The Dupuyer acantha. [volume] (Dupuyer, Mont.) 1894-1904, 1899-06-01
CHAPTER vII.-fCoNrINurp.l

~ t0ICA IL uUEs 1OG
all know who l am; the trusted mes
senger from Rohespierre cannot be ac-
cused of loyalty to a cause he has SO
long secretly and openly fought
against, or of treachery to the cause
of the people. Do not misjudge me,
then, when l bid you forego your in
tention to yonder trembling group.
Why, friends, what a poor revenge is
that! look you-how soon the terrors
sent young Christophe to his last &C
count. He who has helped pile up a life
time OF misery for hundreds of us!
Shall he only suffer a few seconds
strangling, and then be safe where u
revenge cannot reach him? | ask keen
er pangs for those that are left, the
bitter, agonizing hours of suspense, the
gnawing of remorse, the nameless hor-
rors of a slowly but surely approach
ing doom.
Friends, citizens, let me tell you
why / think l have a right to pro-
nounce the sentence in this case" con-
tinued he, his voice swelling full and
deep. I'm the group yonder, stands
Count German, as he was known In
the days gone by, as he will never be
known again. AS some of you know,
| was once a peasant on his estate. He
hears me-do you see him cover? All,
ha! l shall bring a mor painful chok-
Ing to his throat than your halter did
for his son. 1t is right you should
| hear this story tOniohf 7 had q cictor
we were a thriving family in spite
OF his oppressive taxes, and she vas
tenderly reared. She was known then
as the Rose of Chestnut Hollow, and
no rose was ever half so sweet or
beautiful as Valerie. So fair a flower
might be plucked even by a nobleman,
and Count German sought to win her
by his wiles. He won her love, but
she was pure as the mountain dew,
and this man whose blood is SO much
nobler and better than ours, was forced
to stratagem to win his ends. He per-
suaded her with his smooth words that
he was ready to lift her to his own
estate; that his love overlooked their
different stations, and he would give
A = q AO6pA h4oll 1857 4hO hlLOSOhI
girl trusted him! But bark you!
The poor tool who was to per-
senate the priest, and make a
mockery of the sacred rite, confessed
to me what was about to happen. That
was my first move against this man,
when I found a veritable priest, and
managed that that which his lordship
ho1inCod RI no a cham coroDonnu m
appease the ~scruples of a virtuous girl,
, became a legal marriage. l kept the
papers myself, and revealed the secret
to no one, and the priest died two
months afterward. My sister was too
! confiding and happy to demur because
she was kept immured at the chateau,
q but she was not long to remain so. Six
y months, and my lord, the count, was
tired of his peasant plaything. One
day he gave her a roll of gold, told
her the trick he had played upon her
and sent her from the chateau to a
q neighboring cottage, promising to see
her often, until his marriage to a lady
high born and wealthy, suitable for a
countess. She was a woman, and you
all do know what tender stuff theil
hearts are made of. She dropped wan
and white in silence ever after heI
! babe was born, and a cold, plain faced
countess reigned at the chateau. | sooT
! learned what had happened, and with
the papers in my hand, l sought the
= count. Ask him, some of you, if ht
has forgotten that meeting. Die
. 1 think, he asked, that the govern.
: ment-and that meant the king ant
. nobility; the people, mind you, hat
!. nothing to do with the government
: nothing but to be ground into the dust
{ and submit passively-did l think the
{ government would listen to the wore
of a peasant against a nobleman, anc
{ in such a cause as this? | saw my
! case was hopeless through the tyranny
that bound France and made slaves O
{ two-thirds of her people. l crushed
back the rage that filled my heart, ant
demanded that the child should be bet
ter educated than his mother had been
but while l spoke | was registering al
oath within me, that if it took a life
E time devoted to but one hidden end
e hour should be avenged. l have toiled
have boarded, l have strained ever,
Q nerve of mind and body, five and TWEEN
1 ty years, and tonight my end is con
t summated. Will you give him but al
g hour of wretchedness for my lon!
: years of grief, my sisters life of mis-
: cry, her sons blasted hopes? Answer
: me, citizens!"
{ Like the roar of a tempest amid
: forest, or the deafening dash of sur
I against the rocks, came one great cry
c Away with him to prison. Let tn,
b fends take him by piecemeal. Let hin
l. die by inches. Long life and honor t,
= citizen JEAN" and amid shouts ant
e jeers the prisoners were seized ant
/. borne away to prison by the soldiers.
c Count German cast n %questionin,
! look at his wife, as rude hands bori
! him past where, still unable to rise
she was lying on the grass. She I'm
derstood his meaning, and answered
d haughtily:
+; ut is nothing new. | knew it lonl
ago, and so did my Emile. You Nigh
n have guessed why we hated Hugo"
L 1t had been a trying experience 70
t Bernard, while his uncle spoke. Hi
e chest heaved, his eye flashed, he al
S most forgot the cold hand that graspe,
q bic orm until V%iolanta whiSnerpd