The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1908-07-24
. AAAAAAAAAAAAA
! AN EPISODE or THE
FRENCH REVOLUTION. Z
'VWVVVVVVVVVVVV
IOriginal.1

[OriginaLl
1t was during the reign of terror that
relieved France of her king and queen
and many of her nobility that q small
wedding party assembled in chateau
near a town on the banks Of the Loire.
The young Marquis Jean de Lefevre
was about to marry Artinse Binoinette,
the daughter of a 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 1t became evident that the
young man must cross the border il
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 Artinse
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 We're still in their teens.
The ceremony had been performed
and the pair pronounced man and wife
when a dozen or more citizens ap-
peared at the door, and, pushing their
way in. one of them laid his hand on
| the grooms 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 quoted 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 a 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 1t her
self without suggestions from Others
But, having once conceived it, she Sc
lected a few confederates to assist hes
in carrying It out.
Once every day she was admitted to
the prison where her husband was con-
fined She was not allowed to see hin
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 communi-
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 a way.
and on its success depended the whole
matter of his escape.
Having been taken to bis 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 a
kiss The kiss was q long one, and dur
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 n
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 a 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 IL midnight A
rope will be thrown over the roof so as
l to hang in front OF your window. Seize it
and pull 1t up. You viii secure bundle
of keepers clothes a 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
: IL till a. m. each night till you are
ready
! Jeans cell was on the third. or top,
5 story of the Jail Below and some
/ twenty feet from the building was the
wall Soon after IL that night. while
g listening at his window, he heard some
E 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 n string. This he drew up and
took in the articles mentioned with
which to effect his escape
The suit he concealed under his mat
tress. He worked all the time he was
unobserved filling up the gaps fled
3 with the black bread given him to eat
and on the second night was ready for
escape. Putting on the suit and attach
ing the rope to the window bars he had