The St. Cloud journal. [volume] (St. Cloud, Minn.) 1866-1876, 1869-08-12
ing but iron, with the necessary vebi-
clcs for transportation. ,,...-

ing but iron, with the necessary vebi
clcs for transportation. ,,...
His appearance excited suspicion
he was questioned, and, as he betrayed
a'degree Of embarrassment that render
ed his story less credible than it other
wise would have been, he was arrested
on suspicion. No plea, no entreaty
was Of any avail against the logic o.
the heartless wretches into whose hands
he had fallen J. be was destined, tha
very day, to be added to the victim'
which tho prisons of France held ir
readiness for the murderous guillotiue
After brief hearing, Latreiile, cx
haustcd not less by the mental anxiet,
Of the last hour, than by his long walk
threw himself'upon his prisoners couch
to await his sentence. He had moi
long to wait. He had frankly confess
ed himself guilty Of two offences, thai
Of being priest and one of the pro
scribel. What moro was necessary t
insure sentence of death =,
The day was far advanced the nex'
morning the execution was to take
place. Latreille had become resigned
he looked forward to the awful momen,
calmly and fearlessly. Above all, he
felt the necessity Of restoring bis ex.
hausted energies. His jailer, for con.
sideration, not only furnished him with
plentiful meal, but so far condescend-
ed as to give him his company, and to
return his toast to his own health and
that of his family.
The wine soon commenced to make
the jailer loquacious. He began by Civ
ing his companion the history Of the
prison, with an account of the most no
ted prisoners he had seen within its
walls, and such other particulars as nat
urally belong to such narrative. ,
"What do you think" said he, sud-
denly dropping the history Of the pris-
on-"what do you think of our citizen
president, who read you your death
sentence? Mordicu ! he has face, to
my mind, just such as president ought
to have, as hard and stern as a statue.
And yet he has a handsome head ;
don't you think SOP"
Our poor naturalist was content to
nod an affirmative.
"And then, when ho is out of the
courtroom, he has as many virtues as
they say the old Romans had; no ha-
tired or envy, no anger or severity; he is
as kind and amiable as a woman. In
fact, he is model president and citi.
zen. But there is one thing, between
you and me, l don't like the man. les
true it's only bit of foolishness, but it
is SO unbecoming in such man, and
takes so much from his dignity. Only
think, just as soon as he has a leisure
hour, away he goes through the fields
as far as his feet will carry him, aud
for what, do you suppose ?'
The jailer paused, fixing his eyes on
Latreille with a comical expression.
TIE latter remained silent, but awaited
the reply with evident curiosity.
''To catch butterflies, bugs, beetles,
and such things, which be takes great
care to preserve, each kind by itself, in
large glass-cases. Mordieu ! isn't such
nonsense unworthy of a man like him,
or of any man in times like these 2"
A pale glimmer Of hope was visible
in the features Of the prisoner, and,
while he laughed with the jailer at this
strange hobby Of the citizen-prcsident
he reached bis trembling hand afte,
his hat, then he carelessly picked up
tho cork of the empty bottle, on the
lower end of which, as if by stealth, he
fixed the Necrobia rufcornis. This
done, he replaced the cork in tho mouth
of the bottle. ''.
His object was obtained. No sooner
had he completed this little operation
than the jailer, who had observed ev'
cry movement Of his prisoner, began te
clear the table, taking with him, as may
be supposed, tho mysterious bottle. III
lost no timo in hurrying to the presi
dent, narrated every particular Of th'
little scene we have described, and the1
produced tho treacherous cork Th'
jailer had no doubt the little insect wa
the signal of some new outbreak, o
some diabolical conspiracy, and already
in imagination, he saw himself pro
claimed as the savior Of la belle France
aud in possession of some national re
ward.
1t was ten o'clock in the evening
Alone, in comfortable room, at a tabl
on which are various books and object
of scientific character sit two men
They are engaged in the discussion Of
favorite topic, and, while one Of ther
speaks with the enthusiasm of dcve
tee, the other listens attentively, and
from time to time, evinces his admirs
ton for the superior attainmcnts of til
speaker.
ALI at once rap is heard at th
door. A servant enters, and says, in
loud tone ""Cltizen Brutus is without
and wants to know at what hour t
morrow he will be wanted, so that b
can have his machine in readiness"