New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1852-07-14
! stems Ne hsarli before Z. cried the wo-

midst Of the silence ofniqlit. the echoing sound
of footsteps OF, the ston6 stairs The nahss as
| they heard it approach nearer and nearer,
forced the priest into q recess at one end Of the
room, closed the door and hurriedly heaped some
old clothes against it, The moment after, they
were startled BY three Distinct knocks at the
| outer door -4s9t -
The person who demanded admittanca opened
the door himself and the affrigkted women inn
mediately recognized him as tfe man whonE
| they had detected watching the house--the spy
who had watched one Of them through the
| streets that night.
The stranger was tall and robust, but there
was nothing in his featuresor general appesr-
anee to denote that he was D dangerous man.
Without attempting to break the silence, he
slowly looked round the room. Two bundles Of
straw, strewn upon boards, served as . bed for
the two nuns. In the centre of the room Was
table, ON which were placed copper candle
stick, some plates, three knives, and LOAF Of
bread. There was but q small fire in the crate,
and the seanty supply Of wood piled near II.
plainly showed the poverty Of the Inmates; he
was he first to break the strange silence that
had hitherto prevailed. by addressing the two
poor creatures before him In such tones Of kind
ness as were best adapted to the nervous terror
under which they were evidently suffering.
g Citizens" he began, seI do not come to you
as an enemy. If any misfortune has befa1len
you, rest assured that am not the cause Of it,
My only object here is to ask great faFor Of,
you. If my presence causes you any anxiety,
tell me so at once and will depart; but believe
me i am really devoted to your interests and
if there is any thing in which can befriend
you, you may confde in me without fear. / am,
perhaps, the only man in Paris whom the Law
cannot assail, now that the kings Of France are
no more iir
There was such tone Of sincerity in these I
words, as he spoke them, that Sister agatha .
(the nun to whom the reader was introduced at
the outset of this narraiye) pointed
to enc Of The chairs, az if to- reqnest the stran
ger to be seated His expression showed q mix
tnre Of satisfaction and melancholy, as he ac-
knowledged this little attention, of which he
did not take advantage until the nuns had first
seated themselves. aSssf
tsTou have given an asylum here,' p continued
he, 'sto venerable priest, who has miracu
lousfy escaped from massacre at Camelite
convent
! sc Are you the person" /" asked Sister Agatha,
eagerly appointed to protect cur fight
e I am not the person whom you expected I'd
see, he replied, calmly Il
8. I assure you, sir interrupted the other
nun, anxiously, 6 that we hsve no priest here
we have not, indeed p
g You had better be little more careful
about appearances on future oceasion,' p he re-
piled gently, taking from the table Latin bre-
wary. May ask If you are both in the
habit Of reading. the Latin language For
three days have been acquainted with the
state Of distress in which you are living. know
your names, and the name Of the venerable
priest whom You are conceaIing It is
g Hush do not speak It IN cried Sister
Agatha, placing her finger on her lips
r have now said enough" he went On, & 70
show that if I had conceived the base design Of
betraying yon, could have accomplished my
tn1,y onf fxafnS al
On the utterance of these words, the priest. /.
who had heard all that had passed, left his I,
4 hiding place, and appeared in the room.
ssI cannot believe sir, = said he, e that you
are leag ued with my persecnters ard I there
fore willingly confde IN you. What do you re- I
tquire of me % =
+ The noble confidence of the priest -afhe saint
like purity expressed in his features must have
\ struck even an assassin with respect The mys-
terious parsonage who had intruaed on the
scene Of misery and resignation which the gar.
ret presented, looked silently for moment on
1.-THE three beings before him, and then, ID tones
!. of secrecy, thus addressed the priest:
.s Father, / am come to entreat you to cele-
brate fnortuary mass for the repose Of the
, soul of a-ef a-of person whose life the laws
once held sacred, but Whose corpse will never
rest in holy ground" -
al An Involuntary shudder seized the priest. as
he guessed the hidden meaning in these words
LIE nuuS3 uuhule 10 WuaL person was
indicated By the stranger, looked on him with
! equal curiosity and alarm. X
&c Your wish shall be granted said the priest,
:; in low, awe-struck tones. Sc Return to this
: place at midnight, and you will find me ready
r to celebrate the only funeral service which the
If church can offer in expiation of the crime to
4 which understand you to alluden
The stranger trembled violently for a mo-
ment. then composed himself, respectfully salu-
/ ted the priest and the two nuns, and departed
a without uttering word,
e About two hours afterwards, soft knock at
e the outer door announced the mysterious visi-
e ! tors return He was admitted by Sister Aga
tha. who conducted him into the second apart
ment of their modest retreat, where everything
t had been prepared for the midnight mass. Near
the fireplace, the nuns had placed their old chest
Of drawers. A large crucifix, formed of ivory
and ebony, was hung against the bare plaster
, wall. -Four snail tapers, fixed by sealing wax
, on the temporary altar, threw a faint and mys
} terious gleam over the crucifx, but hardly pen
etratedt to any other part Of the walls of the room
The floor of the room was damp. The miserable
: root, sloping on either side, was pierced with
rents, through which the cold night air penetra-
ted into the rooms. A deep, dread silence,
through which the slightest noise in the street
could be heard, added to- the dreary grandeur
of the midnight scene-a grandeur majestically
expressed by the contrast between the homeh
ness of the temporary church, and the soIennity
of the service to which it was now devoted on
each side of the altar the two. aged women,
kneeling on the tiled floor, were praying in CON
cert with the priest, who, clothed in his sacerdo-
tai robes, raised on high golden chalice,
adorned with precious stones, the most sacred of
the few relics saved from the pillage of the Car
melite convent. SRA F@
The stranger, approaching after an interval.
/ knelt reyerently between the two nuns As he
looked up towards the crucitix, he saw, for the
first time, that a piece Of black Grape was at
tached toit. On beholding this simple sign Of
mourning terrible recollections appeared 70 be
awakened within him; the big drops of agony
started thick and fast on his massive brow
Gradually. as the four actors in this solemn
scene still fervently prayed together, their souls
!, began to sympathize the one with the other,
blending in one common feeling of religious aBess
Beneath that mouldering roof, these four Chriss
tians were then interceding with Heaven fors tia
soul Of q martyred king Of France erforniing
at the peril Of their lives, in those days of anar
chy and terror, a funeral service for that hap
less Louis the Sixteenth, who died on the scaffold
who was buried without a ceffin or a shroud
The last relics of the loyalty of France were COL
lected in that poor room, enshrined in the pray
ers of priest and two aged women Perhaps,
too, the dark spirit of the revolution was pre-
sent there as well, impersonated by the stran-