The Lafayette advertiser. [volume] (Vermilionville [i.e. Lafayette], La.) 1865-19??, 1908-09-18
"KnoVcst TEoE
That LanG?"
By F. L. Pollock and w. S. Mcdann


The prince had just come from the
hospital, leaving behind his sympathy
and good wishes. the grand cross OF
st. %Stephanius, and his equerry to rep
resent him at the bedside OF the
wounded man. The whole capital was
already ringing with the news OF
the explosion and the heroism OF the
domestic who had risked, and proba-
bly, lost, his life to save his prince. To
the group of eminent physicians that
the royal orders had summoned 1t was
clear that neither the favor Of kings
nor the applause Of people could pro-
long the mans life many hours.
He was quite conscious. however, and
lay looking about him with one eye, for
the other was covered by the enor-
nous mass Of bandages, and with a
curiously anxious and alert express
sion in his glance. He had been a
servant of the household; he had the
deformed hands of a peasant, but the
eyes and brow of q gentleman. He
seemed quite aware Of his approaching
end and. q little while after the prince
had gone, he asked that extreme unc
ton might be administered to him, &C
cording to the rites of the Greek
church.
When the patient wal ready to
make his confession he beckoned to
the princes equerry and to the hos
pital house surgeon. begging them
to remain. to witness his confession.
It was irregular: the priest hesitated
and objected, but as the man insisted
made. The room was then cleared Of
all others.
There is nc use in going into my
early faults" began the dying man
without any of the customary formu-
las Of confession, and in an unexpect-
eddy strong voice.
II do not know that l shall have
strength enough even for the things /
particularly wish to say. My real
name is of nc concern to anyone,
either. l left it where l left my soul
in the mines. It might have been IA
nous throughout Europe by now, for
when l bore it I was q violinist, and I
think that an audience or two in Vi
snna or Berlin may still remember my
playing. But all that was IL years
ago.
when I came home from the con-
servatory, full of success and in q fe-
yer Of young enthusiasm for light and
liberty. l became connected with .
sort Of secret association-oh, a very
innocent one, but its object was the
dissemination Of literature and in
struction which the police chose to
consider seditious. There was a raid;
q quantity OF nj papers were seized.
Halt a dozen Of US were arrested, most
OF us students, and we went from
prison to the salt mines. l spent four
years there. by order Of your prince,
and l left my music there under.
ground, for the labor and the rheuma-
tism crippled my fingers, as you see
them, 90 that l wal never able to ham
die a bow again.
THE police do not seem to know
that they make q dangerous animal Of
. man when they ruin his life. l was
80 years older when l came out. and
not cowed. but only more cautious.
When l joined q secret society next Il
was q really revolutionary one.
Il made myself useful in a variety
OF ways to my comrades, and l even
gained a certain reputation for skill
and nerve, SO that in our last attempt
] was given the post Of honor and Of
danger. For . long time We had rec
ognized the prince as a most danger
Gus enemy to the country's freedom,
and when he published his last edict-
the one Of last November-we decided
that he had provoked his own fate. In
solemn council It was determined that
he should die.
Il was to be the agent, and / had in
vented my own instrument. l have
never been quite able to get music out
OF my head, and this was q musical de-
vice to set on an explosive. The case
containing the powder was fitted with
. series Of small steel wires. each
tuned to . certain note. When these
same notes were struck in the right
order on q piano OF any other instru-
ment within hearing, the wires Of my
bomb Of course vibrated sympathet-
cally. one after another, each releasing
. catch, till the last fired the cap. The
merit Of It was that it required no
fuse, no electric wires, no personal
management Of any kind. It was the
fancy Of . musician, and I took a Ger
tain pleasure in making my lost art
revenge itself thus.
1T was clear that our order com.
manded some influence at court, for I
wa taken into the royal service upon
my first application, and presently
placed In attendance upon the princes
apartments. For six weeks I lacked
1t, studying the ground and laying my
plans 50 - to remove all possibility
Of failure.
MY bomb was In q small wooden
box. containing half q pound Of nitro
gelatin, along with the musical device.
II vas not hard to decide how the
wires should be tuned. You all know