New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1908-08-19
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
AN EPISODE OF The
FRENCH REVOLUTION.


TOriginal.l
It was during the reign OF terror that |
relieved France of her King and queen
and many Of her nobility that a small
wedding party assembled in chateau
near town on the banks of the Loire. |
The young Marquis Jean de Lefevre
was about to marry Artinse Binoinette,
the daughter of neighboring noble.
The two had grown up together, and
their passage from a childish cOmpan-
ionship to youthful love had been SO
gradual that they did not recognize
the latter when it came till they were
about to be separated. Jean was only
nineteen and Artinse only sixteen, and
no thought Of marriage had come to
either till it became evident that the
young man must cross the border It
he would escape the general massacre
Of mobiles then setting in Then he
discovered that he could not bear to
leave Artinse behind him, and Artlnse
discovered that she could not bear to
be left behind The countess, jeans
mother, pleaded with him to fly at once.
but he resolutely refused to go unless
he might take Artinse with him. And
so a hasty wedding was arranged be-
tween these two young people, both Of
whom were still in their teens.
The ceremony had been performed
and the pair pronounced man and wife
when dozen or more citizens APP
peared at the door, and, pushing their
way in, one of them laid his hand on
the groom's shoulder, saying:
"Citizen Lefevre, you are wanted by
the committee Of safety"
Alas, the departure had been delay
ed too long! The groom was torn from
his bride and carried away to the jail
in which common malefactors had
been imprisoned, but which was now
turned into political jail.
For a time Artinse gave way to hys-
terical shrieks, then quieted down, and
at last began to concentrate her facul-
ties upon some method Of freeing her
husband. The prospect of the guillotine,
instead Of paralyzing her, sharpened
her wits, serving as q goad to an In
ventive faculty which had hitherto lain
dormant, but which now showed itself
to be remarkable. She planned an es-
cape for her lover, and planned it her
self without suggestions from others.
But, having once conceived 1t, she Sc
lected few confederates to assist her
In carrying 1t out.
Once every day she was admitted to-
the prison where her husband was con-
fined. She was not allowed to see him
alone, but to talk to him through the
steel bars that separated his cell from
the corridor On the third day she went
on her daily visit ready to commune
cate to him her plan, the principal part
Of which fell to him. But how was she
to do this, guard standing watching
her slightest motion and listening to
every word? She had provided way,
and on it's success depended the whole
matter of his escape.
Having been taken to his cell, the two
stood on each side of the bars talking.
Artinse gave her lover look to warn
him that he was to expect something.
When the time allotted for the visit
had passed she put up her mouth for
kiss. The kiss was long one, and dur
ing the period their lips we're together
Artinse contrived to push with her
tongue little pellet into her husbands
mouth Then when she saw that she
had succeeded she withdrew.
This beginning, without which the
escape was impossible, thrilled Artinse
with hope, and she went home in a
tremor Of excitement. Still, there was
much to be done, many ways by which
even the attempt might be frustrated,
then the guillotine.
AS soon as the marquis was alone he
took the pellet from his mouth and
found the outside to be of wax. Pull
ing off the wax, he came to ball Of
tissue paper. Carefully unrolling it SO
that he should not tear it, he spread it
out and saw that it was covered with
written words:
Be on the watch at II midnight. A
rope will be thrown over the roof so as
to hang in front of your window. Seize it
and pull it up. You will secure a bundle
Of keepers clothes file and a rope
Cut out window bars, put on suit, let
yourself down by the rope. the rest as
best you can. We will have team ready
on the bridge half mile down river from
II till a. m. each night till you are
ready.
Jeans cell was on the third, or top,
story Of the Jail. Below and some
twenty feet from the building was the
wall. Soon after II that night, while
listening at his window, he heard some
thing strike the roof. The effort was
doubtless a failure. He waited for an
other effort but heard nothing. Thrust
ing his arm out between the bars, he
grasped string. This he drew up and
took in the articles mentioned with
which to effect his escape.