The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1878-08-01
A BEAUTIFUL DECEPTION.

And run his farm with modern implements.
Huntington H0Wk-Eye.
A BEAUTIFUL DECEPTION.
A whole Town Joining with q Dc.
voted Daughter TO Dlumbug am Old
Man into Sanity.
PREvILLE. the eminent French actor,
having lost his fortune and indeed his
livelihood 10y the Revolution which
swept away the Coincide Franchise;
having lost his wife, to whom he was
tenderly attached. broken in health and
finally blind. went to end his DAYS at
the residence of his daughter, Nine.
Guesdon, whose husband was Receiver
General ut Beauvais. His mind gave
way. and, except at brief intervals,
the old man was insane. harmlessly
but completely insane. The sights
which he had witnessed ut Paris during
the Reign of Terror had always deeply
affected him, and even while he re-
tanned his mental vigor their recollec-
tons haunted and oppressed him.
When his reason was clOuded he inva-
riably fancied himself in one of the
prisons of the Republic, under a mys-
FERROUS charge of treason. He no long
er knew himself to be blind, but COM
plimented the ladies of quality. fellow
prisoners in his imaginary dungeon,
on their freshness of face. or rallied
the great gentlemen immured with him
on their fantasies and peculiarities of
dress. With them he held long con-
verSations, sparkling with wit and re-
ple.e with anecdote; indeed, during
the forty-eight hours that the attack
always lasted he was not silent for a
moment; overhis skilled and expressive
features swept all the varying emotions
of JOY, sorrow and intense interest;
the veins of his forehead grew like
cords, and his face red as fire, and the
end Of the tit was tlux of unintelli-
bic words, at first spoken theoretically,
but finally dying into silence and stu
por. Prcville would then sleep heav-
lily from fifteen to eighteen hours, and
awake sane, but for the Authorization
that he was confined in prison. He
recognized his family and friends and
thanked them for visiting him; he
pointed out the Jailers and Police Com
missaries and his fellow-prisoners. In
vain did his daughter lead him through
the spacious gardens or drive out with
him through the streets of the town;
wherever he went he carried his prison
with him.
He was failing perceptibly, so vivid
~ had his imagination wrought upon
him, when one day new phase of his
malady alarmed his family. He was
noticed to steal noiselessly from the
room, turning his head to look behind
him as if he feared that he might be
observed and pursued; he trembled and
shuddered violently, and on his counte-
nance, which was of a deathly pallor,
great drops of sweat stood out. Hear
ing his daughters voice, he fled to-
ward her and threw himself into her
arms. "Surround me! hold mer' he
gasped; "don't let them find me. l
hear their footsteps" There is no
one coming, my father" said Nine.
G'ies,ion, soothingly. Il tell you they
WILL" he answered; "is the place
safe? Can they find me here? 1t was
thus Loiserolles was saved" Then
sinking into chair he continued: Il
was on the fatal cart: not alone, for a
mother and her son were with me.
They spare neither age nor innocence,
the butchers! Every jolt of the cart
the agony of sitting there, tied, where
every turn of the wheel brings you
nearer to your death. 1t is worse than
death" But you are safe, father"
said his daughter. "Safe? yes, but for
how long? All at once the tumbril
stopped. l could not look at the
guillotine, but cast my eyes down and
thought of you all. One of the prison.
ers steps down, he mounts the ladder;
there is thud, and howl from the
crowd. Another, another; it is my
turn. made my way, more dead than
alive. to the ladder, and had set my
foot on the first step, when suddenly
some one thrust a bare, brawny arm
before me, stopping the way. 1t was
the executioner.'' Here Preville gave
with wonderful dramatic force and
changes of voice his dialogue with the
headsman. ''Where are you going
TOP Going-why, you know. 1t is
cruel to prolong this torture" eDon':
waste time talking! Where are YOU
going. citizen. sayp' ITO rejoin my
companions in misfortune and pray in
heaven for the welfare of my family"
"That is all very nice, but you can't
pass here" WHAT can't pass?"
and the old mans face began to ex-
press feeble hope. "Of course you
can't pass without your number"
"My number?' Eyes, your number.
Who in the world sent you here? Do
you think we guillotine people that
way? Let me see your NUMBER 81
beg your pardon, sir, but 1 was not
aware of the formality. l have no
number" ''Look in your pockets"
elbow can 1 with my hands tiedP You
look" ''It's none of my business
get out of here, and don't come back
till you've found your number" "You
can imagine" said the poor old man,
"that didn't wait to be told twice."
A few DAYS later the hallucination re-
turned; he had been recaptured and
placed in his cell, and the old agony of
apprehension possessed him and preyed
upon him. His daughter. woman as
clever as devoted, having exhausted all
the resources OF medical science with
out effecting cure, hit upon the fortu-
nate idea of entering into his hallucina-
ton and so guiding it as to direct it to
natural and happy ending. She.
therefore, ceased attempting to con-
vince him that he was at liberty and in
safety, and confessed that thew had
tried to argue him out of the idea of
his captivity solely from a loving
desire to relieve him of its horrors.
Deception, if it had been longer
possible, she added. was no longer
necessary, for they had received an
had been set and was drawing near:
ana ne 81 must Just prepare to face his Judges
The old man was delighted that she
had at last abandoned the deception
which had prevented her from receiv-