The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-08-28

head of Blanche as a means of ex-
torting money when she should have
become the Baroness Lowendaal. 1t
was the night before the day upon
which Catherine had promised to have
the child at the caStle-the night be-
fore the day fixed upon for the mar
rage. The Marquis came to his daugh-
ter and said that. owing to the fact
that battle would probably be opened
around them next day, the marriage
would take place that night. He or
dered Blanche to go to the chapel and
there await the Baron. The priest
was already there-he would drag her
there by force If necessary.
Catherine, stealthily stealing past the
sentries, entered the gardens of the
chateau, obtained an interview with
Blanche, assured her that her boy was
safe and we'll in the camp of the Re-
publican troops and aided her to es-
cape to that camp. But when Blanche
reached the French camp she found
that her boy had been stolen-carried
off by the Baron's servant, who in
tended holding him for ransom. Back
| The castle was taken and retaken
several times in the course of the bat
tie which opened with the day. When
the French finally became it's masters
1t was a mass of ruins, but IN a vault
under heap of debris Catherine found
Blanche's boy, alive and uninjured just
where the faithless servant of the Bar
on had concealed him. Catherine and
Lefebvre adopted the boy, and as the
years of war and glory passed he be-
| came a soldier and officer, and fol-
| lowed the standard of his adopted
father. General Lefebvre, Marshal of
France. For the star of Napoleon
was in the ascendancy; Captain Bona
parte was the Emperor and Mam'zelle
sans-Gene was Nine. lie Marechale. AS
for Blanche, the Count de Neipperg had
encountered her when she had re-
turned to the Castle of Lowendaal from
| her fruitless search for her child and
hastily married her in the chapel, the
| priest who had been sent for to marry
her to the Baron officiating. So now
| she was the Countess de Neipperg and
her husband was Consul General of
Austria in Dantzic
The destinies of those who had
formed the merry company in the
Vauxhall one evening in July, 1892, had
been fulfilled. or were rapidly being
| fulfilled, as the fortuneteller had pre-
dicted them. Wild beyond all dreams
of the Imagination were the changes
which he had predicted, and history
had fulfilled the predictions in a man.
IN loo or
The last prediction regarding Lefebvre
| was about to be fulfilled for Napol-
con had decided that If the Marshal
took the city of Dantzic he would make
| him a duke. Young Lazare Lefebvre,
Blanche's child, was with his adaptive
father before the city. For an escapade
he entered the town wearing the uni
form of an Austrian officer, was ap-
pretended a spy because of the uni
form he wore and turned over to Neip-
perg to deal with. The sentence was
death.
Lefebvre heard of the plight Of his
adopted son, and resolved to save him
| at any cost. Catherine conveyed word
| to Blanche that the prisoner in her
husbands hands was her son and his.
The Count and Countess rejoiced to
have once more possession of their
child, but were. nevertheless, greatly
distressed at the complexities of the
situation. The Count revealed to Lazare
the true state of affairs and told him
that if he would join the cause of Aus
tria--the cause of his father-his life
would be saved and honors and wealth
would be his. But the young officer re-
piled that he knew of no parents ex-
cept those who had looked after him
since lie could remember ana that he
was a Frenchman and would never de-
sert his flag. Tears and entreaties were
unavailing to move his determination.
Sentence had been passed, the Count
was powerless to save in the presence
Of the resolution of Lazare.