The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1844-02-27 00:00:00

man out of the hands of his stupid brother was nothine
hut a happy piece of pleasantry, and will one day put the
Queen into a rare good humour, when I tell her the truth
of the adventure—ha, ha ! but to carry off boldly and
daringly a maid of honour who has committed a grave of-
fence against the state, faith this is something more than
a jest. The Queen will be furious when she knows of
De Montg!at's disappearance; and should she find out
that we have played her this trick just at the moment she
is about to make me cardinal —"
" Cardinal repeated Vireton, opening widely his
eyes.
" Yes, cardinal," continued the Coadjutor ; " this
evening, afte.• a secret conference, she sent off my nomi-
nation in proper form. Judge now, Master Scholar, if
this is a moment to embroil me with her highness. How
do you think I can conceal this girl in a house full of sol-
eiers. They will not fail to discover her, and that quickly,
and what will become of my good name should this kid-
napping story and her concealment here, reach the ears of
the Queen, and—of—of certain other ladies; eh ! Master
Scholar." •
He stopped and bit his lips.
" Come," continued he ; " we must not think any lon-
ger, we must act ; we must send these young folks away.
Suppose we put them into a coach, and let them go where
they like ; or send the young lady off, and keep the young
man ; but perhaps he will not be separated from his
pretty countess : let them both go--I wont see them."
" But I pray your pardon, my lord ; where can they go
at this time of night? They are both strangers in Pa-
ris, and they cannot find even shelter, much less a home.
Besides they are sure to be discovered ; and think of the
pitiable fate in reserve for them."
" What do I care ; I have done quite enough for this
young fellow ; and it is no fault of mine if he is always in
a serape. I have saved him twice from the hands of the
Philistines; he must now help himself. After all, I
have no interest whatever in him, and it matters not to
me whether he goes to prison or he does not go ; I only
wanted to spoil that enterprise against M. le Conde. It
has failed ; the rest I don't care a straw for. As for this
bella contessa, I confess that I pity her ; when sbe wept
before the Queen she certainly looked very beautiful. I
did not doubt that I should have obtained her pardon ;
but this is no reason why I should get into a quarrel with
her Majesty. Let her go to the Carmelites, if she likes ;
it is no affair of mine."
" But my lord."
" Go to the devil," exclaimed the Coadjutor, pacing
up and down in a perfect pet, the cardinal's hat now
floating, now vanishing, before his eyes.
" But my lord ; in the name of good manners and—
and morality."
" What is that you say ?" asked the Coadjutor, sud-
denly stopping, and turning sharply round.
Paul de Gondi had a great horror of scandal, notwith-
standing his own somewhat lax morals ; without doubt •
the Scholar knew this well.
" In truth, my lord," replied the Scholar, with a hypo-
critical accent, " that it will be only an act of Christian
charity not to abandon thus these young people. Think
what will become of them if no one exercises over them a
paternal authority ; they may perhaps become a shame
to their relations ; —they are in the springtime of youth,
my lord, and—"
" True, true," interrupted Paul de Gcndi, with a
thoughtful air ; " but what have I do with that ?"
De Gondi again paced the chamber.
" Why should I, Master Vireton, create new difficul-
ties at this moment ? I will not—l cannot."
" Well, but my lord ; consent only to see them but a
moment."
" For what purpose ?"
" For—f Jr—why just to give them a little advice ; and
--tell them of the scandal that may arise by their pecu-
liar position and—and"
The Coadjutor burst into a loud laugh.
" You are the devil himself in diplomatising, Eustache ;
you can always find reasons," said he, throwing himself
into his arm-chair. " Well, let them come in. We will
see what will be the best way to proceed when we have
spoken to them."
Paul de Gondi inwardly chuckled. He could not for-
bear smiling at the recollection of Fabien's escape, and
the present peculiar position of the two youngpeople about
to appear before him.
Vireton ran out of the chamber, and the next moment
returned with his protegtis.
They entered with slow steps, and made the prelate a
silent salutation. Elizabeth vsibly trembled as she leant
upon Fabien's arm; the emotions and sorrows of the dey
had spread upon her beautiful countenance a most touch-
ing air of melancholy. She wept no more ; but the sad-
ness of her looks was more lovely than the brightest
smile of joy. The depression of Fabien was more manly ;
he appeared not to feel his own situation, but to expe-
rience only anxiety for the confiding girl who had thus
so strangely and unexpectedly been cast upon his pro-
tection, and whose sole help he knew himself to be. His
countenance was firm, and the violent passions which had
but just now so highly excited him had left on his features
but faint traces. His eyes followed attentively every
gesture of his young companion ; for her he suffered—for
her sake he implored pity. Seeing them thus sustaining
each other, the Coadjutor, in spite of himself, could not
but feel moved ; he was not ignorant of the fatality which
accompanied this young, noble, and handsome couple,
that intrigue and ambition had dragged from solitude,
to bruise and destroy. In the presence of Elizabeth he
could not feel angry ; he rose from his seat, and offered
his hand to conduct her to a chair near him, with the ut-
most grace and politeness.
" Sit down, my child," said he, in his blandest tone of
voice ; " sit down, and recover yourself; and you,
gallant sir, be seated. God, who holds in his hands the
hearts of kings, will not abandon you if you put your trust
in him."
This religious consolation, which may appear strange
from the lips of Paul tie Gondi, was neither the effect of
abstraction nor hypocrisy; in the midst of his pleasures 1
and his gallant, ies, the Coadjutor had preserved for reli-
gion a profound respect and sincere faith. Late in life he
gave ample proof of this, when his political career was
past, for he became a model for fervent and devout
Christians.
Elizabeth answered only by an inclination of the head ;
but Fabien, with whom the kindness of the Coadjutor had
given courage, said, in a tone of the profoundest respect,
" The measure of your goodness is overflowing to-
wards me, my lord. The day before yesterday you
saved my ife, in rescuing me from the hands of the en-
raged populace ; yesterday you snatched me from the
terrible anger of the Queen ; nevertheless I yet dare to
implore your powerful interference in succouring this
lady, so unhappily for herself linked with my misfor-
tunes."
" No, no, my lord," cried Elizabeth, clasping her
hands ; " if your generosity should he exercised upon
either of us, let it be upon my companion, who, loyal
and brave, has resisted, in the very presence of the most
powerful persons in the kingdom, the temptations of
riches and honour, held out to him as rewards for
crime. He it is, my lord, who has a claim upon your
generosity—not I-1, who ought to bear with resigna-
tion my ingratitude towards my royal mistress."
The Coadjutor placed his hand to his brow with an
air of reflection. " Truly, my dear lady, I should be
glad to be of service to both of you, for your affliction
and situation greatly interest me, and you are evidently
the innocent victims of those political influences to which
I have given perhaps too much of my titre and thoughts.
Unhappily I am placed in so difficult a position, that I
cannot follow the bent of my own inclinations, which
would lead me to serve you. I cannot tell you upon
what point, but there is imminent danger to me in al-
lowing you to remain in the cloisters."
Elizabeth quickly arose. "My lord," she asked with
firmness, " is not my presence the sole cause of your
embarrassment ? and if I were to leave these walls,
would it not be possible for you to give Fabien an asy-
lum P "
" Mademoiselle, I avow frankly----"
" Well, then, my lord, will you allow me the use of
your coach, that has just brought us here P I will go
back to the palace, which indeed I ought not to have
quitted."
" What would you, Elizabeth ? " exclaimed Fabien.
" Do you not reflect, that if you to-night return to the
palace, you will he turned from it with shame to-mor-
row ? Have you forgotten that the doors of a convent
will close upon you, and separate you for ever from the
world and me ? "
" Lady," said the Coadjutor, " it is cruel perhaps to
reproach you in your misfortunes ; nevertheless I must
point out to you the imprudence which you have com-
mitted in thus quitting the palace stealthily and at
night with a young and gallant cavalier. This action,
notwithstanding the peculiar circumstances under which
you have been placed may appear somewhat to excuse
you, is not the less blameable in itself; and you see that
God punishes you by deep regrets."
" Oh ! will you but hear me, my lord ? " cried Eli-
zabeth warmly. " The frightful position in which I
found myself was surely a sufficient excuse. No one
knows what Fabien has suffered through me, and for my
sake : no one can tell what hitter reproaches he ought
to heap upon me this day. Before the ambition of my
good aunt condemned me to endure the pomp and splen-
dour of the court, I loved Fabien with a pure affection,
and Fabien returned my love. Our attachment was
superior to the vicissitudes of position and fortune, and
we were betrothed in the eye of Heaven. Nevertheless
I parted from him, in obedience to the higher duty I
owed my kind relation, and soon I appeared to forget
him. He thought me unkind ; but I had not forgotten
him. He doubtless accused me of ingratitude. Oh !
did he but know what I suffered, when th,a,t proud wo-
man whom I thought my benefactress—
She stopped, as if recollecting the alleged close ac-
quaintance of the Coadjutor with Madame de Chevreuse.
" Go on, go on, my child," said the Coadjutor, smi-
ling. "It is true Madame de Chevreuse is my friend,
but I will not att,-- -le her faults or