The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1895-10-11
SWIFT RETRiBUTION.
HUGO'S ACCOUNT OF AN INCIDENT
OF THE RIOTS OF 1880.

In that wonderful book, ''Les Miser-
ables,' Victor Hugo devotes considerable
| space to descriptions of the riots of 1880,
| which were of such Importance that they
are often termed a revolution. He was an
| eyewitness of the events and says of them:
The facts we are going to record belong
| to that dramatic and living reality which
| the historian sometimes neglects through
want of time and space but they contain,
we insist upon it, life palpitation and hui
| man quivering. Small details apparently
| unimportant are, so to speak, the foliage
| Of great events and are lost in the distance
of history.
Bands Of rioters, it is well known, re-
| semble a snow ball, and as they roll along
| agglomerate many tumultuous men who
| do not ask each other whence they came.
| Among the passersby who joined the
band led by Enjolras, Combeferre and
| Courfeyrac there was a man wearing a
| painters jacket, much worn at the shout
| ders, who gesticulated and had vociferated
and had the appearance of drunken saw
| age. This man, whose name or nickname
was LIE Carbuc and entirely unknown to
those who pretended to know him, was
seated in state of real or feigned intoxi-
| cation with four others round table
which they had dragged out of the wine
| shop. This Carbuc, while making the
others drunk, seemed to be gazing thought
| fully at the large house behind the barri-
cade, whose five stories commanded the
whole street and faced the Rue ST. Denis
All at once he exclaimed:
"Do you know what, comrades, we must
| fire from that house. When we are at the
windows, hang me if any one can come
up the street."
eyes, but the house is closed, )" said one
Of the drinkers.
"We'l knock"
"They won't open.''
"Then Well break in the door,"
LIE Carbuc ran up to the door, which
had a very massive knocker, and raped.
| AS the door was not opened he raped
| again, and no one answering he gave
| third rap, but the silence continued.
sis there any one in here?" LIE Carbuc
| shouted. But nothing stirred, and so he
seized a musket and began hammering the
| door with the butt end. 1t was an old,
| low, narrow, solid door made of oak, lined
with sheet iron inside and heavy bar,
| and a thorough postern gate. The blows
| made the whole house tremble, but did not
shake the door. The inhabitants, how
ever, were probably alarmed, for little
square trap window was at length lit up
and opened on the third story, and can
die and the gray haired head of terrified
old man who was the porter appeared in
the orifce. The man who was knocking
| left off,
"What do you want, gentlemen?' the
| porter asked.
"Open the door," said LIE Carbuc
81 cannot, gentlemen
"Open, tell you"
eft is impossible, gentlemen
LIE Carbuc raised his musket and took
aim at the porter, but as he was below and
| it was very dark the porter did not notice
the fact.
"WiIl you open-yes or MOP"
"No, sontlonon.' - .
"You really mean it?''
| 81 say no, my kind'-
The porter did not finish the sentence,
for the musket was fired. The bullet en-
tered under his chin and came out of his
neck after passing through the jugular
vein. The old man fell in heap without
heaving sigh; the candle went out, and
nothing was visible save motionless head
lying on the sill of the window and a
small wreath of smoke ascending to the
roof.
| 1Q6r6, Scilu CdrDuC DIS ne leu Un0 DuUG
end of the musket fall on the pavement.
He had scarce uttered the word ere he
felt hand laid on his shoulder with the
tenacity of an eagles talon, and he heard
a voice saying to him:
"On your knees"
The murderer turned and saw before
him Enjolras' white, cold face. Enjolras
held pistol in his hand and had hurried
| bo oh vi al, al
with his left hand LIE Carbucs blouse,
shirt and suspenders.
"On your knees" he repeated.
| And with a sovereign movement the
frail young man of 90 bent like reed the
muscular and robust porter and forced
him to kneel in the mud. LIE Carbuc tried
to resist, but he seemed to have been seized
by a superhuman hand. Enjolras pale,
bare necked, with his disheveled hair and
| feminine face, had at this moment know
not what of the ancient Themis. His di-
lated nostrils, his downcast eyes, gave to
his implacable Greek profile that express
sion of wrath and that expression of chas-
tity which, in the opinion of the old world,
are becoming to justice. All the insur-
gents had hurried up and then ranged
| themselves in a circle at distance, feeling
that it was impossible for them to utter a
word in the presence of what they were
going to see. LIE Carbuc, conquered, no
longer attempted to struggle and trembled
all over Enjolras loosed his grasp and
took out his watch.
"Pray or think" he said. "You have
one minute to do So.
"Mercyp' the murderer stammered,
then hung his head and muttered few
| inarticulate excavations.
Enjolras did not take his eyes off the
watch. He let the minute pass and then
put the watch again in his fob. This done,
he seized LIE Carbuc by the hair, who chung
to his knees with yell, and placed the
muzzle of the pistol to his ear. Many Of
those intrepid men who had so TRANQUILITY
entered upon the most frightful of adven-
lures turned away their heads. The ex-
plosion was heard; the assassin fell on his
head on the pavement, and Enjolras drew
himself up and look around him with a
stern air of conviction. Then he kicked
the corpse and said:
"Throw this outside
Enjolras silent and collected, his virgin
lips closed, stood for some time at the spot
where he had shed blood in the motion
lessness Of marble statue. His fixed eyes
caused people to talk in whispers around
him. Jean Prouvaire and Combeferre
shook their heads silently, and leaning
against each other in an angle of the bar