Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1897-12-09

look. so far as | was concerned was
limited to wiIdly-plunging horses-we
We're in the center of the band-and
riders swaying in the saddle-with
glimpse here and there of fringe of
white scowling faces and tossing arms.
Once, lane opening. saw the vidame's
charger-he was in the van-stumble
and fall among the crowd and heard a
great shout go up. But Beers by n
mighty effort lifted it To its legs again.
And once, too, a minute later, those
riding on my right swerve0 outwards
and saw something ! never afterwards
forgot.
1t was the body of the coad tutor,
lying face upwards, the eyes open and
the teeth barred in a last spasm. Pros
trate on II lay woman, a young wom-
an, with her hair like red gold
falling about her neck and skin like
milk. / did not know whether she was
alive or dead; but l noticed that one
arm stuck out stiffly. and the crowd
flying before the sudden impact of the
horses must have passed over her, even
if she had escaped the iron hoofs which
followed. Still. in the feeting glance
had of her as my horse bounded aside.
l saw no wound or Disagreement. Her
one arm was cast about the priests
breast; her face was hidden in it. But
for all that | knew her-knew her.
shuddering for the woman whose
badges l was even now wearing, whose
gift bore at my side; and / remem-
bered the priests vaunt of few hours
before, made in her presence: There
is no man in Paris shall thwart me to-
night"
1t had been a vain boast, indeedi
No hand in allrthat host of thousands
was more feeble than his now; for
good or ill No brain more dull, no
voice less needed. A righteous retribu-
ton indeed had overtaken him. He
had died by the sword he had drawn
died, a priest, by violence The cross
he had renowned had crushed him.
And all his schemes and thoughts. and
no doubt they had been many, had
persisted with him. 1t had come to this.
only, this, the sum of the whole matter.
that therewas one wicked man the less
in Paris-one lump of breathless clay
the more.
For her-the woman on his breast
what man can judge a woman, knowing
her? And not knowing her, how much
less? Tor the present put her out of
my mind, feeling for the moment faint
and cold
We were clear of the crowd and clat-
tering unmolested down payed street
before / fully recovered from the shock
which this sight had caused me. Won
der whittier we were going took its
place. To Beers house? My heart
sank at the prospect if that were so.
Before | thought of an alternative, a
gateway flanked by huge round towers
| appeared before us, and we pulled ND
suddenly, confused jostling mass in
the narrow way; while some words
passed between the vidame and the
captain of the guard. A pause of sew
| eral minutes followed; and then the
/ gates rolled slowly open, and two by
two we passed under the arch. Those
gates might have belonged to fortress
! or prison, dungeon or palace, for
! all | knew.
/ They led, however, to none of these,
! but to IN open space, dirty and Uttered
! with rubbish, marked by hundred
ruts and tracks, and fringed with dis
orderly cabins and makeshift booths.
And beyond this-oh, We gods the JOY
i of it-beyond this. which we crossed at
rapid trot, lay the open countryI
The transition and relief were so Won
! derful that / shall never forget them.
| gazed on the wide landscape before
me. lying quiet and peaceful in the
sunlight, and could scarce believe in
4 my happiness. | drew the fresh air
i INTO my lungs, threw up MY sheathed
1 sword and caught it again in frenzy
of delight, while the gloomy men about
Inc smiled at my enthusiasm. felt
the horse beneath me move once more
| like thing of life. No enchanter with
his wand, not Merlin nor Virgil, could
have made greater change in my
world than had the captain of the gate
with his simple key! Or so it seemed
! TO me in the first moments Of freedom,
and escape-of removal from those
loathsome streets.
| | looked back at Paris-at the cloud
of smoke which hung over the towers
and roofs; and it seemed to me the
canopy of hell itself. fancied that my
head still rang with the cries and
screens and curses, the sounds of death.
In very fact, / could hear the dull re-
ports of firearms near the Louvre, ana
the jangle of the bells. Country folk
We're congregated at the crossroads.
and in the villages, listening and gaz-
ing; asking timid questions of the
more Goodnatured among us, and
showing that the rumor OF the dread
full work doing IN the town had some
how spread abroad. And this though
l learned afterwards that the keys of
the city had been taken the night be-
fore to the king, and that, except
| party with the duke of Guise, who had
left al eight in pursuit of Montgomery
and some Of the Professionalism
happily for themselves, in the Fau-
bourg St. Germain--no one had left