Democrat and sentinel. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1853-1866, 1854-11-02
EBENsBURG, NOVEMBER 2, 1854.

"Take four from fourteen, and there are
ten: ten years of fetters would satisfy me
will not abate him month";
e Ha! !-ha .-ha. that is good joke
But you do not know that he is more than a
count. more than knight, more than lieu
tenantcolonel? Can you guess what he is y
9. Yes: he is the man who broke his COM
pact with me in the bagnc of Toulon, and
spurned me away with his foot as he sprang
over the wall | must have him back: it is
only justice Good morning." and the old
forcat went into the prefecture
This time hew apparently but little more
successful than on the former occasion; bur
| the functionaries were surprised at his perth
uae;sy, aud considered it due to the character
I Of the count to send some one to him TO hint
deliberately at the calumnies that were abroad
| They told the informer, therefore, that inqu-
ries would be made, and directed him to call
the next day. in the idea that by that time
they would have authority to take him into
custody He was pleased, accordingly with
his success He dined cheerfully spent the
afternoon in walking about; in the evening
felt hungry again, but resisted the temptation
to commit theft, lest he should be locked up
from the business that engrossed him; and
at night, being perfectly moneyless, he re-
paired to one of the bridges to sleep under an
arch
This was the most quiet, though by no
means the most solitary bed-chamber he could
have found; fol that night every crib in Par
is was searched for him by messengers who
would have sileaced him in one way or other
As il was, he lay undisturbed, except by his
dreams, and the fitful moonbeams glanced
like spectres upon the water. Sometimes he
awoke, and fancied himself in the prison of
Toulon. till, rcassured by the voice Of the riv-
er which murmured in his ear, g 1t is only
justice" Then he felt hungry, and the night
air grew chill, and the hard stones pierce1 his
limbs and he thought of the thousands and
thousands of francs that had been offered him.
and of the pleasure and dignity of robbing in
great band commanded by noblenan =
But then he shrugged his shoulder, by means
of which Coignard had stepped upon the wall,
and. looking forward TO the morrow, grim
feeling af satisfaction stole over his heart, the
indulgence of which seemed better than food,
money or honor And then the moon-beams
disappeared on the river, and the wind moan
ed along its bosom, and the waters answered
with hollow murmur which syllabled in his
ear, Justice-Justice ~ and he fell into
profound sluinber that lasted till IN the morn
ing.
The prefect in the meantime had employed
General Despinois to wait upon the count ;
but the latter, instead OF meeting the charge
with the incredulity, ridicule or indignation
that had been expected, made quiet speeches,
and entered into long explanations, and the
astonished envoy returned to his employers.
hardly able to form an opinion That opin-
ion was, however, at once come to by the
most experienced authorities of the prefecture;
4ha
er, who had planted himself at the Office door
long before it opened in the morning, it was
determined to arrest the count on suspicion of
being an escaped felon. But this was only
what he had expected and for some days all
Paris was searched for him in vain. They
tracked him at length to the house in the rue
st. Maur and although he defended himself
with the pistols. both of which he discharged
at the gems d'oaancs, he was overpowered and
taken into custody. The revelations made in
this den of thieves identified nim with the
mysterious chief of banditti who had so long
kept the city in awe; and, being conducted
TO the prison of La Force, he was tried for va
rious distinct robberies, as well as for his eva
sion from the bagne of Toulon
A narrative like this, from IFS crcumstan-
ces laid only a few years ago. wears an air of
improbability; but many presentations quite
as extraordinary took place after the confu-
sion of the Revolution. The peculiar feature
in the case of Coignardis. that the imposture
was followed out to the very last, in spite of
the legal exposure. He would not plead by
any other name than his fictitious one; and
the president of the court was obliged to call
him simply. s'you accused When trans
ferred to his old quarters at Toulon, under
sentence of fetters for life, he preserved the
calm sedate dignity of an injured man, and
was much respected by the other forcats, who
This character he continued to enact up to his
death; and perhaps he ended by persuading
even himself that the companion of mobiles,
and the protege of king, was in reality the
Count de Sainte- -Helene.-AtJion.