Northern tribune. [volume] (Cheboygan, Mich.) 1875-1885, 1878-10-19

A Historical sketcn'

n0mDOSllS
Mprat mentioned his embarrassment
tn Raron Strogonof, the Russian am
bassador to Spain.
Russia, il is well known, was at that
time not only the ally, but the friend of
France. III. De Strogonoff told Murat
that it was the easiest thing i'm the world.
1.-The Russian Admiral Siniavin,'' said
he, "is In the port ut Lisbon; give me
the most intelligent of your Polish lam
GERS; Will dress him up i'm a Russian
uniform, and entrust him with the DIES
patches for the aslmiral-all win go well,
even II he should he taken prisoner
dozen times between this and Lisbon,
Tor the insurgent army is SO anxious to
obtain our neutrality that it will be care
tul not To furnish pretext for rupture"
Murat was delighted with this ingen-
iOus scheme. lie asked Krasinski, the
commandment of the lancers, to find him
brave and intelligent young man. Two
days afterward the commandant brought
the prince young man Ut his corps, Tor
whom he pledged his life; his name was
Leckinski, and he was but eighteen years
old.
Murat was moved to see so young a
man court so imminent u danger; for If
he was detected his doom was sealed.
Murat could not help remarking to the
Pole the risk he was about to run. The
youth smiled. Let your imperial high
ness give me my Instructions" answered
he respectfully" land will give good &C
Count of the mission have been honor
ed with. 1 thank his highness tor hav-
ing chosen me from my comrades, tor all
of them would have courtcd this dis.
tinctiOn."
The prince argued favorably from the
young mans modest resolution. The
Russian ambassador gave him his des-
patches. he put on Russian uniform,
and set out for Portugal.
The first two days passed off quietly,
but. on the afternoon of the third, Leck
inski was surrounded by body of SPAN
iards, Who disarmed him, and dragged
him before the commanding officer.
Luckily for the gallant youth, it was
Castanos himself.
Leckinski was aware that he was lost,
II he were discovered to be Frenchman,
consequently he determined OH the in
slant, not TO let Il single word Of French
escape him, and to speak Russian and
German, which he did with equal fluen-
cy. The cries of rage of his captOrs all
nounced the fate which awaited him,
and theihorrible mur,lei of General Rene,
who had persisted i'm the most horrible
tOrtures but a few weeks before, us he
was going to join JunOt, was sufficient
To freeze the blood.
'WhO are yOu?" said CastanOs. in
French. which language he sp Ike per-
Ieciiy well, Laving been educated i'm
France.
Leckinski looked at the questioner,
matte sign, and answered i'm German,
Il dO not understand YOU"
CaStalas spoke GeIm:in, but he did
not wish to appear personally i'm the
matter, aud summoned one of the Offic rs
OF his staff, who went on with the ex-
animation. The young Pole answered.
in Russian or German, bur never let a
single syllable "a French escape him. He
might, however, easily have forgotten
himself, surrounded as he WAS by a
crowd eager iOf his blond, and who
Waited With savage impaticice 20 have
itiin a. clafel ,ssisstJJF 81 i.t Is a FreIicl,-
iiI:,.., ~ iasI upon him and murder him.
Dat their duty was raised to a height
winch the general himself could not coll
troll, by All incident which seemed to cut
of the unhappy prisoner from every
hope of escape. Que of CastanOs' aid-de-
camps, one of the fanatical patriots. who
were SO numerous in this war, and who
from The first had denounced Leckinski
as French spy, bust into the room,
dragging with him a man wearing the
brown jacket, tall hat, and red plume of
Spanish pcasaht.
The officer confronted him with the
Poll, and said:
Look at t us mar, and then if it Is
true that he is "a German or Russian. He
is spy. swear by my soul"
The peasant. meanwhile was cycling
the prisoner closely. Presently the dark
eyes lighted up with the fire of hatred.
'.ES FTances, he is u Frrnchman. " eX
claimed ne clapping hls hands. And lie
stated that, having been i'm Madrid few
weeks before, he had been put i'm requisi-
ton TO carry forage to the French bar
rack; and, said he, 81 recollect that this
man look my load OF forage, ami he gave
me a receipt. l was near him an hour,
and recollect him. Wh.n we caught
him, told my cOmrade, this is the
French officer delivered my forage to-"
This was correct. Castanos probably
discerned the true state of the case, but
he was generous Toe. He proposed to
let him pursue his.iourney, for Leckinski
sill insisted he was Russian, and he
could not be made to understand "A word
OF French, But the moment he ventured
a hint OF that kind, a Thousand th; earen-
ing voices were raised against him, and
he saw that clcmency was against him.
But" said he, Twill you then risk a
quarrel with Russia, whose neutrality we
are so anxiously asking for"
NO." said the officer, ''but let us try
this m ln.'
Leckinski understood all, for he was
acquainted With Spanish. He was re-
moved an thrown into a room worthy to
have been one of the dungeons of the
inquisitiOn in its worst days.
When the Spaniards took him prisoner
he bad eaten nothing since the previous
evening, and when his dungeon door was
chosen OH him he had tasted for eighteen
hours; no wonder, then, what with ex-
haIistion, fatigue, anxiety, and the agony
Of his drcadful situation, that the unhap.
Ply prisoner fell almost senseless on his
hard couch Night soon closed in and
left him TO realize. In his gloom, the full
horror of his hopeless situation. He was
brave, OF course; but to die at eigh:een-
so suddenly! But youth and fatigue
finally yielded TO the approach of sleep,
aud he was soon buried i'll profound
slumber,
He had slept perhaps two hours, when
the door of his dungeon opened slowly,
aud some one entered with cautious steps
the visitor bent over the prisoners couch
the hand that shaded the lamp touched
him on the shoulder, and a sweet anu
sllvery voice, a wOman's voice, asked him:
do you want totat?,
Inc young Pole, awakened suddenly
Dy The glare Of the lamp, by the touch and
words of the female, rose nm Of, his couch