The Holly chieftain., 1904-12-09


it with an intelligence to which his
elders gave no thought.
Unusually tall for his years. he had
slender. sinewy body, and lin. os
whose muscles had been thorough ly
developed under the careful tutelasc
of old Tatro, the baron's butler, who,
until middle life had been soldier.
1t was he who had taught Jean to
ride and shoot; and he had initiated
the lad-young as the latter was
into the intricacies of foil and rapier
practice.
Affairs in Paris were becoming
more and more unsettled. The law
lessness and brutality Of the masses
grew in strength and daring, and
many of the mobiles had fed from
France, or buried themselves in the
country, away from the violence
which they were helpless to prevent,
or too loyal to seemingly countenance
by their presence and neutrality.
1t was early in the summer when,
with many misgivings as to the fu-
ture, Monsieur lie Baron finally left
Paris and retired to his country place
in Languedoc. Jean. together with
Margot, her boy Pierre, and major.
ity of the servants, went with him:
but few of the latter remained at
the Paris house with Etienne, who,
detesting the quiet life of Languedoc.
refused fatty to go there.
Another reason for his determina-
| ton lay in the fact that he was now
| secretly, of course-in Robe
spierre's employ; a thing Monsieur
lie Baron suspected. but Of which he
had no absolute proof; and the serv-
ants who stopped with the young man
were Revolutionary in sentiment.
At the beloved old country-house,
where everything was more to his
taste than in any other spot on earth,
Jean forgot much Of what had filed
the air of Paris with such horror. He
and Pierre, rioting in vigorous health,
went roaming about, hunting in the
park for small game, or, hidden away
snugly in a remote part of the wood,
devoured book of travels which told
of pirates and soldiers Of fortune,
who had reaped many a harvest OF
riches upon the Spanish main.
This book was the keynote of
Jeans dream-world; and it had long
been a pastime of the boys that he
should read it aloud, while Pierre list
ened with absorbed attention.
Thus it was that the exploits Of De
Soto, Pizarro, Cortez, and the minor
leaders Of adventurous bands were,
for these two boys. the ideals of what
their own careers should be when
manhood set them free to achieve
their ambitions.
| The gardens about the place were a
| wilderness of bloom, left very much
90 .,~t..s, anu soIthvIJ free Iroln Iue
marks of that formal science that
showed in the generality of French
gardens-the style which had come
| into vogue with lie Notre, in the time
of Louis XIV.
But outside the park, where the
boys were not permitted to go, 1t was
easy to realize something of the tur-
| moil that was shaking Paris, miles
away, and also the country nearer
about where the peasants were hold
| ing meetings, secret at first, but be-
coming more open as the Jacobfns
waxed stronger with each successive
day.
The principal leader and speaker
among the peasantry was one Tomas
| Fauchel, who had recently come from
| Paris, and who appeared, for some
reason, to have an especial hatred for
Monsieur le Baron. But the latter,
| whose attention was engrossed by his
books and papers, knew nothing of
this, as he rarely went abroad, and
seemed to grow more reserved and
gloomy as the days wore on.
The 14th of July-the anniversary
of the French nations independence
| came and went: and. on the night
of August 10th, the Assembly having
removed from Paris all the regiments
suspected of being loyal to the king.
there was no armed force to resist
the mob that, insane with blood-thirs-
ty passion, broke into the Tuileries.
butchered the kings attendants, and
took away, as prisoners, the few who
were still alive.
Over the chateau in Languedos,
that August night, the same stars that
glittered above the carnage of Paris
shone upon scene Of peace. But
Monsieur lie Baron's heart was grow
ing. heavier, and his wakeful eyes
were fixed upon the stars, as he lay
in bed looking out of the window. A
forebodng of evil crept chillingiy
about him, and a note of coming woe
seemed to sigh in the wind stirring
among the olive and pepper trees that
made a small grove outside.