The times., 1897-05-09
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MAX PEnbERTon
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| tiualess, staring at Uhe gorgeous dresses,
| the gold. the silver. the diamonds. IF the
| company. Though his liberty had been Of
| rered him for a word OF thanks, he could
! not have uttered it. Minutes, indeed, pass
| cd before emotion conquered him, and he
| turned away with sob in his Voice
| "oh," cried he. lit is a dream "A dream!
| shall awake presently tothe darkness and
| the silence. God help mei''
| That was a cry wrought of long years of
4 misery. 1t stiiIed the company To hush
/ the house there were tearsin her eyes when
! she advanced swiftly TO the Old soldiers
/ side and took his hand in hers.
| Monsieur she said, in low voice,
! have courage, beg of you. ara your
| friend you will trust me. Were you not
| one Of Condos legion? Remember that and
| forget all else"
{, She raised her pretty blue eyes To his in
encouragement, and spoke SO tenderly that
! memory OF his daughter voice eajne back
To him But ciiefl y9he thoughtof this that
| he had been one of fConde's legion, and that
/ he wore the beloveduniform again. now at
/ the eventide of his life.
/ Mademoisclle," said he, proudly, Il re-
/ member nau.sht but your kindness. DO with
| me what you WILL
| His voice was strong now and he faced
| the company unfiinchinsly. They, in turn,
| anxious only that ne should forget, began
| to speak of trivial things; and one Of them,
] fine fellow who was addressed as
| Benoit, came To Serrefort's side and talked
| to him of the old days in Germany; OF
| the wars which had Been his glory, and
/ the triumphs he had won. So wen did
tine young man contrive things that when
| supper was ready and the company passed
| into neighhoring cabinet, a pretty little
4 room f,t for The King, the prisoner had
| forgotten the Bombec. even tbe Concier-
/ tserie, and all tiiat he had suffered there.
| There were sixteen guests at tue table.
! Serrefort being placed upon the right hand
| Of the hostess, W hile the old Due de Richie
lieu sat opposite TO him, and Benoit upon
| his left hand. 1t was n long meal, eN-
| auisiteIy served, and offering those rare
! and dainty disnes in which the cooks OF
| the eighteenth century eXcelled. Two
| soups, Il bisque OF pigeon and cock 's-combs,
| a side soup or hashed capon a quarter OF
| veal, partridge pie, Il grilled turkey, salads.
| creams, rissoles beigne nets-the dishes were
. multiplied in an abundancy which was TO
| lie found nowhere at that time but i'll
| the houses OF the French mobiles Serre-
fort discovered at first that he had little
| relish for the oelicaCies; his palate had
been hardened by years of coarse food and
] sour wine: but when he had drunk some
| champagne from foarninS goblet aud had
tasted dish OF capon his old love for
| good things came back 10 him, and he set
to work 10 sup as heartily as the others
| As for his pretty hostess, she babbled
| away necessarily, telling him all the news
4 Iar Z
trigues, Just as though he were free man
| ike the rest OF them, and not a prisoner
enjoying terrible furlough For the mat
| ter OF that, he began himself to forget his
condition: lie ceased 10 ask, after awhile.
why / am troueht here; he said that some
trick or sleep cheated bin-hut the sleep
| was very sweet, and he would enjoy it.
| Nor would ne let himself willingly rernen-
Der that when IL O'Clock struck he must
| set off to his prison again. The oasis
in his life was too dear; heaven had taken
pity upon him, he Thought, and here was
| the answer to his prayer.
In this spirit, he began to talk by and
| by, adding to the anecdotes and the jests.
| lie spoke OF his old deeds with the army;
| OF the tiuels be had fought and the in
| trigues he had known. When at last sup
| per was done, and the guests went out to
| enjoy the night air in the beautiful gardens,
| he accompanied young BenOit readily, aud
! found himself almost in a merry mood.
| For the garden was freshaud sweet atttlat
| hour: it was good to tread the soft grass;
| TO pace the white moohlit paths; to smell
/ the strong odors OF the plants. No MEM
| Org of prison came to mar that hour. He
! was old jacques de Serrefort again, the
! pride Of his regiment.
This forgetfuiness endured, it might have
been, for the half of an hour. Young Be
| mott had brought him by this time to a
| little grove where an arhor stood and
| old trees rich in leaf; a flowery dell hid
| den away from the world like a pool in
| a forest Here they walked awhile, ed rI-
| est in merry talk; but, of a sudden. Serrc-
| fort stood quite still, his face paled. his
| hand trembled A clock in a church near
| by was striking the hour. The wretched
| man counted the bells as one doomed to
| death may count them upon the morning
| OF his execution
Eleven O'clock" he exclaimed at last
in a hoarse voice; you heard it strike,
| monsieur"
''Certainly," answered the young man.
| lit is eleven O'Clock as you say, Monsieur
de Serrefort. An hour yet to midnight
| when we lose you, fear. am sure that
| you viii remember us all the same-as We
shall remember you in our affection"
1 Serrefort did not heed him. His face
| was set, his shoulders stopped again.
Mon Dieu," he cried, Il cannot go
| back-I cannoti"
! Benoit, whose heart was cut by his pite-
Gus cry, pretended not to hear 1t; but
turning quickly to the old soldier. he said:
| Monsieur, when our friend. the Conte
de Saint Florentin, brought you here To-
| night, he told you that my mistress count
| ed upon you for certain information I
am sure you will serve her so far rs may
be possible. As the time presses, let us
| talk of 1t without delay"
Serrefort answered with an inclination
| of the head. His thoughts were set upon
the dungeon below the river. The garden,
them all again in his overwhelming dread
| orthe cell Benoto observed his abstraction,
| but continued, nevertheless:
"Since you are willing, Monsieur de Serre-
fort permit me to pIesentto you one whose
| acquaintance you made in Brittany many
years ago, man who desires exceedingly
| to speak with you, and who is coming here
! tonight for that purpose?"
Serrefort bowed again. 'Sir," said
he, s'your mistress wish is my wish. 1
knew many in the old days at Brittany,
| many whomI would well speak of, though,