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

No braver chief could Albion boast

Than he with whom he went,
Nor ever ship left Albiou's coast

With warmer wishes sent;
He loved them both, but both in vain,
Nor him beheld, nor her again.

Not long beneath the whelming brine,
Expert to swim, he lay;
Nor soon he felt his strength decline,
Or courage die away ;
But waged with death a lasting strife,
Supported by despair of life.

He shouted : nor his friends had fail'd
To check the vcssel's course,
But so furious the blast prevail'd
That, pitiless per force,
They left their outcast mate behind,
And scudded still before the wind.

Some succour yet they could afford,
And such as storms allow,
The cask, the coop, the floated cord,
Delay'd not to bestow;
But he, they knew, nor ship, nor shore,
Whate'er they gave, should visit more.

Nor, cruel as it seem'd, could he
Their haste himself condemn,
Aware that flight, in such a sea,
Alone could rescue them;
Yet bitter felt it still to the
Deserted, and his friends so nigh.

He long survives who lives an hour
In ocean, self. upheld,
And so long he, with unspent power,
His destiny repell'd
And ever, as the minutes flew,
Entreated help, or cried—" Adieu I"

At length, his transient respite past,
His comrades, who before
Had heard his IN ice in every blast,
Could catch the sound no more;
For then by toil subdued, he drank
The stilling wave, and then he sank.

CARDINAL DE RETZ,
OR
THE COURTIER'S PLOT.

BY PETER POPJOY, EST

(For the Liverpool Standard.

CHAPTER XIV.
The dwelling of the Coadjutor. A very curious and unlooked-for
position. The reader, if fond of love-makings, will doubtless
relish this chapter amazingly. The story might end here—but
it don't.
THE cloister of Notre Dame was then, as to-day, an as-
semblage of buildings disposed round many courts which
originally had served for the habitation of the monks and
clergy attached to the cathedral church. The principal
dwellings formed that which was termed the " Petit
Archeveque," and was set aside especially for the use of
the coadjutors of the archbishops of Paris. In ordinary
times nothing could be more calm and silent than this vast
locality, frequented only by the quiet and staid dignitaries
of the church; but at the epoch of which we write it ap-
peared more like the stronghold of some warlike chieftain
than the calm and peaceful home of astudious ecclesiastic.
Here it was that the numerous escort of Paul de Gondi
resided —his men-at-arms and attendants to parliament
by day. Sentinels paraded in front of the entrance
and round the building at night ; in fact, every care was
taken to prevent surprise, and a vigorous opposition could
have at any time been maintained against all beseigers.
In case of any disturbance, the Coadjutor could have put,
the towers of Notre. Dame in a state of defence, so that
the old metropolitan church of France supplied the place
of a citadel to the lion-hearted leader of La Fronde. In
spite of all seeming difficulties in penetrating the interior
of this well-guarded place, the coach in which our friends
were seated, met with no stop or hindrance until it had
reached the door of a guard-room at which a gentleman-
at-arms stood to reconnoitre the uric al. The driver mut-
tered a few words, and was ordered to pass on. In do-
ing so the scholar enquired if the Coadjutor bad returned.
" But just now," replied the officer; " and he must he
mad thus to expose himself nightly without an escort. As
for you, Master Student. I am desired to tell you that he
awaits your comitlg in the library. Good night."
So saying, he re-entered a sort of apartment which
served as a reception for the guard. The coach rumbled
heavily through a dark court, and stopped opposite a flight
of stone steps. The travellers desended, and guided by
Vireton, to whom the intricacies of the mansion seemed
perfectly familiar, they arrived at a spacious antecham-
ber, where a tired lacquey slept profoundly on a bench.
" Wait for me here," said the Scholar, in a whisper.
" I will see his lordship, and acquaint him with the pre-
sence of this young lady, and explain to him how it has
arisen ; believe me, I will not fail to interest him in your
behalf."
" We have no hope but in the powerful protection of
Monsieur le Coadjutor," murmured the Countess, sinking
on a seat.
Eustache addressed a word of kindness to the lovers,
and left them smilingly. The next minute he disappeared
without awaking the valet, who slept on unconscious of
the presence of others.
The Coadjutor was alone in his study, seated before a
secretaire, the desk of which was covered with a mass of
letters and papers; he was perusing, by the light of a huge
silver lamp, the notes which served him at a future pe-
riod, in the compilation of his memoirs, and which he took
great pains every night to arrange and put in order. Not-
withstanding the whole day and part of the night had been
spent in activity, he exhibited that unceasing energy of
mind and body for which he was so celebrated, and he
did not seem to be in the least fa'igued. When Eustache
entered he received him with that free kindly manner
which he always shewed to those he esteemed and encou-
raged. The frank gaiety of the Coadjutor was a proof of
his tranquillity of mind, and the nobleness of his spirit.
" So here you are, worthy lieutenant," exclaimed De
Gondi, casting his pen upon the table, and turning his
arm chair towards the Scholar. "It seems then we have
succeeded to the very limit of our wishes. Ha, ha, ha !
I cannot help laughing when I think of that poor devil,
De Croissi ; what a figure he made when be found his
prisoner had been whisked off almost in the very sight of
the Queen. Faith, it was a bold stroke—ha, ha !--and
all the glory is your own, brave Scholar. You have rare
qualities for an intrigue."
" And is my lord then satisfied with my poor services?"
inquired the pleased Scholar, rubbing his hands ; " it must
be confessed that my lord has added not a little to the
success of the affair. Discite justitiam mania."
" You flatter me, Sir Scholar," said the Coadjutor,
with an assumption of modesty. " The plan is thine, and
thou hast alone almost executed it. But where is our
man ? Have you not brought him with you ?"
Eustache smiled.
" Why do you smile ?"
" I have, my lord ; he is in the antechamber—but—"
" But what ? why not bring him in ?"
" Because, my lord, the scheme has been more suc-
cessful than perhaps you expected, or perhaps will have
wished. I have delivered two prisoners instead of one."
" Two ! what is this you tell me ?"
" The truth is—almost at the moment we were about
to depart from the palace, a charming young lady, in a.
state of despair—in tears, my lord—came and threw her-
self in the arms of Mons. Fabien de Croissi. We could
not leave the palace without her ; so we—"
The Coadjutor's face wrinkled up.
" This is news, indeed ; and do you know this young
maiden, so fair and in such distress ?"
" I have not seen her face yet •, it has been too dark to
see any thing; but who can she be but the Countess de
Montglat ?—one of the Queen's maids of honour."
" Why what—in the name of—have you been thinking
of, Eustache Vireton," exclaimed the Coadjutor, in an-
ger; " a fine crowning of your handy work you have
made indeed, by bringing a petticoat into the cloisters of
Notre Dkme."

,empt to excuse either
"My lord," replied the Scholar, timidly, " she would those of--of her daughter ; and if I confess to you my
not leave Mons. de Croissi, and—he would not leave her; thoughts, 1 have often pitied you to find you placed at
so I—l relied on your usual kindness of heart to—" the mercy of Madame de Chevreuse."
" A pest upon you and your suppositions," cried Gondi, " Alas !my lord, it is but too true. She asserted over
pacing the chamber rapidly to and fro. " You have done me a strange domination, at which I have often blushed.
well, Master Eustacbe ; and yet you have put me in a For fear that I should find an escape from her tyranny,
most asvliv-ard predicament. To joggle the young gentle- she watched my simplest actions. My affection for