but by a kind of natural movement which habitude produces maurice stretched out his hand to retain genevievcs arm


the queen hesitated looked nt maurice and recognize the young muni cipal who was accustomed to address her with firmness but nt the same time with respect


it is forbidden sir asked she


i


no no madam said maurice


genevive you may present the bouquet


thanks thanks sir exclaimed the queen with gratitude


i bowing with graceful affability to genevive marie antoinette stretched out a thin hand and gathered as if by hazard a carnation from the mass of flowers


take them all madam take them said genevive timidly


no said the queen with a charming smile


this bouquet comes perhaps from a person whom you love and i will not deprive you of it


genevive blushed which caused the queento smile


come come citizen capet aid agrcola you pass on


the queen bowed and passed onbutbefore


she disappeared she turned once more murmuring what a sweet carnation


i what a pretty woman


she has not seen me murmured morand who almost on bis knees within the shade of the corridor bad not attracted the queens attention


but you you have seen them


is it not so morand


is it not so genevive said maurice doubly rejoiced first at the sight he had procured his friend and again at the pleasure which he had at such a trilling expense procured the prisoner


oh i yes yes said genevive i have now seen ycr and if i lived an hundred years i should see her still


how do you find her very beautiful


morand joined his hands without reply


tellme said maurice in a low voice and laughing to genevive is morand in love with the queen


genevive started but governing herself replied laughing in turn on my faith it seems so


well insisted maurice you do not say how you liked her morand


she was very pale answered he


maurice took geucvieves arm and descended to the court


in the dark staircase maurice thought she kissed ins hand


well said maurice what is tho meaning of this


it signifies that i never sball forget that you have from a cuprice of mine risked your head


oh that is exaggeration genevive


between you and i you know that gratitude is not what i want


genevive softly pressed his arm


i morand almost staggered along


they reached the court


lorin recognised the two visitors and they left the temple


but before parting genevive caused maurice to promise that he would dine next day in the old sticet st jacques


to be continued


the strangers tale or rt chimney corner of a coun try


nn


from fraser


rasr afisiiieiir february bs cotftnuitby vgivemoyour guhyofootlogs blundering booby


cried tbe former speaker and by fjif i do not brjnji lidow


nvh crack it across your ugly bconcend stretch you on hie ground you seqmibo fond bl this cursed night


lhera cangbt tho click of a gun locttjut thanks to tho snow it son ed nietleast once that niglil ami


bad aoaet


the powder so properly thatlhc oumtof the cnllision of flint nnd steel was all i caught


the dislance between now that i liad cleared the drift was rapidly increasing


tho follows ber unable to bear the pacor check ed by a wholesome respect for firearms with which they found me furnished gave np the pursuit andr i was don glad toslacken the exertions of my horse whobeganto shew symptoms of distress as ploughing and j plunging heavily through the gathering heaps belabour ed ina difficult way slowly on


lie whole surface of the ground was how completely sheeted the jlqt shrubless iwnste presented but one unbroken field of white so farasihedubiousmoonliglit permitted rqe to seeand the boundaries of the road were rapidly disappearing in the deepening snow bich prorriisod oort io assimilate ali things in thocene


i now bogan to fear


tor the sufejy of my ioriev footing


oneilhor side there were i knew deep fossesinto wbkh a blight dviation tn litf part mighprpci pitate us both and fruin the growing numbness ana feebleness of my timbs i tell that extrication would be impossible and that wherever i fell there i would jvrbalilylind my grave


in this estre tfiiy ibcgan to feel despair coming oldly over mo


ijknw was not yoi halfway i remembered no bouse or holterof any kind near me to turn would bo bootless toproceed was nearly impossible for my horewas already u wading almost breasthigl through abe snow which was momen arly stiffening and accumulating


it was in vain that i strained my vision through the misty atmosphere in the ffort to descry some hut which might afford me covering and my hearing lu hope to catch the baying of some restless watch dog neither sight nor sound was etta or heardsave the bleak waste of now on etery side and the fitful wail ing of the nigbtwind as it now moaned sadly away in the distance or now howled florcely as laden with its icy burden it rushed wildy aong asif suiting iii the desolation itwas spread ing on all round


in this perilous predicament i de termed to trust to the sagacity of my horse


i knew that in many cases instinct is superior to reason and doubt not but thal if there were a house within any reasonable distance the poor fellow would snuff it out and do his best to carry himself and rider toits friendly bolter


accordingly threw the rems upon his neck and shortly had the satis faction of seeing bim turn al right angles from our route down what i inferred to be a road from the firmness ot the opt ingpricking up lus ears nntl stepping more freely or i should rather say struggling more energetically forward ns if he had a shrewd presentiment that the termination of his labours as well as theirreward was at hand he was however so long reachingthis that my confidence in bia aouteness began to abate and i ra relapsing sole hopeen tiesa when suddenly m tamed again and struck into what appeared to be a narrow avenue asthere wm a high wall fqnee at either side


i eoon now per cehed a few tall trees darkly waving their naked branches in the blast their weather sideshere and therethinly coated with such snow as ihe violence ot tire wind permitted to remain


they were the same whiob still sentinel ihe disman tled buildiug of which they were once intended lo be the ornament and there was now something striking and awful in their tall dark forms tossing their leafless boughs io and fro to the varying music of the storm and contrasting so gloomily as they did with the snow shrouded scene around


w ith a jkind of omnious dread i passed under their moaning branches and in a lew minutes pulled up before a large dilapidated house of which they were he filtiug and at first it seemed the only guar dians


the place looked suspicious and i stopped for a minute to reconnoi tre


itwas two stories high and hail been intended to bave four or five win dows to each in front but soveral of the recesses which these should occupy were nowdark voids nnd rough projec tions here and there where the windows still remained told of damaged glazing nnd unseemly substitutes


tbe roof had fallen in insrerai jjaees


oodlthawbolo


wore such an appearance of wretched ness and neglect that taking it in con nexion with the adventure i had lately met some unpleasant misgivings crossed my mind as to the nature of its tenants if such it had for as yet i had neither seen nor heard anghl betokening the existence of life within


i now dis mounted and fastening spleen to a stake approached the house on foot to scan its circumstance more narrowly


as i drow closer i caught at intervals the sounds as of jollity within though i could see no light whatever as the witidows were choked np with snow as was likewise every cranny in the door through which i might otherw so hive gained a peep into the interior


ho wo ver stepping silently up toa


win dow i cautiously scraped the snow off a corner of a pane and was at once pre sented w th a view of the inside


the apartment i saw m as largo and bare meanly anti scantily furnished


at one end of it there asadull peat fire over which the figure of a female seated on a low stool was bending


ijhe elbow of one arm was buried io tressostof ravebhek hair which clustered thickly and care lessly abont her neck ard shoulders in the other hand she held a pair of longs


w i


iii xrh ich sli o was m pasurcd


y


s


i r ile j n gi li o soil s to all a np caran co


i h ten il y mjdpye


in waiclingilirevpllpypf sparks sent up by tliobpraiont re lieron hie heaftliv crbucived an ill lavourqdsiustr suspecting andblood firslifidicatodiis niisgiviogs in a low grptwl tlicn ourlej lite rigul liairupon lus back and finally gvo vent lo his confirmed


apprechdhsmn a w liol e gan t of d sportl tlit pus ti ep peronsness quicklyfuselei


bnalo frumlier revfi


quit your snarling yo cross grained tykbi aid lie j or


xl soon give youpmecauvqnlvfotiiwitliv without granting trieplfonderiliie least lime lo tulfiliher iujunolion sli trans ferred ihe tongv liisbcfcwilh n ireartinegb


of liinnf wlilciiv speed hy poflcild iibark into a howl as lio smartly


though sullenly slunk into a corner


ys


twiiai llidilairoooingtb


tlie tlog nan v growled a hoarse voice from an inner room


a f only coaxing him for the lore of y on lo a stave of tbo songyonvjust now let onbe does it sp mighty like returned lbogiwlitirst of mer riilienl from witjiin shewed bow highly relished was


the jest


vwi


what say you mistrs nanto mygoiriglnuhcrxbyou nlnill tryingslo coaxyou toeing atiird


tiurhongae plays soi gnyaiidlibhp oi


byall eanscome ifti swag and fi cant sing myselfylil tlo imy best tobeat tittiewith the longs here to a ballad between you and sarleyvill deal fair wiibyeiiibotb and give it to you stonily turn about


x


t v ariollicr lmt of langlitr bailed narisretort na semcdho discomfit her opponent wibcpchedh rejoinder nja grumbling


uhiiilotrtfbib


i could bal caicliivororivtbe woman now turned lier facintoydrc tion und bent hqrali towards tho door as if in the attitude of listening


i now saw that ho was


young


her features werestrikingly marked nodsingly handsome thoughtheir general expres sion cjemed marred by the frequent play of unchecked passions her conir plexipn was very dark and fitly akin to the coal blacklocks which hung in tan gled cobfusion from her bead


hut lhere was a wild g ara in her black eye a fixedness in her brows and a general expression of severity in her cpunr lenance which


injured her natural advantages and indicated character at the expenso of amiability


she looked from the dcor to the window at which i stood and seemed at once to remark the the darkspot from which i had scraped tbo snow for sheimmediately rose from jersea abd throwing a glanco back ward toward the ihnerrooni wore the mep werov jjarousing advanced cauti ously to the front door


i approached as siroopened it


when sho first saw iinte she put heringer upon her lips and scanned my face in siencewiha keenness and earnestness for which could not well account and then after nearly a minutes intentcontemplation whispered mo in alow thrilling voice


i


sir if you are hot yetv tired of life cross not this doorway better try and ive out this night abroad torriblo though it is than como under the roof that harbours baday and whaf


worse bloodyminded mon


j


y in the samo cautious undertone i answered that i was most thankful to her for her friendly warning and inqui red if there were vkny place of better character at hand wberp might obtain some thei ter from tbo storm in which i had already uearly perished


she replied that therewas hot another roof within two miles of the spot on which j stood bat for till that advised nie rtber to face the weather without thari enter under one which covered men of whom oven the mothers could say but little good


li


tooylhate


tuined and brought me iow added the girl bitterly


and why sjhould i be loo fenidcr to speak the truthtyothink strangeconti nued she that i should speak so freely and orge you to shttn company which i keep myself it is riot innocence or fear of crime which makes me warn youno that is long pastbut


when i first looked pon ybu your face reminded nie of a brother whom i dare love te still and who once loved me ami the sudden thought of bim made me wish to ape you leave this bad and blackened sbot without harm or molestation


v it is better


mid


v to risk ones life among men than to jose it mise rpbly in thq


vnov


i am strong yon sec and tell armed and would rather rjin the venture within here than bo buried like sheep in one of these drifts ast assuredly shall if i remain without tnis fearful night but is there no barn or outhouse into which j could obtain outrance for a few hours until the morning breaks


come you are a kind heartedgirl there is a spring of tenderness i see within yo yet and sp for the sake of the brother of whom you spoke bring myselfaitd niy horse under tbe cir of some such placq


v


she drewlier iiandhurriedy oyer


hjcr eyes as i mentioned her brother andafter hesitating a little replied should they find out that l helped youto escape it would go hard with mo


i know from your appearance for i beard them describe it that you aro themari who was sent by some mer cbants


yesterday


for money and with tho gold you carry small chanco of mercy would you have if they could lay hands upon you


they found oui that you were to return tonight and at the present minute there are two men out on the watch for y pii


you say i am not all bad i wish i could believe you but whether or not i have done muob evil and if i can would now do a little good for my heart is beginning togrow ore with sin


if you go round by this path you will reach the yard the gate is unfastened and youniay walkthrough it the barn which is on the opposite side


it opens hy a latch and your self and horse may stay there till day light breaks but if you care any thing jfqr your life and would not have the juild wind whistle oer your grmo in i the moss as it did otor


hut tut what am i talking about


hasten fast away and just now ill try nnd bring you something to drito out the cold


put stop there nrc two lierce dogs jn the yard that might do damage and i throwing as she spoke aglnjnco back ltd see lliat wwsafe will go with jou myself


but remember i hold you bound if you escapo by my moans not to betray our haunts for though these men have been my curse and my de struction it gots against my temper to act the traitor while i am entrusted by them


do ou ngrco


no said i i mnko no engage ment


i could not wink at the exist ence of such a murderous gang


you at all oxonia shall be unharmed but if i escape and have the power


just as i poke the imperfect sentence a tremendous gust of wind swept down the lane and rushing through theinlet burst open the innrr door and displayed to each other our selves and the party within


they could not see me distinctly as being in the bade and b they vote near in that state in which men see double were startled at lint as if taken in their orgies hy surprise


fire and faggot stammered out a fellow a ihe staggered foi ward from his seat to think that nan has peached


but atem boy if we must die well die game better my coveys to be hot thanhnngvii f x a kick in the vear from the man who had boen silting at the head oflho table and who seem d to bo in better possession of his senses sent the witless babbler hoad foremost mo a corner where belay for a time in a state of the most satisfactory quiescence


the fel low who administered this timely and energetic stimulus shading iii eyes with one band and thrusting the other into the breast of his coat advanced a few steps towards the door


eh nan who is tbisyou are pala vering with al this hour on stn h a night


a belated traveller said i step ping forward into the house who is seeking some sheltor from ibis lern fio storm and this good girl was so civil a lo say that she was sure i could find accomodation and a welcome here and i am certain myself you will havo no objection to afford me houseroom lill the morning


you seem pretty jovial and comfortable within there lads added i with a hail fellow well met hind of air and are i feel confident too generous and jolly hearted to grudge a poor half perished fellow like mo a bit and a sup such a night as this


as i advanced into the light nnd addressed them i sw them intoi change lightning looks of recognition of my person for my appearance bad sen ed not a ulle to clear their vision and restore them to ther sober senses


when i bad done the same spokesman fal ling ioto the tone of honest rustioitj smoothly replied oh


sir well bo most glad of jour company that we will and treat you as well as wo can in our rough homely nay


it is indeed a fearromo night which makes one thank heaven for fire nnd shelter and we were justtrjing after our days labour to pass it n merrily as we could


a spree now and then is good for poor folk like us just to keep up our heart and someway balance the hardships of our wearisome and working life


to be continued


chapter iv intemperance


oh word of fearof dread


on all domestic comforts art thou fed


o wrecks of what had been noblewhat might be still good and great and glorious but for thee


h g adams


etheline said miss berwick one daylooking in at the schoolroom door when my sisters have finished their lessons will you come to my room


i have something to say to you


i obeyed


you know miss yarden she said making me sit down and taking a place beside me that johnny is going to school next month and alice and lilly are now of an age to i require accomplishments


you have taught them entirely to our satisfaction and we are much obliged for the un tiring pains you have bestowed upon them and in hearing them practise their music lessons have really become a very nice performer yet t understand you there are french and italian and many other accomplish ments whieh i cannot teach and you would wish to seek a more highly educated instructress


i spoke quickly for


i was much agitated


well my dear that is it and mamma will not require you but i wanted to know if you would accom pany me


you know miss yarden that i am shortly to be married to dr willoughby and as he thinks change will benefit poor annie and indeed i would not part from her she will reside with me will you be her companion


you have been used to her and she is fond of you


in my new sphere i shall have many visitors to entertain for the doctor has a large circle of acquaintances and there will be many calls on my time so that i am fearful annie might be neglected but if i am so happy as to secure your society for her that will be obviated


will you grant my request dear etheline


tears of gratitude and relief swelled into my eyes and i pressed her hand in silent acknowledgment of her kindness and pride that i held so high a position in her regards


many strong emotions have filled my heart since that hour but none have obliterated the ecstatic glow which animated me when for the first time in my life i felt of importance to any one and that my affection and society were not a paid requisite but an essential to friendship


i was understood and valued and alone in a shady alcove in the orchard i shed tears of delicious emotions


there was much to be done pre parations to make for the wedding and journey to syd ney


those were happy days of pleasurable confusion and ex citement


if miss berwick had seen any qualities in doctor willoughby which had awakened her apprehensions they were now forgotten and the gravity of thought gave place to a sun shiny bliss which moved my very soul to witness for i had seen more of the world than she had and had therefore less faith ifi its promises


to few has life opened with brighter auspices than to gerard willoughby hardly had he arrived in the colony than being present at a frightful street accident he performed a difficult sur gical operation with such success that it was pronounced a miracle and men twice his age shuddered at the risk and wondered at its success


freed at once from the uncertain assistance of letters of introduction he was at liberty to accept an invitation to lunch and smile if the letter produced no other fruit or if gentlemen assured him that they would be delighted to serve a friend of mr


so and sos and if they could be of any assistance not to forget them etc and then turned to their ledgers


the young doctor shortly became a rage nervous ladies found his smiling face an essential amoncr their morning callers and convivial gentlemen swallowed his prescriptions with the best grace while the poor called him their friend


egotism i should judge to have been inherent to him and it was fostered by these cir cumstances while a naturally amiable unselfish disposition and great abilities prevented any overt display which might have oiiended


a pleasant cheerful room had been prepared for miss annie and there we sat and read and sewed or prac tised duets and reared flowers in pots while mrs willoughby received and paid visits and superintended her household


she was rather handsome and when she would glide into our sittingroom dressed with elegance and taste and smiling fondly on her sister question her respecting her health my heart glowed with proud admiration while i trembled for the young chris tian in the dangerous atmosphere of fashionable life


a few bright months fled and i thought i detected a weary and even sad expression in her eyes at times and a patient rather than gay smile on her lip


to be continued


the battle of life


a love story


by charles dickens


part


the first


once upon a time it matters little when and in stalwart england it matters little where a fierce battle was fought


it was fought upon a long summer day when the waving grass was green


many a wild flower formed by the almighty hand to be a perfumed goblet for the dew felt its enamelled cup fill high with blood that day and shrinking dropped


many an insect deriving its delicate color from harmless leaves and herbs was stained anew that day by dying men and marked its frightened way with an unnatural track


the painted butterfly took blood into the air upon the edges of its wings


the stream ran red


the trodden ground became a quagmire whence from sullen pools collected in the prints of human feet and horses hoofs the one prevailing hue still lowered and glimmered at the sun


heaven keep us from a knowledge of the sights the moon beheld upon that field when coming up above the black line of distant risingground softened and blurred at the edge by trees she rose into the sky and looked upon the plain strewn with upturned faces that bad once at mothers breasts sought mothers eyes or slumbered happily


heaven keep us from a knowledge of the secrets whispered afterwards upon the tainted wind that blew across the scene of that days work and that nights death and suffering


many a lonely moon was bright upon the battleground and many a star kept mournful watch upon it and many a wind from every quarter of the earth blew over it before the traces of the fight were worn away


they lurked and lingered for a long time but survived in little things for nature far above the evil passions of men soon recovered her serenity and smiled upon the guilty battleground as she had done before when it was innocent


the larks sang high above it the swallows skimmed and dipped and flitted to and fro the shadows of the flying clouds pursued each other swiftly over grass and corn and turnip field and wood and over roof and churchspire in the nestling town among the trees away into the bright distance on the borders of the sky and earth where the red sunsets faded


crops were sown and grew up and were gathered in the stream that had been crimsoned turned a watermill men whistled at the plough gleaners and haymakers were seen in quiet groups at work sheep and oxen pastured boys whooped and called in fields to scare away the birds smoke rose from cottage chimneys sabbath bells rang peacefully old people lived and died the timid creatures of the field and simple flowers of the bush and garden grew and withered in their destined terms and all upon the fierce and bloody battleground where thousands upon thousands had been killed in the great fight


but there were deep green patches in the growing corn at first that people looked at awfully


year after year they reappeared and it was known that underneath those fertile spots heaps of men and horses lay buried indiscriminately enriching the ground


the husbandmen who ploughed those places shrunk from the great worms abounding there and the sheaves they yielded were for many a long year called the battle sheaves and set apart and no one ever knew a battle sheaf to be among the last load at a harvest home


for a longtime every furrow that was turned revealed some fragments of the fight


for a longtime there were wounded trees upon the battleground and scraps of hacked and broken fence and wall where deadly struggles had been made and parts trampled where not a leafs or blade would grow


for a long time no villagegirl would dress her hair or bosom with the sweetest flower from that field of death and after many a year had come and gone the berries growing there were still believed to leave too deep a stain upon the hand that plucked them


the seasons in their course however though they passed as lightly as the summer clouds themselves obliterated in the lapse of time even these remains of the old conflict and wore away such legendary traces of it as the neighbouring people carried in their minds until they dwindled into old wives tales dimly remembered round the winter fire and waning every year


where the wild flowers and berries had so long remained upon the stem untouched gardens arose and houses were built and children played at battles on the turf


the wounded trees had long ago made christmas logs and blazed and roared away


the deep green patches were no greener now than the memory of those who lay in dust below


the ploughshare still turned up from time to time some rusty bits of metal but it was hard to say what use they had ever served and those who found them wondered and disputed


an old dinted corslet and a helmet had been banging in the church so long that the same weak halfblind old man who tried in vain to make them out above the whitewashed arch had marvelled at them as a baby


if the host slain upon the field could have been for a moment reanimated in the forms in which they fell each upon the spot that was the bed of his untimely death gashed and ghastly soldiers would have stared in hundreds deep at household door and window and would have risen on the hearths of quiet homes and would have been the garnered store of barns and granaries and would have started up between the cradled infant and its nurse and would have floated with the stream and whirled round on the mill and crowded the orchard and burdened the meadow and piled the rickyard high with dying men


so altered was the battleground where thousands upon thousands had been killed in the great fight


nowhere more altered perhaps above a hundred years ago than in one little orchard attached to an old stone house with a honeysuckle porch where on a bright autumn morning there were sounds of music and laughter and where two girls danced merrily together on the grass while some half dozen peasant women standing on ladders gathering the apples from the trees stopped in their work to look down and share their enjoyment


it was a pleasant lively natural scene a beautiful day a retired spot and the two girls quite unconstrained and careless danced in the very freedom and gaiety of their hearts


if there were no such thing as display in the world my private opinion is and i hope you agree with me that we might get on a great deal better than we do and might be infinitely more agreeable company than we are


it was charming to see how these girls danced


they had no spectators but the applepickers on the ladders


they were very glad to please them but they danced to please themselves or at least you would have supposed so and you could no more help admiring than they could help dancing


how they did dance


not like opera dancers


not at all


and not like madame anybodys finished pupils


not the least


it was not quadrille dancing nor minuet dancing nor even countrydance dancing


it was neither in the old style nor the new style nor the french style nor the english style though it may have been by accident a trifle in the spanish style which is a free and joyous one i am told deriving a delightful air of offhand inspiration from the chirping little castanets


as they danced among the orchard trees and down the groves of stems and back again and twirled each other lightly round and round the influence of their airy motion seemed to spread and spread in the sunlighted scene like an expanding circle in the water


their streaming hair and fluttering skirts the elastic grass beneath their feet the boughs that rustled in the morning air the flashing leaves their speckled shadows on the soft green ground the balmy wind that swept along the landscape glad to turn the distant windmill cheerily everything between the two girls and the man and team at plough upon the ridge of land where they showed against the sky as if they were the last things in the world seemed dancing too


at last the younger of the dancing sisters out of breath and laughing gaily threw herself upon a bench to rest


the other leaned against a tree hard by


the music a wandering harp and fiddle left off with a flourish as if it boasted of its freshness though the truth is it had gone at such a pace and worked itself to such a pitch of competition with the dancing that it never could have held on half a minute longer


the applepickers on the ladders raised a hum and murmur of applause and then in keeping with the sound bestirred themselves to work again like bees


the more actively perhaps because an elderly gentleman who was no other than doctor jeddler himself it was doctor jeddlers house and orchard you should know and these were doctor jeddlers daughters came bustling out to see what was the matter and who the deuce played music on his property before breakfast


for he was a great philosopher dr jeddler and not very musical


music and dancing today said the doctor stopping short and speaking to himself i thought they dreaded today


but its a world of contradictions


why grace why marion


he added aloud is the world more mad than usual this morning


make some allowance for it father if it be replied his youngest daughter marion going close to him and looking into his face for its somebodys birthday


somebodys birthday puss replied the doctor


dont you know its always somebodys birthday


did you never hear how many new performers enter on this ha


ha


ha its impossible to speak gravely of it on this preposterous and ridiculous business called life every minute


no father


no not you of course youre a woman almost said the doctor


by the bye and he looked into the pretty face still close to his i suppose its your birthday


no do you really father cried his pet daughter pursing up her red lips to be kissed


there


take my love with it said the doctor imprinting his upon them and many happy returns of the the idea of the day


the notion of wishing happy returns in such a farce as this said the doctor to himself is good


dr jeddler was as i have said a great philosopher and the heart and mystery of his philosophy was to look upon the world as a gigantic practical joke as something too absurd to be considered seriously by any rational man


his system of belief had been in the beginning part and parcel of the battlegroundon which he lived as you shall presently understand


well


but how did you get the music asked the doctor


poultrystealers of course


where did the minstrels come from


alfred sent the music said his daughter grace adjusting a few simple flowers in her sisters hair with which in her admiration of that youthful beauty she had herself adorned it halfanhour before and which the dancing had disarranged


oh


alfred sent the music did he returned the doctor


yes


he met it coming out of the town as he was entering early


the men are travelling on foot and rested there last night and as it was marions birthday and he thought it would please her he sent them on with a pencilled note to me saying that if i thought so too they had come to serenade her


ay ay said the doctor carelessly he always takes your opinion


and my opinion being favourable said grace goodhumouredly and pausing for a moment to admire the pretty head she decorated with her own thrown back and marion being high in spirits and beginning to dance i joined her and so we danced to alfreds music till we were out of breath


and we thought the music all the gayer for being sent by alfred


didnt we dear marion oh i dont know grace


how you teaze me about alfred


teaze you by mentioning your lover said her sistr


i am sure i dont much care to have him mentioned said the wilful beauty stripping the petals from some flowers she held and scattering them on the ground


i am almost tired of hearing of him and as to his being my lover hush


dont speak lightly of a true heart which is all your own marion cried her sister even in jest


there is not a truer heart than alfreds in the world


nono said marion raising her eyebrows with a pleasant air of careless consideration perhaps not


but i dont know that theres any great merit in that


i i dont want him to be so very true


inever asked him


if he expects that i


but dear grace why need we talk of him at all just now


it was agreeable to see the graceful figures of the blooming sisters twined together lingering among the trees conversing thuswith earnestness opposed to lightness yet with love responding tenderly to love


and it was very curious indeed to see the younger sisters eyes suffused with tears and something fervently and deeply felt breaking through the wilfulness of what she said and striving with it painfully


the difference between them in respect of age could not exceed four years at most but grace as often happens in such cases when no mother watches over both the doctors wife was dead seemed in her gentle care of her young sister and in the steadiness of her devotion to her older than she was and more removed in course of nature from all competition with her or participation otherwise than through her sympathy and true affection in her wayward fancies than their ages seemed to warrant


great character of mother that even in this shadow and faint reflection of it purifies the heart and raises the exalted nature nearer to the angels


the doctors reflections as he looked after them and heard the purport of their discourse were limited at first to certain merry meditations on the folly of all loves and likings and the idle imposition practised on themselves by young people who believed for a moment that there could be anything serious in such bubbles and were always understood undeceived


but the homeadorning selfdenying qualities of grace and her sweet temper so gentle and retiring yet including so much constancy and bravery of spirit seemed all expressed to him in the contrast between her quiet household figure and that of his younger and more beautiful child and he was sorry for her sakesorry for them both that life should be such a very ridiculous business as it was


the doctor never dreamed of inquiring whether his children or either of them helped in any way to make the scheme a serious one


but then he was a philosopher


a kind and generous man by nature he had stumbled by chance over that common philosophers stone much more easily discovered than the object of the alchemists researches which sometimes trips up kind and generous men and has the fatal property of turning gold to dross and every precious thing to poor account


britain cried the doctor britain


holloa


a small man with an uncommonly sour and discontented face emerged from the house and returned to this call the unceremonious acknowledgment of now then


wheres the breakfast table asked the doctor


in the house returned britain


are you going to spread it out here as you were told last night said the doctor


dont you know that there are gentlemen coming


that theres business to be done this morning before the coach goes by


that this is a very particular occasion


i couldnt do anything doctor jeddler till the women had done getting in the apples could i said britain his voice rising with his reasoning so that it was very loud at last


to be continued


mus frp a fife iram by the authoress of gertrude


continued from page


the scenery had changed materially during the last few days the open plains and keen atmosphere had given place to mountains alternately shel tering deep vales or rising in exposed barren masses of scrub and rock


descending one of these ridges where the road had been cut through a broken shale formation and was on one side shaded by a high bank and on the other hung above a gully our horse quickened his pace the road broken by ruts where in wet wsons streams coursed across it and i was anticipating with pleasure the moment when we should have attained the level country when the animal tossing his head suddenly as he re covered a false step dashed the ill secured bridle from his head the trembling groom had not fastened the buckles and the powerful creature turned his startled gaze upon the tilted cart lumbering behind him one view with dilated eyes sufficed he sprang forward of course unre strained


our peril was imminent the broken road and precipitous glen threatened us at each step presently the cart wheel came in contact with the bank and the cart upset


i re vived from a momentary stupefaction to find myself a considerable way down the gully arrested in my further progress by a bush entangled with clematis


i struggled to my feet and by dint of repeated exertions ascended to the road


the dilapidated vehicle lay bottom upwards and the alarmed horse was extended his side still attached by the harness to the shafts and uttering a moaning soundmr berwick was not in sight


i ran round the pile of ruins and saw the purple swollen features of my employer he lay on his back the edge of the cart across his chest


vainly i essayed to lift it vainly i woke the echoes by my cries at that hour of the day no traveller might be expected and a paroxysm of tears had just seized me when the struggling of the horse sug gested a new danger already the cart moved dragging the unhappy gentle man beneath it i quieted the horse by my voice and hastily unfastened such parts of the harness as i could reach he felt himself free and bounding up he dashed down the path shaking off his trappings as he fled


after a few minutes i ceased to hear his retreating steps or the rattling of chains and turned again to survey the ghastly countenance


why should i dwell upon the horrors of that lonely six hours watch


god preserved me from insanity and the feverstruck governess and the corpse of the hus band and father were brought home at the same time


when the wanderings of delirium ceased i found my limbs wasted and a linen cap covering my shaven head


there was a young lady with a pale face and black frock seated beside my couch and she passed a soft cool hand across my brow and smiled faintly when i fixed my wondering eyes upon her


mr berwick had been buried some days


in my eyes he was virtually murdered by the intemperate hostler


true he should have looked after the mana more careful per son would have done so but the fact was the same


why keep a drunkard in such a post


i asked myself the deceased gentlemans words replied


it is almost impos sible for a man to be sober about a public houseevery one treats him or in other words tempts him


even while still an invalid and enveloped in cap and shawl i crept to the schoolroom and began my task as instructress


my pupils were two girls and a boy the latter was a general pet and knew no restraint to his whims


every one pronounced him a regular little rogue rather however in praise than censure


he was considered a wit had learned to recite speeches and drink toasts and as the children dined at the parlour table no day passed in which the young gentleman did not show his prowess


i remember once seeing two elderly mengentlemen they were called plying the little fellow with yine till nurse had to be called to carry him from the room


his mother was unwell that day and miss berwick attending on the second daughter who was an invalid


thes young ladies with my pupils and an elder son constituted the family that son i never saw


mr berwick had died intestate and a fierce contention ensued as to who should own the estates


sufficient only to support her children was allowed mrs berwick the rest went to this son and caused a pei manent alienation


the mother took warm cordials to calm her nerves and laughed at her little suns training for intemperance and the elder girls devoted themselves to books and each other


alice and lilly were too young to require accomplishments and my attention made up for educa tional deficiencies


years passed perhaps three or four my life was much the same outwardly but my feelings on all subjects were altered


christianity i trust had illuminated the dark mental and moral waste the rancour of an unhappy childhood was mollified


h ow could i hate any man and love the saviour


my heart warmed towards the whole earth and longed to do them good


i had found the widow and her family destitute of all but formal religion but during those years a change came over the two elder girls we were companions in everything


time had not stood still with the other members of the family the witticisms of master johnny which were admired as a child had become impertinence in the lad the taste for wine so early implanted had matured and while mrs berwick scolded and upbraided she flew to the glass of something soothing


there is a respectable intemperance met with in society which dangerous and fatal attracts little or no obser vation or is seen only to be laughed at by the thoughtless to this class belonged mrs berwick


her intellect was weakened her nervous system shattered and her person bloated but she staid just within the limits of actual drunkenness therefore she was called temperate while her example lured others to destruction


her servants were taught to expect a glass of spirits as a reward for extra exertions her childrens birthdays were marked by the gift of a bottle of wine to drink each others healths and the same spirit extended itself to her hospitality


during these years i heard occa sionally from lieutenant varden and mrs dean


the former was becoming very childish and suffering from many complaintsgout dispepsia and giddiness alternately tormented him


angas had attained the desire of his ambition a seat in his countrys legislative assembly and with his wife spent a part of each year in sydney but prince unhappy prince he had never paused in his intemperate career and the door of respectable society was closed upon him


t could not believe that his professions of an intention to reform were sincere yet the subject gave me much concern


at this time a change was contem plated in our household


miss berwick was engaged to be married to a young medical practitioner who had been called in to see miss annie


day and night the elder sister watched over the sufferer supporting her in her arms when able to take a little exercisereading singing and con versing with her


i was much attached to this amiable girl and felt considerable anxiety for her future life but the cheerful and gentlemai bearing of dr willoughbv his abilities and rising position satisfied me


the strangers tale or


the chimney corner op a coun


try


inn xf


conti nuitd


i answered in an easy careles way anxious to suppress any sym toms of toar which my situation amidst such a jiang of desperadoes headed by such a tarnislietl villain as had just spoken might naturally have begotten


i fell however that my own ntldress was nil i had to look lo for escape from their clnlchrs and determined to lui i thom if possible by my openness and confi dence of nmunox into such a state of security as by renderiug them less vigi lant might facilitate the execution ol any plan nfy lucky genius might suggest


the smoothness ami plausibility ot the heading ruffianr who rejoiced in the ap propriate sobriquet of triptoe alarmed me more thau his physical strength and i saw it v uld require no ordinary de gree of tact and coolness to buffle his subtle villainy


come sir said he with the fuss of honest hospitality cone air lake a seat hero near the fire and make your self as snug as our poor way will allow


here swag sel a seat next the hearth and you jem throw on two or three fresh h gs and hack them well with dry turf while i go and try to gel something filter tor the gentleman and more to hit taste than whats in the bottle befe


aqd mjmning a mall cupboard in the corner be brought


ont a capacious ask labelled cognac wbicn he set before me


a glass of ile contenta which i waa glad to quaff off on lhe instant satisfied mo ihstit was prime and lhe fellow see ing i suppose from my countenance that was surprised to find such stuff in such a place hud a ready story to ac count for ii


you wonder sir to seo liquor of such quality amongrpoor people like us but i got that from a second cousin of mino who lives in the isle of man where im told it is as cheap ns butler milk and im glad truly to bato it tor ai y gentleman that like you happens to lose his way or be overtaken by the night in this wild placo


j dont spare it stf twill do you good after the la niish ng youve got and soon make all ccld and care scarce with you


hark ye nan continued ho put the bel lows to the bottom of the kettle and blow away merrily for the gentleman will need to mix a glass or two of punch to warm him this cruel nighttim i is after you have fried him a rasher of the bacon with some fresh eggs for even our poor fare will hardlycome amis after such perishing and hardship


anxious to hoodwink tho villain i strove to put on an air of unsuspect ing confidence and in words warmly thanked him fur his hospitality which assured him uould not readily for get but told bim that before made myself so snug i must have a care for my poor horse which i had lift out side and enquired if he could provide iim with a stand and a truss of hay for the night


oh sir that we cantheres a grand roomy stable behind the house which you may see was never intended for such tenants asus and theres plenty of strong bottom ha whieh we have for ourcowbut about the quality tuncy your horse after so hard a ride wont be over dainty


here nick said he to the comrade he had justed before deposited in the corner out of your nest smartly and lead the gentlemans horse round to the stable


put him in the warmest stall and doui be niggardly ol bay or bedding


ijp and about it you laay hound continued he dropping his ouy aoceot as


nick grumbled but maue noattempt to rise


up with you orchoke me tait ji try whether a prod of


tma


and he stuffed his band into his breast of batthat hot poker


i mean will waken you and make you lend your manners lo a stranger


poor lad added be aside to me be is alto gether soused to liquor anti drop or to qaite upset bim but hell be all the better for the night air and sprink ling of thesnow


the rousing effects of this gentle ali uialut nick teemed to bate no wish whatever to experience and forthjib hewed both hit ease end sensibility by rising as alertly as bia half drunken condition would how aud sulkily rolling away to acquit himself of his unwelcome task


said i would ac company bim under the pretext of being better able to manage the vicious temper of my horse but with a stronger motive of a desire to reconnoitre the bearings of the concern so as to be able to avail myself of any serviceable hints in case of necessity


tliey jnatle no opposition to my going as doubtless they then wished tb confer a little so as to act in concert in heir subsequent proceedings


the moon was bursting through the skirts of a thin rack of clouds that was rapidly drifting before a strong scattering wind and to my joy the appearance of the nightpromi sed a speedy cessation of the now and also light sufficient for me to discern my way in the event of my being able to accomplish a retreat when ray strength was a little renewed by rest and warmth


in my present state i was not only indisposed but physically unequal lo make any adequate exertion tor my limbs were numb and feeble anti my energy so abated that at the moment i would rather have faced the gang within had it been twice aa numerous then committed myself to the ruthless treatment of the elimcnts from whose fiercenessi had but just now hardly escapedsupposing that i could have done without molestation from the rnffians among whom i had fallen


while nick was reeling and blundering brough an outhouse in search of pro render for spleen i happened to espy a glimmering through a window which looked into the yard and concluding it to come from the room in which i had left the robben i cautiously approached and looking through the chink saw lhe parties seated within in earnest consul talton


he they called triptoe was spoaking and my quickened hearing caught tho words well drench him well iib


the brandy nnd do for him comfortably while he sleeps which will sure us a hard struggle for hes a thumper


hut flic wont drink and let the tiling be managrd quietly whybots we hate knives and bullets und inn thuiles and bo buck como in well stand six to one leaving out that drunken fool who is gonn with the horse and whose blab just now u at uko to cost some of us our liics for yon mun is surely armed when he rarries iuch storeof gold about bimone thousand yellow sovereigns i know for certain without talking of his watch and seals and other pretty gimcrack


oons my hearties ejaculated another rubbing his bands with rapture what a booty just brought ready to our bands as good and sure as if ne had it in our pockets for well dose him till he cant wiuk an eelid and then triptoe my trump your knife is sharp and your hand neat and youll play the buluher and blow me ill be grave digger and hearso and priest and gire hita snug quarters jonder in the bog trune bat deeper than i gave tobut bush haar the bucks whistle hurry


swag and let them inj to hear what good lack better than their leaden bul


j lets baa done for us and ill go and bring in uie gold bag from the stable for there no time to parein aettiug about the business


my blood would hate enroled with horror if indignation had not quickened its current as i listened aud found it hard so far lo master my feelings as to restrain their ebulitions as i hastened to the stable to await the coolblooded v lilian who was coming to call mein


when i reentered the bouse i found the parly enlarged by the presenco of the two worthies with whom i had in terchanged ci ililics during the evening on the road


they were in miserable plight one much cut and bruised by his somerset from the wall i guessed and both in a state of weakness and ex haustion which shewed how nearly the gallows had been cheated of its due


they were trumping up some story about having been abroad on the moor in search of sheep and for some minute ero talkingaof tho old ewe and the spoiled ram with a plausible assump tion of seriousness which in other cir cumstances might have been amusing


being now in their secret i saw my way clearly before mewhich was to hoodwink thom by the easy confidence of my manner to feign tho gradual ap proach of intoxication and if possible biing them under its real influence and as soon as as in possession of the room assigned me for a chamber to make a determined eltort to obtain egress through the wiudow if no other chati nul oitotcd or failing in that to stand resolutely on my defence and under heaven endeavour to achieve my escape by dint of my onn strength and weapons


in pursuance of tins plan soon became on apparently tho best terms with my amiable companion met them in the ready spirit ol boon convivialitypledged them in weighty potations in dependence on my own strength of head and in tbo hope of subverting theirswaxed maudlin and confidential and finallyheaicnfor gto the falsehood informed them that i was to pass that way in my gi in a lew days with a great sum in gold for ii neighbouring bank and would not for get to call on them with something which would afford us a jollification such as the old bouse lad uot been warmed with since its first highblooded and jovial tenant had departed


i watched their countenances as i spoke and so well did i act my part that verily believe they would bave deterred the execution of their project till the juncture alluded to had it nut been fer the arch villain triptoe in whose keen glances and sneering lip waa quick to perceive suspicion and distrust


it waa now far on in the night ami afraid of the moon withdrawing her countenance from my attempt if it were delayed much longer as well as feeling that i had drank as much as i could bear with steadiness hastened to bring this little drama to a close by duly lapsing into the iaat stage of my f erformance and thickly falter ing out my wish to be taken lo bed


the rest of the partyexcept triptoe who had contrived to drink but sparingly though fully fit for hard business were yet not a little muddled and the duty ot escort was left to the man ho seemed to have his senses most about him anti who as i bad learned was to occupy a prominent post in the interesting tragedy they contemplated


by this crafty rascal accordingly i was now token up a narrow rickety staircase and shewn into my sleeping apartment which ex clusive of other considerations was much too roomyand rambling in its proportions to admit of any feeling of comfort or security in its occupant


the termination of one end consisted of a rough pile of old prosses boxes shelves c which reaching about half way to the roof left a black and mysterious looking recess beyond which i vainly attempted to explore with tbo scanty aid of a wretched rushlight and which in my perilous and exciting situation i could not help regarding with a kind ot ominous dread and dissatisaclion


when my trusty attendant triptoe left me began i to examine tho bearings and circumstances of the place more narrowly with a view lo discover some means of cutting the concern without unseasonably disturbing its amiable inmates


the room bad two windows one of which was so covered with snow us to remit r


it impossible to see what lay beyond but the other being shelt torcd gave me a view of the yard behind the building and the moon which now and then sbpne out clearly enabled me distinctly enough to discern the old gate through which i had accom panied my horse to his quarters and which i doubted not would give me ready passage provided i could but reach the ground below


to be continued


my wonderful adventures in skitzland


from dicklinss household words


chapter


the first


the beginning is a borei fall into misfortune


i am fond of gardening


i like to dig


if among the operations of the garden any need for such a work can be at any tim discovered or inventedilike to dig a hole


on the rd of march ibegan a hole behind thoe kitchen wall whereinto it was oririnally intended to transplant a plumtree


tie exercise was so much to my taste that a stmnoge humour im elled me to dig on a fascination held moe to the task


i neglocted my buainess i disap peered from the earths surface


a boy who workel a basket by means of a rope and pulley aided men so aided i confined my whole atten tion to spade labour


the centripetal forece seemed to have made me its especial victim


i dug on until autumn


in the beginning of november i observed that upon percussion the sound given by the floor of my pit was resonant


t did not intermit my labour urged as i was by a mysterious instinct downwards


on applying svy ear i occasionally heard a subdued sort of rattle which caused me to form a theory that the centre of the earth might be composed of mucus


in november the ground broke beneath me into a hollow and fell a considerable distance


i alighted on the boxseat of a fourhorse coach which happened to be running at that time nm mediately underneath


the coachman took no notice whatever of my sudden arrival by his side


lle was so completely muffled up that i could observe only the skilful way ii which lie manipulated reins and whipi


the horses were yellow


i had seen no more than this when the guards born blew and presently we pulled up at an inn


a waiter came out and appeared to collect four bags from the passengers inside the coach


lie then came round to me


dine here sir yes certainly said l i like to dinonot the sole point of resemblance between myself and the great johnson


trouble you for your stomach sir


while the waiter was looking up with a polite stare into my puzzled face my neigh our the coachman put one hand within his outer coat as if to feel for money in his waistcoatpocket


directly


afterwards iris fingers came again to light and pulled forth an enormous sack


notwithlstanding that it was abnormally enlarged i knew by observa tion of its fornm and textifre that this was a stomach with the oasoplhaus attached


this then the waiter caught as it was thrown down to him and hung it carelessly over iris arm toge ther with the four smaller bags


which i now know to be also stomachs collected from the passengers within the coach


i started up ana as i happened to look round observed a skeleton face upon the shoulders of a gentleman who sat immediately behind my back


y own features were noticed at the same time by the guard who now came forward touching his hat


beg your pardon sir but youve been and done it


done what why sir you should have booked vour place and not come up in this clasides tini way


however youve been and done it


cmy good man what have i done


why sir the baron torroros eyes had the boxseat and i strongly suspectyouve been and sat upon them


i looked involuntarily to see whether i had been sitting upon anyything except the simple cushion


truly enongl there nwas an eye which i had crushed and flattened


only one i said


worse for you and better for him


the other eye had time to escape and it will know you again thats certain


well its no business of mine


of courseyouve no appetite now for dinner


better pay your fare sir


to the green hippopotanmus nd spectacles where we put up its tenandsix is there room inside


i enquired


it was advisable to shrink from observation


yes sir


the inside passengers are mostly skeleton theres rooin for thre sir


inside onepoundone


i paid the money and became an inside pas senger


nts front a xk drama


by the authoress op gektbude


continued from page


i had been for a walk one evening and on my return found miss annie very unwell and applied myself to alleviate her sufferings


dr and mrs willoughby were from home and im patiently i awaited their return


it was about two in the morning when the carriage stopped at the door i would have ran down stairs but annie laid on my arm and it was some minutes before i could do so


the light of a candle led me into the dining room


mrs willoughby was there hastily and impatiently unclasping her jewellery and furs


miss annie is very unwell i said


will go to her etheline


but i must have the doctor where is he t


he cannot see her to night


whyhe must she is very ill


my poor darling she looked so wounded that i regretted the warmth with which my words had been uttered


where is he has


he not re turned


he is not wellshe had uttered an untruth and the burning cheek told what it had cost the rectitude of her soul


i looked keenly then turned and followed her rapid steps to he sufferers chamber all the remainder of the night we unsuccessfully applied the wonted applications but when the doctor came he prescribed a remedy which relieved her he was pale and irritable and certainly looked ill


an hour afterwards i leant behind the window drapery looking out upon the busy street for the morning was ad vanced when the doctor and his wife entered the room in conversation


i hesitated for a moment whether i should make my presence known but the subject on which they spoke bound me to my concealment as i was aware how painful it would be to them if they knew of my being there for mrs willoughby was pleading with her hus band to abstain from the cup of intoxi cation


she pleaded as only a wife and a christian could


i will give it up lucy i will


i have since last time we spoke on this subject before till last night i refused more than a glass or twobut what can i do


everywhere i go they press me to take a glass of winethe very best of people do lucytemperate and pious people


i know dear how weak and sinful i have been but ill do better i will indeed


but gerrard you are never safe till the one glass is relinquished


i must take one now and then


i must indeed lucy you women dont understand these things


i should lose all my friends i should be ruined if i became so unsociable


they are not real friends who would lead you to destruction


not sueh disinterested good little souls as you my lucy certainly


i knew from this tone of voice how humbled and ashamed the young man was but while he despised the crime he refused the only safety for him total abstinence and i could have wept over the great abilities the fine disposition and person and brilliant prospects all shipwrecked


then the wife pleaded as a christian with him


she reminded him of the time he had professed so much interest in religion and in the very spirit of love she dwelt on christ and his mcrcy


seek it and you shall find it


he has promised and he is not a man that he can lie nor the son of man that he can repent from no sin are we safe out of christwe are ready to ex claim is thy servant a dog that he should do this thing


yet soon that very crime may be committed


my husband how can i passively see you perish both now and for ever her voice was choked by tears


doctor willoughby cheered her by fervent promises of amendment and they left the room


i returned to miss annie filled with a new apprehension and henceforth watched them with trembling eagerness


mrs willoughby withdrew as much as possible from society and endeavoured to keep her husband at home when not profession ally engaged every art which loving and gentle woman knows she exerted to make his fireside happy and to guard him from dangers and when she did accept invitations she did it for hi sake that her presence might in some measure act as a check upon him


the doctor was a very apt and elegant speaker and this power often led him from home to places where she could not followpublic dinners and gentle mens parties and his return from such places was always a fresh agony


it is a remarkable thing that people cannot express their admiration of an heroic act bid farewell to or welcome home a friend or hero without doing so by means of eating and drinking and the gentility of champagne does not alter the sin of drunkenness which too frequently disgraces these occasions


butlike allotherretrograde movements the young mans fall accelerated its pace with each riewal of his sin and soon the public prints recorded his name as engaged in a publichouse brawl and through the payment of a fine liberated from imprisonment


his practice was blighted and liis highest and most respectable patients withdrew their support


soon after that we left the fine residence we had occupied and removed to a cottage in the suburbs where the doctors sup porters were chiefly the poorer classes


marie antoinette on i toe chevalier op


the red house


continuedfrom coloniallimesmarch chapter xix i his heart filled with a celestial joy maurice re turned gaily to his post


he found tisoiis wife weeping


f


what is the matter with you mother i am furious answered slie


why


i


because all in this world are unjust to the poor


in short tfou are rich you are bourgeois you arc hcreonly during one day nndthey permit you to bevisited by pretty wotrien who present flowers to the austrian as for me tbey deny me the sight of my poor sophie


mautice took her hand and slipped into it an assignat of ten francs


there good tison take that and have courage eh l mon dieu the austrian will not remain here always


an assignat of ten francs


it is kind on your part but i would rather bave oneof my poor daughters curl papers


as she concluded these words simon who was ascending heard her and saw her stuff into her pocket the note maurice had given her


we need not say in what disposition simon was


he bad justreturned from the court where he had encountercdlo in


there was evidently a strong antipathy betwen


these men not so muchcaused by the scene of violence we recorded as by a dif


i ferencc in race and instinct


simon was ugly lrin was good looking


simon was dirtylorin was perfumed bimon was a ferocious republican lorin was one of those ardent patriots who in the revolution made nothing but sacrifices


besides if it come to blows simon instinctively felt his own inferiority to the dandified soldier


simon per ceiving lorin stopped and grew pale


still this battalion grumbled be that mounts guard


wellt what more answered a grenadier to whom the apostrophe was displeasing


it seems to me as good as another


i simon took a pencil from his pocket and pre tended to trace a note on a slip of paper which was about as black as his hands


eh i s mon said lorin you can write since you have become the preceptor of capet


look ye citizens on my word of honour be takes notes


it is simon the censor


i a universalroar of i laughter burst from fhe ranks of the young national guards who being all well educated young men quizzed the wretched cobbler


good good said he grinding his teetb andj burning with rage


they say you have permitted


two sti angers to enter the keep and that without the permission of the commune good good i shall go and draw up a statement for the municipal


j at least be kpows how to write answered i lorin


it is maurice you knovvgood simon it is maurice with the iron hand you know


at this veiy moment morand and genevive caine out


at this sight simon daried into the keep at the very moment aswe have stated maurice was con soling tysons wife with a present of ten francs


maurice took no notice of the wretchs presence whom besides he avoidedly indistinctively every time be met him as one would a veneious and disgusting reptile


t t s


ah i


ah said simon to the wpman who was drying her eyes with her apon you are determined to be guillotinedcitizen


me i and why so why you are paid hy the municipals for ad mitting aristocrats to see the austrian


mc silence said tile woman you are a fool


that shall be consigned to my report said simonwith emphasis


get along


they were friends of maurice the municpal one of the best patriots living


conspirators i tell you


the commune shall be informed and judge for themselves


come you wish to denounce nie as a spy


exactly if you do not denounce in turn


j i denounce what


what would you have me denounce asked she


what ha just occurred said simon


but since nothing has occurred i where are these uristocrats asked simon


there on the staircase when widow capet ascended the tower


t yes


and they spoke to her asked simon


few words answered tisons wife


a fevj words


see yousomething smells of aristocracy here rather say of a carnation


a carnation why a carnation because the lady had a bouquet which scented the place


what citizen was that asked simon she who saw the queen pass ansvyercd she do you not see woman that you say queen association will destroy you


wellwhats this i am trampling upon continued simon bending down t phi decidedly said the woman tison it is a iloweia carnation it must bave fallen from madame dixmer when marie antoinette took one from the bouquet capets wife took a flowei from the ouquet of citizen dixmei asked simon yes and do you hear it was t who gave it to her said mum ice in a menacing voice after hav ing listened for some time with impatience to the conversation tis welltis


well one sees what they do see and one knows what they say grumbled simon who held m lus hand the carnation bruised by his large foot i replied mauucc know ont thing and i am about to tell it you it is that you have noth ing to do in the keepyour post as executioner is below beside the little capet whom however ou shall not beat to day seeing that i am bere to foibid it


ah i you threaten and all mc executioner exclaimed simon ciushing the flower between his fingers ah


i we shall secwhethcr aristocrats ate peimitted


eli i well what is this what asked maurice what i feel in the cai nation


i ah i ali jnbd before the stupified eves simon pulled from the cup of the flower a small piece of paper rolled with etmusitc care and which had been at tistically introduced into the centre ah


mon


dieu i exclaimed maurice


what is that we shall soon know we shall soon know said simon approaching the window


ah your friend lorin said i could not readwe shall see lorin had calumniated simon he could read every kind of pi mt and writing when of a certain size


but the note hail been written so very fine that simon was obliged to have ecourso to ins spectacle


he therefore placed the note on the window sill to take an inventory of his pockets in the middle of ins octuptlon the citizen agri cola opened the door of the antechamber winch was facing the little window and a curicnt of wind swept away the thin papei like a feather bo tbat when simon after exploring his pockets for a mo ment di covued his spectacles put them on his nose and turned round the paper had vanished i he searched for it but ia vain simon upon this emitted a deep gi owl


there wa a paper here exclaimed he there was one but take are citizen maurice mark mc it must be found he rapidly descended the stairs leaving maurice completely stupified in ten minutes three members of the commune entered the tceep the queen was still upon the terrace and ord rs were given to leae hein p r fect ignorance of what bad happened the mem bers of the commune wert conducted to hr the first object which struck them was the red oariia tion which she still held lh her hand they looked at each othei with surpuse and approached her give us that flower said the president of ihe deputation the queen who did not expect such an inter ruption started and hesitated give up the flower madam exclduhed maurice with a kind of terror i beg of you to do so the queen held out the carnation tho pre sidenttook it and retired followed by his col leagues into a neighbouring chamber to make an examination and draw up a redort they opeed the flower ltwaseinptyl maurice breathed a ihotrient a moment cried one of the inembers


ihe heart has been removed


it is true the cavity is empty but most assuredly there busbeen a nble concealed within i am ready said mounce to supply neces sary exp nation m my power but in the first place i demand to be arrested kw shall replied the president record your proposition but shall not avail ou selves of the right you arc known citizen lindey to be a good patriot


and i will said maurice answer on my life foi the friend wliom


i had the imprudence to bring with me here answer for one said the procdrator at this moment a dreadful noise was beard in the court yard it was simon ho having fruitlessly sought for the uote bad gone to santerre and re counted the attempt made to rescue the queen with all the accessory circumstances which his vivid imagination could add santene hastened out the temple was imme hotely invented and the guard changed to the gieat chtigrin tit loi in who loudly protested against the insult ottered to his batalbon


ah you wretched cobbler said he menacing simon witb his sabie


i owe this jilcusantiy to you but be easy i will pay it back again i rather think you will pay for it all to the nation


said the cobbler rubbing his hndb citizen mounce said santerre hold jourself ready at the call of the commune who will irterrogate you i am at your service commandant but i bave already demanded to be si rested and f do so again wait wait murmured simon sullenly since you are so anxious f r that we shall manage that affair for you


and he virent to find tisons wife to be cminited


a new series


the mysteries of sydney or the revelations of sin shame and sorrow


chapter xxvii


the avenger upon the track


kitelys last ray of hope dark


enedthe


disclosuresthe tiger brought to baythe death strugglethe predic tion verified


the futile attempts of mawler to apprehend kitely at the gipsys house did not lessen the vigilance of the active officer


after kitelys sudden and mysterious disappearance at the trial of frank earle he despatched emissaries upon the high road leading from sydney and every branch from the main trunk to whatever point of the compass it tended was scrupulously guarded


the steamers and outwardbound crafts were placed under equally strict surveillance and still no tidings were heard of the runaway


the de tective therefore felt assured that kitely was concealed in the city or its immediate neighbour hood and the gipsy was the depository of the secret


by day and night her dwelling was watched and her footsteps tracked but no clue could be gained


nips was singularly eager in the search he appeared gifted with superhuman energies he showed little care for food or sleep and kept to the selfimposed duty untiringly and unrelaxingly


there was another bent on the same errand equally vigilantjonas quelch


mawler measured both with a professional eye and thought they would be capital additions to the detective force the lad more particularly in his idea was worth his weight in gold


close as wax besides soliloquised mawler after run ning over a catalogue of his virtues i must get hold of the young one and train him up in the way he should go nature cut him out for the force with a little of my tutoring hell turn out a great man


i shouldnt he a bit surprised if he put us on the right track in this job


a few days after the prognostication so flatter ing to nips the detective and jonas quelch were seated in the back room of a public house in parramattastreet which commanded a view of the sibyls domicile and engaged in earnest con versation upon the only subject which was com mon between them when nips rushed suddenly into the room


his garments were torn almost to shreds his face was black as a negros except where perspiration pouring down had left long streams of light whilst his gaspings for breath and impeded utterance attested the speed at which he journeyed


i knew hed do it exclaimed mawler jump ing up in ecstacy and contemplating him with a species of paternal pride i marked him out for it


now my lad draw your wind take this glass of wine and water and give us the his tory


i will let you have it in as few words as pos sible for there is but little time to spare said nips after having adopted the advice of mawler are your men ready


a regular thoughtful one cried mawler in a tone which conveyed an unlimited number of notes of admiration


ready to be sure close at hand


proceedproceed ejaculated jonas quelch with a sharpness that somewhat astonished the detective who was for a moment plunged in profound thought


you are aware that i have tracked the gipsy at different times to a bush hut not far from georges river and yet on account of the dis tance i was compelled to keep from the spot could never ascertain how she left it


this led me to conclude that there was another means of quitting the premises and it was my business to find it out and you did


capital said mawler in delight


let him go on without interruption or your prey may escape said queich sternly


the hut stands on the verge of a high bank beyond which is a deep gully the trees and brushwood growing up its sides in thick masses


it struck me that this was a sort of natural ladder by which a person could descend in per fect secrecy and security so i determined to watch


i coiled myself up into as small a space as possible and awaited the event


for some hours i cant tell how many nothing was heard but the rush of wild pigeons the screaming of parrots and the twitter of small birds and a fear stole over me that my labour was thrown away


at length the sound of voices came so near and suddenly upon me that i started and rustled the shrubs in which i was concealed


whats that beenie


it was the gipsy ad dressing a squaremade powerfully built man evidently one of her people


mawler made a note of this for further occasions


beenie quieted her apprehensions and the pair then came forth from a hollow in the rock


the gipsy was clothed in male attire and were it not for her voice i should not have recognised her she was so completely changed in appearance


these are the final instructions she said mind they are attended to for much depends upon this affair be you and black jack mawler uttered an exclamation of surprise and made another memorandum without interrupting nips with a boat at the dead tree opposite the hollow at eight oclock


it will be moonlight therefore as well for you to keep under the shadow of the rocks till you are wanted


when you hear a low whistle a man will come towards you


if he say dark midnight answer olivers light and if he reply tis time for flight assist him into the boat and row him in the direction he points out


the gipsy then descended into the gully by the means i have described and was followed by beenie with a large bundle


i waited some time fearing that he would return and make a discovery which might frustrate our intentions but all was silence he had evidently taken ano ther road


need i say more than that i hurried hither as fast as my legs could carry me and not a word my prince of watchers you have done your share of the work the rest re mains with us said mawler


no no rejoined the lad quickly ill see the end of it anyhow


but suppose you were to meet kitely face to face no one else near he suspecting you to be an enemy the odds would be fearfully against you my lad


lt would only be even between us remarked nips in a cool determined way which astonished and puzzled the detective


how so i can shoot as straight as he replied the lad carelessly


you are a real trump


you may come with us but dont thrust yourself into unnecessary danger


we must capture black jack and beenie the former has long been wanted and the latter in all probability will be well known when his face is reflected in the police mirror


as for you old gentleman continued mawler addressing jonas quelch the sooner you take your natural food and rest the better


food rest


and he uncaptured


the hour is at hand i have toiled and watched for iti will see the sands run down


if this boys weak ness can protect itself is a sinewy arm like mine helpless


jonas bared his arm to the shoulder and drew himself up to his full height


the astonished detective looked first at the exposed flesh where the muscles stood out like cords and then at the erect form from which all signs of age had disappeared as if by magic


well if it wasnt for the wrinkles in your face i wouldnt you over my age


you are decidedly the queerest couple i ever tumbled across during my professional career and as like father and son in pluck as one pea is to another andnow i look at you said the de tective thoughtfully not much unlike in coun tenance


a truce to speculative follies replied jonas rapidly time flies there is work to be done


what are your arrangements


let me see it is now twelve oclock


meet me four hours hence in the bush over prouts bridge


you know the road


of course it was needless to ask the question


come singly so as not to excite suspicion


and you addres sing nips had better doff those scarecrow gar ments or all the dogs on the road will be at your heels


the only barkers we want on this expe dition are pistols


you have a pair i sup pose


i have replied jonas curtly


bring them and give one to the iad


he will make better use of it than you or i am much deceived in him


remember four to a minute your instructions shall be ready for you


good morning


the chief characteristic of the scenery through which georges river winds its way is savage wildness


huge masses of rock piled upon each other remind the beholder of the crushed and mangled forms of the discomfited titans hurled from the empyrean or some vast convulsion of nature


these rocks varied alike in form and color look frowningly down upon the waters beneath and as they project considerably cast a dense shadow ungladdened by a gleam of sunshine


receding from the rivers banks for some distance the scenery is equally gloomy and desolate


huge skeleton half charred trees with limbs twisted and tortured into every ima ginable shape tower above the deep gullies which are wrapped in impenetrable gloom


in these tracts there is not a single sign of human habitation but on reaching the thinlytimbered forest land a few huts of rude quality appear which are tenanted by people engaged in clearing the ground and rendering it fit for cultivation


the blue smoke issuing from these primitive dwellings the sound of the axe and the rough forms of the laborers which under other cir cumstances would not make the slightest im pression upon the passer by assume here an importance from their pleasing contrast to the dismal solitude which we have described


in one portion of this rocky barrier nature by some wild caprice had formed a small cavern about ten feet square and six feet in height


the entrance was entirely concealed by a huge mass of stone which rose above it and extended far beyond it on each side and as this could only be scaled at great risk the place seemed specially designed as a place of concealment


so thought the gipsy and it was there she led hawk kitely


she also contrived to bring him blankets bedding was readily supplied by the shrubs which grew in abundance around and from time to time with provisions and spirits which kitely peculiarly craved


for two days her steps had been so determinedly dogged she dared not visit the spot and it was not till the third morning when nips saw her with beenie she could venture as she thought safely to the cavern


kitely had been pacing the den for some hours to keep his blood in circulation


all the fierce ness of the tiger gleamed in his bloodshot eyes and the curses which he emitted against the tar diness of the gipsy sounded like deep growls thereby rendering his similitude to that savage animal more complete


he had undergone a long fast and the contents of the brandy bottle were exhausted


nothing was left for him to draw upon but his own thoughts and these were not pleasant companions


he strove in vain to recall one good deed performed by him through life


all was sombresullen


his gold which should have been the instrument of good was only used to gratify his sensual desires


what had it done for him


whither had it fled


as these questions forced themselves upon his mind he resolved upon committing suicide as the best means of ridding himself of these tormentors


the idea had occurred to him before and he cursed the gipsy for having stayed the act


after all he had nothing to live for and it would be glorious to cheat the law of its prey


it would be such a bitter disappointment and he laughed loudly a corpse instead of the living man


glorious revenge


worked up to a pitch of madness he unclasped his knife and looked upon the sharp blade


why did he pause


no one was nigh to stop his hand


hush


did his ears deceive him


a shrill note like the scream of a curlew reached his ears


the gipsy at last he exclaimed in a hollow voice as he shut the knife and thrust it into his pocket


ill put off the job till another time


kitely answered the signal and in a few mi nutes the gipsy appeared on the flat ledge of rock and from thence descended into the cavern


i thought you had left me here to starve die rot like a chained dog


abandoned me like the rest of the world or only sought for the best opportunity to betray me into the hands of my foes


such was kitelys welcome


man man if you be one will nothing teach you to look better upon human nature


yet no matter you are chafed for want of food i have brought you sufficient for an ample meal no more as it is the last you will needhere eat and drink


the gipsy produced some cold meat and bread from the bundle and a bottle of brandy


kitely seized the latter and drank the raw spirit with avidity


not too much till you have eaten you will require a cool head and a steady hand to get through this nights work well


if your foot is from the shore and your form upon the dancing wave an hour after moonrise you can carry yourself and the memory of your crimes to other lands


but presuming that should not happen said kitely his articulation being somewhat thickened by the spirit he had imbibed


you will be beyond the reach of friend or foe


replied the gipsy solemnly


so much the better remarked kitely in a reckless manner at all events ill discuss the viands while you give me an insight into your plans


and he proceeded with renewed vigour


a scornful smile was on the gipsys face it rested for a moment only and was succeeded by a look of sorrow


a small vessel the ranger will lie off the botany heads for you till daybreak but how the devil shall i reach her


at eight oclock tonight a boat will be at the point within a hundred yards of this rock creep down as quickly as possible


one low whistle at the edge of the water it will be answered


the boat will shoot from the shadow


what next enquired kitely with gather ing interest


the gipsy then gave him the necessary sig nals which nips had overheard


once in the boat safe said he enquiringly


tell them to stretch well to their oars and pull to the botany heads one blue light as a signal will bring the ranger to your side em barkand leave the rest to fate


but am i to go alone gipsy


without me certainly if you allude to the prospect of my companionship


our paths in life are widely different


i am not entitled to your gratitude


i loathe you while i attempt to serve you i despise you even when i try to save


one word more and i have done


i will watch till the eighth hour not far from hence if before that time you hear my signal it will be a warn ing that your hidingplace is discovered


creep stealthily down to the point and you may evade them


and now hawk kitely we part for ever


the gipsy clambered up the rock and left him to his solitude


meanwhile had mawler and his trackers been idle


evening threw its dusky shadows over the scene


the moon rose round and red and with it a faint moaning breeze which conveyed mys terious tidings to the dense foliage in secret whispers


and the tall trees bent their leafy heads to listen


and they heard why the silver light which gladdened them when the refreshing dews were falling gently was changed to crim son


and they raised themselves defiantly whilst the humble flowers closed their petals fearing the stain of blood


and again the breeze came wailing and moaning and there was a shudder and a shiver throughout the woods be tokening some awful advent


the gipsy concealed herself in the dense scrub some few hundred yards from the cavern and through which lay the only safe pathway to that place after nightfall


for a time nothing dis turbed the profound and overwhelming silence


then one of those huge trees upon which fire had done its work fell with a loud crash rend ing riving and crushing all beneath its ponder ous weight


the sounds echoed through the forest and the startled night birds rushed by on whirring wings uttering loud screams


amidst the din the gipsy did not hear the approach of footsteps till they were close upon her


it was too dark to distinguish forms but her acute ear enabled her to calculate the numbers


one two three four five the last a light tread it is the boy


i must be sure they know the secret of the cavern before i give the signal soliloquised the gipsy


there may be more to come i will wait


she listened intently all was still as the last leaden sleep


gently raising herself from the scrub she was about to proceed to the rock when she was seized by a strong grasp and a gag was forced into her mouth which effectu ally prevented her from giving any alarm her arms and legs were then secured by cords and she was thus rendered innocuous


it was a clever scheme gipsy whispered mawler but it would not fit


right is the hour you know cant allow you to give the office before then it would spoil every thing


bilson stop with her we have enough to grab em all


that big gum tree falling was a lucky accident for us gipsy


dark midnight


olivers bright tis time for flight


we are pretty well informed


gipsy


beenie black jack kitely and you will all row in our boat


mawler then went cautiously towards the waters edge whither he had despatched three of his force to await the coming of kitely


jonas was directed to keep watch higher up whilst to nips was accorded another position so as to bar every avenue to escape in case of an alarm being given by the boatmen


singular to relate the very spot where jonas placed himself was beneath the rock which con cealed the entrance to the cavern


a small por tion of the scrub was burnt away and the moonbeams fell upon this patch


when kitely descended full of hope the form of jonas quelch rose like a spectre from the grave to op pose his passage


kitely shrank back aghast and a deadly sickness came over him


a word or two sir said jonas presenting a pistol at him before the police take you from my charge


for the first time we stand in our proper positions


the wheel of fortune has turned round


i am the masteryou the slave


i have acted harshly imperiously unjustly towards many but the name of quelch does not stand upon the list


the name repeated jonas scornfully are flesh and blood human feelings and pas sions to be altered by a name


but if a name have cabalistic power ill whisper one which should root you to the earth or transfix you where you stand


does quelch or graham sound more sweetly


kitely was unnerved the chimera which haunted him night and day disturbing his sleep clouding his sunlight at length stood before him a stern reality


villain


seducer


murderer


you know me now


i am the father of that mary graham who fell beneath your infernal arts and died mad mad


better so than live to pine away by slow degrees beneath the frigid looks and cold repulses of the world


monster thy cruelty pierced her mothers heart


but why speak of such things


i made a solemn vow to hunt you down and expose the blackness of your heart


my task is ended


the agitation into which jonas graham was thrown by the recollection of his wrongs did not escape the penetration of kitely


in it


he per ceived one gleam of hope


if he could succeed in wresting the pistol from the old mans hand before the arrival of the police he might reach the boat


one bound and jonas was in kitelys grasp but the villain was unable to accomplish his purpose the weapon exploded without harm ing either


then followed another and fiercer fray


jonas clung to his enemy with the te nacity of a vyce and the desperate efforts of kitely could not compel him to relax that rigid clutch although he had thrown jonas heavily on the ground


he heard a distant sound as of some one running through the bush


there was no time left for reflection he took the knife from his pocket the uplifted blade glimmered in the moonlight like the eye of an evil spirit but his arm was checked in its descent


nips fired with a true aim and kitely sank helplessly by the side of his intended victim


the lad rushed to jonas graham he lavished every affectionate attention upon him called him by the most endearing names and bedewed his pale hollow cheeks with tears


mawler and his men reached the spot as jonas partially re covered from the effects of the severe fall


he devoutly thanked providence for its merciful in terposition in his behalf then pressed nips to his heart with the deepest love


look to the wretched man said jonas faintly i am unharmed


alas


that my gust of passion should have produced this fatal re sult


why your fastness nearly spoiled the whole affair as it is beenie and black jack have got clean off theres the principal booked for sure but not in a legitimate way and the gipsy is in hand yet poor thing


she is only to be pitied theres not a better christian in the world than she


i am sorry for her said mawler


while engaged in delivering this sum mary of events the detective raised kitely from the ground stripped off his top garments and commenced his search for the wound in a most professional therapeutical way


the ball had passed into the chest a drop or two of blood was all the exterior symptom of the fatal mes senger but internal hemorrhage had set in and the shadow of death was over the bold bad man


theres no hope for him said the detective with a foreboding shake of the head


if we had only a little water he might revive a bit but whos to find it in this out of the way place


a sudden thought struck the detective


un gag and unbind the gipsy sheii manage it


these directions were attended to and the gipsy quickly procured water from a tiny stream which trickled through the rock within a few yards of the solemn scene


she poured a small portion down kitelys throat the cold draught restored him to perception he gazed upon the many faces which looked ashy and colorless in the sickly moonshine and did not see a single glance of triumph all wore an earnest and pitying expression


the hardened heart would have defied stern captors even in death but kindness melted it


jonas graham i have deeply wronged you can you forgive me said kitely slowly and in feeble but distinct tones


as freely as i hope at the last day to receive that forgiveness which we all need replied the old man solemnly


and i forgive you also said the boy bending over kitely


have i injured you nips


what bosom is left unpierced by my poisoned arrows


no longer nips rejoined the lad but richard graham the brother of poor mary


kitely gazed intently on the boys face he turned an inquiring look towards the gipsy which she interpreted truly


lt is even so remember the prophecy the boys hand will be red with the blood of the destroyer of his sister


the gipsys weird is fulfilled


the dying man uttered a few inarticulate sounds again and again he essayed to speak but power had fled


the blood gushed in fearful torrents from his mouth he made one spring from the arms which supported him it was the last effort of expiring nature


back he fell to earth a lifeless clod


mawler had the body removed to beenies hut which was the nearest habitation but on account of the difficulties of the way it was midnight before the parties reached their desti nation


the remains of kitely were placed upon a rude table and the rigid limbs were decently composed


so absorbed were all in attending to these offices that the gipsy was for gotten


when mawler turned round to address her she was gone


how did she escape


not through the door or the window was affirmed vociferously


through the secret passage remarked richard graham


it was even so there was a small aperture in the floor through which she passed unobserved and commenced her perilous descent into the deep gully


mawler and the force ran to the edge of the bank but could not distinguish aught in the profound darkness


a slight crashing of boughs was heard it was fol lowed by a mocking laugh


the weird woman was beyond their reach and left her fate a mystery


to be continued


marie antoinette or the chevalier of the red house


continued from our last


cuaprer sxxiv


from what has beon said in the preceding chapter the legal arrangements for the queens prosecution were being rapidly completed


tho government had already allowed it to transpire that by the saeiifice of her illustrious head tho public vengeance so long menacing would at length bo assuaged


means wore not wanting to causo tho queen to bo beheaded but that fatal prosecutor fouquier tinville resolved not to overlook the nuw accusation which simon had promised to place at his disposal


the day fol lowing that on which simon and ho lind met in tho hall of ruin tho rattle of oimour again startled tho prisoners who still inhabited tho the temple


these prisoners were madame elizabeth the madamo royal and that child who after having been addressed as majesty in the cradle was now simply called little louis capet


general santerro with his tricolored plume his great charger and his long sabre followed by many national guards entered the keep where the royal child languished


beside tho general camoa register officer of repulsive mien cairy ing an inkstand a roll of paper and an immea surably long pen


behind the scribe marched the public accuser


wo havo already seen we know and shall again encounter this man so cold bo yellow and so parched in appearance and whose bloodthirsty look mado even tho fierce santerro shudder in his panoply of war a few national guards com manded by a lieutenant succeeded them


simon with his falso smile holding in one hand his bearskin cap and in the other his strap led the way for the commissioners


thoy entered a gloomy chnraber spacious but naked at the bottom of which on a bed young louis was seated in a state of perfect impassibi lity


the last time wc saw the poor infant hying before simons brutal wrath there still existed within him a kind of resisting spirit to tho un worthy treatment of tho cobbler


ile fled ho screamed he wept


he then feared suffeiod and hoped now however fear and hope had both fled


suffering no doubt still was present but if it existed tho infant martyr who was so cruelly punished for his parents faults concealed it at tho bottom of his heart and spread over it a veil of apparently complete insensibility


ile did not even raise his head when the com missioners approached him


the lutter without any preamble sat down and thus installed them selves the public accuser at the head simon at the foot of the bed tho register officer near tho window nnd santerro with tho national guards and their lieutenant rather at the side and in tho shade of it


those who looked at the little pri soner with some interest and even curiosity re marked his paleness and his stout appearance which was however the result of disease as well as tho thinness of his legs the articulation of whih had begun lo swell


that child is very poorly said the lieutenant with a confidence which caused fouquier tin ville to turn round although already prepared to examine him


little capet looked up and sought inthe shade for hiih wlio pronounced these words