The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1899-09-15

! Snp touched Il spring. Inc mirror slowly
! opened and revealed a secret cabinet.
| Glide yourself here" exclaimed the
| countess. until the soldiers who are
/ searching for you have gone. Over your
! head you will fad Il cord Draw this
! cord. for it will open vcntilator which
! will conduct fresh air to you. 1t has to
! he ..cpt closed, as a rule, for otherwise
! the bats would fly in during the night
/ and reveal by their cries TIE fact that
| this cabinet exists. The Marquis de Cas-
, ton hid for day and a half during
! the uugucnot persecution, and he there
! by saved his life
Already Saint-CrcuX had entered the
| cabinet. But one more word before
| leave YOU" said the countess, as she
| proceeded to close the door. If l should
| be taken prisoner and carried away, you
| can, so soon as you hear that the soldiers
have departed, get out of the cabinet by
| pulling the door handle on the inside, and
You can then quit the palace safely by
the secret staircase"
The door closed upon Saint-Creux. The
clanking of sword and spur was already
| heard within the room, and soldiers
/ stood before the countess. She faced
them with bold demeanor and demanded
of the captain of the guard what he de-
sired.
Il am sent" he replied. '!to search for
Saint CreuX. who is reported to he in
hiding in the chateau"
You are quite at liberty" returned
the countess, Ito search every nook and
| corner"
The captain deputed few of his men
| to keep guard Of the countess, and to
| note all her movements, while he went
with the rest of the force to explore the
entire building. The search lasted until
next morning. when the captain, pale
with anger, returned to the countess,
informed her that he could not find the
fugitive, and added that, this being so,
he must by his instructions take her as
n prisoner to Paris.
The countess said that she was ready
in fact, she begged the captain to start
off with her at once. for she wished
Saint-Creu to have an early chance of
escaping from the cabinet. In five min
utes she had stepped into her carriage
and was driving away, surrounded by
mounted soldiers. She looked back to
the chateau with lightcned heart. Yes,
the man she loved would now get safely
away.
The countess was placed in the Status
prison. Here she remained for years, no
one speaking word to her. In vain did
she appeal to the authorities and implore
them-siie never received any answer. In
July. 1880. during the fierce struggle
which then occurred, the PariSians drove
out Charles y. and. throwing open the
doors of the Stains prison, set the prison
ers free. Josephine was liberated with
the rest. and the joy she felt on her
liberty was enhanced by her having been
informed that the divorce court had
freed her from her husband. She heard of
Saint-CrcuX. and that he had taken a
prominent part in the revolution from its
very start.
Josephine waited in vain for weeks and
months. As time went on she became
uneasy, jealous. vindictivc, and finally got
so ilnpetuOuS that she went into an adj
joining province where Saint-CreuX was
said to be haranguing the multitude, in
tending to surprise him. She perceived,
however. that the speaker was not her
favorite at all, but an impostor, who
had taken advantage of personal re-
scmblance to pass himself off as the
poet. There were several other spurious
aint-CreuES about in the same way
and the countess. after u long and fruit
less search, returned to the castle with
Il despairing heart. Yet, although so
ciety began to forget the fine counte
nanccd young poet. he continued to haunt
the imagination of Josephine. The only
pleasure which now remained to her was
10 think of him as he had appeared in
a village maiGen's guise, with his noble
face and beautiful black eyes. Yes, and
in their great hurry they had forgotten
to kiss each other when they parted.
By some accident the countess hap
pened to touch the spring of the mirror
behind which Saint-CreuX had hidden.
The memory of that hurried farewell
came strongly back upon her She open
ed the door. Great heavens. There be-
fore her, i'll vertical posture, stood her
faithful lover, still in the costume of a
Breton peasant Near his feet lay n
silken cord. Those little moths which
were flying about in the narrow cabinet
it was they who had killed Saint-Creux
They had eaten away the cord attached
to the ventilator, so that when lie pulled
it i'll order to get fresh air it broke and
he was slowly suffocated. On the inside
of the mirrored door the following words
had been scribblcd:
Beloved, | am dying of suffocation.
| must not betray you. Adieu!'
So. then, this heroic youth had fought
his death struggle in silence. and for the
love of Josephine had stifled the sound
of his very last gasps, SO that he should
save her. All, she thought in the torrent
of her grief, if she could but have heard
those final signs which he breathed for
her!-New York World.