The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1912-12-01

nothing, not even torture, TO extract
confessions from the men he has i'm
prisoned. Some one of them will be
sure to confess, giving full details
and then good-by for ever to the hopes
of the people"
He raised his hat and passed on.
Had any one been watching, he
might have fancied that two casual ac-
quaintances had parted, never two con-
spirators who between them held the
future and the fate of France.
De Lussac, when the door opened TO
him. passed into a glassed-in court
yard and between two rows OF orange
trees set III green painted tubs to the
doorway of the house.
At this period, it was necessary for
a nobleman who wished TO keep close
to affairs, to follow his king and to
possess a mansion within easy distance
of the kings residence. As his ma
jesty was constantly changing his resi-
dencc from Paris to Versailles, from
Versailles to Marty, and so forth. il IS
easy to imagine the drain this custom
imposed on the resources of the nobil-
ity. De I.ussac, who was Indifferent
single residence in Paris and the Cha
teau de Lussac, the family house in
Auvergne: utterly regardless of the
sneers of the titled larvae, the brocad
ed parasites OF the court who dubbed
him 'the Auvergnat" So he managed
to live the life he chose TO live. TO
avoid expressing his tenantry and to-
give largely to the poor-a most admir-
able figure in a society cold, glittering
and as Indifferent to man as the jung
frsu-without the Jungfrau's purity.
De Lussac had left the house of the
baroness filled with this kindlier phil
osophy and outlook on life and 10!
halfway down the Rue Peysette the
revolution had tapped him on the
shoulder.
Now. as he stood in his library, hav-
ing closed the door, he faced his posi-
ton.
Philosophy or no philosophy. his
plain course Of duty lay straight before
him. These men were in prison and
his oath compelled him to liberate
them at all costs. De Sartines must
be bound in his own tolls, and to do
so he, the Comte de LuSsac, must en- |
ter the house of his kinsman and play
the part of a petty thief
He no longer belonged to the Soci-
ETY. of the Midi in heart, he was about
to divorce himself from it and the oath
he had taken did not prevent him from
leaving it at will, but il very explicitly
bound him to the course OF action
which the head center had just laid
down for him.
As he stood before the writing-table
contemplating his position, the sweat
the palms of his hands. He
would haze to Ta1-SCk De RichelIcu'S
bureau like common robber, opening
the drawers with duplicate keys: he
would have TO lie, and deceive, and act
deception under the garb of friendli-
ness and kinsmanship.
For moment. despair at the trap
he found himself in filed his heart.
Then came the thought, You arc do
ing this for whom: Not yourself The
more repugnant to you the greater the
sacrifice. Be firm"
He sat down to the writing-table and
taking a sheet of writing paper from "a
Spanish cedar-wood box, he dipped
pen in ink and wrote with a firm
hand:
To-day | am burying in the earth
of the first orange-tree tub on the
right as you enter my courtyard, a
packet of vital importance to the S. de
NJ. Should | be arrested or should I
die show this letter TO Jasmin, my
valet. He is entirely to be trusted.
Jnearth the packet and make use of il
Is your wisdom sees fit
Signed, Armand de Lussac"
He pushed the sheet of paper away
ind took another II
He wrote:
When left your house to-day, fate {
,vertook me in the form OF Monsieur
lie F1eury, the chief of the society to !
which | belong. The police have visit (
ID the Offices of the society and arrest {
d many members 1t is my duty to ]
Ittempt to free them This | am about I
o do. If l fail. you will not perhaps.
ZEE me again. If | succeed, shall be !
t your house tomorrow at the hour I
ppointed. t
Till death, Yours, {
Armand" '