The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1874-01-10

| ana emDrOluefy, VIII his long leathels
streaming in the wind, and his smooth,
handsome, cruel face bent forward like the
head of bird Of prey. But all this was
lust what pleased him-he liked to be fear
ed by the canaille, as he used to call us
and, faith we had good reason to feal
him too! If the chateau were still stand
ing l could show you the very tower
on the top of which he hanged Jean
| Perret for snaring game in the woods
| to feed his children who were starving.
| Then there was poor Simon Allezard,
whose wife he had carried off. He lay in
wait for the Marquis one night, and fired
at him; but the bullet only went through
his hat, and didn't even touch him. The
Marquis had no weapon but his light
rapier, and he wouldn't even condescend
to draw that, but he wrenched Simon S
own gun from him, and beat ont his brains
with the butt-end. In short, he did such
things that we used to cross ourselves at
the very sound of his name, just as the
Bretons do at that of GILES de Retz, the
| wicked Count Bluebeard, who murdered
all his wives, one after another. 1t would
take me till midnight if were to tell you
| all the horrible stories heard about him,
as we sat crouched round our little spark
of fire at night, squeezing close to each
other to try and get WARMTH at last
hardly dared stir out of the house for fear
of meeting him.
alt was in the spring of 'S9-the year
of the great culbute-that judgment first
been away at the court for two years, and
we knew nothing of him except that his
steward kept squeezing more and more
money out of US every month, to pay for
his masters fine doings at Versailles, when,
all of sudden, word got about that he
was coming; and, sure enough, a few days
later he came, and with him whole crowd
of grand folks that fairly filled the chateau.
And then, for several weeks together there
was nothing but feasting and drinking, and
card playing, and making love, all day long.
Now it happened that among the ladies
was one who had been beauty at the
urt-Mademoiselle Claire de Mont albert,
they called her-who had shown much
favor to our young lord, Monsieur Heuri,
when they We're at Versailles together; but
when she came down here, she seemed to
have grown tired of him, and began to
smile upon his great friend. NJ. Albert de
St. Florent; till at last, as young blood is
always hot especially when there's lady
in the case), she bred a deadly quarrel
between them. One evening in May, my
cousin Pierre, the soldier, who was up at
the chateau attending upon his colonel,
came down to us and told a terrible story.
That very morning, the two young gentle
men, with other two to second them, had
come out of tho chateau before any one
else was stirring, and away to little open
| place at the corner of the wood, and there
they fell to. NJ. Henri was good blade,
| but this time he was too hot to be prudent,
and the fifth pass he was run clean through
the body. But he came of race that
always died hard and the moment lie felt
the steel pierce him, he threw himself for
ward upon the sword, and, shortening his
own, ran it into NJ. Albert's side so fiercely,
that the blade snapped right across. Then
| he fell down and died where he stood
But NJ. Albert had little to boast of, for
his wound was mortal, and two days later,
ial o1c A Of f1yn
| brave men were thrown away for the
caprice of woman-one of those great
ladies without heart and without con-
| science, whom God created to avenge the
sins of the noblesse upon themselves.
"When the news of all this got abroad,
our people God forgive them y began to
were beginning to deveur each other, and
that he who had robbed so many of their
children knew not what it was to lose a
child himself. But, as we afterwards
learned, the old marquis, however he
might grieve, was not one to let his grief
be known. When he heard the news, he
never sighed or tremblcd, but only asked
how it Jared with NJ. de st. Florent; and
when they told him that the wound was
mortal, he smiled his own cruel smile, and
muttered to himself Good: The De
Quesnoys always strike home y And after
that he never mentioned his sons name
again.
Well, Monsieur, few months later
came the news of the fall of the Bastile;
and the peasants began to lift up their
heads, and talk of doing something; but
no one dared to speak openly, for there
were troops quartered in Besancon, and
nobody knew yet whether they would join
us or not. Il heard afterwards that they
were ready enough to side with us, but
having no leaders, and each man doubling
whether his comrades would stand by him,
did they not stir By the opening of the
year 80, the soldiers in all the garrison
towns had communicated with each other
and were all on the side Of the people; So
one day in March, the two Besancon Tegi-
ments rose as one man, deposed their Off
GERS, shot their colonel, and elected Ser
geant Roussel in his stead (the same Rous-
sci who afterwards commanded brigade
under the great emperor. Then our peas
ants began to think that it was time to
square accounts with NJ. lie Marquis, espe-
cially as all his grand friends had gone
away, and there were only few lackeys
left to defend him. But somebody must
have told him of what was going on; for
Just as the peasants were all gathered in
the village yonder, with hatchets and
pitchforks, and what not, ready to go up to
the chateau, there came rattle of hoofs
along the road, and into the market place
broke the old marquis himself, on his great
black horse, with his gay dress glittering
III the sunshine, and his face quiet and
smooth as if he were going into drawing
room; but his lips were set together like the
Jaws of Il wolf trap. When | saw him
coming | shrank away, fearing that he
would seize and devour me even among
them all; but | could see how he refined up
his horse (the crowd parting before him