The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-02-16
C0PwgEGEIT. 1908. GY 1gaDEG ESlKGie


 Those in the west were rocks Those in the east were the cruisers of the French republic. The captain laughed: 'Shipwreck on one side, battle on the other. Both sides have thrown double fves."
 The catastrophe was rising majestical- 1y from the sea. The corvette cast six anchors and her remarkable carronades were put on the side toward the enemy. The captain said to the man in peasants dress:
 sir, we are cramped in our tomb. We must die. But you must live, for with out you the monarchy is lost. I will give you a man and a boat. 1t will be not impossible for a small craft to escape"
 The stern old man made a solemn sign of acquiescence. A few minutes later he was being rowed through the intricate passages between the rocks. Hardly had they gained the reefs before the corvette suddenly stood out like a black skeleton against fearful crimson light The squadron of the republic had opened fire from 300 guns.
 In an hour the little boat was far away. heading for France. Long before the bat tie had sunk below the horizon of the peasant his ears head the furious din. Then there came a prolonged roar that shook the air dully. The corvette had been blown up.
 The next day, in a thicket on the Breton thousand men, armed with guns, scythes, coast, there was a strange spectacle. A poles, bayonets and swords, were on their knees before the man who had escaped from the sea. Their eyes, full of terrible fire, were fixed on him with sort of savage worship.
 A young man stepped forth. Marquis" said he, there are 1000 of us in these woods. Tomorrow there will be 15.0OO. This morning we attacked wonder farm, where the Paris battalion of Bonnet Rouge were encamped. We have cap- tured them all. What shall we do with the wounded and the prisoners?"
 Shoot them"
 "There are two women"
 Shoot them. And burn the farm and the hamlet for giving shelter to the enemy"
 A month later four men were gathered in the back room of a house in Paris. One of these was Robespierre. The sec ond was Danton. The third was Marat. The fourth was a man obscure, humble; but he belonged to the Eveche.
 Under the most revolutionary there is 8 sub-soil and the bravest stop in alarm when they feel beneath their feet the movement that they have caused above their heads. The Commune watched the III, mune. Marat defied the convention. led the commune and feared the Eveche. In that Eveche this fourth man was a si- lent, tragic power
 His name was cimourdain No one to- day knows 1t. History has more than one such terrible unknown.
 Cimourdain had been priest. He had ceased to believe, but at soul he was still a priest, gloomy, spotless, with endless pity for the wretched and endless hatred for monorachy. Like the sea eagle, he gloried in the maddened tempest of the revolution. When Europe attacked France and France attacked Paris he prayed that his goddess might in time of need cast an internal glare at the demons and pay them back terror for terror
 To this man Robespierre was saying:
 "The vendee has a chief. She is going to be tremendous. He is the Marquis de Lantenac, who calls himself Prince of Brittany"
 q know him." said Cimourdain. q was a priest at his castle"
 He is frightful," said Robespieere. 'He burns villages, massacres the pris- oners, shoots women. Citizen Cimour dain, this man is the greatest danger now to the republic. One vendee Is more dan gerous to France than ten Germanys. He must be taken and guillotined. You will be commissioned by the committee of public welfare with full power"
 "I accept" said Cimourdain.
 "You will be sent as delegate to the commandant of the column that Is act ing against Lantenac. He is young man, and is showing admirable bravery and intelligence. For two weeks he has held the old marquis in check"
 But he has one fault!' interrupted Marat. "Clemency! A crime! What would you do with a republican, general who gave a royalist general his liberty?"
 q should have him guillotined within 24 hours" answered Cimourdain.
 Here are the papers," said Robes pierre Citizen Clmourdain, the com mandant over whom you will have full power is a former viscount. His name is Gauvain."
 Cimourdain's face grew pale as death.
 This avenger, who loved mankind, re- served nothing from that love excepting only one human being-a pupil whom he had taught and formed, of whose mind he had become the father, whom he had come to love ineffably, pouring out on him all the affection that another man might have lavished on a woman. And that pupil was Gauvain-and Gauvain was the nephew and heir of the Marquis de Lantenac, the scourge of Brittany!
 When Cimourdain reached Brittany he found evidences everywhere of the added fierceness that this relationship gave to the war in La Vendee Placards signed by the marquis promised his nephew a speedy death if captured. Placards sign ed by Gauvain responded in kind As if to add lust to lust, placards of the re- public Haunted another decree of death to all who might connive at helping royalist prisoners to escape.
 When Cimourdain came into the terri ble forest country he learned that the marquis had struck at the town of Dol because 1t would give him fastness on the coast where the English could land forces to help him. and Gauvain had hastened with an inferior force to rout him out.
 Dreaming of no attack the peasants encamped carelessly in the market place and Lantenac rode off with his officers to investigate the points for coast bat tery to cover an English landing. Thus it happened that before messengers could bring him back to take command Gau- vain burst on the town, surrounded it and drove the peasants off in wild panic
 When all was over Gauvain approached a wounded peasant and said: You are my prisoner. You are a brave fellow Come, you are wounded" and he held out his hand to him.
 Like tiger the peasant fired and swept at him with sword. Gauvain would have been killed instantly but for man on horseback, who hurled himself between the two like 8 projectile. The. horse received t.. bullet. the man the sabre stroke and both fell. F.E
 Gauvain looked at the man. The blood was pouring from the sabre gash on hls face and formed d red mask. surgeon brought water and sponged it off
 "Cimourdain!' cried Gauvain. "Cimour- doinf IT is yol,f This Ia fha Second tiue