Waterbury evening Democrat., 1892-11-12

, these canaille the satisfaction of think 1 ing they had made me afraid. The worst of 1t is that I know not when I am to die. may be reused from my | sleep before to-morrow's dawn and told that my last hour Is come, or they may let me live month. But you are wonder ing why I tell you this. It is not merely to enlist your sympathy: it is something much more practical. told you that had been in London. was l there with my mother and sister, and l though we all worked-when we could find anything to do-we found life so l hard that I resolved to return to l France and make an effort to recov- CT a treasure which belonged to my family.
 ''I must tell you that at the outbreak of the revolution the regiment to | which belonged joined the rebels. As | I could not turn my sword against the | king, left the army, and, escaping from Paris by the skin of my teeth, went to my ancestral home-the cha teau de Gex, in the romantic Jura coun- try, which the flood of sedition and | treason had not yet reached. My father had always dwelt among his people, and so confident was he in their loyalty that, although the peasants in other parts of the province were burning down the chateaux and murdering the seigneurs, he felt sure that no harm would befall him or his. did not agree with him; knew that sooner or later our place would be attacked like the others; and prevailed on him to send my mother and my sister to Geneva, where, as Thought, they would be safe. But my father refused to budge. He was resolved to stay at Gex and defend his property to the last; and, albeit the re- suit was disastrous, I think he was l right If French gentlemen, instead of deserting their posts at the first alarm, | had stayed at home and done their duty, the revolution, though it might not have been averted, would have been shorn of half its terrors. The canaille were left to themselves, and the republic they set up has become one of the vilest tyran- nies upon earth.
 After awhile we heard that band of miscreants from Lyons were march ing northward, stirring up the peasants to insurrection and murdering and plundering in the name of liberty. Still my father did not believe that they would trouble us, and it was only when they were in the next commune that he allowed me to prepare for the worst. l did all I could-furbished up our arms, got in supplies of food and ammunition, barricadcd doors and windows, and organized small garrison, consisting of the gamel1eepers and three or four old servants, whose loyalty was beyond doubt.
 "The old chateau, though strongly built, was, of course, quite incapable of withstanding artillery, but to a force armed only with muslzets and pitch forks it could offer stout resistance.
 My father WIS not rich in money, but he possessed an exceptionally rich 4 collection of gold and silver plate, old \ coins and antique gems, which he had been gathering the greater part of his | life, and several almost priceless paint ings. These he and I placed at dead of night in hiding place the whereabouts of which was known only to him and mo.
 ''The next day we were beset by the l Lyons mob, reinforced by several hun drcd peasants, among whom were many of our neighbors and tenants.
 ''The last thing they expected was resistance. All the other seigneurs had either left their houses to take care of themselves, or yielded at the first sum- mons; and when we answered their de- mand to surrender with volley of muslletry the scoundrels scattered like chaf before the wind. But, quickly rallying, they returned to the charge and opened a regular siege A great deal of gunpowder was burnt, and, though little impression was made on the chateau, we were kept continually on the alert and forced to expend our ammunition at rate that rendered our I J,f, Nf nG very short time. And we had nothing to hope from the authorities; they were | against us; and the number of our as- sailants increased every hour. At the close of the third day we had burnt our last cartridge, save few
 which we reserved for the final strug- gle, and had to consider what we should do next-whether to await as- sault and die fighting, or make sortie : and try to escape.
 "We decided for 0 sortie, and took our measures accordingly.
 "The Jacobins kept an indifferent !, watch, and at dead of night, when most of them were sleeping, we stole unper- l | ceived from the house, and but for one 2 of those accidents which so often mar ' the best-laid plans we should have got g l safely through the investing lines. As t we passed the last bivouac fires bark
 ing dog reused the sleepers, and we had , to run for our lives. My father was ! 4 shot dead by my side, and of the thir-
 teen who formed our party only three I succeeded in getting away. All the others were either slain in the fight or
 killed in cold blood on the following , | morning.
 "Once in the mountains, we three were safe from pursuit, and eventually reached Geneva and joined my mother | and sister.
 . "From Geneva, where (as 1t was be-
 coming hot-bed of sedition) we did ; l not consider ourselves safe, we travelled to London by way of Germany and Hol- , land.