The St. Cloud journal. [volume] (St. Cloud, Minn.) 1866-1876, 1873-08-07

sarSsszz~
ot surrender. "Rendez vous T" cried
he French soldiers, but the tail Rus.
ian answered them not a word. His
abre was dripping with the blood Of
hose who had rushed upon him. Gle. .
nanthe rode IN within ten'ysrds just as
another attack was commencing.
"Hold !" she exclaimed, and then
the officer said, "General,
you have already done more than
enough. to save your honor. Yield.
sir, or you die y: I, @r
The Russian gave the Amazon a
searching glance and then letting bis
sabre fall to = salute, stepped forward
and extending the hilt to CIemanthe,
said .tn.i -" ~
~ surrender to you, aad to you
alone" It was Potoski.
VIII.
For three days after the battle of
Montmirail the Prince of Potoski was
guest at the villa of the Countess de
Lacy. These were days of sunshine
which recalled the bright visions of an
earlier time. During this interval,
Clemanthe dispatched q courier to the
Emperor Napoleon stating the fact of
the capture of the Prince Of Potoski in
the late battle aud soliciting as a spec
lal' favor permission to dispose of her
captive without the Intervention Of the
military authorities. An answer was
promptly returned 10 the form OF an
autograph letter from the Emperor,
warmly thanking the Countess for her
services, bestowing upon her the Star
and Gordon of the Legion of Honor, and
granting her permission to fsdispose of
her illustr1ous captive as she saw ft."
On the following morning the Prince
was sent to the headquarters of the
Emperor of Russia. He was the bear.
er of the following letter:
"51RE.-Perhaps amid the pressure of
events without q parallel in modern his
tory, your Majesty has not fcrgotton the
conferences of Erfurt. The Prince of
Potosh, commanding the first brigade of
your imperial guard, while fighting brave
ly on the field Of Montmirail, alone and
surrounded by cur troops, became my
prisoner. take pleasure in delivering to
your Majesty 80 brave an officer without
exchange.
| "M'L1E THE CohTEssR DE LACY"
No immediate answer was returned
to this letter, but it was followed by
important results. The marvellous
victories which Napoleon gained over
the divided columns of the allies avail
ed him nothing. Alexander, whose
energy finally prevailed over tho timor-
Gus counsels Of the Austrians, consoli-
dated the allied army and struck fol-
Paris as his objective point. After q
desperate and heroic resistance on the
heights OF Montmartre by the rem.
naat of the French army, Paris fell
and Napoleon yielded to fate and ab'
dioated the thrones of France and It.
: ally.
During those brilliant yet melan
choly weeks of April, 1914, while Par
is, lately the capital Of Europe, wal
thronged with the uniforms of twenty
victorious nations, Clemanthe, still re
| siding in her modest villa, received al
: invitation under the imperial seal O.
, Russia to visit Paris. She obeyed, ant
> on her arrival was escorted by th'
Grand Duke Constantine (brother o
the Emperor Alexander) into a mag
= ni6cent saloon in the Tuileries. With
Q in "twas brilliant and light" ye
| amid that array Of glitterlng uniform
t and of high born danes sparkling will
!, gold and diamonds, the radiant 90
] beauteous Clemanthe moved with a
modest grace and digolty which mad
! her the "observed of all observers.
, The Emperor Alexander rose at be
e entrance and made the military salute
r Surrounded by a splendid throng q
princes and marshals, he exclaimed
"Potoski, come forth" The Prince ad
D vauced, and Alexander, with a benig
uant smile said to him, "Though We al
{ conquerors you are captive" and join
ing the hands of Potoski and of Gle
8 mantle flung over them a wreath b
gemmed with diamonds.
-Four days thereafter the nuptials {
the Russian noble aud the Franco
Q Irish Countess were celebrated in tn
f ancient Cathedral of Notre Dame
. Unwonted splendos marked this fessiv
. hour. A delegation of the Frenc
: imperial guard, upconquered even i
Q defeat, was there, accompanied b
, princes and mobiles from every natio
from Spain to Russia which had assis.
ed at the triumph of the allies.
was evening, and the service was i
that solemn and gorgeous ritual, 'ic
with the spoils Of time, which carrie
the mind through the long vista o
ages to the period when the church
after severe persecution under the Pa
gan Empersrs, emerged victorious an,
triumphant from the catecombs o
Rome. Three.soore lamps and tw,
hundred and forty waxen tapers blas
ing on the high altar illuminated th,
chancel and threw light like day owe
the vast interior Of that splendid tenn
pie. The cardinal archbishop of Pa,i
1 -