The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1872-12-19
A Terrible Vengeance.

Monsieur" said Dame Lepas, ''the
Emperor sent some Spanish or other
prisoners of war to this place, and | had
TO take in, at the expense of the govern
ment, a young Spaniard, who came here
on parole. Notwithstanding his parole,
he went every day to report himself to the
sous pretet. He was a grandee OF Spain
excuse me a moment-his names ended
in os and dla; il was very like Bagos de
Feredia. | have it down in my register,
and you can see it if you like. All he
wasa handsome young man loraSpaniard;
they say they are all plain looking. He
was only five feet two or three inches in
height, but he was well made: he had
small hands, and he took great care of
them-oh! you should have seen. He
had as many brushes for his hands as a
woman has for her whole toilet He had
long black hair, and his eyes were as
bright as fire; his skin was slightly cop
per-colored, but | admired hiim all the
same The linen he wore was the finest
| have ever seen on any one. After the
first few days of his detention, he began
to be later ont of nights. was uneasy
when saw that he did not come home
till midnight; but we got accustomed to
and we paid no more attention to him.
He was lodging with US in the house we
had then in the Rue des Casernes. Then
one of the 9rooms told US that one evening
when he went to wash the horses sin the
river. he thought he saw our Spanish
orandce swimming at distance Just like
a fish When he returned | told him to
take care of the weeds, and he didn't seem
to like the idea of having been seen in the
water. Finally, monsieur, one day-or
rather. one morning-we did not find him
in his chamber; he did not come back at
all. searched everywhere, and found
something written on Il piece of paper in
his table drawer. in which there was also
fifty golden Spanish coins, called Porta
CUES. worth about five thousand francs.
There We're beside some diamonds, of the
value of ten thousand francs, in a little
sealed box. The writing was 10 the effect
that in case he should not return he left
his money and diamonds for masses to
thank God tor his escape and to pray for
his safety,
AT that ime my husband was still alive,
and he went off to search for him-and
this is the queercst part of the story. My
husband brought back the Spaniard's
clothes which he found under n big
stone on the bank of the river, near the
chateau. and almost opposite La Grande
ireleche. He had gone there SO early i'll
the morning that no one had seen him,
and when he had read the letter, he burned
the clothes, and we declared as Count
Feredia wished, that he had escaped. The
sOus-preEet put all gendarmes on the alert
but they never caughthim. Lepas thought
the Spaniard was drowned. But |, mon
sieur, am of different opinion; am in
clined to believe that he had something to
do with Madame Merret. Rosalie has
told me that the cruci1iX her mistress was
50 fond Of, and which she had buried with
her, was made of ebony and silver. Now
when he first began to live with us, M.
Feredia had q crucifiX of ebony and silver,
and have never seen it since.
My hostess talked with me q minute or
| two longer, and then left me, prey to
vague and sombre thoughts 1t took me
full to gain Rosale's good grace and
confidence but when | felt that | might
do so safely, broached to her the subject
OF my unsleeping curiosity.
"Rosale," said I, coaxingly. tell me all
you know about Madame de Merret''
"Oh don't ask that, Monsieur Horace -
she answered, with a look of terror
Her countenance fell, her bright lively
color faded, and her eyes lost their liquid
sparkle of innocence. Still however,
insisted
'fWell," she said, "since YOU wish it,
will tell You; but you will keep my
secret 2''
Pooh my dear child, will keep all
your secrets with the honesty Of thief ];
| nothing can be safer than that"
''Il it is all the same to you," she said
81 would rather you keep them with your
| own"
In the following story the reader will
| find Il cold aLridgment of the awful story
which the girl told me in her garrulous
way:
Tie bed room occupied by Madame De
Melret at La Breteche was on the ground
floor A little closet, about four feet
deep let into the wall, served for her
| wardrobe. For three months before the
| evening the events of which | am going
| to relate to you, she had been seriously
| indisposed, and her husband accordingly
| slept in Il chamber on the first floor. By
| one of those accidents which it is impos-
| siblc to loresee, he returned on the evening
| from the club which he frequented His
wife ahought that he had come in long
| before, and gone to bed, and that he was
| asleep. But the invasion of France had
| been the subject of an animated discus
sion; the game Of billiards had been ex-
citing, and he had lost forty francs-an
| enormous sum at Vendome, where every
| body lays his money by, and where the
| l,.,i.i Of u,
the bounds of a praisworthy moderation
the source, perhaps, OF real happiness
nndreamed of by any Parisain For some
time past M. de Merret had conlented
himself with asking Rosalie if his wife
| had gone to bed, and after the girls
| answer, which was invariably in the af-
| firmative, he had retired at once to his
| chamber But this time it occurred to
| him to 90 into Madame de Merret's room
| to give her an account of his i'll luck. In
stead of calling Rosalie, who was at this
moment in the kitchen, looking on while
the cook and the coachman played q diff
cult hand at brisque, M. de Merret set
down his hand lamp upon the bottom step
of the staircase and walked by its light
towards his wife's room. His step was
not difficult to recognize rs it echoed
along the corridor. AS he turned the
handle, he thought he heard some one
close the door of the closet; when, how
ever, he entered, his wife was alone,
standing before the fire place. The hus-
band, in his simplicity, thought at first
that Rosalie was in the closet but when
he looked at his wife, he saw in her eyes
a look of ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS and dismay.
"You are very late" she said.
Her voice, generally to pure and sweet,
70 G de Meet Sg dd ns nse" answer r r
| lust at this moment Rosalie entered. The
revelation struck him like thunder-bolt
He began to walk up and down the room
between the windows at uniform pace,
his arms folded before him.
.sHave Won had ANYTHING to annoy VOL