Lynchburg Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1829-185?, 1851-07-17
In vait, was tie misfortune which had
ILL., .i,.f ,>-r.v .x,iaincd 10 him

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Ii vain, was tic misfortune which had
.oiallen the relief party explained to him
In vain wua the inipossi!riliiy OF execi.
iiag The worl. without additional men and
utensils represented to him. st Just was
iacxoral5le. his suppressed fur seemed to
have concentrated itself INTO bsood-ih
~ aud cruel purpose Of revenge against me
gallan. old officer who commanded the de-
rachmeni. He ordered De Meras to be
shot npoa tue spot, and, as i 10 aggrayatc
Tie severity OF bis sentence, he called upon
platoon Of his own ardllerymcn 10 exc
cute his bloody scatcnce upon their cap
tain. The men appeared to waver tor
moment, for one instant the rein Of discip-
line restrained them. but in tie next Il hun
drcd muske,s were lcvelled atihe heart Of
the Proconsul. The iyrant trembled and
turned palc-a work, look, a motion from
the chevalicr. and the sanguinary wretch
would have been sweep; into eternity by a
hail storm Of lead and FIRE; but De Meras
threw hmseifhcfore him; at the word OF
cofumlnd his men brought their pieces 10
the shoulder. and ST. Just, taking advantage
ofthc heetness Of his horse, placed himself
OF Of gunsbot as quickly as possible.
Scarcely had the Proconsul reached
the camp before an order was despatched
for De Mcras to appear before him. HIS
men coiiinrcd him TO fly, or at least to re-
fuse obedience to the summons, pledging
their lives to perish before they surrender
cd him; but the chevalier, pointing to the
flag ofhis country. exclaimed. Think you
so Ill of me as to suppose that the fear OF
death in any form will induce me to desert
flTase colors. or worse, array myself against
iheml" They would have accompanied
him. swearing TO make a rampant about
him with their bodies; but he appealed to
their sense of duty and of discipline, and
left them direcringi his second command to
Keep them imposition I'LL relieved by orders
from the camp,
But a short time elapsed after De Meras
had arrived at headquarters before vol
ley Of musketry was heard. The faithful
artillery men could no longer be restrained;
they rushed in mass to the tent Of the re-
preventative, but only in time 10 see the
body Of Their brave old captain, pierced by
n dozen balls still wlilbing in the agonies
Of death. Transported with rage. uttcring
cries Of vengeance. they ovcrthrew every
obstacle and sought ST. Just throughout the
camp: it was too late; the monster had as
capped in time, and nothing was seen of him
but lis form on horseback, disappearing on
the margin Of plain Of great extent.
The vengeance Of these braves, however
would only have been deferred, not lost
had not Heaven dccreed death more in
famous than they contemplated as penal
ty for such deeds ofinfamy. As might
have been forcscen, however, the army OF
the Moselle, victim to the rashncss and
iucupacity Of St. Just, was obliged to raise
the siege of Charleroi by the advance Of
the united forces of kaunitz and the Prince
Of Orange. Ovcrpowercd by numbers,
the French rccrosse1 the Sambre. leaving
part of the artillery and a great number Of
prisoners in the hands Of the enemy. Uni
Ting Nth The corps which Jourdan led TO
their assistance, they formed the army of
the Sambrc and the Meuse. which, under
the command Of that marshal, performed
such glorious fafs ofarms.
After a considerable length of time. St.
Just made disappearance in his old capaci
" of commissioner at tho headquarters of
this army. Apparently, he had no appre-
hension Of meeting the old artillerynlen of
the unfortunate De Meras; but they had
not forgotten him. One day, when visiting
the ouiposts, surrounded by a numerous
escort, from coppice near at hand arose
a furious cry Of Death to the pssassinl"
accompanied by a shower Of balls, which
strcwcd the ground with numbers of limo
cent victims, but left the terrified Procon
sui uuharmcd He fed to Paris, escaping
from the muskeiry of the ariillerymen only
TO lose his head with Robcspierrc and his
companions upon the scadold. II.