of -Marie Antoinette, but almost all pitying the king, sorrowing for the -children, and glorifying the Lady Elizabeth. Indeed, what did they see -at the prison? Instead of the wolf, the she-wolf and the whelps--an -ordinary middle-class family, with the mother rather the gray mare and -spitfire, who would not let any one touch the hem of her dress, but of -a brood of tyrants not a trace. - -The king had taken up Latin again in order to educate his son, while -the queen occupied herself with her daughter. The link of communication -between the couple was the valet, Clery, attached to the prince royal, -but from the king's own servant, Hue, being dismissed, he waited on -both. While hair-dressing for the ladies, he repeated what the king -wanted to transmit, quickly and in undertones. - -The queen would often interrupt her reading to her daughter by plunging -into deep and gloomy musing; the princess would steal away on tiptoe to -let her enjoy a new sorrow, which at least had the benefit of tears, -and make a hushing sign to her brother. When the tear fell on her ivory -hand, beginning to yellow, the poor prisoner would start back from -her dream, her momentary freedom in the immense domain of thought and -memories, and look round her prison with a lowered head and broken -heart. - -Weather permitting, the family had a walk in the garden at one o'clock, -with a corporal and his squad of the National Guard to watch them. Then -the king went up to his rooms on the third story to dine. It was then -that Santerre came for his rigorous inspection. The king sometimes -spoke with him; the queen never; she had forgotten what she owed to -this man on the twentieth of June. - -As we have stated, bodily needs were tyrannical in the king, who always -indulged in an after-dinner nap; during this, the others remained -silent around his easy-chair. Only when he woke was the chat resumed. - -When the newsboys called out the news items in the evening, Clery -listened, and repeated what he caught to the king. - -After supper, the king went into the queen's room to bid her -good-night, as well as his sister, by a wave of the hand, and going -into his library, read till midnight. He waited before going off to -sleep to see the guards changed, to know whether he had a strange face -for the night-watcher. - -This unchanging life lasted till the king left the small tower--that -is, up to September 30th. - -It was a dull situation, and the more worthy of pity as it was -dignifiedly supported. The most hostile were softened by the sight. -They came to watch over the abominable tyrant who had ruined France, -massacred Frenchmen, and called the foreigners in; over the queen who -had united the lubricities of Messalina to the license of Catherine -II.; but they found a plain old fellow whom they could not tell from -his valet, who ate and drank heartily and slept soundly, playing piquet -or backgammon, teaching Latin and geography to his boy, and putting -puzzles to his children out of old newspapers; and a wife, proud and -haughty, one must admit, but calm, dignified, resigned, still handsome, -teaching her daughter tapestry-work and her son his prayers, speaking -gently to the servants and calling them "friends." - -The result was that the more the Commune abased the prisoner, and the -more he showed that he was like any other man, the more other men took -pity on their fellow-man. - -Still, all who came into contact with the royal family did not feel -the same respect and pity. Hatred and revenge were so deeply rooted -in these, that the sight of the regal misery supported with domestic -virtues, only brought out rudeness, insults, and actual indignities. - -On the king saying that he thought a sentry was tired, the soldier -pressed his hat on the more firmly, and said, in the teeth of the -monarch: - -"My place here is to keep an eye on you and not for you to criticise -me. Nobody has the right to meddle with my business, and you least of -all." - -Once the queen ventured to ask a town officer where he came from. - -"I belong to the country," he loftily replied, "at least, as much of it -as your foreign friends have not taken possession of." - -One day a municipal officer said to Clery, loud enough for the king -to overhear: "I would guillotine the lot of them if the regular -executioner backed out." - -The sentinels decked the walls, where the royals came along to go -into the garden, with lines in this style: "The guillotine is a -standing institution and is waiting for the tyrant Louis."--"Madame -Veto will soon dance on nothing."--"The fat hog must be put on short -rations."--"Pull off the red ribbon he wears--it will do to strangle -his cubs with." - -One drawing represented a man hanging, and was labeled: "Louis taking -an air-bath." - -The worst tormentors were two lodgers in the temple, Rocher, -the sapper, and Simon, the notorious cobbler. The latter, whose -harsh treatment of the royal child has made him noted, was insult -personified. Every time he saw the prisoners, it was to inflict a fresh -outrage. - -Rocher was the man whom we saw take up the dauphin when Charny fell, -and carry him into the House; yet he, placed by Manuel to prevent harm -befalling the captives, resembled those boys who are given a bird to -keep--they kill time by plucking out the feathers one by one. - -But, however unhappy the prisoners were, they had yet the comfort that -they were under the same roof. - -The Commune resolved to part the king from his family. - -Clery had an inkling of the intention, but he could not get at -the exact date until a general searching of the prisoners on the -twenty-ninth of September gave him a hint. That night, indeed, they -took away the king into rooms in the great tower which were wet with -plaster and paint and the smell was unbearable. - -But the king lay down to sleep without complaining, while the valet -passed the night on a chair. - -When he was going out to attend to the prince, whose attendant he -strictly was, the guard stopped him, saying: - -"You are no longer to have communications with the other prisoners; -the king is not to see his children any more." - -As they omitted to bring special food for the servant, the king broke -his bread with him, weeping while the man sobbed. - -When the workmen came to finish the rooms, the town officer who -superintended them came up to the king with some pity, and said: - -"Citizen, I have seen your family at breakfast, and I undertake to say -that all were in health." - -The king's heart ached at this kind feeling. - -He thanked the man, and begged him to transmit the report of his -health to his dear ones. He asked for some books, and as the man could -not read, he accompanied Clery down into the other rooms to let him -select the reading matter. Clery was only too glad, as this gave an -opportunity of seeing the queen. He could not say more than a few -words, on account of the soldiers being present. - -The queen could not hold out any longer, and she besought to let them -all have a meal in company. - -The municipal officers weakened, and allowed this until further orders. -One of them wept, and Simon said: - -"Hang me if these confounded women will not get the water-works running -in my eyes. But," he added, addressing the queen, "you did not do any -weeping when you shot down the people on the tenth of August." - -"Ah!" said the queen; "the people have been much misled about our -feelings toward them. If you knew us better, you would be sorry, like -this gentleman." - -So the dinner was served in the old place; it was a feast, for they -gained so much in one day, they thought. They gained everything, for -nothing more was heard of the Commune's new regulation; the king -continued to see his family daily, and to take his meals with them. - -One of these days, when he went in, he found the queen sweeping up the -dauphin's room, who was unwell. He stopped on the sill, let his head -sink on his breast, and sighed: - -"Ah, my lady, this is sorry work for a Queen of France, and if they -could see from Vienna what you are doing here! Who would have thought -that, in uniting you to my fate, I should ever bring you so low?" - -"Do you reckon it as nothing," replied Marie Antoinette, "this glory of -being the wife of the best and most persecuted of men?" - -This was spoken without an idea there were hearers; but all such -sayings were picked up and diffused to embroider with gold the dark -legend of the martyr king. - - - - -CHAPTER XXV. - -MASTER GAMAIN TURNS UP. - - -One morning, while these events were occurring at the temple, a man -wearing a red shirt and cap to match, leaning on a crutch to help him -to hobble along, called on the Home Secretary, Roland. The minister -was most accessible; but even a republican official was forced to have -ushers in his ante-chamber, as went on in monarchical governments. - -"What do you want?" challenged the servant of the man on the crutch. - -"I want to speak with the Citizen Minister," replied the cripple. - -Since a fortnight, the titles of citizen and citizeness had officially -replaced all others. - -"You will have to show a letter of audience," replied the domestic. - -"Halloo! I thought that was all very fine fun in the days when the -tyrant ruled, but folks ought to be equals under the Republic, or at -least not so aristocratic." - -This remark set the servant thinking. - -"I can tell you that it is no joke," continued the man in red, "to -drag all the way from Versailles to do the Secretary of State a service -and not to get a squint of him." - -"Oh, you come to do Citizen Roland a service, do you?" - -"To show up a conspiracy." - -"Pooh! we are up to our ears in conspiracies. If that is all you came -from Versailles for, I suggest you get back." - -"I don't mind; but your minister will be deuced sorry for not seeing -me." - -"It is the rule. Write to him and get a letter of audience; then you -will get on swimmingly." - -"Hang me if it is not harder to get a word in to Minister Roland than -to his majesty Louis XVI. that was." - -"What do you know about that?" - -"Lord help your ignorance, young man; there was a time when I saw the -king whenever I pleased; my name would tell you that." - -"What is your name? Are you King Frederick William or the Emperor -Francis?" - -"No; I am not a tyrant or a slave-driver--no aristo--but just Nicholas -Claude Gamain, master of the masters of my trade of locksmithery. Did -you never hear of Master Gamain who taught the craft to old Capet?" - -The footman looked questioningly at his fellows, who nodded. - -"Then it is another pair of shoes. Write your name on a sheet of paper, -and I will send it in to the Home Secretary." - -"Write? It is all very easy to say write, but I was no dabster at the -pen before these villains tried to poison me; and it is far worse now. -Just look how they doubled me up with arsenic." - -He showed his twisted legs, deviated spine, and hand curled up like a -claw. - -"What! did they serve you out thus, poor old chap?" - -"They did. And that is what I have come to show the Citizen Minister, -along with other matters. As I hear they are getting up the indictment -against old Capet, what I have to tell must not be lost for the nation." - -Five minutes afterward, the locksmith was shown into the official's -presence. - -The master locksmith had never, at the height of his fortune and in the -best of health, worn a captivating appearance; but the malady to which -he was a prey, articular rheumatism in plain, while twisting his limbs -and disfiguring his features, had not added to his embellishments. The -outcome was that never had an honest man faced a more ruffianly looking -rogue than Roland when left alone with Gamain. - -The minister's first feeling was of repugnance; but seeing how he -trembled from head to foot, pity for a fellow-man, always supposing -that a wretch like Gamain is a fellow to a Roland, led him to use as -his first words: - -"Take a seat, citizen; you seem in pain." - -"I should rather think I am in pain," replied Gamain, dropping on a -chair; "and I have been so ever since the Austrian poisoned me." - -At these words a profound expression of disgust passed over the -hearer's countenance, while he exchanged a glance with his wife, half -hidden in the window recess. - -"And you came to denounce this poisoning?" - -"That and other things." - -"Do you bring proof of your accusations?" - -"For that matter, you have only to come with me to the Tuileries and I -will give you piles of it. I will show you the secret hole in the wall -where the brigand hid his hoard. I ought to have guessed that the wine -was poisoned that the Austrian sneaked out to offer me, a-saying, with -her wheedling voice: 'Here you are, Gamain! drink this glass of wine; -it will do you good now the work is done.'" - -"Poisoned?" - -"Yes; everybody knows," continued Gamain, with sullen hate, "that those -who help kings to conceal treasures never make old bones." - -"There is something at the bottom of this," said Mme. Roland, coming -forward at his glance; "this was the smith who was the king's tutor. -Ask him about the hole in the wall." - -"The press?" said Gamain, who had overheard. "Why, I am here to lay -that open. It is an iron safe, with a lock-bolt working both ways, in -which Citizen Capet hid his private papers and savings." - -"How did you come to know about it?" - -"Did he not send for me to show him how to finish the lock, one he made -himself, and of course would not work smoothly?" - -"But this press would be smashed and rifled in the capture of the -Tuileries." - -"There is no danger of that. I defy anybody in the world to get the -idea of it, barring him and me." - -"Are you sure?" - -"Sure and certain. It is just the same as when he left the Tuileries." - -"What do you say to all this, Madeleine?" asked Roland of his wife, -when they had listened to Gamain's story, told in his prolix style. - -"I say the revelation is of the utmost importance, and no time must be -lost in verifying it." - -The secretary rang for his carriage, whereupon Gamain stood up sulkily. - -"I see you have had enough of me," he grumbled. - -"Why, no; I only ring for my carriage." - -"What! do ministers have carriages under the Republic?" - -"They have to do so, to save time, my friend. I call the carriage so -that we shall be quickly at the Tuileries. But what about the key to -the safe?--it is not likely Louis XVI. left it in the key-hole." - -"Why, certainly not, for our fat Capet is not such a fool as he looks. -Here is a duplicate," he continued, drawing a new key from his pocket; -"I made it from memory. I tell you I am the master of my craft. I -studied the lock, fancying some day--" - -"This is an awful scoundrel," said Roland to his wife. - -"Yes; but we have no right to reject any information coming to us in -the present state of affairs in order to arrive at a knowledge of the -truth. Am I to go with you?" asked the lady. - -"Certainly, as there are papers in the case. Are you not the most -honest _man_ I know?" - -Gamain followed them to the door, mumbling: - -"I always said that I would pay old Capet out for what he did to me. -What Louis XVI. did was kindness." - - - - -CHAPTER XXVI. - -THE TRIAL OF THE KING. - - -On the seventh of November the Girondists began the indictment against -the king, assisted by the fatal deposit of papers in the iron safe, -although those were missing which were confided to Mme. Campan. After -Gamain's opening the press, which was to have so severe an effect on -the prisoners in the temple, Roland had taken them all to his office, -where he read them and docketed them, though he vainly searched for the -evidence of Danton's oft-cited venality. Besides, Danton had resigned -as Minister of Justice. - -This great trial was to crown the victory of Valmy, which had made -the defeated King of Prussia almost as angry as the news of the -proclamation of the Republic in Paris. - -This trial was another step toward the goal to which men blundered like -the blind, always excepting the Invisibles; they saw things in the -mass, but not in detail. Alone on the horizon stood the red guillotine, -with the king at the foot of the scaffold on which it rose. - -In a materialistic era, when such a man as Danton was the head of the -indulgent party, it was difficult for the wish not to be outrun by the -deed; yet only a few of the Convention comprehended that royalty should -be extirpated, and not the royal person slain. - -Royalty was a somber abstraction, a menacing mystery of which men were -weary, a whited sepulcher, fair without, but full of rottenness. - -But the king was a different matter; a man who was far from interesting -in his prosperity, but purified by misfortune and made great by -captivity. Even on the queen the magic of adversity was such that she -had learned, not to love--for her broken heart was a shattered vase -from which the precious ointment had leaked out--but to venerate and -adore, in the religious sense of the word, this prince, though a man -whose bodily appetite and vulgar instincts had so often caused her to -blush. - -Royalty smitten with death, but the king kept in perpetual -imprisonment, was a conception so grand and mighty that but few -entertained it. - -"The king must stand trial," said the ex-priest Gregoire to the -Convention; "but he has done so much to earn scorn that we have no room -for hatred." - -And Tom Paine wrote: - -"I entreat you to go on with the trial, not so much of this king as the -whole band of them; the case of this individual whom you have in your -power will put you on the track of all. Louis XVI. is useful as showing -the necessity of revolutions." - -So great minds like Paine and great hearts like Gregoire were in tune -on this point. The kings were to be tried, and Louis might even be -allowed to turn state's evidence. - -This has never been done, but it is good yet to do. Suppose the charge -against the Empress Catherine, Pasiphĉ of the north; who will say there -would not come out instruction to the world from such a revelation? - -To the great disappointment of the Rolands, we repeat, the papers in -the iron safe did not compromise Dumouriez and Danton, while they -earned Gamain a pension, little alleviating the pangs of his ailment, -which made him a thousand times regret the guillotine to which he -consigned his master. But they injured the king and the priests, -showing up the narrow mind, sharp and ungrateful, of Louis, who only -hated those who wanted to save him--Necker, Lafayette, and Mirabeau. -There was nothing detrimental to the Girondists. - -Who was to read the dread indictment? Who was to be the sword-bearer -and float over the court like the destroying angel? St. Just, the pet -of Robespierre, a pale young man with womanly lips, who uttered the -atrocious words. The point was that the king must be killed. The speech -made a terrible impression; not one of the judges but felt the repeated -word enter his soul like steel. Robespierre was appalled to see his -disciple plant the red flag of revolution so far ahead of the most -advanced outposts of republicanism. - -As time progressed, the watch over the prisoners was closer, and -Clery could learn nothing; but he picked up a newspaper stating that -Louis would be brought before the bar of the House on the eleventh of -December. - -Indeed, at five that morning the reveille was beaten all over Paris. -The temple gates were opened to bring in cannon; but no one would tell -the captives the meaning of the unusual stir. - -Breakfast was the last meal they partook of in company; when they -parted, the prince was left playing a numerical game with his father, -who kept the truth from him. - -"Curse sixteen," said the boy, on losing three times running; "I -believe you are bad luck!" - -The king was struck by the figure. - -At eleven the dauphin was removed and the king left in silence, as the -officials did not intrude, for fear he would question them. At one -o'clock Santerre arrived with officers, and a registrar who read the -decree calling "the prisoner Louis Capet" before the House. - -The king interrupted to say that Capet was not his name, but that of an -ancestor. He stopped the reading on the grounds that he had read it in -the papers. - -As it was raining, they had a carriage in which to carry him. - -On alighting, Santerre laid his hand on his shoulder and led him to the -same spot at the bar, by the same chair, where he had taken the oath to -the Constitution. - -All the members save one had kept their seats as he entered; this one -saluted him. The astonished king recognized Gilbert. He wished him -good-day. - -"Are you acquainted with Doctor Gilbert?" asked Santerre. - -"He was my physician once, so I hope no ill feeling will be harbored -because he was polite to me." - -The examination began. Unfortunately, the glamour of misfortune -vanished before duplicity; not only did the king answer the questions -put to him, but he did so badly, stammering, hesitating, trying to -evade direct issues, chaffering for his life like a pettifogger arguing -a party-fence case in a county court. - -The king did not appear at his best in broad day. - -The examination lasted five hours. Though he refused refreshment -offered, he asked a grenadier for a piece of the bread he saw him -eating. - -On crossing the yard to step into the carriage, the mob sung with -marked emphasis the line of the "Marseillaise" about "the impure blood -should fertilize our furrows." - -This made him lose color. - -The return was miserable. In the public hack, swaying on the black, -pestiferous, vile pavement, while the mob surged up to the windows to -see him, he blinked his eyes at the daylight; his beard was long, and -his thin hair of a dirty yellow hue; his thin cheeks fell in folds on -his wrinkled neck; clad in a gray suit, with a dark-brown overcoat, he -mumbled with the Bourbon's automatic memory: "This is such and such a -street." - -On remarking that Orleans Street had been changed to Egalite, on -account of the duke having dropped his titles, though that did not save -him from the guillotine, he fell into silence, and so returned into -prison. - -He was not allowed to see his family, and had to go to bed without the -meal with them. - -"Ah, Clery!" he said to his man, as he undressed him, "I little dreamed -what questions they were going to put to me." - -Indeed, almost all the inquiry was based on the contents of the iron -safe, which he did not suspect was discovered, from having no idea that -Gamain had betrayed him. - -Nevertheless, he soon sunk to sleep with that tranquillity of which he -had given so many proofs, and which might be taken for lethargy. - -But the other prisoners did not bear the separation and the secrecy so -tamely. - -In the morning the queen asked to see her husband, but the only -arrangement offered was that the king might see his children on -condition that they should not see their mother or aunt any more. The -king refused this plan. - -Consequently, the queen had her son's bed put in her rooms, and she did -not quit him till removed for trial by the Revolutionary Tribunal, as -her husband was by the Convention. - -Clery, however, worked communications with a servant of the princesses -named Turgy. They exchanged a few words, and passed notes scratched -with pins on scraps of paper, on the ladies' side; the king could -write properly, as he had writing materials supplied since his trial -commenced. - -By means of a string, collected from the pieces around the packets of -candles, Clery lowered pens, ink, and paper to Princess Elizabeth, -whose window was below that of the valet's room. - -Hence the family had news of one another daily. - -On the other hand, the king's position was morally much worse since he -had appeared before the Convention. - -It had been surmised that he would either refuse to answer any -interrogation, like Charles I., whose history he knew so well; or else -that he would answer proudly and loftily in the name of royalty, not -like an accused criminal, but a knight accepting the gage of battle. - -Unfortunately, Louis was not regal enough to do either act. He so -entangled himself that he had to ask for counsel. The one he named -fearing to accept the task, it fell to Malesherbes, who had been in -the Turgot Ministry, a commonplace man in whom little did any suspect -contempt for death. (On the day of his execution, for he was beheaded, -he wound up his watch as usual.) Throughout the trial he styled the -king "Sire." - -Attacked by a flow of blood to the head, the king asked for Dr. Gilbert -to be allowed to attend him, but the application was refused, and he -was brutally told that if he drank cold water he would not have such -a fullness of blood. As he was not allowed a knife to carve his food, -unless a servant did it before the guards, so he was not let shave but -in the presence of four municipal officers. - -On the evening of the twenty-fifth he wrote his will, in which he said -that he did not blame himself for any of the crimes of which he was -accused. He did not say that they were false. This evasive response -was worthy the pupil of the Duke of Vauguyon. - -In any case, the twenty-sixth found him ready for any fate, death -included. - -His counsel read the defense, which was a purely legal document. It -seems to us that if we had been charged with it, we should not have -spoken for the law, but let St. Louis and Henry IV. defend their -descendants from the crimes of their intermediate successors. - -The more unjust the accusation, the more eloquent should have been the -rejoinder. - -Hence the Convention asked, in astonishment: - -"Have you nothing more to say in your defense?" - -He had nothing to say, and went back to the temple. When his defender -called in the evening, he told him of a number of gentlemen who were -pledged to prevent the execution. - -"If you do not know them personally," said the king to Lamoignon -Malesherbes, "try to come in touch with them and tell them that I will -never forgive myself for blood shed on my behalf. I would not have it -spilled to save my throne and life, when that was possible; all the -more reason for me not allowing it now." - -The voting on the 16th of January, 1793, was on three points: - -Is Louis guilty? Shall there be an appeal from the Convention to the -people? State the penalty. - -To the first question was the answer of 683 voices, "Yes." - -To the appeal question, 281 ayes and 423 noes. - -The third decision of the penalty was subdivided into death, -imprisonment, banishment, or death, with the people allowed to reduce -it to imprisonment. - -All tokens of approval or displeasure were prohibited, but when a -member said anything but death, murmurs arose. - -Once there were groans and hisses when a member spoke for death--when -Philippe Egalite cast his vote for the execution of his kinsman. - -The majority for death was seven, and Vergniaud uttered the sentence -with deep emotion. - -It was three on the morning of the twentieth, Sunday. - -The illustrious culprit was up when Malesherbes bore him the news. - -"I was sure of it," he said, shaking hands with his defender. "For two -days I have been trying to find if I have merited my subjects' reproach -for what I have done in the course of my reign. I swear to you in all -sincerity, as a man about to appear before his Maker, that I have -always wished the happiness of my people, and have not framed a wish -contrary to it." - -The death-warrant was officially read to him, and he was allowed to -choose his own confessor. - -The name of one had been already written down by Princess Elizabeth, -whose confessor this Abbe Edgeworth was. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVII. - -THE PARALLEL TO CHARLES I. - - -This worthy priest, of English origin, had escaped the September -massacres and was hiding out at Choisy, under the name of Essex, as the -Princess Elizabeth knew, and where to find him. - -He came to the call, though he believed that he would be killed within -an hour of the dreadful scene. - -He was not to quit the prisoner till he quitted the world. - -The king was allowed to take farewell of his family in the dining-room, -where the glass door allowed the guards still to keep him in sight. -They knew the trial had taken place, but not the particulars, with -which he supplied them. He dwelt particularly on the fact that Petion -had not pressed for the death penalty, and that Gilbert had voted to -spare his life. - -Heaven owed the poor prisoner some comfort, and it came in the love of -the queen. - -As has been seen in our story, the queen easily let the picturesque -side of life attract her. She had that vivid imagination which makes -women imprudent even more than disposed; she had been imprudent all her -life in her friendship and in her loving. - -Her captivity saved her in a moral point of view; she returned to the -pure and holy domestic virtues from which youthful passions had led -her; and as she could do nothing without extravagance, she fell to -loving passionately, in his distress, this royal consort whose vulgar -traits were all she could see in the days of felicity. In their first -disasters she saw a dullard, almost cowardly, without impulse or -resolution; at the temple she began to see that the wife had not only -misjudged the husband, but the queen the monarch. She beheld one calm -and patient, meek but firm under outrages; all the worldly dryness in -her was melted, and turned to the profit of better sentiments. - -The same as she had scorned too deeply, she loved too fondly. - -"Alas!" the king said to his confessor, "to think that I love so dearly -and am loved so much." - -In their last interview, the queen seemed to yield to a feeling akin to -remorse. When she found that she could not be alone with her lord, she -drew him into a window recess, where she would have fallen on her knees -at his feet; but he understood that she wanted to ask his forgiveness, -so he stayed her and drew his will from his pocket to show her the -lines: - - "I pray my wife to forgive all the woes I have led her to suffer - and the sorrows caused her in the course of our union, as she may - be sure that I cherish no ill feeling toward her, if she should - think that she had reason to blame herself in any way." - -Marie kissed his hands, for while there was full pardon, there was -great delicacy, too, in the rest of the phrase. - -So this royal Magdalen might die tranquil, late as came her love for -her husband, it won her divine and human mercy, and her pardon was -bestowed on earth, not in a mysterious whisper as an indulgence, of -which the king felt ashamed, but openly and publicly. - -Who would reproach her who went toward posterity with the double crown -of the martyr and her husband's forgiveness? - -The poignant farewell lasted nearly two hours before the condemned went -out to his priest. - -As day began to break, the drums were beaten throughout the town; the -bustle and the sound penetrated the old tower and chilled the blood of -the priest and Clery. - -At nine o'clock the noise increased and the doors were loudly flung -open. Santerre came in, followed by town officers and soldiers, who -formed a double row. - -The king received the priest's blessing and a prayer for support, and -called for his hat, as all the others had kept their hats on. Seeing -that Clery had his overcoat ready for fear he would be cold, and the -shiver would be taken for that of fright, he said: - -"No; nothing but my hat." - -He took advantage of the act to shake his hand for the last time. - -"Let us go, gentlemen," he said, with the tone of command so rarely -used by him. - -In crossing the first yard, he turned two or three times to wave a -farewell to his dear ones. - -With the priest he stepped into a hack, and the procession started, -leaving the queen no hope save for a rescue on the road. That of a -respite had already vanished. - -She fell into a chair, sobbing: "To think of his going without saying -good-bye!" - -The streets were foggy and deserted, as all citizens were forbidden to -be about unless belonging to the armed militia, and there were no faces -up at the windows. - -All the prisoner saw was a forest of pikes and bayonets, with a large -drum corps before the party and cavalry around. - -The clamor prevented the king talking with the confessor, who read his -prayer-book. - -At St. Denis Gate the king lifted his head, for the uproar was marked -by a change in the shouts. A dozen young men, sword in hand, rushed -through the retinue and shouted: - -"Rescue! This way, those who would save the king!" - -One Baron de Batz, an adventurer, had engaged three thousand bravoes -to make this attempt, but only a handful responded when he sounded the -signal-cry. This forlorn hope of royalty, meeting no reply, retreated -and slipped away in the confusion. - -The incident was of such slight importance that the carriage did not -stop; it was at its journey's end when it did. - -One of the three brothers Sanson, the Paris executioners, came to open -the door. - -Laying his hand on the abbe's knee, the king said, in the tone of a -master: - -"Gentlemen, I recommend this gentleman to you. Take care of him after -my death, for he has done nobody harm." - -He threw off his coat, not to be touched by the headsman. One had -a rope to bind his hands, but he said he would not submit to it. A -hand-to-hand fight would rob the victim of all the merit of six months' -calmness, courage, and resignation, so the confessor advised him to -yield, particularly as one of the Sansons, moved with pity, offered to -substitute a handkerchief. - -He held out his hands resignedly, saying: - -"Do as you like. I shall drain the chalice to the dregs." - -The scaffold steps were high and slippery, and he had the priest's -arm for support, but on the top step he escaped, so to say, from the -spiritual guide, and went to the further end of the platform. - -He was flushed in the face, and had never appeared more hale or -animated. - -The drums began to beat, but he imposed silence by a look as, with a -lusty voice, he said: - -"I die innocent of all the crimes imputed to me. I forgive the authors -of my death, and I pray God that this blood shall not fall on France." - -"Strike up, drums!" roared a voice long believed to be Santerre's, but -was that of Beaufranchet, Count Oyat, illegitimate son of Louis XV., -and a courtesan, the prisoner's natural uncle. - -The drums beat, and the king stamped his foot in vain. - -"Do your duty!" yelled the pikemen to the executioners, who threw -themselves on the king. - -He returned with slow steps under the knife, of which he had designed -the proper shape only a year ago. - -He glanced at the priest who was praying at a corner of the scaffold. - -Behind the two upright beams a scuffle went on. The tilting flap fell -into place, and the prisoner's head appeared in the ominous gap. A -flash, a dull, chopping sound was heard, and a large jet of blood -spouted forth. - -Then, one of the death's-men taking up the head, sprinkled the -by-standers with the dripping fluid. At this sight the pikemen whooped -and rushed to dye their weapons in the blood, which they ran to show -the town, with shouts of "Long live the Republic!" - -For the first time this cry found no echo, though it had oft thrilled -hearers with joy. The Republic had a stain on the brow which nothing -ever could efface. As a great diplomatist said, it had committed worse -than a crime--a blunder. - -Thus died, on the 21st of January, 1793, King Louis XVI. He was aged -thirty-nine years. He had reigned eighteen, and was over five months a -prisoner. His last wish was not accomplished, for his blood not only -fell on France, but over the whole of Europe. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVIII. - -CAGLIOSTRO'S ADVICE. - - -On the evening of this awful day, while the pike-bearers were scouring -Paris through streets illuminated but deserted, to exhibit rags dyed in -blood, with shouts of "The tyrant is dead! behold his blood!" two men -whose dress was different, sat in silence in a room in a house in St. -Honore Street. - -Dressed in black, one was sitting at a table, with his head resting on -his hand, plunged into deep reverie, if not grief. The other, wearing a -countryman's dress, strode up and down, with wrinkled forehead, gloomy -eye, and folded arms. Every time his crossing line brought him by the -table, he cast a glance on the thinker. - -At last the countryman stopped and said, as he fixed his eye on the -other: - -"Come, now, Citizen Gilbert, am I a brigand because I voted for the -king's death?" - -The man in black raised his head, shook his melancholy brow, and said, -holding out his hand to his companion: - -"No, Billet, you are no more a brigand for that than I am an aristocrat -for voting the other way. You voted according to your conscience, and I -to mine. It is a terrible thing to take away from man that which you -can not restore." - -"So it is your opinion that despotism is inviolable," returned Billet, -"liberty is revolt, and there is no justice on earth except such as -kings, that is, tyrants, dispense? Then what remains for the people, -the right to serve and obey? Do you, Gilbert, the pupil of Rousseau, -say that?" - -"No, Billet, for that would be an impiety against the people." - -"Come," said the farmer, "I am going to talk to you with the roughness -of my plain good sense, to which I do not mind your answering with all -the sharpness of your fine wit. Do you admit that a nation, believing -itself oppressed, should have the right to disestablish its church, -lower or even demolish the throne, fight and make itself free?" - -"Not a doubt of it." - -"Then it has the right to gather in the spoils of the victory?" - -"Yes, Billet; but not to compass such things with murder and violence. -Remember that it is written, 'Thou shalt not kill thy neighbor.'" - -"But the king was no neighbor of mine," returned Billet; "he was my -enemy. I remember what my poor mother read me in the Bible of what -Samuel said to the Israelites who asked him to appoint a king." - -"So do I, Billet; and Samuel anointed Saul--he did not kill him. - -"Oh, I know that if I get to arguing with you in book learning, I shall -lose. So I simply ask you, were we right to take the Bastile?" - -"Yes." - -"When the king took away our right to hold a meeting, were we right to -meet in another place?" - -"You were." - -"Had we the right, when the king gathered foreign troops at Versailles -to feast them and overawe us, to take him away from among them and -lodge him in Paris?" - -"Yes." - -"To bring him back when he tried to run away from the country?" - -"Yes." - -"Then we had a right to shut him up where he was so little out of -mischief that he continued to correspond with the invader. Ought we not -have brought him before the court for trial, to doom him, and--" - -"Ay, to banish, to perpetually imprison, all except death, because, -guilty in the result, he was not so in the intention. You judge him -from the people's standing, Billet; but he acted like the son of kings. -Was he a tyrant, as you call him? No. An oppressor of the people? No. -An accomplice of aristocrats and an enemy of freedom? No." - -"Then you judge him as royalty would?" - -"No; for then he would have been acquitted." - -"But you did so by voting for his life." - -"No; with life imprisonment. Granting he was not your neighbor, but -your enemy, he was a vanquished one, and ought not to have been -slain in cold blood. That is not execution, but immolation. You have -conferred on royalty something like martyrdom, and made justice seem -vengeance. Take care! In doing too much, you have not done enough. -Charles of England was executed, but his son reigned. But James II. -was banished, and his sons died in exile. Human nature is humane, and -you have alienated from the Republic for fifty or a hundred years the -immense proportion of the population judging revolutions by their -feelings. Believe me, my friend, Republicans ought most to bewail the -death of Louis, for the blood will fall on them, and cost the Republic -its life." - -"There is some truth in what you say, Gilbert," said a voice at the -door. - -"Cagliostro!" exclaimed both debaters, turning with the same impulse. - -"Yes; but there is also truth in what Billet said." - -"That is the trouble in it," sighed Gilbert; "the cause we plead has -two faces, and each, as he looks upon it, can say he is right." - -"But he ought also to admit that he may be wrong." - -"What is your opinion, master?" asked the doctor. - -"Yes, your opinion?" said Billet. - -"You have been trying the accused over again, but you should test the -sentence. Had you doomed the king, you would have been right. You -doomed the man, and you were wrong." - -"I don't understand," said Billet. - -"You ought to have slain the king amid his guards and courtiers, while -unknown to the people--when he was to them a tyrant. But, after having -let him live and dwell under the eyes of the private soldier, the petty -civil servant, the workman, as a man, this sham abasement elevated him, -and he ought to have been banished or locked up, as happens to any man." - -"I did not understand you," said Billet to the doctor, "but I do the -Citizen Cagliostro." - -"Just think of their five months' captivity molding this lump--who was -born to be a parish beadle--into a statue of courage, patience, and -resignation, on a pedestal of sorrow; you sanctified him so that his -wife adored him. Who would have dreamed, my dear Gilbert," said the -magician, bursting into laughter, "that Marie Antoinette would ever -have loved her mate?" - -"Oh, if I had only guessed this," muttered Billet, "I would have slain -him before! I could have done it easily." - -These words were spoken with such intense patriotism that Gilbert -pardoned them, while Cagliostro admired. - -"But you did not do it," said the latter. "You voted for death; and -you, Gilbert, for life. Now, let me give you a last piece of advice. -You, Gilbert, strove to be a member of the convention to accomplish a -duty; you, Billet, to fulfill vengeance; both are realized. You have -nothing more to do here. Be gone." - -The two stared at him. - -"To-morrow, your indulgence will be regarded as a crime, and on the -next day your severity as bad. Believe me, in the mortal strife -preparing between hatred, fear, revenge, fanaticism, few will remain -unspotted; some will be fouled with mud, some with blood. Go, my -friends, go!" - -"But France?" said the doctor. - -"Yes, France?" echoed Billet. - -"Materially," said Cagliostro, "France is saved; the external enemy is -baffled, the home one dead. The Revolution holds the ax in one hand and -the tri-colored flag in the other. Go in tranquillity, for before she -lays them down, the aristocracy will be beheaded, and Europe conquered. -Go, my friends, go to your second country, America!" - -"Will you go with me, Billet?" asked the doctor. - -"Will you forgive me?" asked Billet. - -The two clasped hands. - -"You must go at once. The ship 'Franklin' is ready to sail." - -"But my son?" - -Cagliostro had opened the door. - -"Come in, Sebastian," he said; "your father calls you." - -The young man rushed into his father's arms, while Billet sighed. - -"My carriage is at the door," said Cagliostro. Then, in a whisper -to the doctor while Billet was asking news of the youth, he said, -emphatically: - -"Take him away; he must not know how he lost his mother. He might -thirst for revenge." - -Gilbert nodded and opened a money drawer. - -"Fill your pockets," he said to Billet. - -"Will there be enough in a strange country?" he asked. - -"Bless you! with land at five dollars an acre, cleared, we can buy a -county. But what are you looking round for?" - -"For what would be no use to me, who can not write." - -"I see; you want to send good-bye to Pitou. Let me." - -"What have you written?" - - "MY DEAR PITOU,--We are leaving France--Billet, - Sebastian, and I--and send you our united love. We think that as - you are manager of Billet's farm, you do not need anything. One of - these days we may write for you to come over and join us. - - "Your friend, - "GILBERT." - -"Is that all?" asked the farmer. - -"There is a postscript," said the writer, looking the farmer in the -face as he said: - -"Billet hopes you will take the best of care of Catherine." - -Billet uttered a cry of gratitude and shook Gilbert's hand again. - -Ten minutes afterward, the post-chaise carried far from Paris Gilbert -and his friend and the son of Andrea of Charny. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIX. - -THE CROWN OF ANGE'S LOVE. - - -A little over a year after the execution of the king and the departure -of Gilbert, his son, and Billet, on a fine, cold morning of the hard -winter of 1794, three or four hundred persons--that is, a sixth of -the population of Villers Cotterets--waited on the square before the -manor-house and in the mayor's yard for the coming out of two married -folks whom Mayor Longpre was uniting in the holy bonds. These were Ange -Pitou and Catherine Billet. - -Alas! it had taken many grave events to bring the flame of Viscount -Charny, the mother of little Isidore, to become Mistress Pitou. - -Everybody was chattering over these events; but in whatever manner they -related and discussed them, there was always something to the greater -glory of the devotion of Ange Pitou and the good behavior of Billet's -daughter. - -Only, the more interesting the couple were, the more they were pitied. - -Perhaps they were happier than any in the crowd; but human nature is -inclined that way--it must pity or applaud! - -On this occasion it was in the compassionate vein. - -Indeed, what Cagliostro had foreseen, had come on rapidly, leaving a -long track of blood after it. - -On the 1st of February, 1793, the issue of more paper money was agreed. -In March, the fugitive nobles were perpetually banished and their -property confiscated. In November, a new kind of religion was proposed -instead of the established church. - -The result of the confiscation decree was, that Billet and Gilbert -being considered fugitives, their lands were seized for the public -good. The same fate befell the estates of the Charnys, the count having -been killed and the countess murdered in prison. - -The consequence to Catherine was that she was turned out of Billet's -farm, which was national property. Pitou wanted to protest, but Pitou -was a moderate and a "suspect," and wise souls advised him not to -oppose the orders of the nation in will or deed. - -So Catherine and Pitou had gone over to Haramont. - -She had thought of taking refuge in Daddy Clovis's lodge, but he -appeared at the door to lay his finger on his lips and shake his head -in token of impossibility; the place was already occupied. - -The law on the banishment of refractory priests was still in force, -and it is easy to understand that Father Fortier had banished himself, -as he would not take the oath. But he had not felt like passing the -frontier, and his exile was limited to his leaving his house in charge -of his sister, to see the furniture was not stolen, and asking Clovis -for shelter, which was granted. - -This retreat was only a cave, and it would with difficulty hold, in -addition to the corpulent priest, Catherine, little Isidore, and Pitou. - -Besides, we recall the refusal of the priest to bury Mrs. Billet. -Catherine was not good Christian enough to overlook the unkindness, and -had she been so, the Abbe Fortier was too good a Catholic to forgive -her. - -So they had to give up the idea of staying with old Clovis. - -This choice lay between Aunt Angelique's house and Pitou's lodgings at -Haramont. - -They dared not think of the former. As the revolution had followed -its course, Angelique had become more and more diabolic, which seems -incredible, and thinner, which seems impossible. - -This change in her temper and her physique arose from the fact that the -churches were closed at Villers as elsewhere, awaiting the invention -of a reasonable and civic cult, according to the Board of Public -Instruction. The churches being shut, Aunt Angelique's principal -revenue, from letting seats, fell into disuse. - -It was the drying up of her income which made her Tartar--we beg -pardon, tarter and bonier than ever. - -Let us add that she had so often heard the story of Pitou and Billet -capturing the Bastile, and had so often seen them start off for Paris -whenever any great event was to take place, that she did not in the -least doubt that the French Revolution was led by Ange Pitou and Farmer -Billet, with Citizens Danton, Marat, Robespierre & Co., playing the -secondary parts. - -The priest's sister fostered her in these somewhat erroneous opinions, -to which the regicidal vote of Billet had given the seal on heated -fanaticism. - -Pitou ought not to think of placing the regicide's daughter under -Angelique's roof. - -As for the petty accommodation at Haramont, how could he think of -installing two--there were three--souls in two rooms; while if they -were comfortable, it would set evil tongues wagging? - -It was more out of the question than Clovis's hut. - -So Pitou made up his mind to beg shelter for himself of Desire -Maniquet. That worthy son of Haramont gave the hospitality which Pitou -paid for in kind; but all this did not provide Catherine with a fixed -habitation. - -Pitou showed her all the attentions of a loving friend and the -affection of a brother; but poor Catherine was well aware that he did -not love her like friend or brother. - -Little Isidore had something of the same idea; for the poor child, -having never known the Viscount of Charny, loved him more perhaps, for -Pitou was not merely the sweetheart of Catherine, but his slave. - -A skillful strategist must have understood that the way to win -Catherine's heart was through the help of the little one. - -But we hasten to say that no such calculation tarnished the purity of -Pitou's sentiments. He was just the simple fellow we met him at the -first, unless, on becoming a man, he became simpler than ever. - -All his good gifts touched Catherine. She saw that Pitou adored her -ardently, to the point of fanaticism, and she caught herself wishing -that she could repay so great a love and utter devotion with something -better than friendship. - -Gradually, by dint of dwelling on her isolation from all the world, -Pitou excepted, and on her boy being left alone if she were to die, -Pitou again excepted, she came to giving Pitou the only reward in her -power--her hand. - -Alas, her first love, that perfumed flower of youth, was in heaven! - -For six months Catherine had been nourishing this conclusion without -Pitou suspecting that the wind was blowing up in his favor, though her -welcoming was a shade warmer and her parting a trifle more lingering -each time; so she was forced to speak the first--but women take the -lead in such matters. - -One evening, instead of offering her hand, she held up her cheek for -a kiss. Pitou thought she had forgot, and was too honest to take -advantage of a mistake. - -But Catherine had not let go his hand, and she drew him closer to her. -Seeing him still hesitate, little Isidore joined in, saying: - -"Why won't you kiss Mamma Catherine, Papa Pitou?" - -"Good gracious!" gasped Pitou, turning pale as if about to die, but -letting his cold and trembling lip touch her cheek. - -Taking the boy up, she put him in Pitou's arms, and said: - -"I give you the boy, Ange; will you have the mother?" - -This time, it was too much for the swain, whose head swam; he shut his -eyes, and while he hugged the child, he dropped on a chair, and panted -with the delicacy which only a delicate heart could appreciate: - -"Oh, Master Isidore, how very fond I am of you!" - -Isidore called Pitou "Papa Pitou," but Pitou called him "Master -Isidore." - -That is why, as he felt that love for her son had made Catherine love -Ange, he did not say: - -"Oh, how dearly I love you, Catherine!" - -This point settled that Pitou thought more of Isidore than of -Catherine, they spoke of marriage. - -"I don't want to seem in a hurry," said the man, "but if you mean to -make me happy, do not be too long about it." - -Catherine took a month. - -At the end of three weeks Ange, in full regimentals, went respectfully -to pay a visit to Aunt Angelique, with the aim to inform her of his -near at hand union with Catherine Billet. - -Seeing her nephew from afar, she hastened to shut her door. But he -did not hold back from the inhospitable door whence he had once been -expelled. - -He rapped gently. - -"Who is there?" snarled Angelique, in her sourest voice. - -"I--your dutiful nephew, Ange Pitou." - -"Go on your bloody way, you September man of massacre!" cried Aunt -Angelique. - -"Auntie, I come to tell you of a bit of news which can not fail to make -you jolly, because it is my happiness." - -"What is the news, you red-capped Jacobin?" - -"I will tell you if you open the door." - -"Say it through the door; I shall not open it to a breechless outlaw -like you." - -"If there is no other way, here you have it--I am going to get married." - -The door flew open as by magic. - -"Who are you going to marry, you wretched fellow?" asked the old -spinster. - -"Catherine Billet, please." - -"Oh, the villain, the scamp, the regicide!" said the good soul; "he -marries a ruined girl! Get you gone, scapegrace; I curse you!" - -With a gesture quite noble, she held up her dry and yellow hands toward -her nephew. - -"Dear aunt," replied the young man, "you ought to know that I am too -well hardened to your maledictions to care a fig for them. I only -wanted to do the proper thing by inviting you to dance at my wedding; -if you won't come, still I have asked you to shake a leg--" - -"Shake a--fy, for shame!" - -"Fare thee well, sweet Aunt Angelique!" - -Touching his cocked hat in the military manner, Pitou made a salute to -his relative and hurried away. - - - - -CHAPTER XXX. - -THE EFFECT OF HAPPY NEWS. - - -Pitou had to tell his intended marriage to Mayor Longpre, who lived -hard by. Less set against the Billet family than Aunt 'Gelique, he -congratulated Pitou on the match. - -Pitou listened to his praise without seeing where he was doing very -much of a noble action. - -By the way, as a pure Republican, Pitou was delighted to find that -the Republic had done away with the publication of the banns and other -ecclesiastical trammels which had always galled true lovers. - -It was, therefore, settled between the mayor and the suitor that the -wedding should take place on the following Saturday, at the town hall. - -Next day, Sunday, the sale of the Charny estate and the Billet farm was -to come off. The latter, at the upset price of four hundred thousand -and the other at six hundred thousand in paper money; assignats were -dropping fearfully; the gold louis was worth nine hundred and twenty -francs in paper. - -But, then, nobody ever saw a gold piece nowadays. - -Pitou had run all the way back to acquaint Catherine with the good -news. He had ventured to anticipate the marriage-day by forty-eight -hours, and he was afraid he should vex Catherine. - -She did not appear vexed, and he was lifted up among the angels--his -namesakes. - -But she insisted on his going once more to Aunt Angelique's, to -announce the exact date of the wedding-day and invite her to be at the -ceremony. She was the bridegroom's sole relative, and though not at all -tender toward him, he ought to do the proper thing on his side. - -The consequence was that on Thursday morning, Pitou went over to -Villers Cotterets to repeat the visit. - -Nine o'clock was striking as he got in sight of the house. - -The aunt was not on the door-step, but the door was closed any way, as -if she expected his call. - -He thought that she had stepped out, and he was delighted. - -He would have paid the visit, and a polite note with a piece of -wedding-cake after the ceremony would acquit the debt to courtesy. - -Still, as he was a conscientious fellow, he went up to the door and -knocked; as no answer came to his raps, he called. - -At the double appeal of knuckle and voice, a neighbor appeared at her -own door. - -"Do you know whether or no my aunt has gone out, eh, Mother Fagot?" -asked Pitou. - -"Has she not answered?" asked Dame Fagot. - -"No; she has not, as you see; so I guess she has gone out for a gossip." - -Mother Fagot shook her head. - -"I should have seen her go out," she said; "my door opens the same -way as hers, and it is pretty seldom that in getting up of a morning -she does not drop into our house to get some warm ashes to put in her -shoes, with which the poor dear lamb keeps her toes warm all the day. -Ain't that so, Neighbor Farolet?" - -This question was addressed to a fresh character, who likewise opening -his door, shoved his conversational oar into the parley. - -"What are you talking about, Madame Fagot?" - -"I was a-saying that Aunt Angelique had not gone out. Have you seen -anything of her?" - -"That I hain't, and I am open to wager that she has not gone out, -otherwise her shutters would not be open, d'ye see." - -"By all that is blue, that is true enough," remarked Pitou. "Heavens, I -hope nothing unfortunate has happened to my poor aunt." - -"I should not wonder," said Mother Fagot. - -"It is more than possible, it is probable," said Farolet, sententiously. - -"To tell the truth, she was not over-tender to me," went on Pitou; "but -I do not want harm to befall her for all that. How are we going to find -out the state of things?" - -"That is not a puzzle," suggested a third neighbor, joining in; "send -for Rigolot, the locksmith." - -"If it is to open the door, he is not wanted," said Pitou; "I know a -little trick of prying the bolt with a knife." - -"Well, go ahead, my lad," said Farolet; "we are all witnesses that you -picked the lock with the best intentions and your pocket-knife." - -Pitou had taken out his knife, and in the presence of a dozen persons, -attracted by the occurrence, he slipped back the bolt with a dexterity -proving that he had used this means of opening the way more than once -in his youth. - -The door was open, but the interior was plunged into complete darkness. -As the daylight gradually penetrated and was diffused, they could -descry the form of the old girl on her bed. - -Pitou called her by name twice. But she remained motionless and without -response. He went in and up to the couch. - -"Halloo!" he exclaimed, touching the hands; "she is cold and stark." - -They opened the windows. Aunt Angelique was dead. - -"What a misfortune!" said Pitou. - -"Tush," said Farolet; "a hard winter is coming, and wood never so dear. -She saves by departing where the firing is plentiful. Besides, your -aunt did not dote on you." - -"Maybe so," said Pitou, with tears as big as walnuts, "but I liked her -pretty well. Oh, my poor auntie!" said the big baby, falling on his -knees by the bed. - -"I say, Captain Pitou," said Mme. Fagot, "if you want anything, just -let us know. If we ain't good neighbors, we ain't good for anything." - -"Thank you, mother. Is that boy of yours handy?" - -"Yes. Hey, Fagotin!" called the good woman. - -A boy of fourteen stood frightened at the door. - -"Here I am, mother," he said. - -"Just bid him trot over to Haramont to tell Catherine not to be uneasy -about me, as I have found my Aunt 'Gelique dead. Poor aunt!" He wiped -away fresh tears. "That is what is keeping me here." - -"You hear that, Fagotin? Then off you go." - -"Go through Soissons Street," said the wise Farolet, "and notify -Citizen Raynal that there is a case of sudden death to record at old -Miss Pitou's." - -The boy darted off on his double errand. - -The crowd had kept increasing till there were a hundred before the -door. Each had his own opinion on the cause of the decease, and all -whispered among themselves. - -"If Pitou is no fool, he will find some hoard smuggled away in an old -sock, or in a crock, or in a hole in the chimney." - -Dr. Raynal arrived in the midst of this, preceded by the head -tax-gatherer. - -The doctor went up to the bed, examined the corpse, and declared to the -amaze of the lookers-on that the death was due to cold and starvation. -This redoubled Pitou's tears. - -"Oh, poor aunt!" he wailed, "and I thought she was so rich. I am a -villain for having left her to poverty. Oh, had I only known this! It -can not be, Doctor Raynal!" - -"Look into the hutch and see if there is any bread; in the wood-box -and see if there is any fire-wood. I have always foretold that the old -miser would end in this way." - -Searching, they found not a crumb or a splinter. - -"Oh, why did she not tell me this?" mourned Pitou. "I would have -chopped up some wood for her and done some poaching to fill the larder. -It is your fault, too," the poor fellow added, accusing the crowd; "you -ought to have told me that she was in want." - -"We did not tell you that she was in want," returned wiseacre Farolet, -"for the plain reason that everybody believed that she was rolling in -riches." - -Dr. Raynal had thrown the sheet over the cold face, and proceeded to -the door, when Pitou intercepted him. - -"Are you going, doctor?" - -"Why, what more do you expect me to do here?" - -"Then she is undoubtedly dead? Dear me, to die of cold and hunger, too!" - -Raynal beckoned him. - -"Boy, I am of the opinion that you should none the less seek high and -low," he said. - -"But, doctor, after your saying she died of want--" - -"Misers have been known to die the same way, lying on their treasures. -Hush!" he said, laying a finger on his lips, and going out-doors. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXI. - -THE EASY-CHAIR. - - -Pitou would have pondered more deeply on what the doctor told him, only -he spied Catherine running up, with her boy in her arms. - -Since there was no doubt that Aunt Angelique had died of privation, -the eagerness of the neighbors to help her nephew had lessened. So -Catherine arrived most timely. As she might be considered the wife of -Pitou, it was her place to attend to his aunt, which the good creature -set about doing with the same tenderness she had shown awhile before to -her own mother. - -Meanwhile, Pitou ran out to arrange for the funeral, which would be at -two days' time, as the suddenness of the death compelled retention of -the remains forty-eight hours. Religious ceremonies being suppressed -for funerals as for marriages, he had only to do business with the -sexton and the grave digger, after the mayor. - -Before he departed, Catherine suggested that the marriage should be -deferred for a day or two, as it would look strange for an act so -important and joyous as a wedding to be performed on the same day as he -conducted his aunt's remains to the cemetery. - -"Besides, my dear, it is bad luck to have a wedding while a grave is -open." - -"Stuff," said Pitou; "from the moment I am your husband, I defy -misfortune to get a grip on me." - -"Dear Pitou, let us put it off till Monday," said the bride, holding -up her hand to him; "you see that I am trying to make your wishes suit -proprieties." - -"But two days is a deuce of a long time, Catherine." - -"Not when you have been waiting five years." - -"A lot of things may happen in forty-eight hours," moaned Pitou. - -"My falling off in love can not happen, Ange; and as you pretend that -is the only thing in the world which concerns you--" - -"Lord, yes, Catherine; the only--only thing!" - -"Why, then, look here, Isidore, say to Papa Pitou: 'Do not be afraid, -Papa Pitou; mamma loves you dearly, and will always love you.'" - -The child repeated this in his pretty voice. - -On this assurance, Pitou made no difficulty about going to the mayor's. -He returned in about an hour, with all settled and paid for. With what -money he had left he laid in a stock of wood and food for a couple of -days. - -It was high time that the firing had come into the old, weather-worn -house, where the wind poured in at many a chink, and they might perish -of cold. Pitou had found Catherine half frozen when he got back. - -According to Catherine's wish, the marriage was postponed until Monday. - -The intermediate time passed with the pair mourning by the death-bed. - -Despite the huge fire Pitou kept roaring, the wind came in so sharp and -chill that Pitou acknowledged that if his aunt had not died of hunger -she must have been carried off by cold. - -The time came for the removal of the corpse, the transit not taking -long, as Aunt Angelique's dwelling adjoined the burial-ground. - -All of that quarter and other representatives of the town went to the -funeral, which Pitou and Catherine led as the chief mourners. - -When the ceremony terminated, Pitou thanked those attending in his name -and that of the dead, and they all filed before him, throwing holy -water into the old maid's grave. - -When left alone, Pitou looked round for Catherine, and saw her and -Isidore kneeling on another grave where cypresses were planted. It -was Mother Billet's. Pitou had dug those four cypresses in the woods -and transplanted them. He did not care to disturb them in this pious -occupation, but thinking that Catherine would be very cold at the end -of her devotions, he determined to run on before and have a good fire -blazing at her return. - -Unfortunately, one thing opposed the realization of this good -intention--they were out of wood. Pitou was in a pinch, for he was out -of money, too. - -He looked around him to see if there was nothing good to burn. There -was Aunt Angelique's bread-safe, bed, and easy-chair. The bed and -cupboard were not unworn, but they were still good; while the arm-chair -was so rickety that nobody but the owner had ever risked themselves in -it. It was therefore condemned. - -Like the Revolutionary Tribunal, Pitou had no sooner condemned a thing -than he proceeded to execute it. - -Pitou set his knee to the seat, and seizing one of the sides, gave -a pull. At the third of such tugs, it gave way at the joints. It -uttered a kind of squeak, as if an animal capable of feeling pain and -expressing emotion. If Pitou had been superstitious, he might have -imagined that the aunt's spirit had located itself in her old arm-chair. - -But Pitou had no superstition except his love for Catherine. This -article of furniture was doomed to warm her, and though it had bled in -each limb like an enchanted tree, it would have been rent to pieces. - -He grasped the other arm with the same fierceness, and tore that from -the carcass, which began to look dismantled. - -Again the chair sent forth a sound strange and metallic. - -Pitou remained insensible. He took up the chair by one leg, and -swinging the whole round his head, he brought it down on the floor. - -This split the seat in half, and to the great astonishment of the -destroyer, out of the yawning chasm spouted torrents of gold. - -Our readers will remember that it was Angelique's habit to change all -her coppers into silver, and them into gold pieces, which she stowed -away inside her chair. - -When Pitou recovered from his surprise and dismay, his first impulse -was to run out to Catherine and little Isidore and bring them in to -view the riches he had discovered. - -But the dreadful terror seized him that Catherine would not marry him -if he were a rich man, and he shook his head. - -"No," he said, "she would refuse me." - -After reflecting for an instant, careworn and motionless, a smile -passed over his face. No doubt he had hit on a means of surmounting the -obstacle which this sudden wealth had raised. He gathered up the coin -scattered on the floor and poked about in the cushion with his knife -for still more of the golden eggs. They were literally crammed into the -lining. - -He reckoned, and there were fifteen hundred and fifty louis, otherwise, -thirty-seven thousand and two hundred livres or francs, and at the -discount in the favor of gold, he was the master of one million three -hundred and twenty-six thousand livres! - -And at what a moment had this slice of good luck befallen him! When he -was obliged to smash up the furniture from having no means to buy fuel -for his wife. - -What a lucky thing that Pitou was so poor, the weather was so cold, and -the old chair so rotten! - -Who knows what would have happened but for this happy conjunction of -circumstances? - -He stuffed the coin away in all his pockets, and scraping the splinters -together he built a fire, which he managed to kindle with the unused -flint and steel. - -He was no more than in time, for in came Catherine and little Isidore, -shivering with cold. - -Pitou gave the boy a hug, kissed the woman's icy hands, and dashed out, -crying: - -"Get warm. I have a piece of business to go through." - -"Where does Papa Pitou go?" asked the boy. - -"I do not know, but judging by the gait he is going at, it is for you -or me." - -She might have said, "For you _and_ me." - - - - -CHAPTER XXXII. - -WHAT PITOU DID WITH THE FIND. - - -It has not been forgotten that the Charny estate and the Gilbert and -Billet farms were in the market at a price. On the sale day, Mayor -Longpre bought for "Mr. Cash" the properties at the price of 1,350 gold -louis, for the equivalent of assignats. - -This happened on Sunday, the eve of the day when Catherine and Pitou -were married. - -At eleven on the following day, all the crowd were grieving that a fine -fellow like Pitou should throw himself away upon a girl who was ruined -utterly, with a child who was even more poverty-stricken than herself. - -When Mayor Longpre had pronounced Citizen Pierre Ange Pitou and -Citizeness Anne Catherine Billet united in wedlock, he beckoned little -Isidore to him. The youngster had been sitting upon the desk, whence he -slipped down and came to him. - -"My boy," he said, "here are some papers which you will please give -your Mamma Catherine when Papa Pitou takes her home." - -"Yes, sir," said the little fellow, taking two papers in his little -hand. - -All was finished, only, to the great astonishment of the spectators, -Pitou pulled out five gold pieces and handed them to the mayor, saying: - -"For the poor of the parish." - -"Are we rich?" asked Catherine, smiling. - -"Happy folks are always rich," returned Pitou, "and you have made me -the happiest man in creation." - -He offered his arm to the wife, who leaned on it affectionately. - -On going forth, they found the crowd to which we have alluded. - -Unanimous cheers greeted the couple. Pitou saluted his friends and gave -many hand-shakes; Catherine nodded to hers and gave many smiles. - -Pitou turned to the right. - -"Why, where are you going, dearest?" asked Madame Pitou. - -"Come, my dearly beloved," he replied, "to a place you will be glad to -see again." - -"Why, you are going toward our old farm," she said. - -"Come on, all the same," he persisted. - -"Oh, Pitou!" she sighed, as he brought her over the well-remembered way. - -"And I thought to make you happy," he sighed, too. - -"How could you think to make me happy by taking me again to a place -which was my parents', and might have been mine, but which was sold -yesterday to some stranger whose name even I do not know." - -"Only a couple of steps farther; that is all I ask of you." - -They turned the corner of the wall, and had the farm entrance before -them. - -All the farm-hands, carters, cow-men, dairy-maids, plowmen, were there, -with Father Clovis marshaling them, a bunch of flowers in his hand. - -"I understand; you wanted me to be welcomed once more in the old home -by those who, like me, will leave it forever. I thank you, dear." - -Leaving her husband's arm and Isidore's hand, she ran forward to meet -the people, who surrounded her and bore her into the house. - -Pitou led Isidore, who was still carrying the papers, into the -door-way, and they saw Catherine seated in the main room, staring about -her as in a dream. - -"In Heaven's name, tell me what they are saying!" she cried. "I do not -understand a bit of what they are saying." - -"Perhaps these papers which the child has for you will make it all -clear, dear Catherine," replied the husband. - -She took the papers from the little hand, and read one by chance: - - "I acknowledge that the manor-house of Boursonnes and the lands - dependent were bought and paid for by me, yesterday, on behalf of - Jacques Philip Isidore, minor son of Catherine Billet, and that - consequently said house and lands are the property of the said son. - - "LONGPRE, Mayor of Villers Cotterets." - -"What does this mean, Pitou? You must understand that I can not make -head or tail of it." - -"Better read the other document," suggested the husband. - -Unfolding the second paper, Catherine read as follows: - - "I hereby acknowledge that the farm called Billet's, with the - lands and buildings thereon and the appurtenances thereof, were - bought and paid for by me, on behalf and for the account of - Citizeness Anne Catherine Billet, and that it follows the said - farm and lands and buildings belong to the said Citizeness Ann - Catherine Billet. - - "LONGPRE, Mayor of Villers Cotterets." - -"In Heaven's name, tell me what this all means, or I shall go mad!" -said Catherine. - -"The meaning is," rejoined Pitou, "that thanks to some gold found in -my Aunt Angelique's old easy-chair, which I broke up to warm you, the -house and manor of Charny will not go out of the family, or the farm -from the Billets." - -Catherine understood all at last. She opened her arms to Pitou, but he -pushed Isidore into them. But she leaned forward and infolded husband -and child in the same embrace. - -"Oh, God!" exclaimed Pitou, stifling with bliss and yet unable to -repress one tear for the old maid, "to think there are people who die -of hunger and cold, like poor Aunt Angelique!" - -"Faith!" said a stout teamster, nudging a rosy milk-maid for her to -take particular heed of their new master and mistress, "I do not think -that pair is going to die in any such way." - - * * * * * - -Let us turn from these truly happy ones, in the peaceful country, to -the bereaved widow of Louis XVI. In her lonesome jail she mourns over -the loss of all--husband, lover, friend. What can replace a Charny or -an Andrea? She thinks there is no champion of the blood of either, for -she knows not that Cagliostro's surmise was not baseless. When the son -of Andrea shall know how his mother fell, he will fly to arms to avenge -that loss and to spite her foes, who are also the queen's! We shall -trace his gallant, and desperate attempts to rescue the royal captive -in the pages of the conclusion of this series, entitled: "The Knight of -Redcastle: or, The Captivity of Marie Antoinette." - -THE END - - - - -_A BOOK FOR EVERY FAMILY._ - - -How to Live Well On 25 Cents a Day. - -By MRS. GESINE LEMCKE, - -One of the Most Noted Cooks and Housekeepers of the Day. - - -It contains a complete bill of fare for every day for six weeks, also -valuable hints and helps for housekeepers. - -The _Philadelphia Call_ says of it: - - "Utopia discovered! Everybody happy and want absolutely abolished. - Hats off to Mrs. Lemcke! 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, -postpaid, 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. Any woman who cannot catch - a husband by the rules laid down in this book does not deserve - one, and it costs only 25 cents for all this valuable advice and - information. - -This book will be sent by mail, postpaid, to any address on receipt of -25 cents. Address, - - _J. S. OGILVIE PUBLISHING COMPANY, - Lock Box 2767. 57 Rose St., New York._ - - - - -CATALOGUE of USEFUL and POPULAR BOOKS. - -Any of the Books on this List will be mailed postpaid to any address on -receipt of price by J. S. Ogilvie Publishing Company, 57 Rose Street, -New York. - -_Write your name and address very plainly so as to avoid mistakes._ - - -=ALBUM WRITER'S FRIEND (THE).=--Compiled by J. S. Ogilvie, 13mo, -128 pages. Paper cover, 15 cents; cloth 30 cents. - -This is a new and choice selection of gems of Prose and Poetry, -comprising over seven hundred selections, suitable for writing -in Autograph Albums, Valentines, and for Birthday and Wedding -celebrations. It also contains a new and choice collection of verses -suitable for Christmas and New-Year Cards. It contains 128 pages, with -paper cover, price 15 cents: bound in cloth, 30 cents. - - -=AMATEUR'S GUIDE TO MAGIC AND MYSTERY.=--An entirely new work, -containing full and ample instructions on the mysteries of magic, -sleight-of-hand tricks, card tricks, etc. The best work on conjuring -for amateurs published. Illustrated. 15 cents. - - -=ART OF VENTRILOQUISM.=--Contains simple and full directions by -which any one may acquire the amusing art, with numerous examples for -practice. Also instructions for making the magic whistle, for imitating -birds, animals, and peculiar sounds of various kinds. Any boy who -wishes to obtain an art by which he can develop a wonderful amount -of astonishment, mystery, and fun, should learn Ventriloquism, as he -easily can follow the simple secret given in this book. Mailed for 15 -cents. - - -=BAD BOY'S DIARY (A).=--This is one of the most successful -humorous books of the present day, filled with fun and good humor, and -"will drive the blues out of a bag of indigo." It is printed from new, -large type, and on fine, heavy white paper of a superior finish, and -contains 280 pages. New, full-page illustrations from unique designs -have been prepared expressly for this edition. Handsome paper cover, 25 -cents. - - -=BATTLE FOR BREAD (THE).=--This book contains a series of Sermons -by Rev. T. DeWitt Talmage, the greatest of living preachers. Every -workingman and those who employ them should read this book, and thus be -informed of the real solution of the question of the relations of Labor -and Capital. 12mo, 185 pages. Paper cover, 25 cents; cloth, 75 -cents. - - -=BLACK ART EXPOSED (THE).=--This book contains some of the most -marvelous things in ancient and modern magic, jugglery, etc., ever -printed, and has to be seen to be fully appreciated. Suffice it to say -that any boy knowing the secrets it contains will be able to do things -that will astonish all. 15 cents. - - -=BLUNDERS OF A BASHFUL MAN (THE).=--By the popular author of "A -Bad Boy's Diary." This is one of the most humorous books ever issued, -and has been pronounced _better_ than "A Bad Boy's Diary." 12mo, 160 -pages. Handsomely illustrated from original designs, including also the -portrait and autograph of "The Bashful Man." Price, paper cover, 25 -cents. - - -=BOILER-MAKER'S ASSISTANT (THE)=, and the Theoretical and -Practical Boiler-Maker and Engineer's Reference Book. By Samuel -Nicholls, Foreman Boiler-Maker. 1 vol. 12mo, extra cloth, $2.50. - - -=COMPLETE FORTUNE TELLER AND DREAM BOOK.=--This book contains -a complete Dictionary of Dreams, alphabetically, with a clear -interpretation of each dream, and the lucky numbers that belong to it. -It includes Palmistry, or telling fortunes by the lines of the hand; -fortune telling by the grounds in a tea or coffee cup; how to read your -future life by the white of an egg; tells how to know who your future -husband will be, and how soon you will be married; fortune telling by -cards; Hymen's lottery; good and bad omens, etc. 25 cents. - - -=CONCERT EXERCISES FOR SUNDAY SCHOOL.=--5 cents each; 30 cents -per dozen; per hundred, by mail, postpaid, $2.00 No. 1, THE -CHRISTIAN'S JOURNEY. No. 2, THE STORY OF REDEEMING LOVE. -(For Christmas.) No. 3, CHRIST IS RISEN. (Appropriate for -Easter.) No. 4, WELCOME GREETING. (Appropriate for Children's -Day.) No. 5, GOOD TIDINGS. (Appropriate for anniversaries and -celebrations.) - - -=LEISURE HOUR WORK FOR LADIES.=--Containing instructions for -flower and shell work; Antique, Grecian and Theorem painting; Botanical -specimens; Cone work; Anglo Japanese work; Decalcomanie; Diaphame; -Leather work; Modeling in clay; Transferring; Crayon drawing; -Photograph coloring, etc., etc. A very complete book, and one that no -young lady having spare time can afford to be without. 15 cents. - - -=LOVER'S GUIDE (THE).=--A book no lover should be without. It -gives handkerchief, parasol, glove, and fan flirtations; also window -and dining-room signaling; the language of flowers; how to kiss -deliciously; love-letters, and how to write them, with specimens; -bashfulness and timidity, and how to overcome them, etc., etc. 15 -cents. - - -=COURTSHIP AND MARRIAGE=; or, The Mysteries of Making Love Fully -Explained.--This is an entirely new work on a most interesting subject. -CONTENTS: First steps in courtship; Advice to both parties at -the outset; Introduction to the lady's family; Restrictions imposed by -etiquette; What the lady should observe in early courtship; What the -suitor should observe; Etiquette as to presents; The proposal; Mode -of refusal when not approved; Conduct to be observed by a rejected -suitor; Refusal by the lady's parents or guardians; Etiquette of an -engagement; Demeanor of the betrothed pair; Should a courtship be long -or short; Preliminary etiquette of a wedding; Fixing the day; How to -be married; The trousseau; Duties to be attended to by the bridegroom; -Who should be asked to the wedding; Duties of the bridesmaids and -groomsmen; Etiquette of a wedding; Costume of bride, bridesmaids, and -bridegroom; Arrival at the church; The marriage ceremonial; Registry -of the marriage; Return home, and wedding breakfast; Departure for the -honeymoon; Wedding cards; Modern practice of "No cards;" Reception and -return of wedding visits; Practical advice to a newly married -couple. Price, 15 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 colts to halter; break a colt; hitching colt -in stall; how to handle a colt's feet; breaking and driving colts to -harness; objects of fear; to train a horse to stand when getting into -a carriage; balking horses; pulling at halter; to break horses from -jumping; pawing in stall and kicking in harness; the runaway horse; -shoeing; corns; to teach a horse to appear intelligent; to teach a -horse how to dance, waltz, kiss you, shake hands, etc., etc.; cure of -sore breasts, big head, big leg, fullness of blood, catarrh; loose -bowels, corns, cough, inflammation of eye, brittle feet, sand crack -in foot, founder (a sure cure), galled back, grease, inflammation of -kidneys, worms, itch, nasal, gleet, over-reaching, staggers, botts, -etc., etc.; concluding with rules and regulations for the government of -trotting and racing. --> No man who owns a horse can afford to do -without this book. It is very thorough, complete and reliable, and well -worth a dozen times the price asked for it. It contains matter not to -be found in any other horse book. Price, 15 cents. - - -=GRAND WONDER COLLECTION.=--A wonderful offer. $3.00 worth of -goods for only 50 cents! Everything is now very cheap, and people get -a good deal more for their money than they used to, but we have no -hesitation in saying that never before was so much offered for the -money as is offered in this GRAND WONDER COLLECTION. It could not be -done, only that we expect to sell thousands of them and are fully -satisfied that each one sold will sell a dozen more. - -The contents of the GRAND WONDER COLLECTION--comprising seven complete -books in one--1. Old Secrets and New Discoveries. 2. Secrets for -Farmers. 3. Laughing Gas. 4. The Swindlers of America. 5. Preserving -and Manufacturing Secrets. 6. The Housewife's Treasure. 7. Fourteen -Popular Songs, Words and Music. - ---> Any person ordering this collection and not fully satisfied, the -money will be cheerfully refunded. Price, 50 cents. - - -=MAGIC TRICK CARDS.=--The Magician's Own Cards, for performing -wonderful tricks. Every boy a magician! Every man a conjurer! Every -girl a witch! Every one astonished! They are the most superior trick -cards ever offered for sale, and with them you can perform some of the -most remarkable illusions ever discovered. - -Complete illustrated directions accompany each pack. They will be -mailed, postpaid, sealed as a letter, for 15 cents a pack. - - -=HEALTH HINTS.=--A new book showing how to Acquire and Retain -Bodily Symmetry, Health, Vigor, and Beauty. Its contents are as -follows: Laws of Beauty--Air, Sunshine, Water, and Food--Work and -Rest--Dress and Ornament--The Hair and its Management--Skin and -Complexion--The Mouth--The Eyes, Ears, and Nose--The Neck, Hands and -Feet--Growth and Marks that are Enemies of Beauty--Cosmetics and -Perfumery. - -=Fat People.=--It gives ample rules how Corpulency may be -cured--the Fat made Lean, Comely and Active. - -=Lean People.=--It also give 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. 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Bound in heavy paper covers, with 13 -illustrations. 25 cents. - - -=OGILVIE'S HANDY MONITOR AND UNIVERSAL ASSISTANT=, containing -Statistical Tables of Practical Value for Mechanics, Merchants, -Editors, Lawyers, Printers, Doctors, Farmers, Lumbermen, Bankers, -Bookkeepers, Politicians and all classes of workers in every department -of human effort, and containing a compilation of facts for reference on -various subjects, being an epitome of matters Historical, Statistical, -Biographical, Political, Geographical and general interest. 192 pages -bound in paper, 25 cents. - -No more valuable book has ever been offered containing so much -information of practical value in everyday life. - - -=OLD SECRETS AND NEW DISCOVERIES.=--Containing Information of Rare -Value for all Classes, in all Conditions of Society. - -=It Tells= all about _Electrical Psychology_, showing how you can -biologize any person, and, while under the influence, he will do -anything you may wish him, no matter how ridiculous it may be, and he -cannot help doing it. - -=It Tells= how to _Mesmerize_. Knowing this, you can place any person -in a mesmeric sleep, and then be able to do with him as you will. 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Also how to take impressions from coins. Also -how to imitate gold and silver. - -=It Tells= of a simple and ingenious method of copying any kind of -drawing or picture. Also, more wonderful still, how to print pictures -from the print itself. - -=It Tells= how to perform the Davenport Brothers' "Spirit Mysteries." -So that any person can astonish an audience, as they have done. Also -scores of other wonderful things which there is no room to mention. - -=Old Secrets and New Discoveries= is worth $5 to any person; but -it will be mailed to any address on receipt of only 25 cents. - - -=OUT IN THE STREETS.=--By S. N. Cook. Price, 15 cents. - -We take pleasure in offering the strictly moral and very amusing -temperance drama entitled, "Out in the Streets," to all entertainment -committees as one that will give entire satisfaction. The parts are -taken by six male and six female characters. - - -=PHUNNY PHELLOW'S GRAB BAG=; or, Jolly Tid-Bits for Mirthful -Mortals.--Josh Billings, Danbury News Man and Bret Harte rolled -into one. It is not too much to say that the book contains the -choicest humor in the English language. Its size is mammoth, -containing more than one thousand of the raciest jests, comical hits, -exhilarating stories, flowers of wit, excruciating jokes, uproarious -poems, laughable sketches, darky comicalities, clowns' efforts, -button-bursting conundrums, endmen's jokes, plantation humors, funny -caricatures, hifalutin dialogues, curious scenes, cute sayings, -ludicrous drolleries, peculiar repartees, and nearly 500 illustrations. -25 cents. - - -=SCIENCE OF A NEW LIFE (THE).=--By John Cowan, M.D. A handsome -8vo, containing over 400 pages, with more than 100 illustrations, and -sold at the following prices: English cloth, beveled boards, gilt side -and back, $3.00; leather, sprinkled edges, $3.50; half turkey morocco, -marbled edges, gilt back, $4.00. - - -=SOME FUNNY THINGS= said by Clever Children. Who is not interested -in children? We are satisfied that this book will give genuine -satisfaction to all who are interested in listening to the happy voices -of children. This will show that humor is not confined to adult minds -by any means. 64 pages, 10 cents. - - - - -THE - -EVERY-DAY EDUCATOR - -OR, - -How To Do Business. - -Prepared for Ambitious Americans by - -Prof. SEYMOUR EATON. - -The Brightest and Best Help Manual ever issued in this Country. - -Each of the numerous departments forms a unique feature. Here are the -titles of a few: - -[Illustration: HOW TO APPLY _For a Situation_] - - BOOK-KEEPING, BANKING, CORRESPONDENCE, - ARITHMETIC, FRENCH, GERMAN, - LESSONS IN ELECTRICITY, ASTRONOMY, - PENMANSHIP, PHYSICAL CULTURE, - HOW TO WRITE FOR THE PRESS, - FIGURE SHORTHAND, LESSONS IN DRAWING, - TELEGRAPHY, FACTS and FIGURES, - THESE BODIES OF OURS, GAMES AND PUZZLES, - CHARACTER IN HANDS, - GOOD OPENINGS IN NEW TRADES, U. S. HISTORY, - PUBLIC SPEAKING, HOW TO GET A START, - LITERATURE, AUTHORS and BOOKS. - -[Illustration: RULES OF ORDER FOR BUSINESS MEETINGS] - -But why go further? Get the book and we guarantee you will say it is -away ahead of anything you have seen before. - -=The Every-Day Educator= contains 240 pages. Handsomely printed -on fine paper. Fully illustrated. Substantially bound in cloth, and -in every respect a perfect specimen of advanced book-making, price, -75 cents; bound in paper cover, 25 cents. Sent by mail, postpaid, to -any address on receipt of price. Agents wanted. Address all orders and -applications for an agency to - - _J. S. OGILVIE PUBLISHING COMPANY, - Lock Box 2767. 57 Rose Street, New York._ - - - - -AYER'S - -CHERRY PECTORAL - -[Illustration] - -CURES COLDS COUGHS - -Throat and Lung Diseases. - - - - -Transcriber's Notes - - -Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_). - -Text enclosed by equal signs is in bold (=bold=). - ---> represents a hand pointing right. - -A Table of Contents has been added for the convenience of the reader. -The original publication did not include a Table of Contents. - -Obvious typographical errors were repaired, as listed below. Other -apparent inconsistencies or errors have been retained. Missing, -extraneous, or incorrect punctuation has been corrected. - -Please note that the hard-copy book used to create this ebook was -not in the best condition. As such, some characters were unreadable. -The best effort has been made to recreate this book as faithfully as -possible. - -The corner of the cover of the book was torn. Thus, the last two digits -of the year were missing. The date of copyright was used to complete -the cover date. - -Page 9, "Verennes" changed to "Varennes". (All his feeling for -Catherine when Isidore was slain at Varennes, where Billet arrested the -king in his flight, was of utter pity.) - -Page 24, "Verginaud" changed to "Vergniaud" for consistency. (A speech -of Vergniaud blasted it.) - -Page 33, "Damouriez" changed to "Dumouriez" for consistency. (Dumouriez -held his tongue for a space, and, being a consummate actor, he regarded -the speaker with deep pity.) - -Page 64, "seaman" changed to "seamen". (They were hardy seamen, rugged -peasants, sunburned by the African simoom or the mountain gale, with -hands callous from the spade or tough with tar.) - -Page 75, "mes age" changed to "message". (While he was playing thus, -and chatting with Roederer, attorney of the province, the message came -twice that the king wanted to see him.) - -Page 83, "your" changed to "you". ("Why did you order out the cannon?") - -Page 96, "fisheman" changed to "fisherman". (The fisherman hooked -another, and jerked him out like the first.) - -Page 133, "One" changed to "On". (On the 28th of August, the Assembly -passed the law on domiciliary visits.) - -Page 162, "Boursonnse" changed to "Boursonnes" for consistency. (Count -Charny rests in the family vault at Boursonnes.) - -Page 171, "eat" changed to "ate". (... but they found a plain old -fellow whom they could not tell from his valet, who ate and drank -heartily and slept soundly,...) - -Page 180, "Mirabean" changed to "Mirabeau" for consistency. (But they -injured the king and the priests, showing up the narrow mind, sharp -and ungrateful, of Louis, who only hated those who wanted to save -him--Necker, Lafayette, and Mirabeau.) - -Page 198, "Robespiere" changed to "Robespierre" for consistency. (... -the French Revolution was led by Ange Pitou and Farmer Billet, with -Citizens Danton, Marat, Robespierre & Co., playing the secondary parts.) - -Page 201, "bans" changed to "banns". (By the way, as a pure Republican, -Pitou was delighted to find that the Republic had done away with the -publication of the banns and other ecclesiastical trammels which had -always galled true lovers.) - -In the advertisement for =The Battle for Bread=, the number of pages -was unreadable in the original. Therefore, an educated guess was made -to arrive at the number, 285. - -In the advertisement for =The Black Art Exposed=, "cnts" has been -changed to "cents" for consistency. (15 cents.) - -In the advertisement for =Ogilvie's Handy Monitor and Universal -Assistant=, "books" has been changed to "book". (No more valuable book -has ever been offered containing so much information of practical value -in everyday life.) - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's The Countess of Charny, by Alexandre Dumas (pere) - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE COUNTESS OF CHARNY *** - -***** This file should be named 42757-8.txt or 42757-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/2/7/5/42757/ - -Produced by Veronika Redfern, Juliet Sutherland and the -Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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