The Wahpeton times. [volume] (Wahpeton, Richland County, Dakota [N.D.]) 1879-1919, 1908-11-05
King sMessenqer;
fOriRinal.l

Captain Piccardt." said the king,
"a treaty is In process Of arrangement
between us and the king Of Prussia
favoring defensive and otfensiye al
lance against the French. The final
draft has been made. and thesCrussian
envoy has requested w to forward a
copy Of It to his sovereign for ap.
proval. King Louis of France knows
that a treaty Is being discussed and is
anxious to defeat 1t. or II 1t is made to
know its terms. The real king Of
France. Cardinal Richelieu. has placed
men on every available route between
here and the I'russian capital. and It
is next to Impossible to transmit a
copy.
you have been recommended to me
not only for your daring. but for your
ingenuity. Invent Il plan for concealing
a bit Of puper which when compressed
will be about the size Of an almond.
Go and bring me solution as soon as
you have made It,
II have often thought of such ne
cessity and have invented such plan,
but several weeks are required for
preparation"
1--WE can wait that long provided the
plan will surely succeed"
Three weeks from that day spies of
Cardinal Richelieu located near the
boundary line between Holland and
Germany were notified that the mes
senger had left Zwalle the day before.
though they were not furnished with
description Of him. There were few
travellers in those days. and the only
person the spies encountered was a
friar. who said he was starting on a
pilgrimage to the Holy Land.
Good father" said one Of the gang.
''say a paternoster for u.s."
The friar made excuses which did
not satisfy those who had stopped
him. whereupon. concluding that he
was sham mendicant. who didn't
know prayer. they searched him.
Not finding anything on his clothing.
they stripped him and made an exami-
nation that would have discovered IN
object no larger than pea. But they
found nothing and permitted him to
proceed.
| Crossing the Ems. he went on. beg
ging by the way. till he reached the
outskirts of Quakenbouk, where he
was met by man. who said to him.
'Holy father. l have an order from
his eminence Cardinal Richelieu to in.
vite you to his palace in Paris.'''
Lead on" replied the friar. II am
honored in an invitation coming from
SO great churchman."
The man turned his back for q mo-
ment. and the friar brought his staff
down on his head. He sank on the
ground with broken skull. "You
think 1t heavy?" said the friar. $50
it Is. 1t is filed with lead" Then the
ungrateful and unmerciful frfar pro-
ceeded on his way.
The next Of the cardinals intercept
ers had not been so wen informed
as to the guise Of the messenger Of
the king Of the Netherlands. He was
stationed Mt ferry across the Weser
river and did not suspect the friar.
Ferry you across. holy man?" he
said. THAT I WILL"
There was now but one route avail.
able for some distance. and the cardi-
nal had directed that every traveller
passing that way be searched. A num-
Der Of times the friar was stripped and
carefully examined. One party even
broke to pieces the rosary that hung
about his waist. For this the father
called down upon the man who com.
mitted the sacrilege the anathemas Of
the church. They were superstitious
people In those days. and the fellow,
convinced that the pilgrim was what
he pretended to be. begged on his
knees that he would withdraw the
curse. The friar told him that he had
often been molested on his pilgrimage
and would not remove the curse unless
he were furnished with IN order that
he be permitted to travel without fur.
Their interference. This was given him.
He withdrew his anathemas and gave
the party his blessing
The friar went on. begging BY the
way. giving his blessing to those who
gave him sustenance and shelter. till
ne came to the Elbe. On the banks Of
this river the passages were all guard.
ed by the cardinals secret emissaries.
who. had they been known to the
Prussian government. would have been
hanged and quartered. This was the
last line it had been thought advisable
to guard. The friar had crossed tho
river and was tramping through
wood when men sprang from behind
trees and downed him. As soon as he
could make himself heard he told them
of his pass and produced it. They
were much astonished. for they had
been advised that the messenger was
travelling in the guise Of a mendicant.
However. they knew the men who had
given him a free passage and let him
go. This was the last time he was
stopped.
One morning the king Of Prussia re-
ceived word that an envoy from the
Netherlands was in the antechamber.
The king. who was expecting news of
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